We live in a world that loves clothes. Where are you going? - Does it matter? - What are you wearing?! Shopping, as identity acquisition, is both a hobby and a sport. Countless moments dedicated to refining outfits that will only be worn once. - We live in a world that loves clothes. Our bodies covered, wardrobes full, minds babbling with email and social media marketing more clothes. Clothes we want, for people we want to be. We live in a world that loves clothes. The currency of our time. A globalisation of sameness that sees people buy identical identities in countries all over the world. We live in a world that loves clothes, so what happens when you stop shopping? To me, once an unimaginable fear - one that challenges values derived from synthetic sources and in turn my sense of self. We live in a world where the system is flawed - where shopping surpasses fashion as a gateway to style. Where clothes, regardless of their construction or fair trade, are disposed like coffee cups tossed into recycling bins, misjudged good intentions that see second-hand stores brimming with broken threads. We live in a world that needs change. Clothes wash up on beaches in third worlds. A prolific display of unrecognised and wasted privilege with a bleating heart - unacknowledged costs to people and planet. We live in a world that is changing. A small group of people rebel in an anti-consumer revolution, repairing and re-wearing clothes that support a realigned future. We live in a world that loves clothes and is changing, both good and bad. As rebels find voices and speak of new ways forward, fast fashion accelerate exponentially. One idea not exclusive from the other - how will you partake?
*This post is part of a larger body of work that explores Our Relationship With Clothes. Australia is the largest consumer of textiles in the world; we ask questions in the hope of encouraging self-reflection and change.
Reading above , you realize if you haven’t already how this consumption of clothes impacts everyone and tbh I could add a multitude of other impacts .
But it’s not just the lovers of fashion , the ones that inhale the fashion industry in all its forms but as Liz says “the world” .
I think that we all have to question ourselves and determine our ideals and then make sure we live up to it .
I often think it’s good to have a badge or symbol something inconsequential but loaded with your meaning .
I am now imaging the Anarchy symbol , but this time with a F ( for fashion ). I don’t need to have it , I don’t need to buy it . It’s now there and I will think of it as I interact with fashion , clothes , shopping … am I interacting with my ideals?
Oh I love this so much! I was just thinking about fashion trends earlier and how detrimental they are to our world. Everyone rushing out to buy the latest and greatest and then promptly discarding it when it goes “out of style”. I’ve decided from now on I’m making my own trends and not buying into that notion any longer. I have my three words thanks to the incomparable Alison Bornstein and I’m sticking to them trend or not!