Now, I’ve always decided that this virtual outpost for my thoughts would also allow me to pose questions regarding this industry that I am throwing myself into. A visit to London invariably brings up the issue of comparing the city with New York. The trip really brought up a lot of thoughts on fashion consumption; apparently a flight across the pond can give someone a semi-existential crisis? Since becoming more interested in fashion I’ve always tried to understand and reconcile a certain feeling of guilt, regarding the consumerism of an industry, which at first glance is 100% frothy frivolity.
Once civilized people have been turned into consumption addicts across the world. How many of us are in yet another lust cycle, with yet another piece of un-needed anything? I am by no means, an expert. But, as a young person, starting out on this career path I do think it’s vital to question and not blindly go forth into this business - not just as someone working within it but as a shopper as well.
We all understand and regularly acknowledge the emotional value of product. How often do we see knee-jerk comments (aside from the regular “I just found your blog, here’s mine, you must follow me!”) along the lines of “love”. Not saying there is anything wrong with this but as a blogger it is the comments that really analyze our posts that really keep us going. The Love comment is a symptom of the techno-society we live in today. As readers, we are bombarded with images and information much more then is probably healthy. The majority of blog readers don’t really read, they scroll through image after image, in an endless quest to satiate an addiction they have to data. At the end of a post if they really responded to it they’ll leave that love comment and move on to the next thing. It isn’t necessarily because people are pressed for time. It’s more a case that we all want to see everything; the human condition of curiosity and exploration is what drives us to view hundreds of blogs a day, the majority of which have little or no writing. It isn’t easy for us to get our brains to change gear for the more thoughtful and wordy blogs after viewing five, ten, fifteen sites of eye candy. That Love comment is mostly proof of an inability to digest this data in a meaningful way. The psychology of the information-addicted isn’t what I want to go into because I am no shrink (If you’d like to read more The New York Times has a whole series of articles about this). I want to juxtapose this with the way the fashion industry works in driving more and more people to purchase it’s products.
It used to be (still is pretty much) that the houses would pay large sums every month to advertise within magazines: In doing so that magazine would almost certainly have to recommend its products; through editorials, write-ups and commendations. After all they don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them. For a reader this proves to be a double whammy. On one end you must go through the adverts to get through the to content and once you arrive, the content tells you again to buy those same advertised products or brands. Today however with my generation we are constantly exposed to people buying, whether it’s a friend or some pretty young thing taking a photo of themselves in their latest purchase (guilty as charged… although not necessarily about the pretty young thing part). I don’t know about you, but to me this makes it always feel OK to shop. In fact it makes you feel normal. The problem is, when is enough, enough? And is this really an appropriate way to live considering the world today, I don't need to mention the state of the environment or sweatshops, we all know it. So, if shopping is so selfish? how can we justify it. Aren't we all burnt out enough?
I really want to open this discussion up amongst readers and bloggers alike (practically all of you seem to have a blog anyway haha). I intend on going into further details over following posts on how I feel about this topic.
In the mean time, and on a completely unrelated note... Look what my lovely friend and fellow Aries got me for Christmas. Thank you Amber! Check out her witty blog …
9 comments:
Intresting toughts Brandon. I think we all come to certain point when we start thinking about the need to constantly consume something,wether food, clothes or pictures. When you are young you do not care. That's why so much advertisments are directed to the people from 0-25 years old. I just think that all these consuming will end up in destroying our world. I had moments in London where I thought I just had enough- not another shoe shop or trendy market. I just wanted to go for a walk in the forest and not to spend any money again. I think we all must start to be more critical. Do we really need every season a new wardrobe no- I am sure you a good fashion buyer. I have clothes I bought 10 years ago and stil wear it ( Helmut Lang shoes, Casely- Hayford jacket..). I think that there are also designers around who do design with a leitfaden. Their collections are re-working the former seasons ot picking up a design ideas from before two years and re-interpret them.There is a certain narrative to it and helps to combine older pieces with the new ones. Unfortunately we all are educated to always want to buy new and new and new. I think it is time to change especially for the US people. It is just such a shame that this beautiful big country is not producing anything anymore. The US is just consuming other countries products. Maybe I see it wrongly and I must confess I have not been in the US for a longer time. Please correct me if I am wrong. But as I went to Disney Land I was just amazed by all the crap you can buy and the Americans even bought it- ugly or not who care just buy to support your country. That is sick ( but Europe is getting worse too ). No, you are defiantely right sometimes to stop, to stand still and to think and criticize and even try to change our behaviour. Well done Brandon. I am not the person who leaves the ' Love it' and ' Great top' comments unfortunately. Regards The Fashion Philosopher
Silly intellectualism this is not. It is perfectly reasonable to criticize the fashion industry and its affect on the consumer. More people should but I guess that would most definitely take all the fun out of it. I was going to approach each part of your argument in this response but I have decided, as a savvy blogger myself *wink*, to write a response post on my blog. (will let you know when that goes up.)
