Covid-19’s impact on fashion this London Fashion Week
Women’s tailoring company uses Covid-19 as inspiration for their collection
Last updated 18th Feb 2022
London Fashion Week kicks off this week, and Coronavirus has had a huge impact on the fashion industry and designer’s work.
Female tailoring company Banshee of Savile Row has used Covid-19 as inspiration for their collection show on Saturday.
Founders and couple Ruby Slevin and Rocco Tullio tell us the pandemic has affected the fashion industry, but it’s not all negative.
Covid’s impact on fashion
Alongside being the inspiration for Banshee’s collection, the pandemic has also impacted the fashion industry on a wider scale.
The London Street Savile Row is known for its bespoke tailoring and suits.
But since Covid-19 hit, some shops on the street have designed bespoke loungewear and pyjamas in response to pandemic fashion and working from home.
Rocco tells us, “Typical business suits are becoming less and less common, people want to have fun with colour and expression.”
He adds, “Covid has had a huge impact. People have had time to go through their wardrobe and really having a cold hard look at what they love. I think people are more open to maintaining their clothes rather than having throwaway fashion.”
Ruby says it’s better to have less quantity but greater quality, a streamlined wardrobe.
She tells us, “It seems people are more inclined to make more conscious choices, save up for a garment rather than have everything at once or a whole new wardrobe.
“Else clothes sit there, and you can end up having so many that you don’t know how to put an outfit together.
“More people are learning a streamlined wardrobe of quality clothes makes life easy and can last a lifetime.”
Sustainability Movement
Passionate about working ethically in support of slow fashion, Banshee uses sustainable fabric and believe the pandemic is pushing others in the right direction.
“People have become more discerning about what they wear, more aware of some of the impact that fast fashion has”, Rocco says.
He adds, “The pandemic has raised awareness around sustainability and it’s great London Fashion Week are bringing this more to the forefront.
“There’s a change in trend, it’s only recently they have brought in direct-to-consumer brands like ours.”
Ruby tells us, “This movement needs to continue for change. These collections that use extra stock that winds us in landfill needs to be a thing of the past to minimise the impact on the environment.”
They are encouraging people to think about having less, consider before investing, alongside loving, and looking after what we purchase.
“Garments can be repaired if something breaks, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of its life”, Ruby says.
“There needs to be a change of attitude towards producing and manufacturing, there’s a way of doing it without winding up in landfill.
“Sustainability and less green washing are a huge thing and fashion brands are definitely moving in that direction, there’s a long way to go.”
The Company and Collection
Banshee of Savile Row is a bespoke female tailors situated in Mayfair.
Founded and designed by Ruby and Rocco, they pride themselves on precise tailoring with artistic aesthetic.
The couple are the first female tailors on Savile row to be on the official schedule at this year’s London Fashion Week.
Titled ‘Return to Glamour’, the London Fashion Week collection centres around breaking free of the claustrophobia experienced due to the pandemic.
Stepping back into dressing up and celebrating freedom after going through multiple lockdowns.
Ruby tells us “We’ve used lots of vibrant, bold colours and textures. The garments were conceived as a way of breaking free, empowering woman with confidence and sense of fun.”
They used the time in Lockdown as an opportunity to start building ideas using the thousands of fabrics clients can choose from.
Rocco tells us “Just through searching they jump out at you; we become obsessed with the fabric and start playing with what we can do with it. It always starts with the fabric.
He adds, “With bespoke, we’re designing for an individual. Each piece has a mood and reflects who the person is. It’s amplifying who they are, it’s a form of self-expression.”
Where it began
The Irish Italian married couple Ruby Slevin and Rocco Tullio launched Banshee of Savile Row in 2019.
Ruby studied fashion design in Dublin and Rocco studied fine art in Italy, they have been family friends since childhood but became a couple when reuniting in Ireland.
Ruby tells us, “We set up the business using our house deposit money as funding. It was a big risk but if we didn’t, we would always wonder, what if?”
Rocco adds, “It would’ve always hung over us if we just played it safe, and we love working together”.
Passionate about women embracing power, curiosity, and freedom, the company is named Banshee.
Traditionally it’s a story of a woman who wails when predicting death, using the term for a woman can be used as a putdown.
“We want all women to scream and be heard, and embrace change that is yet to come”, Ruby says.
“We’re so excited we’ve been pinching ourselves since being told we’re on the official schedule.”