Incomplete Book Review: Stitched Up The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion

I recently purchased the above title, written by Tansy E. Hoskins. As a fashion lover and an amateur designer, I am consciously aware that both the fashion and retail industries, just like any other industry, should constantly be questioned on their role as profit making companies and the welfare that they may or may not bring to society. 

This book pretty much sums up what I am interested in: fashion, economics, philosophy and everything else. I just bought this book yesterday, and thus I will only review a few of its chapters and incorporate some of my personal opinions and provocations that are imperative to the subject of discussion. I am really interested in the politics of naming and labelling in the fashion industry; that those outside a certain demographic (Paris/Milan/London/New York – the main fashion capitals) do not do “fashion,” but rather only produce “clothing” or “apparel”. However, the processes of creating the garments for the “fashion” industry are mostly being outsourced to China, India, Nicaragua, Columbia, etc. I question, what really makes the difference? 

A dress is not just a “structure of meaning,” but it is a commodity produced by a corporation and sold on the market for a profit at a huge environmental cost, targeting poor vulnerable workers. This book discusses the issue between Karl Marx and Karl Lagerfeld (symbolically) as it delves into the lavish world of fashion, exploring issue of class, consumerism, beneficiaries of exploitation, the race factor in fashion, and much more. Personally my favorite quote from this book comes from the feminist academic Audre Lorde, who stated that “there is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we don’t live single issue lives.” Please feel free to approach me to borrow this book when I am done with it - I will share more in the comment sections if I do so!

My work with Parque La Libertad in Costa Rica

Parque La Libertad

I want to talk about my work with Parque La Libertad in Costa Rica this past summer. Every day I had to wake at 5am, make a two-hour, two-bus trip to a low-income town called Desamparados. The work of the park was to serve as a bridge to unite all the communities together within the town. It planned to be build upon the area where a previous cement factory used to operate before; much of the work of the park was to remove all the cement and build green areas and buildings for the community to both gather and share spaces and interests, as well as to recreate an ecological fauna for all to share, enjoy and protect. The mission of the park is to attract the youth of the community, specially the high-risk adolescents who are more prone to be exposed to drugs and gangs, and tempted to drop out of school due to poverty and cultural reasons. Thus far, the park wishes to attract the youth, and provide them with social benefits, to safe recreational and artistic activities, and in that way to also guide them to continue their path to education. Although the park is still under construction and still requires mush organization, already you can see the youth gathering around the park attending classes. My work there was to assist the staff, and workers in many projects, from environmental awareness projects and planting trees, to working with kids in activates, and even open up conversations with the teenagers that came to the park. It was a great experience for me because the fact that I am a native Spanish speaker, allowed me directly to integrate myself with the people of community, to understand their goals, aspirations and demands. This also allowed for them to open space of solidarity and hybridity, in where we would build of from our difference and commonalities, The park still needs much work, but It has done so much in the few years since it began, so I highly encourage anyone interested in going to Costa Rica, to check this amazing park this next summer.

 Here's a link to the website.

http://www.parquelalibertad.org

Class Infographic | Fall 2013