Second Covid wave dashes hopes of fashion industry for biz revival in UP's Prayagraj

PRAYAGRAJ: The second wave of Covid-19 and curfew have hit the fashion industry very hard and local designers in Sangam city fear uncertainty in future.
Uncertainty looms large like never before on designers and tailors as the pandemic has put couture business in danger zone.
City based fashion designer Shirin Ali says, “We are facing uncertainty as our sales have dipped to a major extent. Customers are not coming due to curfew. This is the second Eid season in which all our expectations of doing good business have been hit. We have been facing losses for the past two years.”
“The trend of online shopping has also become popular and has dented our business to a major extent,” Ali added.
“Gone are the days when customers used to carry their decades-old Baranasi sarees to designers and asked us to design latest outfits from them,” recalls Ali, adding “The timing of both the first and second corona wave has hit us and snatched our business in two consecutive festive seasons.”
“The business had revived well by February and we were hopeful of our sales increasing further in the marriage and festive season, but now it is difficult to say if there would be any business recovery this year,” said Aditi, another fashion designer.
“We also offer online shopping but customers prefer buying from big e-commerce sites as they get exchange facilities,” she added.
The local designers say queries for orders and bookings had started coming in March but the second wave hit the wedding season first and now the Eid one also.
The owner of a showroom trader at Civil Lines said, “No one knows when this situation will improve and when our business will revive.”
The pandemic has changed the lifestyle and priorities, and spending money on fashion and luxury is now unconvincing for many.