Formalwear retailers across the board \u2013 from high street to bespoke tailoring businesses \u2013 have all felt the hit, but there\u2019s a cautious air of optimism in the air across the sector,<\/strong> especially since the roadmap out of lockdown has now been released. It\u2019s even been reported that some wedding venues are already fully booked until the end of 2022, and that area alone will give a massive shot in the arm to the suffering suit sector.<\/p>\n We talk to some familiar industry figures who largely ply their trade in the formalwear market to get their take on what to expect going forward.<\/p>\n Since last year people obviously haven\u2019t been wearing suits, everybody has gone very casual and people are even doing their Zoom calls in their casualwear. They probably need to up their game when doing presentations on Zoom!<\/p>\n I think the suit market is going to stay quiet until things open up, but hopefully with the vaccine roll out things will open up sooner rather than later, and certainly by August\/September time.<\/p>\n I think we\u2019re going to have a \u2018roaring 20\u2019s\u2019 effect and business is going to boom. With weddings, functions and events on hold last year, when things open up again I really believe business is going to skyrocket.<\/p>\n I know there\u2019s this negativity with some people saying they\u2019re not wearing suits anymore, and some retailers are going to move away from selling suits, but I think that\u2019s probably a mistake.<\/p>\n Weddings are a big part of our formalwear business, so when they are back on properly then I think we\u2019ll be inundated. Also, they\u2019ll be so many functions that have been put off from last year. I don\u2019t only think there\u2019s a light at the end of the tunnel, I think there\u2019s a big spotlight at the end of it.<\/p>\n Also, I know people are saying that they\u2019re going to continue to work from home, but the people I\u2019ve been talking to want a bit of a mixture \u2013 say three days in the office and two days at home. I do think people will want to get back in their offices though, and will want to start dressing up again.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit like a policeman or an army officer, when you put a suit on it gives you that little bit of an edge and, with business generally being bad across the board for the last year, I think people will want that little bit of an advantage and that edge that wearing a suit gives you.<\/p>\n Sales of formalwear have unsurprisingly been disastrous over the last year, and it will take a while to come back, but I\u2019m confident that it will come back.<\/p>\n Sales on our website have been off the Richter scale, mainly on our casualwear offer, and we\u2019ve still been doing Zoom calls with customers we already have measurements for. We\u2019ve had to adapt what we\u2019re selling because before the pandemic it was about 80\/20 suits to casual, but now it\u2019s more like 80\/20 casualwear against suits, and has been for the last year. Going forward I think sales of suits will improve and casualwear is here to stay. They\u2019ll be more of a balance. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Mark Powell<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019m lucky in that I\u2019ve very much got my specific type of clients. When we came out of the lockdown in the summer, we actually had quite a good time for the period we were open. There were some weddings, but not many. I think they\u2019ll be more this year. Weddings are a part of my bread-and-butter business, so they are important. I think we will do good business in the summer on the wedding side, as a lot of people that wanted to get married last year will do it this year instead.<\/p>\n I think, because a lot of my clients are into what I do and my style, they\u2019ve still be coming to me for new clothing throughout this tough period. I\u2019ve also been spending a lot more time and money building the website, so we\u2019ve selling a bit online \u2013 a lot more than we ever did. We never used to sell suits online, it was always more shirts, but we have actually been selling some ready-to-wear suits too, which is a good sign.<\/p>\n Everything was difficult last year for everybody selling formalwear, but I\u2019m not quite the same as say the Savile Row businesses, which I think have been impacted more as they rely a lot on overseas business, especially from Americans visiting London. That\u2019s not an essential part of my business.<\/p>\n Also, I did do a reduction of 30% on all my bespoke suits for a set period when we weren\u2019t in lockdown. We were literally taking bespoke orders right up until last thing on 19 December, when we had to close as London went in to Tier 4 restrictions from 20 December. It really helped to pull in business, and it also kept all my workers happy as well. My thinking was, if I\u2019m doing the volume then I can still make a decent enough margin. It also kept me active and stimulated. Additionally, I got my latest ready-to-wear collection in a lot later than normal, and we did really well with that in late November and early December.<\/p>\n Currently I\u2019m getting the new shop ready to go at 10 Newburgh Street for when we can reopen for business mid-April. It\u2019s a different space and layout to my previous shop round the corner on Marshall Street, so I\u2019m doing the ground floor as more like a bespoke showroom with the ready to wear stock predominantly downstairs. Obviously, we also offer made-to-measure.