Fashion is back and growing. Sort of.

The fashion world is set to recover from COVID-19.

However, it will be a bumpy process that will require us to change our consuming habits.

Covid-19 has had a profound impact on all industries, whether that be supply shortages at supermarkets or inconsistent demand across all consumer sectors. And so it follows that the fashion industry feeling the effects of a global pandemic has found itself at a doorstep of a decision that will set the tone for its future.

Due to in-person shopping restrictions, we have seen an emergence of in-app purchasing and virtual merchandise experiences. With consumers spending exponentially more time online, the “metaverse” has continued to gain momentum, pressuring the fashion players to engage their audience in new ways.

It is an opportunity for brands to embrace new technologies such as live-streaming, augmented reality, or NFTs and lay a foundation for new ways to experience brands.

While a recovery to pre-pandemic levels is set for 2022, with growth rates forecast between 3 and 8 percent, we must bear in mind that countries with robust economic and healthcare systems will outperform those struggling in these areas.

A remedy for this can be extracted from the words of the World Trade Organisation director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. In her bid for equitable access to vaccines and greater trade cooperation, she declared that “the pandemic is reversing hard-won development gains, adding to the problems facing the most vulnerable. The post-Covid recovery must not leave anyone or any country behind”.

Reminding us that what the world currently needs most is empathy.