1. ABSTRACT

It has been observed that the need to dress more comfortably has arisen due to the changing work and life styles. A study has been carried out on how tracksuits, which are mostly called sportswear, can be adapted to daily and working life. In the designs, in which the changing clothing style was adapted to woven products during the pandemic period, mainly tracksuits are examined.

2. INTRODUCTION

The issue of how working conditions have changed or how they will change in the future due to the COVID-19 Pandemic is among the important issues that are currently discussed in scientific research, television programs, newspaper news, online meetings and similar studies at national or international level. The purpose of this study is to reveal what the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on dressing style is or how it may affect it in the future. In this context, a qualitative analysis was made through online opinions and publications in academia, media and business world. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied during the literature review. Using the academic studies obtained, news, opinions and suggestions, how human resources are affected or may be affected is evaluated inductively.

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic, clothing industry, design world, remote work model.

2.1. Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Effects on Business Life

COVID-19, which is called the "New Coronavirus Disease" and which has negative results in a very short time and much faster, has been declared pandemic and global health threat by the World Health Organization (URL-2) on March 12, 2020 (Şen, 2020, p.177)

The Covid-19 outbreak has affected many industries. In particular, sectors such as transportation (airline, maritime and road companies), transportation, tourism (hotels and businesses providing accommodation services), sports, petroleum, mining, gas and metal are among the sectors that have been negatively affected by this process. In addition, tourism-based businesses (travel agencies and luxury retailers), restaurants, exporters operating in the Asian market, and businesses engaged in artistic events have also been adversely affected by the epidemic process (Deloitte 2020: 1; Acar, 2020: 14). On the other hand, the pharmaceutical and medical sectors, which produce and distribute the medical supplies needed during the epidemic process, especially due to the epidemic, have been among the profitable sectors. In addition, agriculture, food and retail sectors, information and communication technology companies, cargo companies, personal care product manufacturers and e-commerce businesses were among the profitable businesses during the epidemic process (Akça and Tepe Küçükoğlu, 2020: 73).

Flexible working models such as remote working, working from home, home office and telework have become more remarkable during the Covid-19 outbreak. In order to prevent the risk of virus transmission during the pandemic process, the remote / home working model has become a new business model. Especially in businesses that use information and communication technologies intensively, the remote / home working model is used more effectively. Remote / home working models have been implemented in different ways all over the world (Akça and Tepe Küçükoğlu, 2020: 72-74). In Turkey, after the first cases of Corona virus has begun in March 2020, necessary measures have been taken to create safer environments for businesses and to ensure its sustainability (Hasanhanoğlu, 2020: 19). The foremost of these measures, in order to reduce the risk of transmission of the epidemic, both the public and the private sectors have started to switch to work from home or work alternately. The application in question started on March 22, 2020 in the public sector and ended on June 1, 2020. However, with the increase in the number of cases again in November-2020, in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, working from home again in education, life and working conditions started to come up.

While the remote / home working model, which is one of the flexible working models, is preferred in the digital age, especially for the X, Y and Z generations compared to the older generations for personal reasons, for reasons such as their own motivation increase and work-life balance, flexible use of employees' time, saving time on the road, it is preferred by the business owners to reduce workplace costs, get financial gain, provide energy savings, and increase the commitment of employees to the business (Aydın Göktepe, 2020: 634; Kıcır, 2019: 178). During the pandemic process, the implementation of the remote / home working model in all countries of the world naturally caused some changes, and the clothing industry had to adapt to the process very quickly in terms of demands.

2.2.ATT CLOTHING DESIGN CENTER and STUDIES ON CHANGING CLOTHING STYLES DUE TO THE PANDEMIC

Türkmen Group, which started out with textile investments 40 years ago, continues to take assertive steps in the logistics, technology, foreign trade and yachting sectors as well as the garment, fabric dyeing and printing sectors it serves worldwide.

Today, Türkmen Group, which continues its services in ATT Textile, Türkmen Foreign Trade, Türkmen Logistics, Türkmen Technology and ATM Yachts & Design companies with a total of more than 1000 employees, has internalized the philosophy of “always creating new opportunities and vision, innovative approach, fast solution-producing business partnership and shaping the dynamics of the sectors” of its founder and Chairman of the Board, Atila Türkmen, and adopted it as the vision of today and the future at every step.

