Due to the corona pandemic: What will the business fashion of the future look like?
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- 02/01/2023
Due to the corona pandemic What will the business fashion of the future look like?
Has the corona pandemic influenced business fashion in the long term? Months of working from home has banned suits and chic costumes to the farthest corner of the wardrobe for many. Instead, loungewear developed into a real hype. "Corona has now greatly accelerated the easing of the dress code," agrees Alexander Davaroukas, one of the three founders of the made-to-measure clothing manufacturer Monokel Berlin. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, he reveals how the importance of business clothing has changed as a result of the pandemic and why "the line between office and leisure fashion is becoming increasingly blurred".
How has business attire changed due to the months of working from home during the pandemic?
Alexander Davaroukas: The corona pandemic raised the question: "Why do we dress differently in the office than in our everyday life outside of the office?" In many industries, shirts or blouses and suits or suits were considered the norm that simply wasn't questioned for a long time. Even those who had video conferences in the "pre-corona" home office naturally dressed appropriately for the dress code and thought nothing of sitting in their kitchen with tights and pumps or a tie and jacket. Corona has now greatly accelerated the easing of the dress code, which actually started much earlier.
Many are now questioning the dress code. Many find it uncomfortable to wear forced office clothes at home. But many people don't want to do without an appropriate wardrobe - and they shouldn't. Business attire also gives you a certain amount of psychological support. It supports and gives security and strength. So we cannot observe a complete abandonment of business attire. But what we are seeing is that people tend to wear what they feel like wearing.
This also includes a daring combination of colors and patterns, but also casual cuts and fabrics. We see here that workwear is increasingly merging with everyday clothing. But that doesn't mean that we all run around in joggers at once. Rather, the post-corona dress code is what we feel and what we simply want to wear on the day, combined with loose, comfortable cuts and fabrics, combined with pattern and color combinations according to our mood.
Do we now wear more it-pieces in the office that are also suitable for everyday use and more practical?
Davaroukas: Suitability for everyday use and practicality play a much more important role in the selection of our office clothing today. The boundaries between office and leisure fashion are blurring more and more, and accordingly the individual items of clothing have to meet several criteria. Blouse or shirt, cardigan and scarf are suddenly replaced by turtleneck sweaters that can get you through even the most conservative of spaces, but perform just as well on the playground or in the restaurant.
What is your advice for today's business woman and business man?
Davaroukas: To take a critical look at yourself and the wardrobe that goes with it and not to buy all self-proclaimed influencers seeming it-pieces that are worn three times, only to then realize that Photoshop and paid advertising don't go hand in hand Go hand in hand with personal style. No matter how well the algorithms know us by now.
We will never be free from external influences, but if you take a serious look at yourself and your wardrobe, it will be easier to dress for the day. That doesn't mean that you should just wear what's closest to you in the morning, but that you recognize the power of clothes and see them as an extension of your inner self. Clothing can help us change our mood, use the phone more confidently, leave the house more motivated and slip into desired roles. Stupid who doesn't use it.
Are there any absolute no-gos when it comes to business clothing?
Davaroukas: One of the best side effects of the pandemic is that "self-care" is now well known to everyone and is actually practiced and not just preached. I'm sure comfortable footwear is part of that and I'm delighted that post-restructuring Birkenstock is now recognized in even the most fashionable circles. But feet can and should be wrapped up at work.
It should go without saying that sweatpants are only meant to be found on the playing field, and the pajama set that gives its wearer the seriousness needed to compete in the workplace has yet to be invented. So the no-gos remain unchanged.
Men wearing a black jacket with a white poplin shirt, washed blue jeans and cognac-colored brogues should - no, have to - be sent home to change. The same goes for ladies who wore yoga pants or leggings at work with UGG boots.
What are the absolute evergreens when it comes to business clothing?
Davaroukas: A classic that has always worked and will always work is the OCBD shirt - the Oxford Cloth button-down shirt. The shirt was extremely popular in the USA until the 1960s. It can be easily combined with all kinds of parts - with a jacket or suit as well as with jeans or chinos. And if you can't part with your shirt even on vacation, you can even wear it with your swimming trunks.
The dark blue, single-breasted suit is also an evergreen and the perfect "dress-up, dress-down" piece of clothing - formal with a white shirt, tie and black oxfords or relaxed with a turtleneck sweater and sneakers or casual with a denim shirt or polo shirt and loafers. If you are clever when choosing the fabric, you can even wear the jacket on its own with jeans or chinos.
Whatever goes is raw selvedge blue jeans. Selvedge comes from self-edged. This represents the original selvage of the fabric, which was woven on shuttle looms up until the 1950's. Raw simply means that the jeans have no wash and are therefore much more formal.
The turtleneck sweater, which has always been a must in my wardrobe, is finally getting the recognition it deserves thanks to the home office. At the latest when you realize that all other participants in the conference are wearing their video and you are still sitting on the sofa in your nightshirt, you will appreciate his services. Both women and men suddenly look dressed, even if you haven't had time to put on your pants.
What will business clothing look like in the future and especially after Corona?
Davaroukas: A cross-industry elimination of all dress codes was not suddenly agreed. The suit remains the most important piece of clothing in a man's closet. It becomes even more important now that we're not stuck in the five-day-a-week suit. Something has changed in people: You can no longer hide behind the obligation to dress code and hand out your business cards in ill-fitting, outdated suits. Nowadays people think a lot more about what makes a good suit and what meaning it has for you.
In addition, men enjoy being able to draw from a similarly varied repertoire as women have been doing for a long time. Combine bright colors and patterns, use soft fabrics. Today we wear what we feel and what we want to express. We will not find a generic definition of workwear. The yoga teacher will continue to behave differently than the lawyer, and those who work in sales have different expectations of their clothes than those who work in the trades. But one thing is different today: the variations are wider and everything that is authentic is allowed.
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