FASHION REBELS - but what's the cause!
Like it or not we all have a 'style - a fashion'
Most of us wear clothes most of the time.
Whether you (or others) consider yourself fashionable (or not) doesn’t exempt
anyone from the world of fashion. The minute we don our vintage jumper, our hip
jeans, our runway jacket, bespoke suit, inherited couture, or indeed, “any old
thing”, we all cross the proverbial fashion rubicon.
In my opinion “fashion” is such an ugly word.
It conjures up images of emaciated, angular, pre-adolescent, air-brushed
females, posing as strong independent women yet in truth they are mere props of
a faceless machine posturing as our messiah. The lifeless images are pitiful,
if not grotesque, in their attempt to sell anything and everything, including
themselves. Everything has a price. For some that price can never be too
high…in the name of fashion.
Fashion shopping - "it's
complicated"
Some of us consider ourselves conscientious
shoppers; we check labels to see where an item is made; we only buy certain
brands or fabrics; we may limit ourselves to a particular value or quantity; we
may even decide only to buy second-hand clothing in an attempt to abdicate
ourselves from the ongoing consumerist debate. Others, equally conscientiously,
seek out and proudly wear the latest piece, style or label. Whatever our
preferred taste or method we cannot get away from the fact that we decide to
wear something before leaving the house. Few are seen heading out in their
pyjamas or (thankfully) in the Emperors new clothes!
The world of fashion is complex and so is the
pertaining discussion. Contradictions abound; freedom for some, slavery for
others; beauty created in most ugly of conditions; sexual exploitation under
the guise of liberation; low wages for many, excessive profit for a few;
prescribed choice, surely a contradiction in terms.
Designers resent the high-street onslaught;
cheap copies of the real thing. The acclaimed Belgian designer Dries Van Noten
was quoted in The Independent
recently: “There’s too much fashion.” “Too many shows, too many collections,
and, simply, too many clothes,” he remarked. One of the few independent design
houses left, with an estimated annual turnover around 50 million Euros. Despite
the industry pressure to compromise on many areas of design and manufacture he
has boldly stood his ground, where he can. Yet fashion is his life so it is
difficult to swallow his protests wholesale.
Recent collaborations between various
designers, most recently Marni, and H&M have hit the news for their rapid
sell-out success, with fashion hungry customers queuing overnight to get their
hands on cheap couture! In 2010 The New
York Times carried the headline: “Fast Fashion Meets Couture in Paris Paris
I find the discussion confusing and inconsistent. It seems everyone
is cutting corners. In the debate between quality and quantity everyone, high
fashion and high street alike, are compromising on quality and encouraging us
all to buy more. How else would they flourish as they do?
It's a worldwide market - worldwide consequences
So how to navigate this fashion maze. Should we spend more and buy
less, spend less and buy more, or even spend less and buy less? Should we worry
about it at all? As long as we are not spending beyond our budget, a no brainer
rule, are there any other factors to consider? What?
The Financial
Times reported in Sept 2011 on China
Globilisation, the rapidly spreading pandemic of consumerism,
capitalism, the free market – these are terms that we have all become very
familiar with, if not with their exact meaning at least their caricature. To
put it simply, more stuff is available, the same stuff is available all over
the world, almost all stuff has a price, stuff is creatively built to quickly
deconstruct so the demand for replacement stuff is assured, stuff that we need
but more importantly stuff that we (or more likely someone else) have decided
we need. Some stuff is nicer than others for sure but how to make our way
through such a pile of stuff?
The Bible - your ultimate fashion guide??
As a Christian I am wondering if the Bible has any advice to give on
the subject. Genesis 2 describes the state of human beings pre-rebellion as
“naked and unashamed.” One of the effects of their rebellion was that they
became aware of their nakedness. It became a problem to them. Their
vulnerability made them afraid. To mitigate their fear and shame God made
clothes for the wretched pair, and hence the fashion industry was birthed.
The Bible has little to say prescriptively on the subject. Various
garments are described, including the ornate and intricately designed priestly
garments. Exodus 39, for example, describes in wondrous detail the clothes for
Aaron, the high priest. Surely they would rival the most luxurious and detailed
pieces of today’s couture. Such majestic clothing was befitting those in the
service of God. In contrast the garments of lament, or mourning are also
described. Sackcloth is about as minimalist as you can get. In the Bible the
state of the human heart is truly worn on the sleeve – regal garments for
holiness, sackcloth for grief.
Moving into the New Testament 1 Peter 3:3 advises women not to be so
concerned on their outward appearance, on appearing fashionable, but instead to
pursue “holy beauty,” beauty marked by gentleness and graciousness rather than
labels and trends. This is not to say that we should not wear nice clothes but
to properly place our energy, passion and values. If our chief desire is to
worship God and become all that He has created us to be then we must pursue
purity of heart first and everything else, including what we wear, second,
because whatever condition our heart is in will, eventually, determine who we
are, how we live, what we value, and maybe even what we wear.
The Bible may have little to offer in terms of specific advice
except not to worry so much about the external, it is the state of the internal
that deserves our attention. However, there are many general principles that,
to state the obvious, can be applied generally, including to the fashion
industry. Each could be fleshed out more, and more could be added, but this is
merely a discussion contribution not the discussion.