ATT Clothing, who pioneered the concept of "Fast Fashion" in Turkey, creates added value to all its customers with its expertise in apparel production and creativity in women’s and kid’s wear and also sets the standards in the industry with a unique business model.

ATT Clothing prepares its exclusive and latest fashion collections offered to the world's leading brands in its own design studios in Istanbul and Barcelona.

ATT Clothing has a Total Quality Management System; fabric, accessories, band flow, final garment controls are made according to the International Standards. Our company, which aims at innovation, continuous improvement and development, has received ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certificates in 2017 and raised all its production and information security, procedures and processes to internationally accepted standards.

ATT Clothing has gathered all design activities by creating a separate physical space within its existing building to carry out its design-oriented work structure even more systematically and on a project basis. With the Design Center structure created with this effort, it has been awarded to be a Design Center by the Ministry of Industry and Technology as of 19.1.2018. It has conducted 77 design projects since 2018.

ATT Clothing has determined that comfort is at the forefront in the clothing style that has changed with the pandemic period in the winter 2020 season. In this new period, it was seen during research that comfortable and easy-to-wear products were preferred. For these reasons, it has been decided that the main theme of the products to be made in the collection will be free-of-size, ageless and especially comfortable products. In the designs that were adapted to woven products for the changing clothing style during the pandemic period, mainly tracksuit style products were made. It is aimed to use special woven fabrics that can compete with knitted fabrics. In addition, children's products compatible with the concept have been added to the collection. A collection named "Clothing Style Changing with the Pandemic" was created with the designed models.

Figure 1. Images of the designs developed within the scope of the project called Developing Children's Clothing Designs According to the Changing Clothing Style with the Pandemic

It has been observed that the need to dress more comfortably has arisen due to the changing work and life styles. How the tracksuits, which are mostly called sportswear, can be adapted to daily and working life has been determined as the main subject of the project.

• Comfortable wear concept products are also adapted to children's products. Woven fabrics with a knitted look were used in the children products studied. (Figure 1).

• With the aim of appealing to young age group customers, who follow street style and innovative trends, the idea of adapting the quilting technique, which is mostly used in outerwear products, to track suits was born. Again, for the same purpose, ideas such as making sets from taffeta fabrics and hooded suits from velvet fabrics were born, and products were developed with these fabrics by conducting an extensive fabric research. (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Images of the designs developed within the scope of the project called Developing Age Group Youth Designs According to the Changing Clothing Style with the Pandemic

• A large fabric research has been planned to adapt comfortable and sporty models, which are mostly produced with knitted qualities, to weaving. For these models, flexible and comfortable woven fabrics are preferred as well as knitted qualities. (Figure 3).

Figure 5. Images of the designs developed within the scope of the project called Developing Comfortable and Sporty Designs Worked with a Modern Perspective According to the Changing Clothing Style with the Pandemic

In the project, 4 tracksuit tops created with weaving techniques were registered. They are textured satin hooded blouses, quilted tracksuit tops, padded detailed tracksuit tops and knit-looking woven tracksuit tops (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Images of the tracksuit tops of 4 registrations taken within the scope of the project

In a nutshell, photos were taken for the products designed and finalized within the scope of this project carried out in our design center. The photos taken were edited with the help of the Photoshop program and presented to customers online. In addition, a catalog has been prepared with these photos. The design products are labeled and placed in the exhibition area according to their stories.

Within the scope of the project, 92 top groups and 48 bottom groups were designed. In addition, 28 children's products were included in the collection.

With the collection to be obtained, it is aimed to grow in the market by offering knit-looking woven alternatives to tracksuit style products that have been worked in the knitting market for many years.

It has planned to create comfortable alternatives suitable for working life and grow in the market by adapting the tracksuit style products, which are mostly worked in knitting, to woven fabrics such as satin and velvet.

Başak Harmancı¹, Gizem Tunaboylu¹, Ceyda Tosyalı¹

¹ ATT Clothing Tasarım Merkezi, 34381, İstanbul.

1. CONCLUSION

While the world is slowly returning to normal again, the design sector continues to work with the developments in the pandemic period. With the collections obtained with the increase in the use of home clothes, it will make a significant contribution by growing in the market by offering knit-looking weaving alternatives to the tracksuit style products that have been worked for many years in the knitting market.

2. REFERENCES

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