‘Unprecedented times’ is the slogan of the decade that we are all growing to hate. However, there is no denying that the stark impact COVID has had on many businesses will direct business development strategies for the next several years.

Before 2020, the beauty industry was booming at an astronomical rate, worth just over $530 billion worldwide*. A sign of the times, beauty grew in the ever-evolving social media climate with an increasing availability to know about the latest products and trends quicker than ever before, as well a growing consumer base that is more educated to beauty products in comparison to earlier decades. Trade secrets, such as strobing and contouring which were kept backstage, or at a rate $30 in a book by Kevyn Aucoin, are now available at our fingertips, willing us to endless buy more and explore more beauty.

Beauty now is keeping yourself and your mind healthy in these ‘unprecedented times’.

However, during the pandemic, many of us have witnessed a particular shift on Instagram, and among influencers who live there. While our feeds were once a welcomed daydream of images for inspiration and aspiration, life became so suddenly real and the images and accounts that had been telling us to ‘buy this and that’ quickly became frivolous and meaningless. Influencing, which had been a significant component to beauty’s boom, fell. As 2020 has gone on, movements for justice, such as BLM and political discourse across the world, have been hinged on the use of Instagram and social media to spread the word. Ultimately, developing more of our feeds to become a platform for good, rather than comparison and e-commerce.

So as far as beauty has been concerned, with many of our beauty regimes, such as getting our hair done, suddenly banned due to lockdown, beauty in 2020 has gone on to become less of a need to change your look to fit in, and instead become about survival. Beauty now is keeping yourself and your mind healthy in these ‘unprecedented times’.

With such a dynamic shift in the industry beauty and in such a short time, we spoke to Emma Chiu, Global Director at Wunderman Thompson Intelligence. What should we expect from this once booming industry, and whether the movement towards self-care is here to stay or a function of the moment to keep an industry that once depended on comparison to stay alive?

Emma and her team analyze the many habits of shoppers, alongside popular culture, and the general zeitgeist to collaborate with brands to make them ‘future-proof. They ‘distil the cultural landscape’ to see how this implicates a brands perception in the public-eye and how always to stay afloat no matter how life changes. As their slogan on their website states, they ‘Find Value in the 2020 reset.”

Looking back at 2019, for example, a particular insight Emma had seen in the beauty industry before the impact of COVID was paying close attention to digital innovation in the beauty industry.

Click Here to Read The Full Article in Voir Fashion Issue 26 The Re-Issue

Words and Interview by Hayley Barnes, Design by Kate Bull

The post How COVID Changed the Beauty Boom appeared first on Voir Fashion.

William Diep is a powerhouse. How many sixteen-year-olds do you know who, due to the blasé attitude of their country’s current president, have taken matters into their own hands by creating an online anti-racism movement in the midst of a global pandemic? I now know one – and he’s great. 

Following a series of videos that emerged online back at the beginning of the frustratingly long Black Mirror episode that is 2020, showing a number of Asian-American people in incredibly compromising situations involving physical and verbal abuse; William saw a pattern that he couldn’t stand for. In fact, he even saw it at school, when one day in February, a classmate claimed the “Kung-Fu” or “Ling-ling” virus was brought to America by people of Asian descent. “It was completely abusive, derogatory and offensive to the Asian-American community. The fact that I may get attacked because people look at me and think I may have brought the virus here is completely false.” Following this, alongside President Trump’s failure to address these issues; William ultimately felt he had no choice but to launch his student-led Instagram campaign: Virus: Racism.

You only have to Google ‘coronavirus racism’ and the results span across the entire world. From French-Asian people hitting back at coronavirus racists, proclaiming  “I Am Not a Virus” in a viral YouTube video; to the American media company Ad Council’s ‘fight the virus, fight the bias’ advertisements; to the Hackney volunteer crowdfunding his campaign ‘End the Virus of Racism’ – it seems every country is inhabited by people who have been affected by Covid-19-fuelled racism and xenophobia. Even in its more subtle forms, virus racism is present everywhere. At the beginning of the outbreak, Twitter was awash with outraged people of Asian heritage telling their stories: how strangers had shuffled a couple of inches away from them on public transport, how people had pulled their clothing up over their faces when passing them in the street; how they’d noticed people staring and whispering. A friend of mine frequents a nail salon owned by a Vietnamese family, who told her a couple of weeks before Britain went into lockdown that they’d noticed a significant lack of customers as reports of the virus became higher; which they believed was fundamentally due to their heritage.

And the complete lack of logic behind the abuse William’s community have faced throughout the pandemic does not make the situation any easier to deal with, he tells me. While the virus is by no means the only example of stereotypes and racist attitudes towards Asian-Americans, it has certainly accelerated it. “People now associate Covid-19 with ‘dirty’ and ‘Asian’,” William explains. “Beforehand, in America and around the world, there was a stereotype that Asians were dirty and disgusting, that they only carried viruses and filth, and that is just not ok,” he continues. “That stigma strikes us so hard and affects us so deeply, in how we interact with others and how we can progress as people.” Back in March, a report by the Stop AAPI Hate initiative in America stated that 61% of victims of reported incidents of Coronavirus discrimination were not even of Chinese descent; further amplifying the complete lack of rationality behind this string of hideous attacks. 

