Held on December 11, the International Fashion Futurum Forum focused on the theme of ‘What is the future of independent fashion brands in post-COVID reality: cultural codes and business opportunities’. As per a Be Global Fashion Network report, the forum was attended by 74 speakers from 24 countries. It comprised 16 sessions which were viewed half a million times on all platforms.

The session tilted PR Consulting: An Invitation to Dream focused on theme of locality. Pierre Rougier, Founder, PR Consulting (USA), said if a brand stands out in the local market, it can achieve the rest by presence on social media networks. The session on ‘Sustainability: Global Practices to Save the Planet’ was inaugurated by Maeve Campbell, Deputy Editor, Euronews Living (UK) and Christina Dean, Founder and Board Chair, who defined sustainability as an ability to think about future generations’ needs ahead of one’s own greed.

Fashion-a mode of communication between cultures

At the session ‘Identity of world cultures through the eyes of the designers of the future,’ representatives of brands and fashion weeks from around the world discussed how designers can influence the culture and fashion of the future. Linus Leonardsson, Creative Director, Linus Leonardsson (UK), observed the world has changed, and all people will are adjusting to new rules. Fashion is becoming a means of communication between people of different cultures, added Ali Charisma, National Chairman of Indonesian Fashion Chamber and Director of Muslim Fashion Festival Indonesia (Indonesia).

Won Jeon, Founder, Painters and Design Professor, Le Rêve School of Arts, South Korea spoke about the peculiarity of local fashion while Gloria Wavamunno, Founder, Kampala Fashion Week said local brands more often work with capsules for a limited number of clothing items. Anna Chernykh, CEO, Freshblood, drew attention to the inclusive trend in fashion: she spoke about the collections of launched by the students of British Higher School of Art and Design trained for people with disabilities.

An ecosystem for local designers

Opening the session, ‘The Best of two Worlds,’ Shumsky, President, Russian Fashion Council and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia shared how the online format of events allows designers to expand boundaries and make events global and international. Lucilla Booyzen, Founder of South African Fashion Week (South Africa) added, digitalization helps create an ecosystem for local designers to collaborate with other designers and learn how to work with consumers through social networks.

Guido Ampollini, Owner and Head-Performance, GA Agency, believes digitalization will be the key to save businesses during and after pandemic. Competition in the digital space will increase in the next 10 years forcing small and medium-sized businesses to find new ways to increase their conversion rates on website, choose the right influencers for their projects and cooperate with large companies.