Skye Matthew-Casu

The insightful Better Lives lecture on ‘POWER’, presented by lecturer of fashion and sustainability and course leader of MA Fashion Futures, Julia Crew, offers a rich depiction of power and fashion, from a variety of different perspectives – power and consumer, power and protest, power and media etc. Highlighting fashion as a medium of power through self-expression, and symbol of hierarchy and leadership, clothing is shown as a tool of empowerment through the history of its representations, such as military dress or political and cultural dress. Finding this presentation of power and fashion to be enriched with knowledge, Fashion Revolution’s inaugural zine, MONEY FASHION POWER fanzine, develops on points made during the lecture. I found both the lecture and further reading content to be widely impactful on my knowledge and understanding of the exploitation of factory works in third world countries, including the poor factory working conditions and lack of living wages, deeming the system to be unsustainable. The fashion and clothing production industry is unfortunately known for its ability to provide those at the top with extreme wealth and success, while virtually enslaving and exploiting others. It has been said that “it takes just four days for a CEO from one of the top five global fashion brands to earn what a Bangladeshi garment worker will earn in her lifetime”– distinctively highlighting the huge divide and inequality amongst those in the industry. Those who produce and hand craft the garments gain no commendation, left to struggle to provide for their families from the disproportionately low wages earned during their hours of hard labour, and life savings which often has to be managed earlier than anticipated, affecting their overall life experiences. Decent work with fair pay should be a human right – living wage would allow workers to cover all of their essential needs, supporting themselves and their families, however this is often not met by minimum wage.

So far, Better Lives has allowed me to reflect on my personal purchasing choices from the perspective of a consumer, consequently resulting in either empowerment or exploitation of workers. I currently actively aim to buy second hand in thrift stores, or from second hand/ vintage online retailers such as Depop or Ebay. My purchasing habits reflect on my personal preference for vintage and slightly worn clothing, however, I was unaware of the beneficial effects and the empowerment it can have on others, due to my privileged position. My awareness of the current exploitation in clothing production will influence my future purchasing as I will continue to sell clothes that I have outgrown, and avoid large retailers that mistreat their workers.