Better Lives Blog 1- Lecture Reflection

In this blog I’m going to discuss some of my thoughts on power in the fashion industry and how that affected sustainability and my creative processes.

We can see power in various forms within fashion, for example the relation it has with consumerism. Fast fashion in particular relies on this to make sure people consume as much as possible. In theory we are given the power to choose correctly and responsibly, scrutinize and find information and shop morally. This gives us the piece of mind we need to quieten our guilty conscience and it allows the company to feel as though they can’t be held accountable for the repercussions that fast fashion has globally. For example, over buying clothes has resulted in millions of clothing items being sent to landfills, where they are left idly, most likely after only a few uses just because consumerism urges them to discard the old and purchase more and new items. In my point of view fashion consumerism is like when a mother takes something away from the child and replaces it with something less valuable. She holds onto the first object and puts it away as a symbol of power and superiority, but promotes the substitute as a better option to play with. Similarly I think we don’t have the skills, materials or the power to make our own clothes from scratch anymore, that, is the “object” that has been taken from us and it’s been substituted with readily available materials (fast fashion). As a way of protest we could fight back to gain the skills that we have been deprived of and stop relying on fast fashion. 

Consumerism highlights the power struggle between the retailer and the consumer. Inevitably this has grave consequences on the environment and although measures have been taken to be more sustainable it is just not enough. As fashion students we are expected to take this matter at hand and do something with it. Although I’m not sure yet what kind of changes I’ll need to make to my practice, I know that at least as a consumer I can be a lot more aware. For instance I’m trying to buy less products made of plastic and actively think about my carbon footprint, as well as upcycle and recycle old clothes. In a way I feel lucky that I have the abilities to creatively solve this problem of overbuying clothes on my end, but it isn’t a skill that everybody has. Not everyone is blessed to have studied arts or to be from a textiles background, so the issue with consumerism and how it contributes to landfills still remains. However there are brands which are taking actions towards more sustainable fashion, such as Maison Margiela. Although Maison Margiela is a couture brand which is not as widely available for the average working-class consumer, I hope more brands will consider recycling materials, especially the designers that are going to emerge from my academic year. As an illustrator I can do my part and promote better practices too and when given the chance to work with designers I hope to also educate their practices.