The wind of Instachange

The fashion system needs to change. Social media accounts put out various content on this topic quite often. Like something new occurred, so the news has to be shared with everyone. Or perhaps, they believe we haven’t heard this story yet.

The discussion about resetting the fashion industry started during the pandemic, although the system was in bad health a long time before.
And the reason why it came out is not that it made sense to shift the approach by reinventing a stale system but because companies lost large amounts of money.
Indeed, money is the engine that makes the world move. And apparently, finances are the only thing that can provoke any shift.
Many of those who operate in the system completely ignore the problems. Better avoid the risk of any further loss of capital.

Fashion system and change
Image via Ode to things Tumblr

However, the debate still goes on.
Those who are aware of the multiple issues talk profusely and release interviews, podcasts. Top brands like to talk about change, but unfortunately, it is not tangible yet. There’s not even a little sign.
Only a few smaller brands follow a different direction.

Real change or Instachange?

So we wonder if all the talks are just catchy content for social media, food for the great experts in the field who can show how cool they are by interviewing this or that designer. But we are afraid that the whole debate will end up like COP26. Nothing done.

It is helpful to repeat concepts more than once because we tend to forget words quickly. And so listening again might help us keep the focus.
But, in the end, we must find solutions. Actions must follow the words. Otherwise, we will have beautiful graphics for Instagram, the wind of “Instachange”, but we won’t solve any issue.

By the way, overproduction is the biggest concern in the fashion field. Any news about if and how are they going to solve it?

The wind of Instachange Read More »

No Black Friday Manifesto

Towards a healthier lifestyle

No Black Friday Manifesto #formodernhumans
We are against the ‘shop and toss’ habit, impulsive buying, and overconsumption.
A way of life that is harming people and the planet to the point of no return.
Indeed, these are layers of a toxic profit-oriented society that wants to create fake needs for unsatisfied people.
Undoubtedly, this system could not thrive without using tricks to sell the massive overproduction at the base of its reckless structure.

On the contrary, we choose to educate ourselves on thoughtful consumption and a healthier lifestyle.

Quality and ‘less but better’ represent the guiding values. In fact, modern humans are conscious consumers.

We respect people, and we understand the worth of their work.
We appreciate the products we select.
We value quality, and we value our customers.

Don’t buy pointless shit. Say no to Black Friday!

No Black Friday Manifesto


And once you are aware of how things are, let’s spread this consciousness together.

Please, share the No Black Friday Manifesto!

No Black Friday Manifesto Read More »

Stop and think

Stop your devices and think! We will not take part in the Black Friday madness. We said it in 2020, and we repeat it now; in 2021.

We are not aligned with the hyper-consumerist vision promoted by this marketing trick.

First, Black Friday fosters the ‘shop & toss’ consuming habit we are trying to challenge. It is a hard fight, but we persist.
How many times have we heard friends say: “This dress is cheap, I’ll wear it once and throw it away!”
Just imagine the exponential growth of the effect of this short-sighted attitude during the Black week. Scary! And what’s more horrible is that those kinds of people are not open to reconsidering the way they consume. They barely see it.
Manipulated by advertising, people buy things they don’t even need. And those products, clothing included, end up quickly in the garbage. Surely, as we do, you still have in your head the images of the landfill in the Chile desert, a nightmare getting bigger and bigger. But perhaps people will only stop once garbage knocks directly on their doors.

Stop! Who benefits from Black Friday?

Also, Black Friday is just another opportunity to support corporations. They are the only ones who can afford the cost of it. If they applied reasonable mark-ups, there wouldn’t be the need for people to wait for special offers in order to purchase a product.
For independent retailers, those crazy offers aren’t viable unless they use the same corporations’ tricks.

Impulsive buying – overconsumption and rapid discarding. Never-ending needs for unsatisfied people. Black Friday is convenient for corporations, not for people.

Instead, we encourage intentional buying as a conscious lifestyle alternative. Buy things when you need them. Or when you find something meaningful. Having fewer things but better quality is a choice that brings value to our life.

During Black Friday, stop your devices and think!

Stop and think Read More »

The price of quality

The price of quality is an indicator that has fundamentally lost its sense.

Quality is an asset that every brand wants to sell, but no one really understands its true meaning. There is a conflict between the marketed or perceived quality and its effective worth.

At the Uffizi in Florence, during a preview of Confindustria’s Future for Fashion, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior designer, said:

“Democratic luxury does not exist.”

“In Italy, we have to get the idea of democratic fashion out of our heads. If a garment is well made, why does it have to be democratic? Quality at a low price does not exist. If the price is low, it is because behind it, there is someone who has not been paid well.”

We agree with this statement – democratic luxury is nonsense. Indeed, a product made respecting specific quality standards comes with a price. But what luxury brands call quality is questionable. And, it is not what it was in the past.

Quality & luxury brands

Undoubtedly, there is a lot of confusion generated by different factors.
The average quality of high-end products decreased a lot over time. Pushed by greed, luxury conglomerates operated an economic change of production sites. Then, they abandoned exclusivity and shifted to the mass market. Quality is inversely proportional to corporations’ greed.
In order to be able to have a catchy wholesale price while keeping profit safe, the quality of materials and craftsmanship are the factors to cut.

In the second place, economic and cultural changes have induced consumers to believe that a cheap price tag corresponds to quality items and well-paid labourers.
While the need for affordable clothes is understandable, it is obvious that low prices don’t equal quality materials and fair living wages.

Luxury brands contributed to devaluing the fashion system with poor productions, obsessive mass distributions and a crazy discounting policy. But, they still want to be part of an Olympus disconnected from the masses.

Olympus is not democratic. But to be credible again, luxury brands have to reverse the route, reducing the large quantities they produce. And stop hard discounting.

This is a logical necessity for the return of true luxury.
Will it happen for real?

The price of quality Read More »