Style Steps Up

How the local fashion and beauty industry helps during this time of crisis

- John Legaspi

As the great Gabrielle Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has something to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." That, with the emphasis on the last line, is apparent now in the industry. Fashion often predicts or mirrors reality. With the global spread of COVID-19, the industry's activity is put to a halt. Runway presentations are canceled, showrooms are left with no buyers, and retail stores are closing their doors to stop the spread of the virus.

Now, we are left with face masks and hand sanitizers as the must-haves-and-wears of the season. Crazy to think that months before, the international runways of Alexander McQueen, Thom Browne, and Maison Margiela displayed an array of bedazzling and quirky masks, making these runways, as The New York Times fashion director Vanessa Friedman said, a "symbol of our time."

Fashion and beauty brands all over the world are doing their part in helping the community fight the virus. As seen in perfume factories repurposed to hand sanitizer manufacturing, and big players donating to hospitals and volunteer groups, the trend seems to be far from following the prime color of the season, or enjoying the latest item in your closet. The trend now is to care for the lives behind the design, and the people who in the future will wear it.