Week Starters
Start your week on the right foot with these informative topics regarding world issues and relevant topics
by Corey Gray ![]() Art isn’t fashionable. Excluding those #trendy socks with renditions of classical paintings on them, of course. But the days of fashion being treated as an art are dwindling. Nowadays, we’re all about fast fashion and following trends like out lives depend on it. Oh, faux leather and fringe is in this season? Just let me hop on over to Forever 21 and get some cheaply and unethically made, but affordable pieces that will only last for as long as the trend. It’s great that there is a lot of affordable trendy clothing available, but it has carved a deep divide between ethics and art, and fashion. I got into fashion because clothes gave me a voice
when I was too shy to have one. I used to be mortified at the thought of voicing an opinion, or talking to new people. I got tunnel vision and turned bright red when called on in class, and presentations made me want to burrow a hole into the cold and dirty tiled floor of my high school and cry. When I started experimenting with my fashion, I felt a strange liberation. Over time, I became much more unconventional with my wardrobe. I still had bad social anxiety, but I felt so much more confident knowing I could express myself and let people get to know me by just looking at me. I knew that even if I bumbled through an awkward conversation with a stranger, they could get a solid idea of who I am just by what I’m wearing. I ended up going to school for fashion, and after being surrounded by fashion majors for a year, it became very apparent that fashion isn’t really treated as a means of self- expression, instead it’s just a bunch of people striving to look like each other. Fast fashion reigns over the industry currently, meaning it’s all about staying on top of runway trends and dulling them down and then mass producing them as cheaply and quickly as possible so that you can shop all of the trends without breaking the bank. Think stores like Zara, Forever 21, ASOS, and Primark. The rise of fast fashion has very much contributed to the decline of art in the fashion industry. Now that people can literally just buy what everyone else is wearing and be thought of as fashionable for it. Trends have become gospel in the age of social media. Now that we can see what the celebs and those Instagram models are wearing, we think that’s what we need to wear. We don’t have to put any thought into it, and there’s an ease and comfort to that. Knowing that if you wear this basic baby blue halter crop top and black leggings with a tattoo choker you’ll fit within the confines of current fashion, then why wouldn’t you want to do it? People like to play it safe, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I do have a problem when you view yourself as fashionable or want to get into the fashion industry just because you’re capable of buying literally anything you find in H&M. People have it very easy nowadays because the industry is so on top of trends. You could walk into a fast fashion store blindfolded and still pick out a “fashionable’, albeit not memorable, outfit. It’s almost like paint by numbers at this point. Companies are setting out exact outfits, so someone who keeps on eye on the fashion industry and runway trends can feel like they are curating an on trend outfit, and someone who doesn’t know anything about the fashion industry can walk into the same store and grab the same exact outfit because it’s just set out for them. Fashion should be anything but thoughtless. Something that people should really keep in mind is that fast fashion is often unethically manufactured. In order for a company to sell you a $7 shirt, they need to manufacture their clothing as cheaply as possible, and that often means sweatshops. Companies like Forever 21 and The Gap have been under fire for their use of sweatshops and child labor both in the U.S. and across seas. I don’t see why people would buy $8 bath bombs from Lush because they’re cruelty free and vegan, but they won’t spend a little extra money for ethically manufactured clothing. Instead of buying eight pieces from Forever 21 that will start falling apart and end up forgotten at the bottom of your closet, why not spend a little extra for one ethically manufactured piece that you really love and would wear for years? You shouldn’t have to buy a bunch of new pieces every time a new trend comes around. Fashion should be about expressing yourself. I don’t know what you are saying about yourself with your Van’s Sk8-Hi’s, light-wash high-waisted skinny jeans, basic t-shirt, and half-up- half-down bun. If you’re going to say that fashion is one of your interests, you should have a point of view with it. It’s like saying that you’re really into cooking, but you only make pb&j’s. There is nothing that should be stopping people from expressing their unique selves with fashion. Some inexpensive ways to bump up your wardrobe with unique pieces that reflect your point of view is checking out your local thrift stores for fun pieces, DIYing things you already have, and if you know how to sew, you’d be surprised how easy it is to repurpose clothes into a completely different garment. Please help me bring art and integrity back into the fashion industry. Fashion is an art form, but the art is dying. Wear more individual pieces, think about where you’re pieces are coming from, and don’t pay so much attention to trends. You can still pay attention to trends while keeping it unique to your own style by adapting a trend and really making it your own. Fashion should take some thought and should have some impact. You should have something to say with your style, because, after all, it is the first thing anyone notices about you. Do you want people to think you’re a cookie cutter piece of white bread, or a person with their own opinions and individual outlook? I think we all need to remember that fashion is so much more than just clothes; fashion is powerful. Fashion can start revolutions, fashion gives you a whole new perspective on life, fashion can represent your heritage, and fashion can make you an icon. Fashion isn’t about following the trends, it’s about setting them.
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