The effects of the pandemic on the textile trade, in 'Current Command'

'Current Command' portrays the situation of the textile sector through the vision of merchants, consumers, businessmen, designers, photographers... The pandemic has punished the clothing trade. With more time at home and fewer celebrations, tracksuits and underwear have become a refuge. The textile industry closed 2020 with a 40% drop in sales and losses of more than 7,000 million euros. Other statistics ensure that half of Spaniards consider that now they need to buy less clothes than before.

Before Covid-19, our country dressed one in ten brides in the world. We were the second exporter of bridal fashion only behind China. Now, revenues have fallen by 90%, according to the sector. In Fuente Palmera, Córdoba, the so-called wedding town, 8,000 wedding dresses were distributed each year. Now there are hardly any people on the most commercial street and most of the shops are closed or open by appointment only.

Ana Caraballo, a dressmaker who has been sewing for 21 years, is in ERTE. She resists thanks to the few jobs that come out and the help of her children. Up to 800 wedding suits that have been suspended are accumulated in Manuel's warehouse. The one that sells the most now in the town is Lorena. She has a store with tracksuits, pajamas and loungewear.

Nuria Sardá is the creative director of the intimate fashion firm that was born with her father, Andrés Sardá, in 1962. Underwear sales have dropped by 20%, but her collapse has not been as pronounced as that of the sector textile in general. Nuria has had workers in ERTE and reduces costs by making collections with fewer garments. “We have stayed because people have opted for underwear. We are going through a time of low self-esteem, of anxiety and intimate fashion means that if you feel good on the inside, you feel good on the outside”.

In 2019, each Spaniard spent an average of 600 euros on clothes. In 2020, the expense was 450 euros per person. Most of the purchases have been made online. Online commerce grows. They confirm it in a logistics center in Guadalajara where dozens of cars full of garments accumulate, heading to different parts of Spain. They carry 30 different brands and claim that many companies have gone from selling 8% online to 30%.

Another novelty is that now we dress to not go anywhere. Víctor Blanco knows it well: he prepares outfits for models and singers like Ana Mena, only for them to post the photo on social networks. Without parades, the runway stays at home.