Post Corona Consumerism

Words & Interviews: Adrian Bianco

2020 will go down in history as a special year. A year that brought the world to a standstill for a short time, slowed it down and reduced it to the essentials. What started as virus news from China, changed week by week, more and more into a global situation and problem, into a very serious health risk – into a pandemic. The world bowed, the first countries imposed lockdown regulations, nothing was the same as before.

At almost the same time, the BLACK LIVES MATTER Movement and the violent death of George Floyd broke the shutdown. Not only the shutdown on the streets, but also the shutdown in our minds. What kind of society do we live in, do we want to live in, what is worth fighting for, going on the streets and sharing one’s opinion? 2020 got us sitting at home on the one hand, and on the other hand has made us take to the streets or digital channels. And 2020 is not over yet, the pandemic is not defeated yet, the effects are still being felt and the issue of police violence is more acute than ever.

Looking at these deep cuts into our society, it’s not easy to find a smooth transition to questions of consumerism, but we shouldn‘t ignore this topic any longer. Because to ask oneself exactly these questions – »Sneakers and brands in 2020 – Are these necessary things? Do I need that? What exactly do I want from the brands? What’s next?« – is important. What exactly happens when the pandemic is over and everything is back to the old or when we are faced with a new old?

Has the pandemic taught us something, have we adapted our consumer behavior, given up completely, refined it? Are we more sustainable from now on, do we pay attention to what brands do and double-check their moves and marketing, or do we stick to »20 Chicken McNuggets, please«, »How much is your outfit?« and »When is the next OFF-WHITE/Yeezy drop«?

Since everyone walked, sat or ran differently through this year so far, we teamed up with four creatives from the fashion/streetwear sector to find out how they have experienced Corona over the last few months and what a Post Corona Consumerism could look like for them.

Salome Schmuck / Berlin – @salofee

Adrian Bianco: Hey Salome, can you please, tell us a little bit about what you do and your connection to fashion and streetwear (consumer, in-business, collector, fan, and so on)?
Salome Schmuck: Due to the fact that I have always worked in areas that overlap with fashion, both in my past and at the moment, streetwear plays a big role in my life. Currently I am working in the music industry, I always find it very inspiring how different art forms and areas overlap. I think there would be no music culture without fashion, because it is always somehow about identification and representation. Both fashion and music are ways to communicate and express yourself and what is more important than that in times like these?

AB: How did you experience the whole COVID situation? What was it like for you the last months?
Salome: I will not be able to answer this question comprehensively, it is much too complex, but let me try: I am speaking from a very privileged position, I would like to emphasise this before, because I have seen how badly friends and acquaintances of mine in other countries are doing. I could enjoy the lockdown because I had friends around me and I was not alone. Everything was very deceleration and this universal deceleration was very interesting to watch. I loved that the city was so slow. I saw Berlin with completely different eyes and was much more attentive. You appreciated being able to spend time in nature and not having to stay at home. You appreciated being able to meet your friends and family. I miss that. I had hoped that people would take something back from the lockdown period, but it seems to me that everyone wants to go back to normal instead of rethinking and taking on new life forms.

AB: And how do you feel about it now?
Salome: I am very sorry about how it looks in other countries and other systems and I still hope that people in Germany will not rest on how the situation here went and become ignorant about what is happening in the rest of the world.

AB: How did you experience the lockdown/still experiencing it? Did you miss anything from the fashion and lifestyle world or could you comfortably live without new clothes and sneakers? Did you actually enjoy a little detox?
Salome: Honestly, I kinda liked it when all shops were closed. As I just said, I found it very reassuring that not everyone is running around the city in a hurry. It was strange how full Berlin was when the shops opened again, it just shows how dependent we all are on consumption. I understand that the shops have to make money and that the economy has to be on the up and up, but here too I think – Couldn’t there have been new ways? Shorter opening hours? New concepts for stores? I have not missed shopping at all.

AB: With COVID behind, in the middle, and in front of us, how has your perception and the importance of fashion changed for you personally? Are you more aware of what you are buying, or did you stop buying anything in particular?
Salome: Even before Corona, I’m more of a second-hand shopper, I don’t really have any new clothes in my closet, except shoes. I think the Covid-19 situation has only intensified this. During the lockdown, I also looked to see which little designers could be supported. I found great little labels on Instagram and bought stuff there. I think that gave a new impetus to the creative scene because people showed solidarity. That was certainly a positive aspect and I see that this will be maintained in my social environment.