I agree sometimes I fall short in commenting but I make attempts to comment with fulfilling posts whenever and wherever I can. I have even stopped reading blog posts 24/7 in order to sit down and enjoy them more.
I also find it quite fascinating that I opened this post this morning and since then only one other blogger/reader has posted something.
Fashion Philosopher - Thank you so much for your comment it was a pleasure to read. I'm not American but I've lived here in New York for almost 3 years and have very little experience of the rest of this country. I am glad that you enjoyed this essay, I want it to be an introduction to a continual discussion on the matter. Clearly we all won't stop buying but I'd like this to be a discussion starter with other bloggers to discuss our buying philosophies. Thank you again for your always insightful comments.
Joy - I literally love how you also always leave well thought out comments. I am looking forward to reading your post too. I've actaully always been very happy that I even get comments on my posts and they all pretty much are excellent. I was referring more to some of the blogs I read and leave comments on. I'm sure you're the same way as myself with reading blogs. I love nothing more sometimes then to make a cup of tea and read posts at a slower pace to try and let that person really affect me.
I am literally beaming ear to ear thinking both of you read this and will be thinking about it and even writing responses!
Glad I took the time to read through this lengthy post (only because I LOVE you Brandon, but that's different from loving your blog, right?).
I find that the more that I consume (fashion that is), the more I need to consume, rather than feeling satiated. Fashion is built on the psychological belief that we need something new every season, and this faux sensation of doing something new/wearing something new makes us feel like we're moving forward (even if we're not). I'm somewhat disgusted by myself knowing this, yet at the same time I work in this industry, and the entire business of selling things is built upon this false need.
Anyway, definitely worth more thinking about, on the blog, and in real life.
Talk soon!
xx
Tiffany
I too struggle with mindless feeling consumerism, but it is blogs like yours that make me realize there is something greater at work here in some cases and that is personal expression and artistry. Thank you for being you and so damn cute and smart at the same time!
x
Hi all, still just four people in discussion but at least Tiffany has joined. I would like to introduce me to you, Tiffany , may I? My name is Rajmund ( pronounced like Raymond) The Fashion Philosopher. In regards to ' silly intelectualism', Joy, you are absolutely right, it is not. I think as much as we can praise and be fanatic about the newest designer we have just found and posted about on our blog. We have also the right if not even the duty also to criticise what we think is wrong about the fashion bussiness with the same know-how, enthusiasm and professionalsm. It might sound elitist but if not people like us saying anything who will say something? Tiffany, I think by the way your blog is great( love you love you love you, lol, I mean that seriously) and you are absolutely right that the industry is build on this need to sell new clothes but is it neccessary to do it every season several times ( if you look at Topshop or H& M again, they add almost every second day new lines within the season 'hundreds' of sub- collections...) or now they have started with pre- fall and pre- spring, mid-season sale and even you can buy certain designers even before the season has stared in advance ( Asos and Topman Design offered SS11 limited pieces already at the end of London Fashion Week last September ) and the prices for the clothes have gone down rapidly and you can buy in Primark ( I do not know if you know this fashion retail chain in The States but London's teens are crazy about it. You actually get almost the same clothes as from Topshop and H& M in terms of design and ' trendy-ness'but for 1/3 of the price) a pair of jeans for £ 10 and knitted tops £ 8- £14.... so you can imagine why people are crazy about it. But we buy the clothes on the costs of the third world, of the workers of the developing countries like India or China. They get paid almost nothing for 20 hours of work a day under worst working conditions, children are working, the workers are locked away so that they can not go to the loo or escape in case of fire, etc, etc ... Even if those companies have a code of conduct on how they have there clothes produced and who with. A shirt for $ 5 and a skirt for $ 6, come on, there is something definately going very wrong. Young people to not learn to consume responsibly. They just buy and throw away. Even my girl friend who I have been discussing these issues a lot bought a pair of boots at Primark for $ 6 ( fake Ugg boots,ok that is worth another post- something like: Who Buys Fake Ugg Boots- a psychological/ schizophrenic consumerism case!). She bought the wrong size and she threw them away without wearing them because they were so cheap she just could not get bothered with returning them ( by returning I mean going after work to customer services queuing for half an hour....) I was really pissed off. And even top designers are disillusioned with the pace of the fashion industry. Victor & Rolf's 'No'- collection AW08 was designed to show the designers frustration whith the relentless turn around of collections and the aggressive commercialism. But I believe that we will see changes even sooner than we want to since our way of living- shopping is not sustainable any longer. This aggressive consumerism, globalisation and captialism is eating up everything our recources, or environment, the future of our children and in a more philosophical way, it is eating up our indivduality something which is, I blieve very important to people like us. The Fashion Philospher
PS: I swear to you guys my next comment will be like: I love your shirt- I love your hair...promise to you all who managed to read my comment above!)
