We are in lockdown. The supermarket is our only outing. Flights are grounded. No more travel! All bars and restaurants are closed. University and anything partying when it comes to the festival are halted. Everything social is shutdown.
The new IT Words are, social distancing and self-isolation. The rolling lockdowns could last until September 2021?
So what’s likely to happen as the coronavirus crisis continues?
The reality is, nobody knows. We have never faced something like Covid-19 before and though there are analogues in the way that countries adapt to traumas like war and famine, in the global west at least, this situation is unprecedented in the modern age.
Already, the impact of the coronavirus crisis on everything from the economy to social interactions on the environment has been enormous. We ain”t seen nothing yet!
Social Distancing
So most of us in Europe and the UK live-in small confined places with the only thing standing between you and your wardrobe is a balcony. What on earth are we going to do for the next three months regarding social gathering? How are we going to show off our new outfits let alone the existing ones that we all just bought for spring?
I am continuously getting bombarded by images and marketing links to buy the latest bag trends. The reality is where on earth am I going?
With no one commuting, city centers will be deserted. Shops, bars, restaurants, and pubs will remain shut. Where can I go to dress up?
In their absence, supermarkets and grocery delivery companies will thrive: according to data insights consultant Kantar, which tracks more than 100,000 British shoppers, in the UK alone we made an additional 15 million supermarket visits in the week ending 17 March (the first week of social distancing), compared to the same week in February.
The average spend was up, too, climbing 16 percent. Despite what the pasta wastelands might imply, that’s not just people stockpiling. Yes, our and my social outing is the supermarket. And in Europe to go to a supermarket you have to fill a form as long as any shopping list to prove why you are out.
Morale is at an all-time low. I am on my 15th day of lockdown and let’s face it who will be dressing up for a mountain descent to the supermarket? The only bag I am taking is my new IT purchase a shopping trolly.
Balcony Style
As our only outing is standing on a balcony dressing up and wearing a handbag. In the coming weeks as reality sinks in that, we are stuck on this balcony for at least 12weeks. How are we going to keep fashion sane? I chose to wear a turban during lockdown for hairstyle reasons.
Shoes are not needed! Thank goodness for social media, Instagram, ticktock and creating your own videos. One can show off their balcony style. How does this help your mental health?
Expect the economy to follow what’s happening in hospitals. “It’s going to be grim, but I personally think things will relax as we move into summer,” says Hunter. “I don’t know it for certain, but I suspect the disease will decline quite steeply towards the end of June. In part that will be because of the measures the government has implemented and encouraged, but also in part it’ll be because of the fact that it’s summer and things will be getting a bit easier.
” As things warm up we’ll be allowed to spend time in parks again, but expect some forms of social distancing to still be in place to prevent a second spike in infection rates.
The reality is this balcony and social distancing will be your new family member. Even when we are allowed to socialise. Who will have the cash for new items? So one has to be creative regarding recycling your existing wardrobe with a mindset that no one will be seeing it but you, your virtue friends and your balcony as your social mates.
High Streets Versus On-line
This could be the moment the British high street dies, believes Nusbacher. Coronavirus won’t be the underlying cause, but it will usher in the age of on-demand delivery and centralised warehouses sooner than might have happened organically. As Amazon and friends eat up even more market share, the impact on everyone else will be enormous.
Nearly three million people are employed in the retail sector and although some of them will end up working as pickers for online deliveries, automation means a large proportion of those jobs will cease to exist.
“A lot of people will be left out,” says Nusbacher.
Free Money Will It Be Spent On Fashion
“We are going to be spending half a year socialising people to the idea that, when there is a social necessity, it is not a moral hazard to pay people without expecting work in return,” says Nusbacher. “This is an ethical change.” A universal basic income, which has been trialed in Finland and Canada to mixed results, could demolish the working class. Instead of their value to the economy is calculated by how much they produce, it would be based on their consumption the way in which they spend the money given to them by the government.
In times like this, the last items I would be spending the cash on is fashion.
The coronavirus won’t have caused it, but it will be the rocket fuel for changes that have been long coming.
“I’m not saying this one pandemic is going to cause permanent social change,” says Nusbacher. “I’m saying this pandemic could be the factor that pushes this lever. The fulcrum is the longstanding set of changes. There’ll be an attempt to return back to normalcy, but that won’t work. Time has moved on. There was going to be social and economic change anyway, and any attempt to ignore that will run up against economic reality.”
In the meantime stand strong on your balcony and share your balcony style.
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