Better Lives – Blog Post 1
To start of the Better Lives unit I was set the task to attend different lectures, surrounding the themes of the Better Lives’ unit (consisting of sustainability, diversity and social responsibility) to see which topics we naturally connected with.
For me, I found the lecture by Anna Fitzpatrick – ‘Culture’ was the most thought provoking to me. In this lecture Fitzpatrick spoke on sustainability in an eye opening way (and sustainability is a subject I have based previous projects and had interest for). Fitzpatrick spoke about how sustainable fashion was more of a mindset than an actual product – this basically means that to be fully sustainable it’s not about making a sustainable product as much as just thinking sustainably. This made me think about how there isn’t “one answer” and just making a upcycled garment isn’t helping to solve the problem as much as you would wish. In the ‘Culture’ lecture Fitzpatrick was very useful in criticizing the fashion industry. This highlighted all the holes in the industry that I was ignorant to such as consumerism, which frames our whole world. Possessions are now top priority and consumers buy 60% more than they need every year. According to Fitzpatrick the percentage will be higher in 10 years time. But why do we only now need so much more? Is consuming the only way to experience fashion?
Possessions have become so important to us that they have become a part of our extended selves and differentiates you to others. Fashion brands are used to communicate personalities and stand central in the making of ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups, based on stereotypes. This makes fashion very important in social situations, leading friends to be the biggest influence over consumption choices. This was another point that got my brain ticking. Who inspires how I dress? Is individuality going to die out? If society is our biggest influence, is that where the solution lies?
“The Law, Culture, and Economics of Fashion” law professors Scott Hemphill & Jeannie Suk define fashion as being simultaneously characterized as ‘differentiation’ and ‘flocking’. Since fashion went digital everyone has access to the same information at the same time – leads us to a lack of individuality. This is because fast-pased fashion retailers have the same goal – to make money & expand. Therefore, they must look out for trends that can be adapted for the mass market (the majority) meaning everything looks the same. But how do we make individual clothes, for everyone?
These Better Lives lectures have opened my eyes fully and have given me a broader look into the fashion industry as a whole, looking at the good and the bad in order to give me, and the rest of my generation, the knowledge to better the fashion industry in the future. So overall, so far the Better Lives unit summed up in one word for me would be…Inspiring.
reference: https://www.premierchristianity.com/Blog/Why-consumer-culture-could-be-killing-your-faith
8th May 2020 @ 7:56 am
Seeing an article that included a reference about Christianity and consumer culture immediately caught my eye. Jude wrote a reflection on the Culture lecture and explained being overall inspired. I found Jude to be periodically asking questions which gave the essay a more philosophical approach. It was interesting to see the use of research from law professors containing fashion being characterized by “differentiation” and “flocking” which is quite the paradox. I was hoping that eventually these questions would lead to a conversation, but I found that was not the case and the essay did not try and answer the questions asked. I was also unable to locate where the actual reference from “Why Christianity Could Be Killing Your Faith” was. It would have been great to hear more of her opinion on the subject of how she personally projects sustainability into her life since she spoke of how she has previously based projects off the issue. I appreciated the direct evidence from the Culture lecture and Jude’s bravery to speak of how she was ignorant to some of the holes in the fashion industry. Hearing Jude’s voice protrude through the screen was another reason why I chose to review the piece. I enjoyed seeing the self-analyzation that Jude gave herself whilst writing the piece which contributed to her voice being present. I decided that I would read her reference and see the correlation for myself. I found the author of the article also used questions in his work similar to Jude’s. I found the message of us having the right to choose everything quite humbling. The self-analyzation in Jude’s work was so strong that now I began to do the same with this review as I realized how grateful I was to be able to choose everything. Although Jude’s piece had its flaws as every essay does, it was a great piece to read and included a captivating figure which was incorporated very well. Seeing how religion and the fashion industry are included in a majority of people in the world, it restored my faith that Jude would write a piece including this information and I would love to know Jude’s personal take on faith and consumerism because it is a very interesting topic that I have found only brought up less than a handful of times.
8th May 2020 @ 7:59 pm
After reading Sallows’ blog, I have a much clearer understanding towards flaw that exists in fashion industry. Throughout the content, “Consumerism” and “Fast fashion“ are two main key terms which has a huge influence on realizing sustainability and diversity.
First of all, she explained the potential roots of consuming unsustainable fashion by reflecting the lecture. According to Sallow, “ This basically means that to be fully sustainable it’s not about making a sustainable product as much as just thinking sustainably.” In other words, in order to realize sustainability in fashion industry, we must change our ideology of consumerism first instead of blaming manufacturing enterprises. I totally agree with this opinion. It is the common desire of consumption which accelerates the rise of Fast Fashion brand. Burdsall(2019) suggests that: “These fast fashion brands provide accessible garments, and with the help of online shopping, consumption is even easier.”and “People want their clothing cheap, and trendy, and they want it quickly.” This statement implicated that Fast Fashion became a huge temptation that meets customers’ demands in reality, though most of customers expressed great concern on sustainability. With huge market requirements, Fast Fashion brands then see opportunities to develop their products in a low cost with significant waste. Hence, the dominant consumption habits further triggered the vicious cycle.
Secondly, Sallow declared the relationship between diversity and fast fashion brands with detail analysis. She has criticized fashion market with the comment “lacking of individuality” and deduced the possible cause that “Fast fashion retailers must look out for trends that can be adapted for the mass market meaning everyone looks the same.” As for me, it is an unprejudiced and reasonable statement. Diversity is hardly to be considered as brand ethos of fast fashion since they all set straightforward goals for quick turnover. Frequently, introducing individual design symbolizes risks and cost for fast fashion brands, which may further shapely reduced their profits. In fashion industry, there is no lack of precedents that suffers a huge backlash. According to Binkley(2019), “Dolce & Gabbana abandoned a massive Shanghai fashion event hours before after a series of ads belittled Chinese consumers with misfired jokes. In it case, severely impacted its business in a region that reportedly represents one- third of its sales.” With such a lesson, fast fashion brands are unlikely to take a thankless task.
From my perspective, Sallow has addressed theme of sustainability and diversity with critical thinking process. Far more than express views, she even traced back to the roots of issue for purpose of finding solutions. Also, she has posed some questions like: “Is consuming the only way to experience fashion?”, “ Who inspires how I dress?”, and “How do we make individual clothes for everyone?”. All those questions are provoking my thought. I have recognized that fashion industry still faces some difficulties in achieving sustainable or diverse products. If there is a way to satisfy customers’ demand and create natural materials with low cost at the same time? If there is a way to encourage the development of diversity? In the future, our fashion workers should put more efforts in addressing strategies.
Bibliography:
Thanks Binkley, C., 2020. Fashion’S Diversity Problem Has Real Costs. [online] Vogue Business. Available at: [Accessed 8 May 2020].
Burdsall, L., 2020. Fast Fashion Folly: The Problems With Influencer Culture And Consumerism – UCSD Guardian. [online] UCSD Guardian. Available at: [Accessed 8 May 2020].