Non-essential shops opened from the middle of June. But will consumers be racing out to buy? Mixing with other people in close proximity; cheek by jowl with strangers between racks of clothes or shoes.

I do wonder how many traditional clothing businesses will survive. Many will have stock that is now out of season, that was appropriate in a pre-Covid world, but now may miss the mood of the nation.

There will be a new retail landscape to navigate; the old guard may have to battle to survive and be relevant in the post-Covid world.

The old world, where glossy and aspirational chimed with the times, where fashion was fast and time flew by.

High-street stores will bear the brunt of the repercussions of the pandemic, while up-and-coming and established brands will need to be agile to adapt quickly to the new retail landscape.

However, could this jolt the fashion industry to change its ways for the better?

After three months of lockdown and working from home, or not working and being furloughed, we have slowed down.

Maybe we have worn the same favourite clothes week after week. Maybe we have started to realise with clothing, quality matters far more than quantity.

Clothes that work in different settings at different times; that last; that have ethical value and integrity.

That are real, human and down to earth.

Also there have been practical difficulties for many retailers, sourcing from China or, for the more glamorous, from Italy.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could manufacture our clothes right here in Yorkshire? I would love to see that.

As someone who was born in Yorkshire, travelled the world and came back to my Yorkshire roots, I would love to say all our clothes are manufactured in God’s Own County.

It is an aspiration I have, and I hope before too long to make it a reality.

But in the meantime, we have the small matter of surviving what looks like the worst recession in hundreds of years.

I am confident at Avie we will survive and even thrive; we have had some amazing support from public sector organisations here in West Yorkshire, most notably AD:VENTURE, which supports new businesses across the region, and as a company we have gone from strength to strength.

But for others it will be a case of adapt or die. This recession will surely change buying habits, with a focus on slow fashion and quality and products that last; not throw-away wasteful fashion that wastes money, time and the world’s resources.

We need authenticity and integrity right now. And smaller companies, closer to their consumers, may adapt more easily to this global shake-up than those far removed from reality.

So, let’s hope there is a little light at the end of the tunnel, and people, practices and industries might change for the better. Better shopping habits, better choices, better environment.

It sounds good to me, I hope you feel the same.

Time to rekindle our textile history and make more clothing in Yorkshire - Sonya Bachra-Byrne