AB: How do you feel about the rest of the market? Do you think we will start to consume »better«, more sustainable, or less from now on?
Salome: I live in a bubble in Berlin and therefore I can’t speak for the rest of Germany and certainly not for the rest of the world, but I see a positive development. But if we remain realistic, I don’t think the masses will change their minds, at least not in the next few years. I have a lot of confidence in the younger generation, who is already much more sensitive to climate change. There is hope.

AB: What would you wish for the future of fashion to happen and become the »new normal«?
Salome: Produce only what we need and see if what you need is not already available. Fixing instead of throwing away. Innovation and creativity can also exist in a sustainable and sensitive environment. The »new normal« should mean that you go through the world with care and most importantly »the new normal« should be accessible to ALL. Because sustainability is simply not affordable for many sections of the population.

Jake Ivill / Manchester, UK – @jakemivill

Adrian Bianco: Hey Jake, can you please, tell us a little bit about what you do and your connection to fashion and streetwear (consumer, in-business, collector, fan, and so on)?
Jake Ivill: I’m currently a Creative Director for start-up brands mainly within the fashion and sports industries, at the moment helping to build a Soccer Coaching brand. My connection to streetwear started at 13 years old, running around town as a little graffiti artist, buying Air Max 90s from vintage stores and pin rolling my jeans to be tapered before pin rolling jeans with Asics and New Balance was a thing. From there I’ve followed different cultures throughout the years trying to keep viewing them through a working-class lens and trying to one-up my mates at being best dressed. Just standard growing up stuff, from there I’ve found myself writing a culture column for the online magazine Sabukaru and still being better dressed than all my mates. We keep it moving forward.

AB: How did you experience the whole COVID situation? What was it like for your the last months?
Jake: If I’m honest, I’ve been massively fortunate with the COVID situation. I took some time off, caught up on sleep, read a load of books and drank plenty of wine with my girlfriend. I’m back into work mode now, I just need Japan to start letting UK citizens back in the country now and my life will be pretty back to normal. As I said, I’m fortunate that this time has passed relatively pain-free. But still have solidarity with everyone struggling out there at the moment, from COVID to BLM, to Beirut, to Hong Kong and god knows what else out there that’s kept from us. Community is wealth, we’re all in this together.

AB: And how do you feel about it now?
Jake: I’m handling it well, I’m quite introverted so working from home and not having to cancel on plans anymore is great for me. I’ve been playing Ghost of Tsushima and eating out when I can to support my favourite restaurants in Manchester. So much dim sum being eaten.

AB: How did you experience the lockdown/still experiencing it? Did you miss anything from the fashion and lifestyle world or could you comfortably live without new clothes and sneakers? Did you actually enjoy a little detox?
Jake: I bought more in lockdown, having time to research and search out trainers and clothes I’ve been wanting was quite beneficial. I’m a massive Air Max 95 fan so I spent a lot of my time tracking down older pairs of those. What I am missing is the community aspect of this world, I miss walking into a pub knowing I’m gonna see my mates or getting to wear something other than a pair of ACG shorts with some Reebok Beatniks.

AB: With COVID behind, in the middle, and in front of us, how has your perception and the importance of fashion has changed for you personally? Are you more aware of what you are buying, or did you stop buying anything in particular?
Jake: Yeah, so I used to do this terrible thing where I bought a new set of 5 white t-shirts every month, just so they were always fresh and wasn’t looking a bit dated. However, it’s not a good way to live, is it? So I invested in a few decent high-quality white t-shirts, Uniqlo gang! Plus wearing them for a couple of days at a time instead of washing after one wear. It’s nothing big but it’s a start.

AB: How do you feel about the rest of the market? Do you think we will start to consume »better«, more sustainable, or less from now on?
Jake: I think so, I think people have had a really good chance to see what the world is like when we step back a bit and let it just breathe. Also reckon we’ll see less of fast fashion, people are starting to break the habits of needing stuff instantly. It’s all positives from where I’m sitting, I hope it carries on.

