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Eliminating Cultural Appropriation in the Fashion Industry
The word ‘culture’ defines the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and art. Culture is very personal to a lot of people as it identifies who they are and where they come from. Understandably, for those who have been discriminated for their culture throughout history, their cultural aspects are particularly important and hold a lot of significance within their lives. In the fashion industry, culture has influenced a lot of clothing pieces we see today. Culture encompasses how we see the world and naturally contribute to how we dress. Within certain cultures, clothing can be very symbolic and if this…
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Fashion and Cultural Appropriation: The Do’s and Don’ts
The fashion industry is filled with problems. From the labour issues in the supply chain to the severe lack of sustainability that is damaging our planet. The toxic nature of this industry is bursting at the seams. But now there is a new hot topic taking centre stage – cultural appropriation. However, this lack of cultural sensitivity is nothing new. With the rise of the internet, conversations concerning what is acceptable and what is not are far more prominent these days. Yet, the fashion industry still can’t seem to get it right. What is cultural appropriation? There is no doubt that the fashion industry has an issue when it comes…
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Social Conformity: A Subconscious Response to Fashion?
What makes something desirable or undesirable? How do we know what is “good” or “bad”? If we think about the way we perceive fashion, it is inevitable that we go by what is sold to us through marketing campaigns and advertisements. The media is responsible for creating this stigma, indicating what’s desirable, like Glamour Magazine’s ‘10 wardrobe essentials you should own‘ or undesirable, like Cosmopolitan’s ‘10 pieces of clothing you should never wear as an adult.’ Both consciously and subconsciously, we feed into what the media promote because we believe that by following their ideas, we will fit into society. These ideas constantly feed into our way of thinking about…
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Seeing yourself for the first time
The good, the bad and the self love “and I said to my body. softly. ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath. and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this” For as long as I can remember there has been a timeline of my life where I have hated my body and not seen myself properly. In primary school I felt too tall I would tower over the boys in my class then in high school this was not longer a problem, great right? No, you develop new issues for yourself. Now I felt like the bigger one in the group, I had…
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My Lockdown Transformation: Shopaholic to Conscious Consumer
My shopaholic realisation: Forty-three days ago, when all of this madness began, I, like most girls my age, was a self-confessed shopaholic. My daily hobbies consisted of scrolling through online shops for hours at a time and eagerly waiting for those glorious parcels to arrive at my door. So, as you can imagine, when news of lockdown broke out, I was delighted to have all the time in the world to be doing my favourite pastime completely guilt-free. Before long, I had overloading baskets sprawled across different sites ready for me to buy. “But what was I actually buying these clothes for?” I thought to myself. I had ‘going out…
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5 ways to become a more conscious fashion consumer
It is common knowledge that the fashion industry is now of the leading waste producers and contributing to the ongoing climate crisis. While industry professionals and designers are taking their stance on this debate, we as consumers need to make our own contributions. So here are 5 small steps that you can take to become a conscious yet fashionable citizen. Buy less, Consume more Data suggests that the value of unused clothing in wardrobes has been estimated at around £30 billion. It is also estimated £140 million worth of clothing goes into landfill each year. While there is definitely an opportunity for local authorities to take action, individual initiative is…
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Fashion Influencers: the good, the bad and the never ugly
86% of marketers have spent on ‘Influencer Marketing’ in the last twelve months according to the Digital Marketing Institute. Influencers are big business, but are they using their power of influence for good? In this article, Praba Ellawalla, a Fashion Media & Marketing student at Mode D’Art university in Paris, explores her thoughts. What is a fashion influencer? A few years ago, if you’d asked me about “Fashion Influencers” I would have given you a sarcastic smile and a lecture about being naïve and not respecting the English language. Today, however, I can give you a long list of fashion influencers and plenty of information about what they do. The…
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Who wants to be a fashion influencer?
According to a recent survey by Morning Consult the US, being an influencer is an appealing career to 86% of people between the age of 13 to 38. In this article, India Metson takes a closer look at what today’s hottest dream job really looks like…. Fashion Influencers Fashion influencers. Those people we don’t actually know but through Instagram we somehow pretty much know their life story. The daily pictures we are obsessed with that always manage to spark a little jealousy as we think, “Why is that not my life?”. But when you look to the future, how secure are these dream jobs? How many more influencers are going…
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Sustainable fashion is not just a hashtag
We are exposed to around 4,000 marketing messages daily both on and offline. We see sales, discount codes, swipe up features and influencer look-books with descriptions that include “must have to complete your wardrobe or impress on that special occasion”. Psychologically, this fills us with guilt and disappointment about what’s currently in our wardrobes. It makes us feel that getting our hands-on new garments would satisfy this problem. A sense of urgency is created and we purchase things without thinking about whether or not we truly need or want them. The Power of Influencer Marketing According to a Mintel report, 45% of respondents aged 16+ have purchased an item due…
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Fashion Influencers: Money Over Morals?
Love Island, I’m a Celebrity and other reality TV shows are pairing up with fashion brands to turn contestants into influencers. These people become stylish social media superstars overnight, but are they choosing money over morals? Let me set the scene… it’s summer, its 9pm and you’re settling yourself down for the next instalment of that hit match making show. Yep, its Love Island. Whilst the show is predominantly about finding love, it’s millions of viewers make it a MEGA marketing opportunity for fast fashion brands. Love Island’s official partner I Saw it First experienced their month on month sales soar by 67% due to their collaboration with the show. …
