Image via edelkoort.com.
Iconic trend forecaster Li Edelkoort has written about coronavirus in her newsletter, with a message of hope for those working in the creative industries. While urging people to be careful of their own health and considerate of others, she talks about people’s ability to be creative and problem solve, and the shift in priorities forced on us by the virus that will endure after the crisis is over – an Unnovation – “We will not go back to business as usual and we will not be able to pick up the threads as if nothing has happened. All mentalities will change for the better.”
“Most of us are now all working from home at a much slower pace, trying to find ways to progress in our minds…And we have not been prepared for this kind of crisis management. However, we are trained to be creative, to improvise and to rethink. And rethinking is what we will have to do. Rethinking all aspects of our profession, from the fibres we choose, to the textiles we design, to the garments we think are relevant, to new ways of reaching out to customers.”
Photo credit: Lynn Karlin.
“In a way this will be a unique opportunity to set our sick record straight and reset the way we want to live and work in the future. It will all be a matter of time. We will need to slow down all aspects of work and output to produce less, better and more responsibly. Slowing down will design a new world.”
“If it’s taken less than three months of stopping to clear the skies over China and clean the waters of Venice, we have to take note and learn. And start again at an alternative, more decent and sustainable pace. Travelling less, producing less, polluting less...We should listen to the real needs of people in this crisis since it will define what we will be like after the virus is conquered.”
Li discusses these ideas in more detail in a recent interview about Coronavirus with Dezeen and with the Business of Fashion in a special edition of the BoF Podcast.
She also discusses simliar topics around slowing down and a more collaborative future in a podcast interview with Time Sensitive.
Contact K M Associates for Li’s new forecast on the Future of Luxury, a tool to redesign the future of fashion and retail.
This was a very interesting and illuminating conversation with Li Edelkoort. It reiterates my own views on life and living. We are into handcraft ourself ,this conversation reaffirms that handcraft is a soulful experience not to be trampled by overnight production expectations.Thankyou for the reassurance in these challenging times.