AB: What would you wish for the future of fashion to happen and become the »new normal«?
Jake: I hope Nike brings back the old Air Max 95 shape with the big bubbles, but joking aside I really hope we see people start to nail down their styles so they aren’t constantly buying new clothes. I’m not saying we need to become minimalists, but once you know who you are you start to build a wardrobe of essential pieces and that can only be a good thing for this world and fashion. Just keep doing you, believe in yourself, call your mums and spread love. That’s all I hope becomes the new normal.

Kirill Saratovskiy / Munich – @goldkettenmanni

Adrian Bianco: Hey Kirill, can you please, tell us a little bit about what you do and your connection to fashion and streetwear (consumer, in-business, collector, fan, and so on)?
Kirill Saratovskiy: Hi! My name is Kirill, I am 26 years old. My main job is marketing (concept creation, social media and project management) and on the side I am a DJ and bouncer in Munich’s nightlife. I used to work a lot in streetwear retail and that’s how I came to fashion. Since then I’ve been interested in the fashion bubble and I could well imagine working in the industry. I wouldn’t call myself a collector, but rather a consumer and fan. Besides music, streetwear and fashion gives me the opportunity to express myself.

AB: How did you experience the whole COVID situation? What was it like for your the last months?
Kirill: For me COVID was and still is a hard time. All the important gigs for 2020 have been cancelled. I also had a new permanent job in prospect, which didn’t work out either. All in all 2020 is a very big struggle concerning money and jobs.

AB: And how do you feel about it now?
Kirill: To be honest, I still have to hustle from month to month to figure out how I can pay my rent. I think that things are slowly getting better, but it will take a long time until you are in a stable situation again.

AB: How did you experience the lockdown/still experiencing it? Did you miss anything from the fashion and lifestyle world or could you comfortably live without new clothes and sneakers? Did you actually enjoy a little detox?
Kirill: For me the lockdown was unusual at the beginning, but you get used to it quickly. A lot of self-care happens, you have more time for things that you might not have done so often otherwise. In the fashion and lifestyle world I didn’t really miss anything. I was rather glad not to be bombarded with the latest stuff for a while. The lockdown made other topics more accessible to me. Things like cooking and sports for example. I also had to be very careful with fashion because of my own financial situation, so I didn’t really shop much during the lockdown. This detox did me a lot of good, but I can’t wait to shop again, haha.

AB: With COVID behind, in the middle, and in front of us, how has your perception and the importance of fashion has changed for you personally? Are you more aware of what you are buying, or did you stop buying anything in particular?
Kirill: I have always been a fan of timeless streetwear and fashion. I just don’t like to change my style and closet from season to season just because some things are »in« or »out«. For me this has always been nonsense. Of course, I buy hype stuff or transient things from time to time, but that happens very rarely. My closet consists almost exclusively of things that I could wear for a lifetime. And COVID just showed me even more that it is important to have a consistency in your own style and therefore not necessarily have to shop even during an extreme situation like a global pandemic, just because you hang at home or online 24/7. Therefore yes, through COVID I am even more conscious in my decisions whether I need certain clothes or not.

AB: How do you feel about the rest of the market? Do you think we will start to consume »better«, more sustainable, or less from now one?
Kirill: I don’t believe that people will consume »better« because of COVID. I’ve noticed from stores as well as from my immediate and wider environment that people just shop a lot more. I can understand that, people sit around at home, it is boring, you surf in online stores, sales all over the place, so you order. Maybe it’s some kind of »I reward myself now for following the COVID rules« or just classic consumerism. I think I’ve seen more »Latest Purchase« posts than usual during COVID on Instagram. Always with a twinkle in my eye regarding COVID shopping. Of course some people change their consumer behavior after this extreme situation, but first of all, in my opinion, they remain a minority and secondly, I could imagine that most of them do so because of current financial restrictions.

AB: What would you wish for the future of fashion to happen and become the »new normal«?
Kirill: I wish for more timelessness. More blue jeans and white teas. More grey crewnecks without a lot of frills. More NY Yankees fitted caps, generally more New York somehow. My absolute dream fashion world is somewhere between a lot of internet pop culture, Italo, Teddy Santis, Jacquemus and Adrian Bianco. Funny, classic, real, playful and technical. People should stop dressing up. It is so easy to look good no matter what budget you have. Watch more old movies, get inspired by them, it’s easy!

