Blog Post 1: Power and the concept of Better Lives

From the lectures based on the ‘Better Lives’ themes: Sustainability, Diversity and Social Responsibility; I have recognised a very strong relationship between the essence of power and its impacts on each of the themes, presenting problems in which need rapid resolving. Being a society built from social constructs, with how we behave constantly being influenced by the interactions and experiences we obtain as we progress through our life courses; In this contemporary society, power is something that is dominant throughout all sectors. 

‘Fashion is an indicator of established power relations and social class hierarchy.’ – Simmel: From Bennett A. (2005) Culture and Everyday Life London: Sage. pp 100 

In relation to power, fashion can be seen as an ‘ideological state apparatus’ (Althusser: 1971); it plays a key role in promoting class inequalities and maintaining marginalisation in contemporary western culture. For example, the CEO’s of the biggest fashion brands make in 4 days what a Bangladeshi garment maker would obtain in a lifetime. This shocking unequal distribution of economic gain in society is not only oppressing vulnerable people, but expanding the need and demand for ‘Fast Fashion’ developing problems in addition to the existing inequalities.

Living in a consumer culture, materialistic values are prominent, meaning fashion needs to be more affordable so is more accessible; therefore, making fast fashion highly demanded. This has contributed to the issue of sustainability, meaning that we, as a contemporary society, need to take social responsibility and design changes/improvements which can be used to ultimately ‘save’ the planet. 

I would also like to reflect on the sense of power in terms of Diversity and representation. 

‘Representations are not innocent reflections of the real, but are cultural constructions’ – Barker: From: Barker, C (2004), The Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies. London: Sage p177

The fashion industry plays a significant part in causing the relationship between diversity, representation and power to be largely negative.

Diversity is key to refresh and develop new trends, however, there has been a large discussion around cultural appropriation in correlation to this. Brands are wanting to make their products more culturally diverse and ‘interesting’, but, are using their vast amounts of power to use other cultures who hold less power’s designs and assets to inspire new trends – for example, the use of dreadlocks by Marc Jacobs- without providing the correct recognition and understanding of their backgrounds. This develops cultural conflicts and sparks controversy primarily fuelled by the media as designers are not understanding and conversing with the cultures they are taking inspiration from. 

Overall, in reflection to the Better Lives lectures, my thoughts have been shaped in a way that causes me to see fashion as being a largely powerful and impactful industry on the rest of society; not just in terms of the way in which we dress. The power in the industry itself needs to be shifted to develop a more sustainable, diverse and socially responsible sector of society, aiming to prevent the marginalisation of vulnerable groups. I would like the channel my thinking into actions within my practice by focusing on equality and inclusivity to present better lives.