Guiding Principles
The first principle that springs to mind is that of Sabbath. The
theme of Sabbath runs throughout the
Bible. It includes one day of rest a week, one year of rest every seven years
and an additional year of rest every fifty years. This Jubilee year sees the
cancellation of debts, the chance to begin again, freedom from all kinds of
slavery. Surely at its heart that is what the fashion industry needs - rest.
How else to curb its assault? If it
won’t rest we must. We must take time away from a world that seeks to define
us, to create us in its image. I fear that few of us are suitably aware of how
programmed our decisions are. We fail to properly see the control of marketers
and advertising agencies, perpetually selling us an identity. Under the guise
of diversity we settle, again and again, for conformity. We are created as
unique human beings, yet we so quickly submit to influences that we are barely
aware of. We need time to rest, to redirect our attention to the Creator, to
live again into our distinct and holy purpose. Stop following the crowd. Rest.
Rest can change the world!
A key Biblical refrain is, “tell
your children.” The biblical trajectory is multi-generational. Decisions
are made with the future in mind. That is why we must take seriously the
creation mandate to steward creation. We will be held to account for the state
of the world that we pass on. This relates to the fashion industry in many
ways. It is up to us to check how clothes are made, how workers are treated,
how production (and soon their destruction) affects the world around us.
Ignorance is no defence. Are the poor being sold or even bought for the worth
of a pair of sandals? What are we setting in motion that future generations
will reap the havoc from? We can’t go on ignoring the glaring inconsistencies
and injustices in the fashion industry and not expect a predictable outcome for
our children of further injustice. It is a truism that we, or our children,
reap what we sow (pardon the pun!).
Linked with the longsightedness of our Ancient brothers and sisters,
their ability to consider the “now” in the light of the “not yet”, was their
emphasis on waiting rather than instant
gratification. If anything defines our modern culture it is the cult of the
instant. The most recent economic recession has done little to curb our
insatiable desire for, and expectation of, everything now. We would be foolish
to wait – it might be sold out in your size, there is only one left, once it is
gone it is gone – we will loose out. Will we? Many of us have spent well into
our future to purchase something that will have lost its prized status long
before we have cleared it off our credit cards. We are all consumers and, the
Bible tells us, what we spend our money on is an indicator of the posture of
our hearts, of our true object of worship. If we continue to follow the crowd
we will inevitably become mere spectators and consumers rather than living out
our own incredible story. If we become what we worship do we want to become
another marketable commodity, at the whim of the free-market and faceless
forces, or the truly free, thinking individuals we were created to be? It seems
strange, even pitiful, that we all strive so hard to look the same.
Sexualisation of
fashion
Speaking of commodification it brings me to another point to
consider. Why do so many of us, especially females, sell themselves so short,
literally! They wear barely any clothes, clearly displaying what they consider
their worth to be. The sexualisation of fashion is endemic in the industry. I
read an article recently in a prestigious fashion magazine written about a
top-earning model who was sharing, with more than a touch of disgust and shame,
about watching less experienced models sell themselves to get ahead. A
“special” favor here, a grope there, little gestures with devastating
consequences. Everyone, it seems, including the model being interviewed, turns
a blind-eye, and we know what a self-fulfilling prophesy that is. It pubescent
(natural or assisted) bodies, eager to promote what they know the world wants.
For a moment of empty attention they are willing to trade their sacred
dignity.
Throw away fashion?
Another facet of the long-sighted view is that much clothing is
chosen to fit into a fad, designed to become soon redundant, to make way for
the next. Fabrics reflect this disposable fashion. Clothes are made fit for
purpose – to last only a few wears, and cheap enough to make laundering almost
pointless.
The price of beauty
I didn’t intent this piece to become a rant but as you can tell
anything that robs human beings of their essential image-bearing dignity,
whether the exploited worker or wearer, heats my blood. What is worse we
persist in choosing less than what we are for. In small or larger ways we
compromise, and are satisfied that we look pretty while doing it. You deserve
more.
A recent visit to the high-street (the line between high fashion and
high-street has become so blurred that I am using high-street to refer to both)
left me cold. Like little hamsters on a wheel we all run round and round
subject to the advertisements that inform us of what we want, what we need, and
so it goes. Needless to say some wheels are nicer than others but all equal in
their limitation of free movement. We need to stop and ask – what is it all
about?
So where does that leave us? Beauty is an obvious, fundamental
characteristic of God’s good creation. Genesis describes the fruit in Eden
The bottom line... generosity
Like many complex issues it is sometimes easier to see what to avoid
rather than what to embrace. This is a difficult place to remain so I am
proposing until we get further clarification that rather than feeling
immobilized that we mobilize around the core biblical principle of generosity.
Few of us will go naked if for a while we give away rather that receive. If we
see someone in need to give them what they need and more. This may not sound
like major rebellion but believe me it is. It dismantles the wheel and we will
find ourselves in brave new world. In this unknown space, anything is possible.
Surely it’s worth a go! Then let’s have a discussion about fashion.
As C.S. Lewis put it, “Christianity is the story of how the rightful
King has landed, you might say in disguise, and is calling us all to take part
in His great campaign of sabotage.” Now that sounds much more exciting than a
bag of stuff from H&M or even Jack Wills?!
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