Fashion & lifestyle

John Keats, Inspiration From the Classics

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A Metaphor for Life at the Time of Social Media


Exploring the literary classics, such as the works of John Keats, offers timeless guidance and profound inspiration, with reflections that resonate even in our modern era. Sometimes, while searching for something work-related, certain words catch your eye and prompt deep reflection. Read this:

“How beautiful are the retired flowers! — how would they lose their beauty were they to throng into the highway, crying out: ‘Admire me, I am a violet! Dote upon me, I am a primrose!'”

John Keats

This vividly depicts today’s digital culture, where the cry for attention has become a widespread behaviour. Keats’ words resonate as a metaphor for life in the age of social media. In fact, they exquisitely describe the “please-look-at-me” attitude that seems to dominate human existence. Like a virtual marketplace that seems more like a butcher shop, people expose their bodies or specific parts. Specifically, boobs, bottoms, abs. Also, tag themselves in luxury locations, or post bizarre videos. It appears to be the only way to affirm human existence. Posts are often superficial, heavily filtered, or outright fake, with little value in the shared content. In our digital age, social media has become a platform that fuels a desperate quest for attention. Being noticed is all that counts.

In contrast, Keats’ observation highlights the inherent beauty in modesty and subtlety. His words poignantly capture the essence of how the quest for validation diminishes the beauty and value of one’s presence and contributions. Just as flowers would lose their charm if they demanded admiration, so too do people on social media lose their appeal when they seek validation.

Thus, the classics represent a timeless source of inspiration that helps us understand our modern-day lifestyle. John Keats’ insightful quote reminds us of the essence of modesty and the understated elegance. Qualities we lose in the pursuit of attention. It’s a powerful call to appreciate the quiet beauty in ourselves and in the world around us, without the need for constant validation.

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What is the Problem with People?

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Modern Lifestyle in the Face of Climate Emergency


What is the problem with people? Why, in the face of a looming climate disaster, do they fail to take action and persist in irresponsible behaviours? This question is crucial in contemporary society.

Any serious reflection on the fashion industry, which is our focus, must consider the big picture – human nature, psychology, economics, philosophy, and more. Setting priorities and reaching a consensus on that.

“People don’t want to see” – Rupert Read


“At the end of the day, the problem is not that the people aren’t smart enough to see; it is that they don’t want to see. These people don’t want to face reality. But reality is starting to bite us.” So stated Rupert Read, an academic, former spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, and current director of the Climate Majority Project, during a panel addressing climate emergency.

Investigating the reasons behind inaction in the face of an undeniably alarming reality, Rupert Read offers a sobering response. We seem to be heading toward the end of civilization.

However, these insights are crucial for any serious analysis of the fashion industry and the broader economic system. As we scrutinise the fashion system, revealing its outdated and irresponsible practices, we realise we are confronting a cultural issue. This issue is deeply embedded in our economic system and human nature.

For instance, consumer spending has skyrocketed because products are now designed to be disposable, necessitating continuous replacement. Despite the obvious unsustainability of this model, people seem unwilling to change their habits.

We chose to act now. That’s why we changed how we operate our fashion business: small, lean, independent, value-driven. We select a limited number of pieces – no packaging, no waste. But most don’t understand it’s an intentional radical choice. Good design, quality and fairly paid workers – therefore made-to-last products – don’t come at low prices.

Conclusion


In short, what is the problem with people? According to Rupert Read, it’s not that people don’t see; they prefer to deny reality. This denial allows them to maintain their lifestyle – shopping for cheap green-labelled garments, eating fast food, or taking frequent flights, yet opting for improbable sustainable hotels. So conscience is clear.

And you, what are you choosing to do?

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Who Supports Independent Labels?

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Exploring The Current Fashion Scenario


There’s a poignant question in the fashion industry: who supports independent labels? The current fashion context is volatile, unstable and tough – especially for independent designers who struggle to survive. Just like independent fashion retailers. Therefore, many are making the difficult decision to close their businesses.

The current fashion scenario: mass fashion


On the one hand, there is mass fashion, encompassing both luxury brands and fast fashion. Despite their differences in price and perceived exclusivity, they follow the same model: overproduction, overconsumption, and exploitation of natural resources, labour, and human rights.
What do mass brands do? Business as usual; now cloaked in a veneer of greenwashing. And what do people want from them? Business as usual. Greenwashing allows consumers to feel comfortable with their purchases and lifestyles. We can affirm this because, even though consumers are aware of brands’ unfair practices towards people and the planet, they continue to support them wholeheartedly.

Niche brands and independent labels


On the other hand, there are niche designers, or small independent labels who produce limited quantities, creating a leaner and respectful business. Their prices are much higher than fast fashion for obvious reasons, yet lower than luxury brands. Unfortunately, according to Financial Times Fashion, many independent labels have had to close their doors this year. Although the article focuses on the US situation, it’s no different in Europe.

What happens to them, as well as to the independent retailers who support them? People complain about their prices, showing little understanding or respect for their work. In the end, what do they do? Consumers often choose fast fashion or discounted luxury brands while preaching sustainability and human rights support.

Conclusion


So, who supports independent labels? A very tiny percentage of free thinkers. Perhaps not enough to sustain their businesses. The risk of a polarised fashion industry is very strong. Based on this brief exploration, we must ask: will information and education ever contribute to creating a more diverse fashion scenario?  Or are we doomed to an irresponsible and destructive mass fashion?

Share your thoughts with us. We’d love to hear from you!