Virus: Racism’s first post was a hard-hitting video of William, telling the camera exactly why the campaign was needed: “I love my culture, and I want to stay loving my culture. But being an Asian-American in a country with high rates of xenophobia, racism, and hatred because of COVID-19 — it’s hard to do so.” Since then, more and more posts have been published to the campaign’s Instagram page @virusracism, in which countless other Asian-American people tell their stories and share vital information about their cause; with William and other campaign members also holding regular Instagram Live discussions.

“Trump addressed none of the disparities or the discrimination and that just immediately fuelled my anger even more.”

William Diep

Whilst the Virus: Racism campaign has built a community of supporters of all ages and backgrounds, it has ultimately been hindered by a certain powerful figure who only further perpetuates racism towards the Asian-American community: in his unconcerned approach to the issue and by publicly referring to Covid-19 as “The Chinese Virus”. At this point, most people have learnt not to expect particularly well-articulated speeches from the president, but for William, this really took the biscuit in terms of Trump’s consistent tendency to put his foot in his mouth. “Trump addressed none of the disparities or the discrimination and that just immediately fuelled my anger even more. If our own president doesn’t recognise racism and xenophobia, what does that say about us?” Or rather, what does that mean for the thousands of Asian-Americans who don’t even feel safe enough to leave their houses? “[I saw] more and more videos of people being hurt,” William says. “I saw them being attacked on the New York City Subway, I saw them being told they need to ‘get clean’; being harassed, attacked and abused on the street. It really took a toll on me.”

Click Here to Read The Full Article in Voir Fashion Issue 26 The Re-Issue

Interview and words by Pippa Simonds, Graphic by Millie Pollok

The post The Pandemic Nobody is Talking About appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Browse our vibe guide to see some of the ways you can say good riddance to 2020!    

VIBE: COSY AND COMFORTABLE

After a year as draining as this, we all need a break. Spend the last day of 2020 by pampering yourself and doing exactly what you want. Wear your fluffy socks, light the scented candles, switch on the fairy lights and snuggle up on the sofa with your favourite chunky blanket. With all the build up to Christmas, come the New Year it’s not hard to feel exhausted or, worse, feeling low and anti-climactic. Dedicate the day to nothing but making yourself feel good. Whether this is eating your heart out with sweet treats or binge watching your favourite series, the only tip here is to simply enjoy yourself.  

VIBE: CULTURED CUISINE

Go out with a bang this New Year’s Eve and pop open the prosecco, a bottle of pop, or your favourite non-alcoholic alternative! No good celebration is complete without lavish food and bubbling drink. On the final day of the year, forget the calorie count, put on your chef’s hat, and eat like a royal. Spend the day baking, making and indulging your senses: brunch, lunch, dinner, supper and everything in-between. If you’re lucky to live in a household of foodies, why not get adventurous and play dish roulette: each person preparing a dish from a different cuisine or course.           

VIBE: THE ROARING TWENTIES

We all hoped that 2020 would be our contemporary Roaring Twenties, and oh how we were disappointed. It’s only fitting, therefore, that we celebrate the end of year with a Gatsby inspired night: grandiose, glam, glitz. Party the night away and dress to impress: dust off your favourite outfit, swap your slippers for dancing shoes, and spend the evening whirling away from all of your problems. Or, for a truly 2020 take, buy some boujee pyjamas and give our new best friend ‘leisurewear’ an ultra-luxe makeover. As with any Gatsby celebration, a steady flow of drink is a must, so why not use the evening to perfect your cocktail making and experiment with taste! Buy some gorgeous Champagne saucers to accompany your drinks and sip the night away in style.

VIBE: RELAXED AND REFLECTIVE

Take a breath. Allow your mind some space, give it some time to catch up and process the year. The next day is a fresh start: a new year, 12 more shiny months to navigate and make your own. Perhaps spend a few moments writing down some goals for the following year; or perhaps don’t. Perhaps spend a few moments writing down your favourite memories and things which have made you happy in the past year; or perhaps don’t. Despite consumerism telling us the New Year is a time for change and improvement, it is not. Remove that pressure from yourself because, in all honesty, it is not worth it. Take the opportunity instead to give yourself some time and attention and connect with your inner peace. 

VIBE: OLD SCHOOL

Turn up the music, turn down the lights and bring out the party food and fizzy pop. Remember when the school disco was the most hyped event on your social calendar? Channel that energy! Let loose just how you used to when you were a child – unapologetically. Once you’ve gotten tired, and the throwback music is giving you a slight headache, sit down, relax and rival your household with classic board games. This year, strip New Year’s Eve back to what it’s all about: partying, fun and celebration.    

VIBE: NOTHING AT ALL…

Beyond a day on the calendar, NYE is just a concept. With the year we have just had, we wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to celebrate. So, forget about NYE, treat it as an ordinary day, and spend it as you normally would. Who cares? It’s only a date!   

Words by Hannah Emery

The post How to Celebrate New Years in a Pandemic (Safely) appeared first on Voir Fashion.