Lenny Mcdonald

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Fashions effect on People.

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Fashion has influenced and affected people across the globe, Clothes have formed individual identities and expressions for different cultures and nationalities; from kimonos to the sari these items of clothing have represented individual cultures which showcases the large effect fashion has on individual identity.

Recently, the fashion industry has been trying multiple ways to influence and affect younger generations because ‘currently Gen Z and millennials now represent a broad – and for most fashion businesses, crucial – swathe of consumers.’ This is valuable as due to the effect of social media activism and cancel culture, Gen Z has advocated for diversity, inclusivity and other under-representations such as body positivity. This has helped limit the harsh effect the fashion industry has previously had on people and their perceptions, this is evident in the early 2000s with the rise of Victoria’s Secret Angels which showcased an unattainable and unhealthy beauty standard, harmful as ‘population most likely to be influenced negatively by images showing exceptionally thin female models, exposure to fashion imagery has detrimental psychological affects for both men and women.’ Not only this but other brands like Dolce and Gabbana’s showcased a damaging patriarchal view on women as well as a complete lack of diversity in their marketing campaigns.

Circling back to how fashion can represent different cultures, it is not only important for this to be accepted in the industry but also showcased to the global fashion industry audience “When we begin to allow Black people to be free of repressive conditioning, intolerance and self-imposed limitation, when the Black man and woman can act without fear of letting the Black race down, we will begin to see an end to institutional racism.” Joe Casely-Hayford OBE. These changes can be implemented by designers of privilege and disrupt/fix old views and mindsets, this can be seen in Dior by Kim Jones’s spring/summer 2021 show which featured Dior’s first all-black model cast.

Having a range of people being reflected in marketing, shows and e-commerce creates a positive fashion effect on people as it eradicates the old dominant cultural representations, white gaze and lack of objectification in women as brands like Victoria’s Secret have completely done a 360 on their old values due to new generations and replaced it with an embrace of different bodies, cis-gender identities and a shift away from the male gaze. Not only does having a lack of values affect the brand image it also affects the brand’s business as ’46.8% saying they have abandoned a purchase that did not align with their values.’

Fashion is used by everyone and so its effects can be harmful so it should be regulated by audiences to ensure people are not negatively affected.

References –
Drapers. B, (2022). Gen Z and Millennials. 1-2. https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022.
Drapers. B, (2022). Gen Z and Millennials. 20-25. https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022.
Mair, C. (2018). The psychology of fashion. Routledge.

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Effects of Fashion on the Planet

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By Lenny McDonald 

The global fashion industry has a major effect on the planet, especially under the current global warming crisis where the fashion industry is the world’s second-biggest polluter.

Concepts such as the triple bottom line imply that fashion brands should focus equal attention on environmental and social issues as much as profits, which creates a focus on sustainable thinking, an example of a ‘fashion brand’ doing the opposite of this is the infamous Shein which is contributing to overconsumption, waste culture, pollution and a violation of workers rights due to their linear systems which take, make and waste. 

However, Mid-range to High-end Fashion brands have consistently been pushing ‘sustainability’ as a core feature of their brand’s purpose or their marketing campaigns to attract new social awareness of consumers and their impact on the planet. 

Even the United Nations has implemented the SDGs which are 17 goals to protect the society, environment and economy. This provides guidelines to fashion brands as it provides goals to cut down or eradicate the mass animal farming for leather and fur, the 20% of global water waste (European Parliament, 05-06-23) caused by the fashion industry and the child labour within the garment production within certain countries.

As each fashion House continues to produce a new spring/summer and fall/winter collection each fashion week, it highlights the importance of a circular economy which is the use of maintaining, reusing, refurbishing and recycling the materials and clothing pieces that each brand produces, this allows for the quality of clothes to increase as currently global fibre percentages consist of 68% oil based textiles, 26% cotton, 11% other fibres and 1% wool. 

Furthermore, increased quality prolongs the lifespan of the product and therefore can be given multiple ‘second lives’ via second-hand apps such as Depop or donations to charity. This idea of circular thinking aligns with the 12th SDG goal which aims for responsible consumption and reproduction. 

We have seen brands such as Stella McCartney pledge to be more sustainable and build their brand image around this factor which Is important as we need to see this shift from Fashion houses as ‘we have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe’ (The guardian, UN, Oct 8 2018) and as the second largest polluter, the industry must cut CO2 emissions must by 50%. It is not only a fashion brand’s responsibility to be sustainable but also consumers as we have the power to reduce, reuse and recycle our consumptions into the fashion industry. 

References – 

https://www.geneco.uk.com/news/fast-fashion-and-its-impacts#:~:text=Globally, the fashion industry is,modern car for 6,000 miles.

https://press.un.org/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm#:~:text=Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on,23 September with concrete, realistic

Gwilt, A. (2020). A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion. London: Fairchild Books.

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My fav fashion brand ⭐️

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My favourite fashion house is Bottega Veneta, Since Matthieu Blazy became creative director he shifted the brand designs and overall aesthetic to something that matches my taste, the effortlessly chic looks and innovative trompe-loeil effects showcase the mix of design and craftsmanship while still being fun and fresh. Bottega’s lack of use of logos makes the brand a lot more refreshing and instead uses small repetitive details that you aren’t used to seeing such as their sardine bag, even the marketing captures models having fun which emits the vibe of the brand. The styling each season is perfect and the mix match of silhouettes creates a more natural feel as it showcases that it really comes down to the individual’s personal style and how they wear it not having to buy the whole look from the runway. The bags are great and the whole aesthetic of the brand is cool, this is why I love it.

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