There’s only one thing worse than showcasing an average line on the runway and that is not modelling anything at all. This faux pas has befallen several fashion houses and the fashion police are looking for answers.

A leaked document which has gone viral on Twitter, informs Mango, J.Crew and others that their production orders for Summer 2016 will not be ready for the season: “With more than half of the workforce under quarantine, it simply won’t be possible to complete the shipment in time.”

Hundreds of factories are also in the process of being doused with chlorine bleach to re-sanitize equipment that might be infected with the newly mutated Ebola-X virus. Top labels have declined to comment how they will respond to this fashion disaster.

But luckily the fashionistas won’t be left completely naked. Companies like H&M who have outsourced the manufacturing of certain items to Turkey and Mauritius are still set to receive their stock as the pandemic has not yet reached every corner of the globe. However, China still functions as the world’s factory and handles the major orders such as the key item of each season, which was supposed to be the return of the pedal pusher.

Maybe this has been a timely wake-up call for all brands totally dependent on Chinese exports: diversification will never go out of style. It’s one thing to be seen in last year’s maxi dress, but it’s a completely different dilemma when this virus spreads and we run out of Arabian crude oil, lithium batteries or generic medicines. Not to mention a delayed launch of the latest iPhone…

And if you thought the hordes on Black Friday were bad, just imagine the chaos that will ensue if no-one knows when (or if?) the shelves will be re-stocked!