In March 2020, the coronavirus crisis hit the fashion industry with unexpected force. Store closures and declining consumer sentiment – even in online retail – led to sharp drops in sales and unsold goods. Without further ado, large textile discounters, in particular, cancelled orders from their production partners on a large scale, risking factory closures and mass unemployment among garment workers due to a lack of labor protection laws in many production countries. At the same time, many discounters prematurely went on sale, or allegedly even dumped unsold goods. (Source: Global Citizen)

Unthinkable for a fairly produced fashion company, unthinkable given our high quality standards and relatively low profit margins.

With the #FairFashionSolidarity alliance, we therefore made a spontaneous call in March to act together within the slow fashion industry and to show solidarity with our competitors and partners across the entire supply chain.

Back to normal as quickly as possible? We hope not, because "normal" currently stands for fast and very unfair fashion. In times of fast fashion, trends move ever more quickly from the catwalk directly to discount textile stores. Short-lived designs are gaining the upper hand, while planning cycles have shortened from the traditional 12 months to three months. The effect: high procurement risks for brands and considerable pressure on suppliers and producers. (Source:Christliche Initiative Romero e.V.)

We can thankfully and cautiously conclude for LANIUS that not only did sales of the spring and autumn collections go unexpectedly well during the crisis – for which we are truly grateful to you! – but we are also delighted to see loyal customers in the current order season for spring who believe in our slow fashion philosophy. This encourages us to stick to our principles for collection design.

Making only two collections a year has certainly proven itself during this time, because the supply chains are much less fragile due to a slower pace.