fashion critic

Who Wore Who? Who Really Cares!

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Met Gala and the celebrities’ circus


‘Who wore who’ is the question we try to avoid these days. Specifically, the Met Gala raises significant doubts as we can’t see glamour or elegance. Indeed, this annual gathering of celebrities organised by Vogue looks more like a circus than a glamourous event, leaving little room for true sophistication.

The Met Gala is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City, which marks the opening of the Institute’s annual fashion exhibition. Known as the “fashion’s biggest night,” it aims to represent the fashion universe.

The theme of the 2023 edition was “in honour of Karl.” Lagerfeld, of course. Though every year faces its own controversy, the event went out of hand.

Met Gala & who wore what


We see two main issues:
First, people expect to witness a representation of fashion, style, and glamour. Just, we haven’t seen any of that. Although we can pick out a few nice outfits every year choosing the best-dressed, the whole thing is gross, excessive. And it feels sad to see fashion depicted like that. Moreover, we are surprised because even the actors that usually have an elegant figure, lose it at the gala.

Second, brands pay celebrities to wear their clothes because they influence the masses to buy their products. However, this perpetuates a toxic culture, pushing people to compare themselves to an unattainable lifestyle.
How do celebrities choose one brand over another? Simple: whoever writes the highest figure cheque; that’s the one they pick. Forget any style choice—it’s all about the money.
Most importantly, the “celebrity cost” is absorbed in the retail price of clothing, shoes, and handbags. In the end, it’s the consumers who pay to sustain the extravagant lifestyles of their idols—idols who, ironically, could afford luxury even without these brand endorsements.

In short, celebrities pay to attend the gala while getting paid by brands to wear their clothes. It’s a full-blown celebrities’ circus!

But the real question is: why are people supporting this? That’s the point!
Who wore who? Honestly, who really cares!”

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May 1st Contradictions

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Has the fashion industry changed for the better?


May 1st, the International Workers’ Day, brings up glaring contradictions within the fashion industry. Indeed, we cannot celebrate without acknowledging the hypocrisy that brands, companies that own them, and final customers perpetuate.

Today’s public holiday aims to honour working people and raise awareness of their rights. But the relentless race to the lowest prices–driven by both company owners and consumers–makes it impossible to imagine healthy production chains. Indeed, wages are so low that many people cannot afford a decent life and not even cover their basic needs.

Ten years after Rana Plaza, the fashion industry hasn’t changed its patterns and workers’ conditions haven’t improved. In fact, we went from fast to ultra-fast fashion. If we purchase a dress for 20 euros, can we expect manufacturers to observe workers’ rights? Do people believe in fairy tales, or is it hypocritical behaviour?

Rana Plaza – garment workers in Bangladesh


On April 24th, 2013, a building collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, taking away 1,138 garment workers, 80% of whom were women, and injuring more than 2,500. Near the bodies extracted from the rubble, the labels of major Western brands were found: Prada, Versace, Gucci, Moncler, Benetton, Primark, Walmart, Bonmarché, Zara, H&M, Mango and others.

Uyghurs – modern-day slavery in China


We wrote about Uyghurs’ forced labour here. Here, we quote Public Eye, a Switzerland NGO:
“Today’s hippest teen-fashion brand is growing rapidly – and its internet-based recipe for success is top secret. Still, Chinese researchers working on behalf of Public Eye managed to visit some of Shein’s suppliers in Guangzhou, where conditions of production violate numerous state labour laws. Our trip inside the ultra-fast fashion leader also takes us to the European logistics centre in Belgium, where precarious working conditions are also a daily occurrence.”

According to an OECD summit in Paris, this search for lower prices has led some brands to turn to ever less demanding areas. They even maintain orders in countries in crisis, such as Burma, where unionised workers have become prime targets of the military junta behind the recent coup.

Made in “Chitaly”: Chinese workers operating in Italy


What happens in Italy is no different. In order to keep their higher profit margins, brands commission productions to Chinese laboratories, asking for the lowest price. So the dream of “Made in Italy” is kept alive, at least for those with no sense of quality. Forget any minimum wage!

May 1st contradictions: prices negotiated downward and overconsumption


To understand what the industry learned after Rana Plaza and the social consciousness developed, we just need to analyse the facts. Low-cost collections rotate faster and faster, and companies force prices down at the manufacturer’s cost. This acceleration from fast fashion to ultra-fast fashion explains everything, undescoring the May 1st contradictions.

Marketing and social washing


Social washing is social greenwashing: a manipulative tool in the hands of marketing. In fact, campaigns showing brands being socially responsible multiply. Most of the time, there is no evidence supporting the information. And perhaps what happens, in reality, is quite the opposite.

After the pandemic, working conditions have only deteriorated. The relentless race for the lowest prices brings to light all the contradictions of our economic system, especially on May 1st. How can people expect labourers’ rights to be respected while supporting fast or ultra-fast fashion? And how can a world that depends on modern-day slavery even begin to talk about workers’ rights?

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Earth Day 2023

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Do we really care about the earth?


Saturday, April 22, we celebrated the Earth Day 2023. Even though it may seem absurd, some brands used this day to release promotions to sell more products. Maybe the purpose of this day is not clear. Or people just don’t care.

Why do we celebrate Earth Day?


