“Fast fashion,” is one of the plagues of the last 10 years.
When Raf Simons, Creative Director of Christian Dior announced his resignation recently, the fashion world was shocked. To a certain extent.
In an interview before the announcement, he explained the reality that now faces high fashion houses.
“We did this latest collection in three weeks, Tokyo was also done in three weeks. Actually everything is done in three weeks, maximum five. And when I think back to the first couture show for Dior, in July 2012, I was concerned because we only had eight weeks.”
He went on to explain, “And now we never have time like that. And you know? It’s clearly possible to do it, The machine is there. Of course, we have to push really hard. But you have no incubation time for ideas, and this time is very important. When you try an idea, you look at it and think, Hmm, let’s put it away for a week and think about it later. But that’s never possible now”
You may also remember the very public breakdown of the previous Dior creative director, John Galliano, in 2011. He was subsequently fired from his job and found guilty of racist abuse. He later described how his success increased his workload and as he became a slave to his career, alcohol and drugs were the only way for him to unwind.
It’s not just an issue at Dior.
And then of course there was Alexander McQueen who also felt similar pressures from the industry to repeatedly produce creatively and ultimately committed suicide in 2010.
These large fashion houses are the driving force behind this relentless pace. Only the mega corporations can really afford to put on two huge ready-to-wear shows a year, or four if you add two haute couture shows, or six if you count men’s wear. Resort and pre-fall push the number up to eight. A couple of promotional shows in Asia, Brazil, Dubai or Moscow can bring the count to 10.
There was a time when people got excited about two seasons a year., but in fashion the bottom line is everything, and that comes from selling more. And the best way to sell more is to make people think that they need more. There is no doubt that online shopping has fed the craze for speed, and when you can’t touch the fabric or try on the outfit, the only emotion you experience is the instant gratification of the purchase and knowing that you beat everyone else to it.
So, how did this start, we were buying a lot of stuff before the internet happened.
At the root of it all is Consumerism. It was described by its inventors in the US of the 1920s as the idea that people could be convinced that however much they have, it isn’t enough. Sigmund Freud invented the idea of the Self, in 1900, but it was his American nephew, Edward Bernays, who really ran with it. Beginning in the early 20th century, through a new method he called public relations, he showed the government and businesses how to convince people to want things they didn’t need. This was done by linking mass-produced goods, services and political ideas to people’s subconscious self-centered desires. It was the beginning of America’s all-consuming obsession with self, has spread across every aspect of Western culture.
More and more of the things we buy are for our social status, for example, the latest iPhone model instead of the previous one. A new pair of jeans every six months. Shopping uses the same “seeking” part of the brain that fuels the creative rush.It turns out that our consumerist impulse stimulates the same part of the brain that fires when we’re on the trail of a great idea. As we go through the trial and error of executing an idea – What if I tried this? Of course, while consumerism in an addictive substitute for the stimulation that comes from creative activity, it offers nowhere near the same reward in the long term.
However it does have the effect of boosting production and economic growth in some areas, while degrading them in others. The clothing industry is the second largest polluter in the world … second only to oil, the clothing in the UK produces millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, waste and waste water per year. While cotton, especially organic cotton, is the worst culprit, it can still take more than 23,000 litres of water to manufacture just a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
So by now, you might be wondering how can I contribute to change? keeping in mind the best solution is most often, the simplest, and for me, I’ve decided to take advice from life lessons Written by a 100-Year-Old Man
Everyone has too many clothes. Wear what you have and quit buying more.
