Why Care about Fashion?
Last weekend I had the incredible privilege to attend my first TEDx event focusing on the topic “Who Cares?” For those of you who don’t know about TED talks, they revolve around the theme of Technology, Entertainment, and Design to essentially share “ideas worth spreading” to improve, inspire, and change our communities. The talks suit all types of interests and will leave you reflecting yourself and how you can improve your own lifestyle and approach to life. You can find all of their videos at their website ted.com or search “Ted talks” on youtube.
WARNING: They are extremely addicting, and you will have your mind blown by the sheer greatness of these inspirational speeches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSn6GP0UhKM
Anyway, on Saturday we listened to 8 brilliant speakers with different themes- from antibiotic resistance to the future of democracy to sustainability to gender inequality just to name a few…- and I want now to apply what I learned to not who cares, but "why care about fashion?” Before I start, I want to emphasize that these speakers are working with life changing organizations that have directly improved people’s lives (such as Operation Smile) and these actions cannot be compared to the general industry of fashion, but I feel the lessons I learned from these (I’m just gonna say) heroes can be applied to many areas in life.
Direct TED talk quotations are in bold.
This was stated by our first speaker Malin Forsgren who put her career aside to build Operation Smile Sweden- an inspiring organization, which provides surgery for children with facial deformities around the world. Her work as a humanitarian is inspiring but I’d like to take her point and go further by saying it encourages greatness- no matter what field or outcome you aspire to.
Fashion combines utility and art. Designers spend months incorporating their and/or society’s feelings into their pieces through color, style, patterns, and themes in order to create something of meaning. Corresponding fashion event managers sometimes spend millions of dollars for the runway to convey an emotion from the audience- this season we want excitement, the next we want romance, how about rebellion in the future? Why? So we the consumer can take part of a story and communicate on an unwritten level.
At the core, fashion is generated by emotion and generates emotion. Without this vital ingredient, designers can never be motivated to master their work or elevate their own skill and craftsmanship. If designers only created because of reason and fulfilling a demand, could the human experience ever be translated? Could we visually see and feel what it means to be alive from new angles and perspectives? I don’t think so. I would argue that emotion doesn't only lead to action, but it leads to genius.
Fashion is not only based on emotion, but it is a reflection of our society and yes, we can learn from what we wear… right now. Martin Wehlou stated “You don’t find an answer in history, you find it in the present.” I can support this by simply looking around from my seat in this cafe. Some are wearing beanies, no one is wearing high-heels, one man is wearing a suit, 90% are wearing jeans… What do you make of this compared to 20 years ago? 50 years ago? You could easily analyze this social situation and find a snapshot of what is happening in this community at this time. Whether you ask questions from a political standpoint or maybe the perspective of a business entrepreneur- if you open your eyes and look around you- you begin to learn about what people want, what they represent, the social climate ect… simply by looking at their clothing and personal style.
On a more severe note, fashion is directly linked with society due to it’s consequences and we can not ignore that every piece we buy leaves a trail (Jan Cihlar), some which may not be pretty. We need to care where our jeans come from. Who made them? In what conditions? What is the environmental impact? Do we need to buy mountains of clothing from H&M and Zara and then throw them away after a year? (In the UK, more than 1,000,000,000 kg of textile is sent to landfill every year) Wouldn’t it be reasonable that instead of 5 cheap shirts you get 2 long lasting quality shirts that last for years? Our purchases have consequences and it is up to us to decide what to support. Yet another reason why we need to care about fashion- a sustainable future.
Most importantly though, fashion is I would argue, the most persuasive and important medium of our own personal expression. It gives us all the opportunity to express our culture, our values, our personalities. We can exercise our freedoms and our beliefs. We can act as role models and inspire others. Fashion allows us to physically create our dreams and fantasies, and this adds color and value to our beautiful world. Just imagine if we all wore the same thing, let’s pretend beige overalls, and we all looked the same. Life wouldn’t be fulfilled without a splash of color and diversity. We are encouraged to express ourselves and be who we are. With fashion or anything in life you should “believe in your own creative voice” and above all, “Remember to remember to dream” (Ida Lod).
This is why I think we should care about fashion. Would you agree?
P.S While I was discussing this topic with a friend of mine (of course at a cafe), a dear 80+ year old man was sketching us quietly in the corner without us knowing in the corner. Here is the results. Such a touching moment!
