Fashion & lifestyle

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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Dior in Court Administration & the Case of Luxury Fashion

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Is Luxury Fashion Sustainable and Ethical as They Claim?


Dior in court administration highlights the case of luxury fashion, bringing to light a harsh reality. Luxury brands pride themselves on labelling their products and practices as the only sustainable and ethical fashion. But the truth is way far from that high-standard patina. The reality diverges significantly from the beautiful policies displayed on their websites or the public declarations made during panels, events and fashion shows.

Luxury & sustainability: the image of dedication


Let’s take a step back. In 2019, magazines and millennials applauded Maria Grazia Chiuri for explicitly tackling sustainability. “A topic she’s grappled with privately for some time and that’s becoming a growing focus at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the luxury conglomerate that owns Dior,” you can read on WWD.

The same WWD article notes: “The group recently bought a stake in the Stella McCartney brand, known for its green credentials, and appointed photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, founder of the Good Planet foundation, as an advisory board member. LVMH is set to unveil further environmental initiatives at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday.”

The news: Dior in court administration


Now, back to the present day. According to Reuters, “an Italian subsidiary of French luxury giant LVMH that makes Dior-branded handbags was placed under court administration on Monday, after a probe alleged it had subcontracted work to Chinese-owned firms that mistreated workers.”

Italian police conducted inspections at four small suppliers operating in the Milan area. The staff lived and worked “in hygiene and health conditions that are below the minimum required by an ethical approach.” Additionally, the workers had to sleep in the workplace to ensure “manpower available 24 hours a day.” Moreover, safety devices had been removedfrom the machinery to allow faster operation.

The current investigation into labour exploitation within Italy’s fashion supply chains is shattering the immaculate image brands use to describe themselves. Indeed, it exposes the connection between luxury brands and sweatshop conditions.

Specifically, this is the Milan court’s third decision this year regarding pre-emptive measures. In April, they accused Giorgio Armani Operations of inadequate supplier oversight. 

However, Reuters has seen a copy of the latest decision: the court stated that prosecutors alleged the rule violations were not isolated incidents among fashion companies operating in Italy, but rather a systematic issue driven by the pursuit of higher profits.

“It’s not something sporadic that concerns single production lots, but a generalised and consolidated manufacturing method,” the document said.

No comment from LVMH. Armani stated that it has always implemented controls to “minimize abuses in the supply chain.” Fun, isn’t it? Is a 2/3€ per hour pay a minimisation of abuses?

More data on investigations here:

Behind the Seams: Fashion Industry & Forced Labour

And here:

Workers’ Rights in the Fashion Industry

The case of luxury fashion


In conclusion, let’s repeat this concept once again: fast fashion and luxury fashion are two faces of the same coin. For different budgets, but operate through the same exploitative pattern of overproduction.

Is luxury fashion sustainable and ethical, as they claim? Not at all. It’s a marketing manipulation. Mass-produced garments made in sweatshop conditions are neither sustainable nor ethical. High-end brands sell a dream, an illusion of luxe. And, If quality is an illusion crafted by marketing, so is luxury. What once was known as luxury fashion isn’t really luxury anymore.

Indeed, luxury fashion has nothing to do with true luxury.

The absence of moral fabric within the industry is evident, and consumers demonstrate disregard by ignoring this issue despite the wealth of available information.

The point is: does it still make sense to support these brands?

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“We Are Not Only in Danger, We Are the Danger”

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UN Secretary Urges to Stop Taking Fossil Fuel Advertising


In a speech in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a powerful message to the audience, stating,”We are not only in danger, we are the danger.” 

Highlighting new data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Guterres underscored that the world is facing a “climate crunch time.” According to the data, there is an 80% chance the planet will exceed 1.5°C (2.7°F) in warming above pre-industrial levels in at least one of the next five years. A record already breached during the past 12 months.

Guterres: “We are the danger”


“We are playing Russian roulette with our planet. We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell. Like the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs, we’re having an outsized impact. In the case of climate, we are not the dinosaurs – we are the meteor. We are not only in danger – we are the danger” – Guterres warned.

The UN Secretary-General declared fossil fuel companies are “the god-father of climate chaos.” He urged news and tech media to stop taking money from fossil fuel advertising. He emphasised the urgency as the world struggles to limit the “climate crunch time.”

“It is a disgrace that the most vulnerable are being left stranded, struggling desperately to deal with a climate crisis they did nothing to create. We cannot accept a future where the rich are protected in air-conditioned bubbles, while the rest of humanity is lashed by lethal weather in unlivable lands,” he added.

Also, Guterres criticized fossil fuel companies for their minimal investments in cleaner forms of energy. Specifically, he accused them of”distorting the truth, deceiving the public, and sowing doubt” about climate science. He urged governments to ban fossil fuel advertising. And he called on public relations and media companies to cut ties with oil, gas, and coal interests. 

A call to action: choosing the planet over profit


Guterres’ words sound strong but true: “We are not only in danger, we are the danger.” In conclusion, he added, “It’s ‘we, the peoples’ versus the polluters and the profiteers. Together, we can win. But it’s time for leaders to decide whose side they’re on.”

