Fashion has always reflected the values and the culture of its time.
There’s something about clothing, something more than just simple wear. For most people, it’s a lifestyle; a lifestyle that shows who they are and shows what they stand for. And with every new generation, fashion experienced a change.
Today’s times are no different.
In today’s time, a new shift is happening – a shift of redefining luxury. When it comes to something as simple as logos, it just doesn’t fly like it used to. Something like that isn’t impressive.
Today, there are other questions that consumers want answered:
- Who made my clothes?
- Where did they come from?
- What impact do they leave behind?
Today’s time is a time of conscious fashion. A time where factors like ethics and transparency matter. It is these factors that are the new value, and that value has become the ultimate status symbol.
A symbol that most people are proud of wearing.
The Shopper Who Cares Emerges!
It wasn’t long ago that the British comedian Ricky Gervais (creator of The Office) held his speech at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards, where he pointed out the major hypocrisy when it comes to major corporations holding public statements lecturing us about doing ‘the right thing’ while running sweatshops in China.
They’re basically holding themselves as morally righteous while benefiting from questionable (to say the least) labor practices.
And the public? They loved it. Because many people thought the same way, just no one was saying it.
Ricky wasn’t the first person to point this out. But it was very recent and very major. Think about it – almost 20 million people watched the Golden Globes in the U.S. alone. And with social media being at an all-time high in terms of usage, the speech reached pretty much every corner of the planet.
Hashtags and trends followed, and shoppers evolved. They started caring.
When we look back at what shopping trends were about, we’d find that most of the time they were about price and what was trendy.
The fashion was fast, and this fast fashion dominated throughout all shopping boutiques. It was about what was on offer and what was offered at a very low and affordable price. This, after all, was the most convenient for everyone. Although it was convenient, there were other costs. Mostly invisible costs that people were not aware of.
And there’s A LOT to be aware of.
There’s environmental waste that comes with production. Then, there are labor issues: unfair pay and poor working conditions. And lastly, the issue of overconsumption. The shopper today is more informed. They know things that they didn’t know or didn’t bother to know before.
And how could they not? There are a lot of venues out there that deal with exactly this issue.
We are talking about social media documentaries and conversations that deal with accountability and various scandals that are happening on a global scale. It’s about caring for something more than only ourselves.
There’s a new trend on the rise – a trend of transparency.
This trend is not only happening in the fashion industry, but it’s happening in the entire world. The expectation of transparency no longer applies just to products and/or brands. No. People’s expectations have grown. And what would be logically considered ‘normal’ – honesty – is only now starting to come out towards the public.
We could be discussing issues like sweet shops with underpaid workers in poor working environments, or we can talk about more dreadful things, such as the accused priests in Michigan that happened recently, … truly dreadful. And yet, regardless of what the situation/event is, the key element of all those is transparency and honesty.
Basically, people want to know what is happening behind the scenes, regardless of what it is.
They also want to know whether it is something they can stand behind, and especially if it is something that counteracts their moral values. It is a shift in cultural change.
It’s about representation.
The Key Factors For Conscious Fashion
The prospect of conscious fashion isn’t one that requires people to buy a completely new wardrobe or one that asks them to abandon their personal style.
Instead, it is one that deals with the aspect of choice. It’s about looking ahead and knowing exactly where the clothes come from, from what conditions, and who makes them.
Today, many brands and shoppers look for values such as longevity and responsibility; they do this while remaining authentic. It’s not about doing everything to perfection without a single mistake; it’s about taking conscious little steps toward something better. No one can fix everything all at once, but everyone can at least do something.
Those little steps add up one by one. Steps such as buying fewer items, fixing clothes when they are damaged, and not just throwing them away in the garbage, and when buying, choosing to buy quality products over a bunch of lesser clothes in large quantities.
These steps are what make a conscious buyer when it comes to buying new clothes.
Conclusion
The question about conscious shopping is a question that concerns the future of fashion.
Where exactly it is or where it’ll go.
This is hard to tell, but one thing we know is that the future of fashion is promising. It’s promising because it aligns beauty and responsibility. Designers in today’s market work with all sorts of different sustainable materials. They do this while being honest and transparent. It is because of this honesty and transparency that consumers can have peace of mind when buying new clothes.
Fashion and ethics don’t have to be at each other’s throats.
Instead, they can work together and prove they are not opposites that work against each other, but instead they are partners that can enhance one another. It is exactly when clothing reflects this intention that fashion grows as an industry and as a movement. Clothes become more than a simple expression of style; they become something more.
And that is the new luxury – the luxury of making and having a choice.
Perhaps, in the end, when it comes to fashion and fashion statements, wearing the clothes you are most proud of is the best trend to have.