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Emerging Brands Can’t Afford the Fashion Industry

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Red Carpets Free-Outfits Expose a Sick System


Emerging brands can’t afford the cost of the fashion industry. The contemporary fashion industry poses insurmountable challenges for emerging designers, especially regarding the financial burden of celebrity endorsements. This issue was thrust into the spotlight by an Instagram post from 1Granary, which resonated deeply and exposed the harsh reality of an unsustainable system.

We explored this topic in 2021, but the situation remains unchanged, highlighting the persistent struggles new designers face in an industry dominated by high costs and elite influencers.

We have reached a point where celebrities collect numerous outfits from various brands, both famous and emerging. While established brands pay celebrities to wear their clothes, emerging designers often provide garments for free, lured by the promise of gaining visibility. However, this exposure doesn’t pay the rent. More often than not, the provided outfits are never worn and are returned at the designer’s expense, highlighting a glaring lack of respect and consideration.

What’s the point of stars wearing luxury designer clothes on red carpets when it’s common knowledge they don’t pay for these outfits?

Red carpets & free outfits: Exposing a bloated and sick system


Let us express a few considerations:

  • Corporations own luxury brands and have the funds to promote a system that manipulates consumer behaviour.
  • This is marketing! Marketing has always targeted women, traditionally deemed as fragile and easy to influence or manipulate. Unfortunately, women fall into this trap.
  • Historical Context: In the 1980s, Giorgio Armani pioneered the strategy of dressing Hollywood stars to sell to the American middle class. In an era of massive overproduction and a booming economy, perhaps this strategy made sense. Following Armani’s lead, other designers began giving outfits to stars, resulting in the middle class – primarily women – purchasing these outfits.
  • Current Realities: Today, the landscape is starkly different. The middle class has been eroded, and the economic model is collapsing. Amid ecological breakdown, this marketing tactic feels increasingly obsolete and irresponsible. Most importantly, some consumers are tired of being treated as mere tools in a marketing ploy.

Conclusion: How can emerging brands afford this fashion system?


In essence, the fashion industry has flipped the script: celebrities who can easily afford expensive clothes are given outfits for free. And they are even paid to wear them. This reversal means that those who are most able to buy these clothes are not the ones contributing to the industry’s profits. While those who can least afford to bear the costs are manipulated into purchasing overpriced items. This system creates a distorted market. But also inflates retail prices, as the cost of celebrity marketing is passed on to consumers.

Clearly, emerging designers can’t afford the financial burdens imposed by the contemporary fashion industry. This entire system lacks logic and respect, leaving new talents struggling to survive.

Imagine a different approach: What if celebrities purchase their outfits? Luxury designers could donate the proceeds to charity, and emerging designers could support their creative work and pay their rent. This vision promotes a fashion industry that supports creativity and fairness, rather than perpetuating a cycle of exploitation and exclusion.

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What Does it Mean to Be a Fashion Designer Today?

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Emerging Brands & Investors: Between Change and Status Quo


What does it mean to be a fashion designer today? Launching a brand in today’s fashion landscape is a complex and challenging endeavour. But most follow outdated rules, missing the crux of the matter.

Aspiring designers often invest heavily in their education, attending expensive fashion design schools. However, upon graduation, they face a harsh reality: many brands prefer to hire celebrities to design collections, capitalizing on their fame rather than nurturing new talent. Perhaps someone does the actual work while the celebrity of the moment enjoys the spotlight. But that’s what it is.

New brands & investors


So, young and brave creatives launch their namesake brand. That step demands immense hard work, effort, commitment, and consistency. But once they enter the market, these small, independent brands realize that the panorama is crowded. Very crowded. Most importantly, to survive in such a competitive world, they need financial backing.

That seems to be the foundation upon which AZ Factory launched the new AZ Academy: teaching how to attract investors in the fashion field.

So, is it all about that? If a brand finds an investor, does the journey become easy? Money undeniably helps. But it comes with its own set of challenges. When big companies invest in a brand, designers lose the creative freedom that inspired them to start their journey in the first place. Profit margins and commercial viability take precedence over creativity and individual liberty. For instance, consider the case of Martin Margiela.
After his brand was acquired by OTB Group, he found himself increasingly constrained by the demands of a fast-paced, novelty-obsessed, and hyper-communicated fashion industry. The pressure to constantly produce new collections and maintain commercial success stifled his creative vision, leading him to leave his own brand. 

Now, let’s be clear. You won’t hear us saying money isn’t fundamental when launching and sustaining a brand. But, in this specific context of deep change, we need more than that. Priorities have changed, and we cannot separate fashion from the current cultural context. Does it make sense for a well-funded brand to promote huge collections, pre-collections and showcasing hundreds of samples, encouraging overconsumption? Therefore, perpetrating the same old overproduction pattern in a world on the edge of ecological breakdown?

Indeed, we cannot understand brands, established or new, who cannot distance themselves from this dangerous thought.

Conclusion: what does it mean to be a fashion designer today?


Launching a brand today is not just about finding investors. It goes far beyond that. Being a designer in the modern world is about having a vision – envisioning the future. It involves asking oneself: What future do I see? Do I want to maintain the status quo, or do I want to wipe out everything and start something better?

Well, corporations are not interested in that. That’s why we wonder if it makes sense to search for that kind of investor. Or is it better to clench your teeth and stay small, independent and free to bring about change?

Business as usual doesn’t work. New rules, new systems, and new ways of interacting with the audience. That is what we need.

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