{"id":33820,"date":"2020-05-21T02:50:07","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T02:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceofthetime.net\/?p=2486"},"modified":"2021-08-10T14:03:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T12:03:28","slug":"post-pandemic-fashion-and-frugal-abundance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceofthetime.com\/dlc\/2020\/05\/21\/post-pandemic-fashion-and-frugal-abundance\/","title":{"rendered":"POST-PANDEMIC FASHION AND FRUGAL ABUNDANCE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
A story by Enzo Dal Verme<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

L<\/span>ast September I was in London (remember? In the pre-pandemic world we could travel!) and I noticed an advertisement repeated along the tube station walls. Pinkish posters depicted a shopaholic girl carrying lots of shopping bags. A sheared white poodle and a flashy pink car where part of the scene in front of what seemed to be the entrance of a Miami or Los Angeles villa. The testimonial? Saweetie, the rapper that sings: 
\u201cRich nigga, eight-figure, that\u2019s my type\u2026
Bitch please (Bitch), Lamborghini keys\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Every element in that message was finely tuned: from her expression to the fake nails to the overall mood. I knew that there was a target consumer that responded to those values, those stimuli. The visual impact was very strong, strong enough to knock me out of my bland-acceptance mode. Why had the brand chosen to go that way?
 I found the campaign anachronistic, out of step with the times. The feel was too detached from what was going on in the world. Back then (just a few months ago!), the Extinction Rebellion<\/strong><\/a> movement and Greta Thunberg<\/strong> were dominating the news. Vogue Teen had just dedicated its cover to Greta and attention to the environment was palpable everywhere. The image of a fashion victim carrying all those shoppers seemed out of place, especially in London, where the Extinction Rebellion movement started.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

During the following months, Greta was featured on fashion covers\u200a\u2014\u200aGQ, ID, \u2026\u200a\u2014\u200aand Time magazine nominated her Person Of The Year. No matter how many people criticize Greta, she has indisputably injected new impetus into the movement away from reckless consumerism and toward a more sustainable future. People have started flying less and questioning the consequences of their purchases in general. Fashion was no exception. Why? \u201cThe fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined\u201d<\/em> read an October Business Insider<\/a> headline. And in December, in a long article<\/a> full of examples on sustainable fashion, Vogue stated: \u201cAn estimated 50 million tons of clothing is discarded every year, and most of it will not biodegrade in a landfill. [\u2026] We\u2019re phasing out single-use plastic and paper bags from our lives, and we should think about our clothes the same way.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Many other articles on the subject have been published in mainstream magazines. So what is happening? Fashion magazines used to give little importance to news and data on sustainability, but in the last months we have been witnessing a shift. Actually it\u2019s been long in coming. An event that compelled media attention to the subject was the tragedy in Bangladesh on April 24, 2013. The Rana Plaza building, a huge garment factory, collapsed, becoming the fourth largest industrial disaster in history: 1,138 people dead, 2,500 injured. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Fashion Revolution<\/strong><\/a> was born and their campaign for systemic change in the fashion industry started. Consumers were suddenly asked to answer questions like: Have you ever wondered who made your clothes, how much they\u2019re paid and what their lives are like? This brought new scrutiny and pressure on trendy brands. The fashion industry, undisputed realm of the superfluous, normally aloof to environmental and social problems, was being asked to contemplate the implications and consequences of its own choices. <\/p>\n

\u201cBrands and retailers are still not taking enough responsibility for the pay and working conditions in their factories,\u201d<\/em> states the Fashion Revolution website, \u201cthe environmental impacts of the materials they use or how the products they make affect the health of people, animals and our living planet.\u201d<\/em><\/blockquote>\n

Fast forward: the Coronavirus pandemic arrived and obliged us to do what we would have probably never done on our own\u200a\u2014\u200atake a break from our furious rhythm. All sectors were affected: tourism, luxury, entertainment, and, of course, fashion. The forced halt of all activities has led, among other things, to a reduction in pollution. The air has become cleaner, the sky bluer, our spaces more peaceful. 
We have known for years that our way of living is not sustainable and needs to change. In the \u201980s and \u201990s, French emeritus professor of economics Serge Latouche<\/strong> was already urging us to embrace frugality. Mind you, frugality is not misery. In fact, he talks about \u201cfrugal abundance\u201d. He got some attention, but the majority haven\u2019t shown much interest in his proposal for \u201chappy degrowth\u201d. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if Giorgio Armani<\/strong> ever read any of Serge Latouche\u2019s books, but he recently showed the intention to go roughly in that direction. \u201cIt makes no sense for one of my jackets or suits to live in the shop for three weeks before becoming obsolete, replaced by new goods that are not too different,\u201d<\/em> he wrote in his open letter to WWD<\/a> on April 3rd, \u201cThis crisis is an opportunity to slow down and realign everything; to define a more meaningful landscape.\u201d<\/em>
King Giorgio is not alone. Fashion trend forecaster Li Edelkoorf<\/strong> stated<\/a> at about the same time: <\/p>\n

\u201cwe can start up from scratch and build new systems where social and common aspects outweigh the ego, where morals and values overrule shareholder profits, and where collaboration and cooperation prevail to give more people equal opportunities.\u201d<\/em><\/blockquote>\n

Let this sink in. Ideas that just a few years ago seemed crazy or \u201calternative\u201d are now entering the mainstream. Are we really at the brink of an epochal shift toward a more sustainable lifestyle? <\/p>\n

\n
\n
 <\/div>\n