Maik Lojewski / Cologne – @maiklojewski

Adrian Bianco: Hey Maik, can you please, tell us a little bit about what you do and your connection to fashion and streetwear (consumer, in-business, collector, fan, and so on)?
Maik Lojewski: Hello Sensei ,hello HHV and thanks to the both of you for this opportunity. My Name is Maik Lojewski, I am from Cologne and I’ve been, somehow, involved in »fashion« and sneaker business for about 7 or 8 years now. Starting off as a collector a few years earlier, I eventually started working for a local shop and helped out at trade fairs and events on the weekends. Later on I quit my work in the social sector, for personal reasons, and moved to Cologne where I started working at the K’lekt marketplace. I got back into organizing events while helping out with the K’lektion in Frankfurt. After they took down the customer to customer marketplace, I felt that it was time to move on and started working on multiple projects while trying to figure out my position in this amazingly weird industry. I decided to do an apprenticeship as an event-salesman at the European Jazz Center in Cologne and meanwhile started my own project, @cellardoor_markets, with a main event-series, the Another Man’s Treasure, which is described easiest as a second hand and vintage flea market. The latest and biggest project so far, was a whole campaign for Reebok highlighting the AZ79 and Classic Leather Legacy with Lugatti & 9ine. I also do various events for different clients, content productions, mostly with @pangea, @kane or @sixnine. Also, for almost a year, I’ve been working for the Acribik Concept Store in Cologne, where I do marketing and event related things. I also consume garments (I have a big love for pants and jackets), footwear, films and magazines, books, too much social media and a superior amount of soft drinks.

AB: How did you experience the whole COVID situation? What was it like for you the last months?
Maik: I got into a new relationship in January and therefore had a lot of time to concentrate myself on that because there were, literally, no jobs and nothing to do. I started doing a lot of things I haven’t done in a long time, or never before, and started to enjoy things I almost forgot about. I gained a new perspective on a lot of aspects of life and had time to enjoy life indoors while talking or reading books, reflect and make plans for the future. Adapt to the new life. Luckily I got a state aid and had some money left from previous jobs. I didn’t buy much and got my lazy ass up to sort out my closet. I made some trades and raised a few paypal funds to buy other stuff.

AB: And how do you feel about it now?
Maik: I appreciate working and the outdoors to a whole new extent. A lot of new jobs rolled in and new future perspectives came up. Besides the fact that the world is going to hell in a bucket, I can say that I am happier than I’ve been in a decade.

AB: How did you experience the lockdown/still experiencing it? Did you miss anything from the fashion and lifestyle world or could you comfortably live without new clothes and sneakers? Did you actually enjoy a little detox?
Maik: I miss events and social gatherings a lot, also traveling for different occasions. As for the clothes, no detox for me, I’ve been buying loads of second hand clothes off the internet. I think a lot of people went through their racks and closets and made some space. I think it’s good to keep the garments inside the circle of buying and selling. As soon as you don’t wear something anymore, pass it on. I love the whole process of buying and selling, but also having different pieces in hand, even though they often end up not fitting or suiting me very well. A while ago I started taking pictures of personal pieces to sell them via @curatedbycellardoor. I love real life second hand shops and Instagram shops.

AB: With COVID behind, in the middle, and in front of us, how has your perception and the importance of fashion has changed for you personally? Are you more aware of what you are buying, or did you stop buying anything in particular?
Maik: I stopped consuming fast fashion products years ago and about two years ago I grew more aware of my own consumption and now I rarely buy anything on the first market. I still make too many exceptions though, because if I really want something, I usually find a way to get my hands on it or I just pass on it. There is so much nice stuff out there, that there is mostly no need to buy anything for resell. The market is big and diverse – your wardrobe should be the second, not the first.

AB: How do you feel about the rest of the market? Do you think we will start to consume »better«, more sustainable, or less from now on?
Maik: In my opinion, we can just hope for the whole Industry, and the rest of the global market, to adapt to our recent times and the growing global crisis in all its appearances.

AB: What would you wish for the future of fashion to happen and become the »new normal«?
Maik: A focus on craftsmanship and quality, sustainability and intend as well as fewer collections would be nice as a new normal in fashion. Buying and selling second hand should completely lose its stigma of being »poor-peoples clothes« and kids should not be bullied for them. The absence of fast fashion products and chains should become normal too. And it’s time to arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor!

Visual content: V.Raeter / Salome Schmuck / Jake Ivill / Kirill Saratovskiy / Maik Lojewski