 by Bernadette Doran
A few weeks after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, The New Yorker magazine ran a cartoon: A middle-aged mother leaned urgently across a restaurant table, saying to her twenty- something daughter, “Why a doctor? Why can’t you marry a fireman?”
When the World Trade Center came tumbling down, so did, it seems, many of America’s long-held values. If social status and wealth were at the top of the list on Sept. 10, just 24 hours later they were replaced by safety, security and the acute desire to simply be alive. Corporate moguls, movie stars and techno-wizard billionaires were all shoved aside to make room for the new heroes: Men and women in dark blue or bright yellow uniforms who would risk their lives to save a stranger’s. The stranger being, perhaps, you or me.
The events of Sept. 11 have had many repercussions on the uniform industry, surprising in their range. Emotional shifts toward uniforms in the wounded American collective unconscious, serious questions about making clothing anthrax-proof, dwindling merchandise orders in the recessionary spiral and the emergence of the American flag as a desirable new design element are among them.
“The tragedy of Sept. 11 tore at the roots of both the individual and the American culture,” according to Jungian psychoanalyst Dr. Ron Malashock. “The symbolism of the uniform the New York Fire Department, Police Department and the American Red Cross immediately filled our need for a sense of comfort, security and unity.”
Uniforms are generally considered a self-evident sign of distinction or separation: I’m a Marine or a waiter or a nurse, and you’re not. But to those wearing them, uniforms are the badge of affiliation, community and belonging: We’re all Marines, waiters, nurses here. “The events of Sept. 11 created a thirst in us all for those very qualities. Tragedy creates a sense of fear, separation and isolation, and, as a result, inspires a deep need to come together,” says Malashock. “The men and women in uniform helped carry a sense of connectedness for the entire nation, a feeling of community for us all.”
Just six weeks later, according to Malashock, the best-selling Halloween costumes for kids were not Batman and Superman but the new superheroes: police officers and firefighters. “We know that heroes survive, and so we want to be like them,” he says. “They represent what is solid and enduring, and on Sept. 11, nothing seemed solid at all.”
What may seem least solid these days is a predictable level of business. According to consultant Marcia Hischke of M Direct, “The industry is completely flat right now. Everyone’s trying to figure out how to stay afloat.”
“State and municipal budgets are being cut way back,” says Steve Leventhal of Leventhal Ltd., a manufacturer of police and security uniforms. “Funds that might have gone into uniforms are being shifted into protective gear, everything from gas masks to disposables for handling
anthrax. Those are the immediate needs right now, so that’s where the money is all going. If the anthrax scare is over, dollars will funnel back to uniforms. If it isn’t, all bets are off.”
In fact, public budgets are so thin, says Leventhal, that municipalities are thinking of deferring police academy classes. And no new police officers means no need for new police uniforms.
If cities are sitting tight on dollars, so are consumers. The general downturn of the economy has made most people reluctant to spend on discretionary items. This trend, coupled with a post-Sept. 11 skittishness to travel, has had a crushing impact on the hospitality industry and the programs that outfit it.
“Casinos are the perfect example,” says Dan Cohen of Fabian Couture Group International. “Normally, when the country’s doing well, people go to the casinos and gamble because they have extra money. When the country’s not doing well, people go to the casinos and gamble for the release or in the hopes of making extra money. According to news reports, casino traffic is down. Period. It’s never been like this.”
The only part of the business that seems to be booming at least for Fabian Couture is security wear. “Our sales have skyrocketed,” says Cohen, who has seen a marked increase in vests, shirts and pants since Sept. 11. “We can barely keep blazers in stock. We moved thousands through in days.”
The catalyst: Heightened security consciousness everywhere from airports to high rises resulting in the hiring of more security guards and more clear and immediate guard identification.
“With the average person being very concerned with potential threats and safety, it’s very important for a security guard to stand out. You need to know who the right person is to talk to in a hotel, an airport or a public building. You want to know protection is there, wherever you go,” says Marcia Hischke. “There won’t be a subtlety in security uniforms anymore, or a casualness.”
On the other hand, says Leventhal, the distinction between a security guard and a police officer will need to be kept very clear. “Even though security guards might be ‘crisping up,’ it’s important for the average person to be able to tell at a glance who’s a police officer and who isn’t.”
Because of the current war effort, Hischke anticipates a military influence showing up more and more in uniforms across all industries. “The pea coat, which has its origins in the Navy, is a very hot item. You’ll see silhouettes and details emulating a military look pocket flaps, epaulettes, gold bullion, gold buttons.”
At least part of the rationale for a military trickle-down look is emotional, says Hischke. “When we wear these details, we’re ‘wearing safety;’ we wrap ourselves in a little bit of that military security and feel more protected somehow.”
Accuracy in military detail will be extremely important, says Hischke, as it is in other looks. “There’s a strong, new demand for authenticity,” she says, pointing to the rise of the retro-look bowling shirt, which the television series Ed has inspired. “It has to look exactly like the real thing or people won’t accept it.”
With the country in a patriotic mood, the flag is making as much of an appearance in apparel as it is on everyone’s front porch and car antenna. American Uniform got a special order for flag-emblazoned t-shirts as a manufacturing company give-away to employees, a generous, patriotic gesture on the part of management. Fabian Couture Group International has designed a special flag-themed line of vests and ties for the hospitality industry, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the Red Cross. Leventhal Ltd. expects more police departments to want a flag emblem on the sleeve.
Marcia Hischke first saw Ralph Lauren bring back his original flag sweater from the 1970s right after Sept. 11, and now flag designs are showing up on everything from aprons to scrubs. “It’s so typical of the American consumer,” she says of shifting attitudes toward, and legalities controlling, the flag. “In the ’60s, we couldn’t burn it. Then we couldn’t wear it. And now we can’t get enough of it.”
Malashock points to a similar pattern in the 30 years since the Viet Nam War. “For baby boomers who grew up in the 1960s, the police uniform was a symbol of repression, and it inspired animosity. It was a stigma. Now, these very same baby boomers look at a police uniform and see a compassionate human being and a superhero.”
Because easy answers to global issues aren’t likely to come soon, Marcia Hischke believes that safety may be a continuing question. She thinks that uniform design might have to take new threats, like bioterrorism, into consideration. “For mail carriers, for example, we might be looking at uniforms with long sleeves, a secure cuff, gloves, design elements that are more protective of the body. It’s possible.”
Certainly we’ll be seeing more uniforms that look like the New York Police Department, says Leventhal. “Ten years ago, everybody wanted the LAPD [Los Angeles Police Department] look. The Rodney King incident brought an end to that. Now we’ll be seeing a NYPD look very tailored, sharp, crisp, dark navy.”
If values have been going through a profound shift since Sept. 11, the way America does business will be affected by that transformation, including the apparel industry. “Partly it’s a renewed desire to do business with people you trust,” says consultant Hischke. “And the tragic, sudden loss of life has helped us realize that the almighty dollar isn’t everything anymore.”
Also, with money in shorter supply, Hischke believes we’re going back to basics in everything from ethics to the design and manufacturing process. “People who say ‘it’s my way or the highway’ are going to be the big losers. Going forward, manufacturers will win contracts on the basis of speed, quality and value. The new motto will be, ‘Make it well, make it work, make it great.’ “
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