Radhika Datta

BY RADHIKA DATTA

The assignment for journalism was to apply the learned skills of a journalist in a post-truth era to author a feature exploring the Better Lives’ themes of social responsibility, cultural diversity, and sustainability. We were given the opportunity to write it in the tone of any fashion publication we choose to often read for news on the industry. I was particularly excited about this task as I was hoping to have the opportunity to learn how to write from an editorial perspective.

I wanted to talk about the themes of the Better Lives lecture delivered by Julia Crew on Power as I believe it raised pertinent issues regarding the lack of diversity and representation in the industry. What stood out to me was the recital of the statistic, “A CEO earns in 4 days what a Bangladeshi garment worker earns in her entire lifetime.” I wanted to develop my research around this statistic as I felt it was an issue that needed to be brought to light.

I decided to base my feature on the prevalent secrecy of top luxury brands regarding their hidden Indian supply chain. It was a niche topic, but I believed it to be the perfect hook to address the wider picture of lack of transparency and cultural inclusivity.

I had innately accepted that all global luxury labels manufactured their clothes in the respective country’s ateliers, as portrayed on media by the brands themselves. However, reading recent articles by reputed fashion sources, Business of Fashion and The New York Times on how the fashion industry hides where their supply chain is produced came as a shock and made me wonder about the need for secrecy.

Writing this article made me contemplate on how unequally diversity is distributed within the system and represented by the fashion industry. It made me wonder if this came from a deep-seated colonial mindset regarding superiority in race. Is the quality of luxury directly related to the colour of the skin of the people who work hard to produce them? Or is it related to the working conditions in which these clothes are produced? As represented by media, we see a single artisan in a stark white coat working in a clean environment. This leads one to reflect on whether consumers would hold luxury on the same pedestal if they found out it was created in a less than luxurious export house in a third world developing country.

I found writing this particular article very rewarding as it put the Better Lives themes of social responsibility and diversity into perspective and gave me insight into the business side of fashion. It made me realize why the better lives themes need to be inculcated into our industry, especially post-pandemic as we enter a new and hopefully, more ethical era of fashion.

It is difficult to write about a worryingly persistent issue in a neutral tone so that it may generate awareness. I now appreciate the social responsibility behind the paradox of an unbiased opinion a journalist must hold in her writing. People read what they believe, so it is a heavy duty to convey correct information without becoming passionate, something I found challenging during my process of research and writing my feature.

BY RADHIKA DATTA

As I delve deeper into the Better Lives’ unit and learn more about the role of journalism in the industry, I have become more aware of a journalist’s prerogative in expressing their views.

The Better Lives Themes coupled with the pandemic we find ourselves in the midst of has made me reflect on a journalist’s role in a post-truth era and their duty to be authentic regarding inclusivity, cultural diversity and sustainability.

I found that our tutor, Liz Miller, raised an interesting point that good journalism usually comes from behind a payroll. Her implication that fake news has no branding and therefore gains traction quicker than verified journalism made me think of the lecture by Julia Crew on Power. As journalists, we have the power to influence people’s minds as people generally believe what they read to be true. It is, therefore, our social responsibility to be as neutrally authentic as possible and provide verified information.

Journalism has taught me that the post-truth era must involve a diverse array of voices to generate greater awareness. Articles must cater to all sections of society and not only be relatable to the higher class due to their ability to afford fashion. It is a journalist’s objective to increase her readership and fashion must be made inclusive and accessible to all.

Another important dilemma addressed during the lecture was the perception of the role of a fashion journalist. We assume it is to talk about what is currently ‘hot’ in the industry – fashion weeks and trends. This was really interesting to note as I too am guilty for not being able to recognize fashion journalism as a crucial medium to spread awareness regarding topics such as sustainability, detrimental fast fashion and environmental degradation.

My ideal for a post-truth world would be journalism being used to speak one’s mind regarding relevant issues harming the growth of our society. Although it would be practical to write to audiences that would fund the payroll, I aspire to use the prerogative of communication judiciously. As a fashion journalist, I have the power to influence as well as boycott and a prominent example is designers’ lack of care for the fine line that runs between careful representation and cultural appropriation. Matters like this along with sustainable production, equal pay, and mistreatment of labour must be brought to light.

As an aspiring editorial stylist, I believe the responsibilities of a journalist in a post-truth era may be applied to my line of practice as well.

For instance, the objective of an editorial stylist is to produce aesthetically pleasing images so as to create a market for the fashion used in creating such images. I aim to take more consideration of the ethicality behind the production of my resources and whether using them in styling editorials is promoting ecological sustainability. This may help to promote the purchase of environmentally conscious collections and the decline of fast fashion. The idea behind a fashion spread is to tell a story, so I would like to use styling to create fashion spreads that generate awareness regarding important issues such as the detrimental effects of fast fashion and the consequential waste of over-production. I believe it is in a stylist’s social responsibility to employ culturally diverse models as this can help create a trend for inclusivity.

BY RADHIKA DATTA

Watching Julia Crew deliver her lecture on Power was insightful, to say the least, as she delved into the history behind the power of fashion in society. Her exploration of the different icon power structures in society and their demonstration of power with the use of fashion was fascinating as it never occurred to me to view their authority as typified by visual demonstrations of dress. When I think of Power and Fashion, I think of the power in fashion, so it was intriguing to hear that it is not limited to the industry alone but finds its way into every structure in society. From the Queen to Nelson Mandela and Anna Wintour, fashion has found its way in representing power through the decades.

I found it to be an apt introduction to the lecture as she moved forward to address the crux of a prevalent issue in the fashion industry – its power structure. It never occurred to me that there may be something such as a lack of diversity in power in fashion. This may be due to no transparency regarding the inner operations presented to us by the media.

One always sees the industry from the perspective of “ten old white men”. This lack of diversity in the power structure was an eye-opener to a deeper issue – the disregard for representation that blooms from underlying racial ideals. To hear that only a tiny minority enjoys the global profit of the fashion industry, and the recited statistic “a CEO earns in 4 days what a Bangladeshi garment worker earns in her entire lifetime” leaves one looking to start their career in fashion despairing and disappointed. It follows with an internal dilemma of whether to work with an outlook to indulge in creativity or establish financial security.

This discussion stood out to me due to its misrepresentation. One can confirm that diversity in the system exists, but the lack of representation and distribution within the higher structures of the system fails many people within the industry.

This issue does not pertain to the industrialists themselves, however. With increasing levels of fashion consumption driven to an unsustainable point, the industry not only ignores social responsibility by violating human rights and forcing people to work more for less pay, but also disregards the urgent call for sustainability of production by damaging the surrounding environment.

What gives me hope is that as individuals, we are the future of fashion and we have the power to make a change. As a stylist, I aspire to source from conscious labels that not only think of sustainability but also represent where their supply has come. As a learning journalist in this unit, I aspire to use my words in an authentic manner to protest and boycott ignorant brands and raise awareness regarding important matters that prevent the development of the industry.  The industry relies on its consumers to drive trends, so as a consumer, I aspire to be more conscious about overcoming society’s expectations and social media’s emotional influence. If consumers were made aware of how and where their supply originates, this would help us move towards becoming a more ecologically sustainable and mindful industry.