Earth Day was established in 1969 when US Senator Gaylord Nelson witnessed a natural disaster caused by the explosion of an oil well next to Santa Barbara, California.

What is the purpose?


For those involved in achieving a sustainable lifestyle, which goes beyond the empty slogan bombarding us at any one time, Earth Day doesn’t mean a celebration. In fact, there is nothing to celebrate. What’s the point of celebrating? The destruction humans bring? Or maybe give it a pause for one day? Surely not.

The purpose is to raise public awareness. Therefore, making people understand we only have one planet, and we must preserve it. Protect it. We need to give mother earth time to heal herself from the mess we massively put out on a daily basis. So the tons of waste which is the byproduct of our economic system. Of our lifestyle. The byproduct of progress: something we cannot renounce.

But if we follow people who promote sustainable growth, green growth, sustainable fashion, and sustainable tourism, we go nowhere. Indeed, as Herman E. Daly said:

We expected any day to hear about “sustainable sustainability.”

Herman E. Daly

Earth Day 2023 & marketing


We received newsletters offering promotions: shop now, and get your discount to celebrate Earth Day! Really, this is it? Another chance for promoting products? For marketing? Is selling more an effective strategy for fighting global warming? Is it the strategy to protect our planet?

Let’s be serious. That is just marketing to sell more. There’s no such thing as sustainable growth. Likewise, there’s no such thing as sustainable fashion or sustainable tourism without a dramatic reduction in consumption.

“What is needed in the first instance are reduced levels of consumption, not just changed patterns.”

Herman E. Daly


In the end, brands can play with marketing to celebrate the Earth Day 2023. So, tourism, fashion, and any other industry can create their sustainable bubbles. But the truth is, we won’t solve any problem unless committ—every single day—to saving the planet by actively reducing our consumption.

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The Language Of Design

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Milano Design Week 23: between fashion and design


Milano Design Week offers the opportunity to reflect on the language of design, though we hope it won’t be another chance to spread more sustainability fluff. By the way, Milano seems to be involved in design more than fashion. In fact, the town is full of events, and the atmosphere is lively and engaging.

Design: clothing & objects


The clothes and objects we use daily form a language–the language of design. As a result, fashion reflects contemporary culture and tells our story. In other words, fashion is culture. And so is design, of course.
But while design maintained a high-level positioning, fashion has lost its allure. From top brands to fast fashion, the industry identifies with a disposable culture or transient trends that lead to compulsive consumption. Now, the image of fashion is cheap, and the industry itself has undermined it. So, the mixture with design adds that patina of class, enhancing fashion portrayal.

However, the modern language of design is all about sustainability. Yet, we’re bombarded with catchphrases that are nothing more than empty claims. These buzzwords serve one purpose: marketing, driving more sales. And since sustainability is a hot topic, many jump on the bandwagon simply to tap into a wider audience.

Back to the core: the language of design


Now back to the core: the language of design. What matters to us? Good design with an ethical approach. Certainly, people should be active thinkers and not just consumers. But designers also have a responibility: to create original pieces, artisanal rather than standardised mass products. Good design means thoughtful consideration of the materials, craftsmanship, production chain, and the people involved–while understanding the impact on the planet. It means caring about the entire creative and productive process.

Sustainable design, recycling, and upcycling–as part of a circular economy, are designer’s work. So, do that!

In the end, the dialogue between fashion and design implies shared values. But the outcome of this reciprocal contamination must bring a tangible change, not empty slogans. The planet needs action!

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The Retail Impasse

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Fashion business: therapeutic obstinacy for an almost-dead patient


The retail impasse and the problems emerging in fashion these days revolve around two main topics: late deliveries and markdown strategies. 

However, both issues are indicators of a fashion system that is basically dead, yet everyone pretends not to see it. Or they refuse to accept it. So every operator in the field is on a kind of therapeutic obstinacy for a patient that is almost gone. And which, by the way, has a huge impact on the planet.

Two main points of the retail impasse


One: many stores have received a small percentage of the Spring-Summer pieces, which makes it complicated to assemble outfits. Why does this happen? Top brands monopolise good manufacturers. So smaller brands get materials late (for the same reason) and consequently are left as the last link of the chain. Therefore, they cannot deliver on time.

Two: markdown strategies and how to get rid of the stock in excess that stores keep purchasing. Even though retailers are perfectly aware that the number of people entering a store isn’t the same as in the pre-pandemic time, they don’t stop overstocking. As a result, selling discounted items becomes more complicated. In fact, these discounts are available online and offline throughout the year, making markdowns less attractive. Furthermore, a discount is no longer the sole reason people purchase a product

In short, this excessive stock policy is harmful to the planet and business. So, we must change it.

Can we find solutions to revive the fashion business?


Solutions must experiment with new ways of operating within the fashion business.

First: a dramatic reduction in consumption. Let’s face reality: if we do not consume less, much less, we can forget to have a future. So, there’s no point in procrastinating the change.

Second: a shift to artisanal garments and made-to-order clothes and accessories, having the chance to reorder during the season. It’s about choosing tailoring over mass-produced garments, quality over quantity.

In conclusion, if we want to overcome the retail impasse, overtreating fashion with more overproduction will take us nowhere. We need a completely different strategy: it’s a matter of reducing the number of pieces while providing a higher value.

Less but better.

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