Why I’m Tired of Fashion

I feel so sorry for abandoning this space. I was really excited about kickstarting this blog again but I went about the execution of it all wrong. Almost a year later and I’m here again trying to give it another try.

It’s true, I am tired of fashion. Don’t get me wrong, fashion is not something I can easily let go. I still hold an immense love for fashion pieces themselves and the history, but overall, there is too much repetitiveness and wastefulness in the industry. It’s a whole different world than when this became a passion of mine and become a tiresome environment. Today, fast fashion has taken over all corners of the world and the internet has become saturated with cheaply made clothing to satisfy the current “want now, buy now” culture. 

We’ve taken the mystery out of fashion, which in turn means there is a lack of excitement in fashion. And fashion is very much about excitement. While I love that runway shows can be streamed in real-time, giving me the front row seat of my dreams, it’s fully embracing the “want now, buy now” culture, which I feel is putting a damper on the industry. Remember the days when we had to wait for photos to be uploaded to the internet? These days, they are uploaded as they are being taken. Remember the days we had to wait for pieces to hit the stores? These days, full looks from the runway are being sold before they make finish their walk. Many fashion shows have found rather than focusing on the clothing itself, it is the grandeur of things that takes importance—the set design, the audience, the music. While it is important to consider these when creating the overall atmosphere of one’s collection, the clothing should be the main focus. Each season, there is, I dare say, a sense of boredom. This boredom stemming from all of the above along with many labels becoming “inspired” by copycat looks we’ve seen in previous seasons by other labels. Being inspired by history is a given but where is the line between inspiration and plagiarism? 

When it comes to commercial, fast fashion, there is an endless amount of conversations about what is wrong with this segment of the industry. It is a major point in why I’m tired of fashion. At the top of my personal list of things wrong with fast fashion are wastefulness and lack transparency in the supply chain. There has been a surge in labels putting a bigger focus on sustainability, but there is far too much wastefulness anywhere and everywhere. The cheap cost of production and our “want now, buy now” culture lend to its rise. This then leads to wastefulness and the pollution of this very earth we live on. Then there’s the major lack of transparency in the supply chain. Where does this fabric come from? Who is handling these garments? Why all the secrecy in a world where people are constantly sharing their lives to the world over social media for all to see?

Something else on my mind when it comes to fashion is the lack of personal style. Last year, I wrote a post explaining my definition of personal style. To summarize, we’ve become a society obsessed with wearing things, doing things for the sake of our viewers. There is a whole industry where people sell their complete lifestyles with viewers completely buying into it. Personal style gets lost in between. Is there even real style out there?

These are all personal opinions of why I find myself tired with fashion. But this is a fast-changing industry so things could change within the next year and my opinion may differ. Although currently, the fashion industry—both commercial and luxury fashion—has lost its sense of direction by being too “inspired” by others, by all the pollution caused by waste, and by our need to be validated by others.  Change is always good and constitutes growth, but there comes a point when change is overcome by a dark hole and it is a struggle to find the light again.

+ALYSSA