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!