<\/p>\n I\u2019m actually quietly confident going forward, especially as I\u2019ve now got the new shop and regular clients who\u2019ve made it known that they want to come down and support what I do.<\/p>\n It makes total sense that people are going to want to get dressed up again after dressing down for so long, and I think there will be a feelgood factor. Also, going in to the autumn a lot of events will hopefully be back on which could be good for business too. I\u2019m sure people will really want to start going out again as a backlash against this dreadful last year.<\/p>\n David Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n I unfortunately caught Covid-19 and ended up with a kidney infection and was subsequently out of action for the whole of January. Thankfully, I am getting over it now and I\u2019m back on my bike, though obviously the shop is still shut and there\u2019s plenty of stock sitting in there!<\/p>\n Formalwear is 60%\u00a0of my business, so as a result of the pandemic 60% of my stock is currently redundant. I have not bought any suits or smart jackets for SS21, and nothing for AW21 either. I\u2019m thinking it will realistically be at least\u00a0another year before events make a proper come back, so I am hoping for a good hot summer to move last year\u2019s carry over stock. I also took advantage of some deals and topped\u00a0up casual product rather than buy new collections for this spring.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s going to be a really hard year trading with no real events, so buying forward\u00a0again I am treading very carefully. I am also sat on a lot of outerwear and knitwear, which again\u00a0will have to wait until AW21 to be brought out. I have decided to use brands with a good never out of stock service so I can fill in when needed.<\/p>\n Regarding the formalwear hire side of the business, I stopped doing wedding suit hire a while ago as people seemed to be wanting to buy more individual outfits instead. Moving forward, we will now only be doing hire for black tie events when they are finally back on.<\/p>\n Oliver Spencer<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s my belief that when we do come out of this very difficult time people are going to want to go out and celebrate. Whether it\u2019s for a\u00a0birthday or a wedding, people are going to want to go out, have a drink and have some fun. Dressing up will become more theatrical, which is why the Netflix series Bridgerton<\/em> has proved such a\u00a0success. People are looking forward to being extravagant again.\u00a0I do believe that it is going to make a big\u00a0difference for sales\u00a0post-Covid. We\u2019re just refitting our Piccadilly Arcade store in preparation.<\/p>\n During the lockdown, formalwear sales\u00a0have been very challenging.\u00a0The situation has unfortunately delivered a mindset that celebrating and dressing up is not worth\u00a0doing, and sales have not dramatically shifted to our online business. People don\u2019t tend to dress up for parties online!\u00a0They\u00a0want to come\u00a0into a store, try things on and invest for that special\u00a0occasion. For Favourbrook, 9\/10 people want to come in to have that\u00a0garment tailored so it fits\u00a0properly for an occasion.<\/p>\n I\u00a0do not believe that working from home will become the norm. That\u2019s fundamentally flawed.\u00a0Especially in creative industries as it\u2019s impossible to do your work from home, and\u00a0I think that\u00a0people will run out of the house when\u00a0they are given the chance!<\/p>\n Gregor Thissen<\/p><\/div>\n It is indeed quite likely that once restrictions are lifted and travel can resume, people will feel an irresistible urge to make up for the time \u2018lost\u2019 during the various lockdowns. Of course, a lot depends on how and how fast we will get out of the crisis, but if things go remotely to plan then we should soon see events that were cancelled or postponed quickly rescheduled, and every occasion to meet and socially interact will be welcome. This could lead to a phenomenon comparable to the \u2018roaring 20\u2019s\u2019 of the last century. In that case, smart dressing and formalwear will be part of the journey. We could indeed see a boom in sales of these items towards the second half of this year.<\/p>\n Throughout the industry, formalwear sales will have been affected differently depending on the sector you are looking at. According to our information, companies will have their seen their 2020 formalwear sales down between 30% to 60% compared to 2019. Thankfully, luxury and made-to-measure, which is Scabal\u2019s market segment, have been more resilient. But, overall, the impact on the clothing industry, and formalwear in particular, has been very significant.<\/p>\n Due to the very nature of the made-to-measure business and our positioning in the premium and luxury sectors, the scope for shift to online business has been quite limited. That being said, we have noticed that the intimate relationship between our customers and their clientele has helped them to remain in close touch and to maintain some level of physical business - even throughout the various lockdowns. We have also started to develop so called \u2018phygital\u2019 solutions for our customers, so there\u2019s a continuous interaction.