His message underscores the urgency and gravity of the climate crisis. And he calls for collective action and leadership to prioritise the planet over profit. By framing the fight against climate change as a battle between the people and those who perpetuate environmental harm, Guterres challenges leaders and citizens alike to take a stand for a sustainable future.

The time for decisive action is now. And the choice is clear: protect our planet or face the consequences of inaction.

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The Environmental Economic Principles Illustrated by Fast Fashion

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Delving into Environmental Economics Related to the Most Polluting Segment of the Fashion Industry


This post examines how environmental economic principles manifest in the practices and consequences of the fast fashion industry.

Fast fashion is known for its rapid turnover of trendy clothing at very low prices and has been incorporated more and more in our day-to-day clothing. However, behind the illusion of trendy and cheap pieces, this pressure to minimise costs and speed up production leads to a complex range of environmental and economic implications.

Some of the reasons fast fashion is becoming a progressively bigger issue for the environment include its use of toxic and heap textile dyes, polluting waterways as well as the amount of landfill waste generated by the industry. According to Ting and Stagner (2023), the life cycle of clothing has been constantly shorter, starting from the 1980s. This means that we are using and disposing of clothes faster and faster. As this analysis explores, most of the unused or unwanted pieces end up in a landfill or burned, contributing to climate change. Otherwise, research shows that about 450,000 tonnes of clothes exported from the United States become part of a second-hand clothing trade. That impacts low and middle-income countries.

Fast fashion’s environmental economic principles (full analysis)

Fast_Fashion_by_Gabriela_Almeida_Prehus-Download

Inefficiency of resource extraction

This concept relates to the long and complex supply chain of the market. Starting from agriculture and petrochemical production (for synthetic fibre production, such as the famous polyester) to manufacturing, logistics and retail. Each step of the production of the garments has an impact on the environment due to chemical, energy, material and water use.
In fact, research shows that approximately 60% of clothing is made from petroleum and 30% from cotton. Thus having a large impact on the environment. Additionally, many of these chemicals used in the production of textiles are harmful to both the factory workers, the environment as well as the end consumers ( Niinimäki et al., 2020).
Even though consumers are now aware of the environmental and personal impact of those chemicals, why do they keep on buying these products?

Fast-fashion marketing

Marketing becomes an even stronger tool when brainwashing consumers with the famous concept of “Green Washing.”Greenwashing explains the behaviour of firms when engaging in misleading marketing strategies/ information about their environmental performance or the environmental benefits of a product (Delmas & Burbano, 2011).

Pollution as a negative externality

A negative externality is the imposition of a cost by one party (in this example, a fast fashion firm) onto another. The process of manufacturing the clothes involved in producing the fast fashion items generates significant pollution. This includes air pollution when producing textiles, water pollution from dyeing fabrics and waste generation from packaging. Additionally, the growth of textile fibres, manufacturing and clothing assembly tends to take place in countries with cheaper labour, such as China and Bangladesh. According to Ting and Stagner (2023), there has been such an enormous increase in fast fashion during the past 10 years that firms had to increase supply, increasing the risk of slavery-like working conditions in those middle/low-income countries.

Waste generated

One of the pillars of the increase in fast fashion is the rise in consumerism in society. A world with a culture of over-consumption and rapid disposal of goods will consequently have problems with excessive waste in landfills. When it comes to the textile industry, it is challenging to recycle or biodegrade due to the complex nature of synthetic fibres which are the base for most fast fashion garments. The business model of fast fashion is designed to be unsustainable and by definition. It is “a fast-response system that encourages disposability” (Ting & Stagner, 2023).

Conclusion

In conclusion, all consumers share responsibility for this waste crisis that the fast fashion industry has created. The rapid pursuit of economies of scale in this industry leads to the expense of sustainability, as mass production and global supply chains also allow fashion brands to keep their unsustainable business model. This practice leads to several environmental economic principles, such as negative externalities, resource extraction and depletion, waste disposal and labour exploitation.

In order to address this issue, there is a need for a multifaceted approach that considers all factors such as social, economic and environmental. For instance, sustainable alternatives, circular economy models, ethical fashion practices, and consumer awareness campaigns are essential to mitigate the negative effects of fast fashion on the environment and the people.

References

ABC News In-Depth. (2021, August 12). The environmental disaster fuelled by used clothes and fast fashion | Foreign Correspondent. 

Barnosky, A. Matzke, N., … Tomiya, S. (2011). Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived? Nature, (471), 51-57.

CBC News. (2023, October 28). Exposing the secrets of sustainable fashion (Marketplace). 

Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H. et al. The environmental price of fast fashion. Nat Rev Earth Environ 1, 189–200 (2020).

Kitson, J. C., & Moller, H. (2008). Looking after your ground: Resource management practice by Rakiura Maori Titi Harvesters. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 161-176.

The Economist. (2018, November 30). The true cost of fast fashion. 

Ting, T. Z.-T., & Stagner, J. A. (2023). Fast Fashion – wearing out the planet. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 856–866.

✍️ Credit: Post written by Gabriela Preuhs, a Brazilian scholar pursuing studies in economics and psychology at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand.

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