interview
After two years of fighting, the pandemic has finally subsided, but 2022 hasn’t been easy for the fashion industry either. Within a very short time there were new challenges, in particular a war with severe economic consequences.
In crises, change often happens a little faster. Retailers are getting ready to keep up with the growing e-commerce market, fashion brands are focusing on sustainability and new creative people are enriching the market. FashionUnited asked four of them about their experiences and plans for ’23.
Michael Musanda
Michael Musanda is CEO of the start-up Lalaland. The fashion tech company develops everything imaginable for the digital world. It started producing e-commerce photo models using artificial intelligence, raising €2.1 million in capital just last summer.
What hopes did you have for 2022 and did they come true?
Coming out of the pandemic, I expected continued growth in online fashion retail. Surprisingly, it has stagnated in recent months, which has a drastic impact on our strategic decisions. Previously, we mainly focused on digital photomodeling. Now we are engaged in design, merchandising and B2B wholesale business. Our avatars are used to create CAD and 3D apparel products.
What would you like to take with you into 2022 and what would you like to leave behind?
In 2022 we saw the whole market start to open up to our digital models. Artificial intelligence has had a tremendous tailwind so the market has started to embrace it and have a new acceptance of these new technologies. I hope that will still be the case in 2023. Unfortunately, in 2022 there were also many fashion brands that did not yet properly represent the rich diversity of people. We want to change that in 2022.
What do you expect in 2023?
In 2023, Lalaland will help brands with their digital transactions. Persistent problems in the supply chains are likely to increase the need for this. The most resilient and competitive brands carefully combine cost control with strategic investments. This can be done, among other things, through the introduction of digital product design and digital B2B wholesale processes, where digital models will play a fundamental role.
Finally, what would you like to say to your colleagues from the fashion industry?
In a world that is constantly changing, “taking no risk” is the biggest risk you can take. I hope that in 2023 fashion people will have the courage to make decisions based on upside potential and not downside risk.
Nanette Hogervorst
Nanette Hogervorst created the Sustainable Fashion Gift Card 2020 to make sustainable fashion more visible and accessible. The member brands were checked for their sustainability.
What expectations did you have for 2022?
That new players and growing media attention will make clothing rental more popular among people and brands in 2021. In fact, we see more and more brands seeing this as an interesting way to contribute to sustainability.
Is there anything you want to take away from 2022 or leave behind?
It hurts that a beautiful fashion brand like Kings of Indigo had to file for bankruptcy because of the difficult times, while today Shein is bigger than Zara. I want to leave Shein (bankrupt) behind in 2022 and take beautiful, sustainable brands into 2023.
What is your current vision for 2023?
A sustainable lifestyle is becoming increasingly popular for cost reasons – because our purchasing power is shrinking. So I think consumers will be more inclined to buy second-hand, buy less and just last a little bit longer with clothes. Transparency will become more important and there will be new (automated) tools to measure impact. We’ll be hearing more about the PEF label and the SCRD, and companies need to make sure their data collection is in order. The development of digital fashion will also continue. I think it’s only a matter of time before our digital identity is also expressed in digital clothing.
And do you have any New Year’s wishes for your colleagues?
I hope for a great 2023 for all, in which – in addition to our own much-needed efforts – the government and the people make it a little bit easier for the industry to take important steps to make the product that binds us all more sustainable to make: clothes.
Nico Vanderveen
Nico Vanderveen is Managing Director of Vanderveen in Assen. The largest independent department store in the Netherlands received two important awards this year.
A year full of new opportunities is almost over. How do you look back on that?
We have been preparing for the 125th anniversary of our department store in 2021 with great anticipation. This wonderful start led to a series of great anniversary activities. The European Retail Awards of the Year (EK Passion Star Award) and US Retail Awards of the Year (GIA-NL Award) were not remotely what we expected; we’re still a bit perplexed about it.
Now the year of the 125th anniversary is just around the corner.
As the year draws to a close, what would you like to take away from 2022 and what not?
We hope that the trust we have earned will last for a long time and that we can make our department store even more complete. Our department store clusters stand like a house with the current sixty department store specialists and the city center of Assen is vibrant, so that a day in Assen is becoming more and more attractive. I want to stop selling products with too big an environmental footprint and switch to a circular collection.
How do you see the year 2023?
A year in which sustainability legislation is increasingly anchored and enforced. In terms of the game, I hope that the lines on the field will be clearer and the referees will monitor fair play more professionally so that we can play a great game. We are fortunate to have motivated and committed partnerships within the department, so we are very keen to take on the challenges of 2023.
What do you wish other fashion players for the new year?
A satisfied clientele. When the first ‘Grand Magasins’ opened at the end of the 19th century, the fashion scene was very different than it is today; our four daughters posed in period costume for our anniversary exhibition. Looking back really encouraged us to look ahead. What will make our customers happy in the coming years?
Tessa de Boer
Tessa de Boer and Joris Suk founded Maison the Faux in 2013 in Arnhem, The Netherlands. The designer duo creates ‘Humanwear’. The fashion house’s message is to make open-minded fashion that goes against existing boundaries.
2022 is behind you. Was it as you dreamed?
We had hoped to experience real freedom in developing projects and maybe even make international moves again. That the view, which was previously directed inwards due to all the Corona measures, could be opened again. And that has come true.
What are you taking with you into 2022 and what exactly do you want to leave behind?
Good was the forward movement that allowed fashion to evolve. In this rather turbulent, changing world, people will take a more critical look at their work practices and emphasize urgency. I think it’s good if we keep it that way. What should be left behind? Old habits and the hyper-consumerism of fashion that everyone perpetuates when there really is no room for it anymore.
What does 2023 look like in your imagination?
Hopefully 2023 will be the year when we can make truly international moves again. This started in 2022 and we are very excited to broaden our horizons.
Do you have a New Year’s wish for other fashion people?
There is plenty of room for new ideas, experiments and beautiful new initiatives to grow. Above all, I wish everyone a lot of creativity – may we inspire each other and make fashion an even better profession than it already is.
This article was similarly published on FashionUnited.nl. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