an invitation to unravel
musings
I’ve been thinking a lot about how many outfit videos there are on the internet, and the duality of wanting to participate and connect with people liking what I wear, but also adding to the disposability of it all.
In part I wonder if the number of videos echo the tide of fast fashion. Disposable moments digested and forgotten seconds later as we scroll past, often without pausing to enjoy or register what we have seen.
This poem is a quiet reflection on that tension - on control, connection and the cost of fashion beyond ourselves.
Read it however it comes to you.
Outfits exert control. Pressed. Poised. Curated. Curated. Curated. Curated. Beige edges layer between cottony textures of butter and charcoal. Clean. Classic. Curated. Curated. Curated. Curated. Every day she gets dressed, she shares what she wears. A personal persona - degrees of authenticity shifting to the ever-changing social tide. Likes. Views. Feedback. Feedback. Feedback. Feedback. Disposable culture - forgotten seconds after scrolling. Shapes our future. A social dilemma: more outfits than occasions, more followers than friends, more feedback than connection. Feedback. Feedback. Feedback. I lean back in my chair, still in the clothes I slept in. I think about changing. I think about posting. Posting. Posting. Posting. Maybe change is subtle. A slower scroll. A quieter post. The same outfit, again. Posting. Posting. Posting. Fashion perpetuates social conversations. What is she wearing? I want to participate, connect, be present - but how will I be seen? Am I a carbon copy, or a facet of myself. Buy. Post. Rinse. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Outfits exert control. But who are we controlling? Ourselves? For others to see? When will fashion feel liberating, personal, rebellious? When will we escape the loop? Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I often think about the women who make our clothes, day in, day out. Their labour visible on our bodies, each thread or button passing through hands unknown. Invisible when we choose not to see - yet stitched into every seam. What does fashion cost them? Repeat. Reimagine. Resist. The loop feels endless - but loops can be broken. A single thread, pulled in the right place, can unravel the whole thing.
*This post is part of a soft activism project 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.
“I often think “ 💙