Blog 1 – Reflecting On Lecture
After listening to several lectures touching on the themes of sustainability, social responsibility and diversity, one that really stuck with me was the one about well-being in the fashion industry. Jekaterina Rogaten talked about the impact of fashion on not only our own well-being as consumers but also on the well-being of the employees.
People‘s interest in feeling well has increased drastically over the last few years, indeed, wellness has become a big trend and is now worth more than the pharmaceutical industry.
Practising mindfulness, eating healthy and using expensive skin care can all contribute to a state of well-being but so can clothes. The way we dress has – if not the biggest – impact in how we feel, think and behave. Buying new things to wear is now a way to enhance our well-being and thus, enhance our mood but the Hedonic Treadmill Theory shows that more isn‘t always the best way to find happiness and fulfillment in our lives. The more we buy, the more we think that new clothes are needed to feel happy, building up unrealistic expectations harder to satisfy.
As mentioned by William James, fashion is an extension of our selves, therefore fashion can either enhance our mood or lead to ill-being. Feeling good in our clothes is an expression of our inner selves. Clothes can reveal the way we feel about ourselves by either dressing to accentuate a body part we like or to camouflage insecurities. The Maslow hierarchy of needs also exists for fashion and shows that first of all, clothes have to satisfy physiological needs before meeting the higher needs such as esteem needs and self-actualization, enhancing self-esteem and our sense of belonging and self-expression through clothes.
Also mentioned by Jekaterina Rogaten in the lecture, buying sustainable clothes makes the consumer feel even happier, leading to a higher level of well-being. It got me thinking that if having more clothes makes individuals feel even better about themselves that maybe having less clothes that are made in a more sustainable way would bring real happiness. Thinking about the entire supply chain is now essential and the well-being of the people making the clothes is as important as the consumer‘s well-being. It has become crucial to give everyone in the industry a sense of feeling supported to change the industry to a more sustainable one.
I have learnt through these lectures, that wellbeing influences a wide range of markets and in particular fashion. In order to make fashion more positive and help people attain an even higher state of well-being, the sustainability aspect can no longer be ignored. Not only for the consumer wearing the pieces but also for the whole production cycle. Offering better working conditions, reducing waste and using more eco-friendly materials will help shaping better lives in the fashion industry.