<\/p>\n Will people want to dress up again after dressing down for so long? Well, this is of course the million-dollar question. Our assumption is that, yes, people will certainly be very happy to get out of their eternal jogging pants and \u2018Zoom outfits\u2019 and start to dress more smartly. However, we also believe that smart casual and formal will undergo some changes. People will want to perpetuate part of the comfort and \u2018lounge\u2019 feeling that they have come to appreciate during the long periods of home working and confinement. This should give rise to new opportunities for designers and product managers to reinvent style and functionality of formal and smart casual outfits.<\/p>\n It is likely that\u00a0home working will remain a part of our new reality, but we also believe that it will not be the only form of work in the future. Employees and employers will equally feel that social interaction at the place of work, and the need to cement corporate culture, are a necessity. Therefore, physical presence at the place of work will return. In general, we will probably see more flexibility and mobility in terms of where the work is performed. In terms of clothing codes at the workplace, it is likely that the relaxation of dressing, that was already taking place before the Covid-19 crisis, will continue and probably be amplified. But, like with any trend, it will probably create a cyclical counter-movement that should see a return of the suit as a means to distinguish yourself.<\/p>\n Simon Carter<\/p><\/div>\n There will be two years of weddings, parties and anniversaries to catch up on and so I think there will be a spike in formalwear sales as a result. My shirts are a bridge between \u2018traditional\u2019 formalwear and more modern business dress, but still require an occasion to wear. So, for the first six months sales were very badly hit. As the end now looms into view, sales have picked up considerably, which is encouraging.<\/p>\n Given that you don\u2019t \u2018need\u2019 a Simon Carter shirt if you\u2019ve nowhere to go, then the migration to online has not taken up all the slack of five stores being closed. Nonetheless, we have grown sales, and had our busiest month ever online in November, 2020. We also started 2021 well with January sales up 98%.<\/p>\n Smart jackets have been dormant too, though we are buying extensively for Q4 - in patterned velvet from Pontoglio - as we anticipate a very festive and \u2018dressy-up\u2019 Christmas.<\/p>\n I definitely think that people will want to dress up again after dressing down for so long. There\u2019s a sense of \u2018fleece fatigue\u2019 that\u2019s really prevalent and I am predicting a strong reaction once people can go out again.<\/p>\n I believe that flexible working will be the new norm, and that there will be a meld of home and office for many people. They will want to mark that delineation with different sets of clothing. Also, the recession is likely to continue for some time post Covid-19, and workers may very well want to appear that they are taking the office and their jobs more seriously by dressing smarter.<\/p>\nLouis Copeland,<\/strong> CEO, Louis Copeland & Sons, Dublin, Cork and Galway (pictured above)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"I think we\u2019re going to have a \u2018roaring 20\u2019s\u2019 effect and business is going to boom. With weddings, functions and events on hold last year, when things open up again I really believe business is going to skyrocket.\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/wp-content\/uploads\/MARK-POWELL-PORTRAIT-PIC.jpg\")
<\/a>Mark Powell, Tailor and Designer, Mark Powell Bespoke Tailoring<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"It makes total sense that people are going to want to get dressed up again after dressing down for so long, and I think there will be a feelgood factor.\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/a>David Johnson, Owner, John Douglas, Macclesfield<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"I\u2019m thinking it will realistically be at least\u00a0another year before events make a proper come back, so I am hoping for a good hot summer to move last year\u2019s carry over stock.\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/a>Oliver Spencer, Founder and Creative Director, Favourbrook and Oliver Spencer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"In creative industries, it\u2019s impossible to do your work from home, and\u00a0I think that\u00a0people will run out of the house when\u00a0they are given the chance!\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/a>Gregor Thissen, Executive Chairman, Scabal<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"Our assumption is that, yes, people will certainly be very happy to get out of their eternal jogging pants and \u2018Zoom outfits\u2019 and start to dress more smartly.\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/a>Simon Carter, Founder and CEO, Simon Carter<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"I definitely think that people will want to dress up again after dressing down for so long. There\u2019s a sense of \u2018fleece fatigue\u2019 that\u2019s really prevalent.\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n