Fashion curator-turned-consultant Pamela Golbin is spending the mandatory stay-at-home time at a family home in the French countryside. While there, she’s been connecting with industry leaders from designers and editors to CEOs of major European fashion houses to discuss the direction the global pandemic is taking the fashion industry. And while there is no definitive answer at this moment, Golbin encourages us to “trust the future” as history proves that crisis leads to innovation.

Thank you, Pamela for your time today. How is going for you?

I’m grateful to be here in a tiny village. I’m a city girl so I am learning about the countryside. Being fluid and open to new things is the mantra right now. These are unprecedented times. It feels surreal, like an episode of Twin Peaks.

As a fashion curator, does what is happening now in fashion remind you of anything?

History shows that fashion innovates in times of crisis because it accelerates change by appropriating the Zeitgeist of the period. As a visual language, fashion has the power and ability to translate how we feel about ourselves and each other at a given moment.

If we look back to wars, revolutions and other moments of crisis during the 17^th, 18^th, 19^th Centuries, fashion was always there to accompany us, but also to inspire change.

In the middle of this crisis, fashion designers are working hard to translate and process what we need today with an incredible ability to use events for inspiration. What touches the moment may become a trend seen in the coming months.

Recently fashion has wanted to make changes; embracing sustainability or in presenting collections. What will those corrections be? Humans don’t like change so it’s all about incremental moves. Faced with a challenge, creative solutions and change are more accepted and accelerated with the most adequate propositions becoming the new norm.

What can history teach us the most right now?

Trust the Future. Change in the industry can be structural, creative, technical or social. What is exceptional during this pandemic compared with history is that rarely have things happened all at the same time. Our value chain has all been completely transformed in two  months.

During World War II, the Paris houses convinced the government to stay open because these houses employed thousands of people and closing them would have caused the economic downfall for a large portion of the population. The Chambre Syndicale even convinced the Germans why it was important to keep fashion in Paris.

The war forced ateliers to come up with creative solutions in response to fabric restrictions. Designers thought differently about deploying materials to give an illusion of more fabric. Even women sewing at home did this.

Will home upcycling return?

A real difference to the 1940s was that women knew how to sew. Today, those skills aren’t universal, and consumption has radically changed as design became more accessible. Do we continue to consume that same quantity, or do we change? Those are questions up there at the top of the list now. People confined in their homes are spring cleaning and rediscovering things they forgot about. Everyone has too many things. You ask yourself, what is it that I actually need? I hope that people begin to prioritize. Discarded items can end up on eBay, TheRealReal, or Rent the Runway, which proved people are willing to shop second-hand and accept recycling.

But where does that leave designers if we are recycling and renting clothes?

Fashion is about newness and change. After you prioritize, you ask, how many skirts do I actually need? There will be always be a piece that warrants a purchase. It’s about the innovation. The choice is not just about clothes but embracing a lifestyle and vision. It’s about where and with whom we wear it. It addresses a whole cultural eco-system.

On some level, the fashion industry was poised to react quickly as we are about change.

Yes, you are probably right. But then comes the reality of a system that was being strained on all levels. Some were already on the brink of bankruptcy. Zac Posen and Barneys both closed. The whole system was coming to a close.

How else can a crisis affect change in the fashion industry?

Licensing was an innovation first put forth by Elsa Schiaparelli during WWII, which sustained her business, followed by Dior. Pierre Cardin took it to the next level.

Fashion houses then had to develop income streams for difficult times. During the 1980s, fashion houses were buying back their licenses and shifting in-house again; thus, the start of large fashion groups such as LVMH and Kering (formerly PPR). After the 1987 crash and the Gulf War, we saw a major shift in control and the growth of stand-alone boutiques which allowed a creative shift. Ready-to-wear exploded because the Middle Eastern clients didn’t come to Couture during the Gulf War. That crisis really transformed the industry.

Can you see something coming  from this the way the other eras brought changes?

The only thing that I am certain of is that we will always be surprised – whatever you think will happen, won’t. Who would have thought in this era of smartphones, airdrops, WeTransfers and Zoom calls….that we would be making masks out of old bandanas?

Regarding sustainability, most companies have started to look at becoming more proactive, including Kering, for example, which is looking at the entire production chain. H&M started to recycle clothes if you brought them back. This will be accelerated.

Another theme is connectable fabrics or intelligent fabrics such as Jacquard by Google which makes fabrics and materials connectable by replacing features on smart phones into clothes and shoes. It’s named for the fabric technique invented by an 18^th century Frenchman whose punch-card system became the footprint for computer language when IBM developed it in the 20^th century.

Is this the moment to use this technology in a health-oriented way? Could these fabrics tell us our temperature or call the doctor? The bridge with fashion and tech was just starting to take place.

What is fashion’s significance and role in the midst of the pandemic?

Fashion is imbedded in our everyday lives, but many people think it’s a frivolous pastime. It’s anything but frivolous. It’s provided solutions; technical, social, structural or creative. Fashion brings together an artistic, innovative and commercial proposition.

It’s also extremely emotional. It’s about who we are and helps us create our identity as a powerful tool. It helps to feel better on a daily basis; my identity is still here. In times when people are very scared for a myriad of reasons and all extremely valid, fashion reassures us. People want assurance during uncertain times. Things such as new shoes, lipsticks, or using your favorite perfume can help you stay positive.

What should we all be doing at this moment?

I think it’s a moment to embrace and to put your priorities in place. What do you want? How many times in the course of our careers have we longed for the time to pursue something but there is always a reason not to? This is it; this is the moment. For those stuck in quarantine, rarely has anyone had this time to be transformative, cherish it.

Coronavirus may be blamed, but the system needed to change. What else needs to change right now?

The distribution channels need to change. Fashion shows are an important conversation as we aren’t gathering 1,500 people in a room anytime soon. Armani led the charge for a new way of showing. The paradigm shift is already on its way but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each house has a different rapport with their consumers and buyers and press.

Fashion shows have taken on not only the function of the client and media but bringing in a social media context that wasn’t present until recently. They were media and industry-related professional appointments, and it exploded into a spectacle to provide marketing content for the brands’ channels. Will it go back to basics, ie. fashion shows meant for professionals, and social media for other things?

What advice can you give designers and other players in the industry that are concerned about fashion’s place in a newly transformed society?

Fashion isn’t just about clothes; it’s about design, music, and architecture and the clothes we wear are just a part of the conversation of who we are. Things will resume slowly and to some extent,  fashion is good about going through processes better than other industries. Looking at the historical context, the one takeaway is to please trust the future. Like the phoenix, fashion takes us through difficult times. One thing I am sure of, the magic will come back.