Is a professional dress code still relevant post the pandemic?

The pandemic has changed what we wear to work, and it is, perhaps, here to stay

Most of us have spent the last two years working from home wearing pajamas and sweatpants while logging in those eight to nine hours of work in front of our screens making numerous spreadsheets and attending virtual meetings. But multiple lockdowns and vaccine shots later, offices are now slowly re-opening their doors to the employees. While it might be a relief to be back in an office space, has the non-uniformity of a dress code that we followed for two years taken over the formal attire that earlier dominated the corporate world?

When T-shirt replaced a shirt

We’ve all seen videos and memes of people pairing formal shirts with shorts or lounge-pants during Zoom meetings. While many tried to put up with ‘formal appearances’ online, one virtual meeting was exhausting enough to slip into the comfort of your loungewear. T-shirts and activewear soon replaced blazers and zipper trousers. According to a 2021 report by Statista, branded athleisure was estimated to comprise a share of 56 per cent among breakout categories in India's female innerwear market by 2025. Fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M jumped at this opportunity, launching loungewear and activewear collections. Even luxury brands have been adaptors of this trend, with Hugo Boss’s collaboration with Russell Athletic and Gucci joining hands with sportswear giant Adidas, only proving that loungewear and activewear are the new norm when it comes to dressing up.

While two years into the pandemic many have occasionally put on a pair of prim, starchily ironed trousers, the standard dress code, since 2020, has remained casual. For Akansha Rathore— founder and creative director of Kilchu, a New Delhi-based clothing label—that’s a welcome change. “The long work-from-home hours have given us the taste of relaxed casual wear in conference meetings and team discussions,” says Rathore, who designs clothing keeping comfort and ease in mind with her oversized silhouettes. “No one now wants to squeeze themselves into those snug pairs of jeans or pencil skirts, or wear pointy heels. Archaic formal wear has finally taken a much needed shift.” Mariya Khanji, founder and creative director of Nete—a multi-designer online store—believes that major global events have always affected and changed the way we dress. “For almost two years, office attire has been reduced to dressing only from waist up for virtual calls. For some, it's an opportunity to dress up while others are trying to mix up work wear, trying to ease their clothing for comfort. Office wear has now changed into something that is personal to everyone while finding balance within a work environment,” says Khanji, whose website typically caters to comfortable workwear that can be doubled as a holiday wardrobe and occasion wear. While the popularity of casual-wear may have accelerated during the pandemic, the idea of ‘hybrid dressing’ is gaining momentum as the world gradually gets back to normalcy.

The new workwear attire

A 2021 report by McKinsey predicted that after focusing on the likes of loungewear and sportswear for nearly two years, consumers will reallocate wallet share to other categories as pent-up demand for newness coincides with more social freedoms outside the home. Khanji has already seen this shift in the shopping behaviour of consumers. “People are seeing 'going to the office' as an opportunity to buy and wear new clothing. The feeling of looking nice and using clothing as an expression that was reserved for social gatherings has now eased into workwear,” she says. According to designers Sarah and Sandeep Gonsalves, formal wear is evolving in terms of fabric as well as design. “Tailored silhouettes are relatively classic, so they will never go out of style. But people are mixing up their work wear with hybrid formals. While it’s industry-specific, a few informal additions can be seen as an after-effect of the work-from-home period. Tailored athleisure is stepping up, with the suit being transformed into zipper jacket and trouser combinations or minimal tees mixed with more structured blazers,” says the designer duo. This new workwear uniform is championed by many, including Stella McCartney and Givenchy for their fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection and, of course, fashion’s ‘it’ girls Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner, who are often seen wearing blazers over loungewear and sneakers.

Sustainability is also something that is leading the change in the way we dress up now. Sarah and Sandeep Gonsalves saw their clientele looking for more eco-conscious options when it came to well-constructed workwear pieces. Hence, their new line of bespoke suits is created wholly with bamboo to provide vegan-friendly options to their customers. Khanji’s website also offers sustainable options and minimalist silhouettes that are versatile enough to be worn at work or for virtual meetings. “As a society, we are leaning into a lifestyle that is honest. I see workwear finding a language in a minimalist way of dressing, where with the help of small details like style and fit, people can add their own individuality,” says Rathore.

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