Activism in fashion; just superficial?
The fashion landscape is changing. We are becoming more conscious of how, when and where we shop. Fashion houses and retail companies have had to recognise this to maintain sales.
But, it’s been a long time coming. The fashion industry was slow to embrace increasing activism. The problem comes in identifying how much change is ‘real’ and how much superficial.
Chasing a theoretical ideal world, there are multiple opportunities for activism. The climate crisis has focused our attention on more sustainable shopping. The ongoing BLM movement has highlighted the need for diversity and equal representation in the fashion industry. There is more opportunity for women but it is still a work-in-progress.
Brands and designers have responded to the BLM protests in a variety of ways. Many have pledged to diversify their teams and cast more BAME models. While this may sound like a step in the right direction, we have to be aware of the risk of virtue signalling or *woke-washing*. We are all too familiar with pictures of pride flags tossed in the bin at the end of pride month and the transient changes that brands appear to make when dealing with social issues.
A recent example of seemingly performative activism was the utopian Greek mythology-based F/W 20-21 collection released by Dior in a short feature film. The otherworldly escape from reality named ‘Le Mythe Dior’ was undoubtedly a masterpiece. However, the models were almost exclusively white. When questioned, Matteo Garrone (the director in collaboration with creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri) said that the film was based on a Greek myth and, in regards to casting choice and diversity - “We felt it could be forced”. A good example of fashion lagging behind societal change.
Dior has a dismal history of shows with little diversity or societal awareness, but had seemingly improved. When Chiuri took over at the house in 2017, the first woman to do so, she opened her debut spring/summer show with a T-shirt that read: “We should all be feminists”. The Inspiration was a book of that name by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and, in the finale, Chiuri’s models wore black berets reminiscent of the Black Panthers of the 1960s.
The next season, other labels followed Chiuri’s lead, such as Prabul Gurung with T-shirts proclaiming “The future is female” and “This is what a feminist looks like”. Designer Ashish Gupta, meanwhile, took a swipe at Donald Trump’s fondness for social media with a top that read: “More glitter, less Twitter”.
In autumn/winter 2018, Dior stayed with a message of revolt, Chiuri using French students of the 1960s as her inspiration. This begs the question: was the recent film a step backwards for Dior? Or does it prove that past improvements were merely surface-level and that the real message never got through to the creative directors?
‘Le Mythe Dior’ © Dior 2015
Fashion is meant to reflect society and our communal values, not adhere to outdated, racist ideals of the past. There is no reason for anyone to feel under-represented in the world of fashion. This needs to be recognised now, not at some vague point in the future.
Although the fashion industry needs to be held accountable for these superficial changes, we can also examine our own perception of the brands we assign value to. It is very easy to fall victim to the airy diversity statements that brands make.
If a retailer publicly announces that it is going to give 15% of its shelf space to Black-owned fashion, it would seem like a good thing, right? Now think about this publicity and its potential increase in sales, versus a retailer that had a diverse team and models from the start. On the one hand, it increases the visibility of some Black-owned fashion. But on the other hand, is it not perpetuating racial inequality through a greater percentage of profits going to the company with significantly lower representation of Black talent?
Despite overwhelmingly superficial changes in the industry, there are examples of designers that have always been aware of the importance of using their platform to make statements about political and social change. One such is the founder of Pyer Moss, New York born Kerby Jean-Raymond. In fact, his label almost collapsed after his initial show in 2015 opened with a short film addressing the families of victims of police brutality after the death of two black men, Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
After a few years of financial instability after several of his biggest accounts dropped him due to his show themes, Jean-Raymond managed to set another show date using money from personal orders. He has continued to showcase important social messages such as mental health and everyday experiences of Black people and is now considered a leading fashion activist.
Kerby Jean-Raymond rotating a model to show her back, Pyer Moss 2015 © AP images
Although there are designers with activism at the core of their labels, there is still rampant superficiality. It could be argued that superficial activism, any activism, is a step in the right direction, but is it not merely preserving inequalities? Casting a few Black models is not a quick fix for the racism endemic in the industry considering the exclusion and marginalisation of Black designers and talent.
For too long, fashion has been capitalising on the repression of Black people while simultaneously sharing messages of solidarity. The time has come for it to re-evaluate its priorities.