Tiffany - Thanks for reading Tiff I know you love me and I love you! I think you were the first person to tell me how the more you buy the more you want to buy. I wonder at times how we can support ourselves working in the industry and putting out a collection every six months. Whilst trying to make what we're making special and important. Deff planning on exploring both the buying side and the designing side of the argument.
Amber - Thank you Amber! In my next post moving on from this introduction, I plan on addressing how I buy and try to keep it about personal expression although artist I am not. I think I prefer happy mess haha. Oh and I wouldn't be so cut and damn smart if it weren't for our regular tea dates hehe.
Fashion Philosopher - I totally agree with you, questioning the need for so many seasons. The bigger the company the more seasons are required, this keeps customers interested in the brand. My friend who works at Reed Krakoff has 6 seasons a year! Every 2 months he has to make a brand new collection! WTF?! As for the Highstreet brands Topshop, H&M etc. I don't think any of us can say we haven't bought things from these shops. But I do believe we can all say over the years are tastes and eye have been honed to focus on the really good pieces and to find the gems. It's really why I buy so much from Uniqlo as it is good stuff and really lasts. Believe you me I know allll about Primark and I do not care if it makes me elitist to say I don't support it and cannot deal with the prices in that store. Over here we have Forever 21 which is another ridiculous place. Nobody stops and thinks about how the prices get so low and why they are so low!
I'm glad you brought up the V&R NO collection too. That first look coat with the giant NO was on my wishlist for such a long time. Of course it was just a runway sample and is probably sitting in archives somewhere not being worn :(. Thank you so much for getting so involved in the discussion!
I try to steer clear of looking into others' purchases and drawing conclusions on those. I don't like to be preachy. This is why I never post prices of anything I buy on my blog, nor do I even comment if I think something is cheap or expensive (except maybe for Hermes luggage that perhaps the entire world would come to a consensus that it is indeed expensive).
I buy because it makes me happy and that is the attitude towards purchasing that I espouse. I also believe in living and letting live, and if buying impacts other people negatively, say, if one steals in order to buy, or pollutes the environment, etc., I think that is wrong. But all in all, I think that if people buy things legitimately, there is no wrong in that.
Lately though, I've been in the habit of trying to buy only the things I really really love; I don't want to look at my closet after six months and find a pile of trendy garbage from the high street that I could not bear to wear (which is what happened just a few days ago, and I brought it all to the buy/sell shop). I also try and buy from people/institutions that I would like to support, say, if the shop owner seems to be a nice person, I'd buy from them, and also, I regularly purchase from my tailor in Manila to help keep the business of tailoring in my country going. Small steps, I am learning.
Apologies for the delayed reply to your request for a comment and I hope you find my thoughts engaging, or at the very least, I hope you find some sense in them.
Izzy - First off let me just say: I love you. now onto my reply.
I know I am suppppper preachy in real life on this topic but was hoping that I didn't come across that way in this post. I really wanted to, rather then my typical response to mass-consumption (IE mockery and derision...), explore and question it and this industry. Over the last decade a word tossed about by many has been Masstige. A basic definition is mass-prestige where luxury products (the prestige aspect) are reproduced in mass. I know I am being super snobby about the whole LV thing, but it is a masstige brand.
I agree about living and let live aspect of your argument Izzy. What I was pointing out is that it's easy to be hoodwinked into thinking we are buying legitimately. The fact of the matter is, the world consumes far too much which in turn creates too much waste in every stage of a products life. It is not the action of buying that should be making people happy, that's always a good plus. But nowadays we buy so much that it is more about the buying high then the wearing high.
I commend you for buying only the things you really love. Isn't that what we should do all the time? I know the feeling that sometimes we all get where we just need to buy and you inevitably end up with something that isn't really a loved item. Again it is pretty wonderful how much you support the tailor in Manilla, if it wasn't so expensive here I'd get more tailor made stuff.
You are a remarkable person Izzy. When I'm bored I go back and look at old posts of on your blog and it has been a pleasure to watch your evolution. No worries for the delayed response I knew it would come eventually and I'm glad I waited. Thank you very much for sharing your views, you have touched on some important points and I hope to cover this topic more in the future. <3 B
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