The British Fashion Council (BFC) and Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) have released a joint statement calling for the alignment of the fashion industry amid the Coronavirus pandemic. From the onset of the crisis the CFDA and BFC have been in close communication, sharing feedback from members and stakeholders.

Both organisations are now taking the opportunity to "rethink and reset the way in which we all work and show our collections." 

The BFC and CFDA said common perspectives of their members and the organisations include: 

• A united belief that the fashion system must change at every level. The fallout from coronavirus has forced the industry to prioritise the process of rethinking how it will function.
• BFC and CFDA will encourage brands, designers and retailers, who are used to fashion's fast, unforgiving pace, to slow down. With inventory continuing to stack up designers and retailers need to look at the collections cycle and be strategic in the selling of products. 
• There is a clear disconnect from when things arrive in-store to when the customer actually needs them. The delivery cadence should shift closer to the season for which it is intended.
• BFC and CFDA recommend designers focus on no more than two collections a year. Stating that a slower pace offers an opportunity to reduce the stress of designers and their teams, which will in turn have a positive effect on the overall wellbeing of the industry. 
• The organisations also recommend that pre-collections return to their original intended purpose, which was to offer the consumer beautiful clothes that carry the ethos of the individual brands but are not necessarily sufficiently fashion-forward to warrant a show. They recommend that these presentations return to the showrooms. 
• Once the crisis is over and non-virtual events can resume BFC and CFDA advise brands to attempt to show during the regular fashion calendar and in one of the global fashion capitals in order to avoid the strain on buyers and journalists travelling constantly. This too has placed tremendous stress on the industry and significantly increased each individual’s carbon footprint.
• Sustainability is important in every industry and in fashion, through the creation of less product, high levels of creativity and quality, products will be valued and shelf life will increase. 
• Physical in-person presentations are not possible at the moment, the fashion councils will now focus on creative fashion calendars and other formats that will highlight and help to organise the virtual presentations for the Spring Summer collections. 

BFC and CFDA added in the statement: "The need to align as a global industry during these times has become more apparent. We will continue to work side-by-side, while each city will develop its own local initiatives. Fashion is a business of creativity and new ideas and difficult times are also ones for innovation. We will work to our industry’s benefit as we reimagine and create, with our members and partners, a successful future."