時尚&時尚產業

A huge number of enterprises have been devoted to the fashion industry, including design, manufacturing, merchandising, retailing, and marketing. There is no doubt that the number of stores relevant to fashion industry take up the biggest space in every department store or in shopping mall. In general, the fashion industry encompasses enormous amounts of investment and profits. Yet, with mass production and consumerism, many argue that some negative aspects have been caused due to the popularity of fast fashion in recent years. Whether the influences of fashion and the fashion industry changes our lives or not, it is going to be discussed briefly here.

The effects of fashion are well known. First, it defines contemporary trends so that our lifestyles are affected. Colours, patterns, and materials identify the essential elements of beauty and dressing. Many people believe that the best body shape should be acknowledged in accordance with fashion models on the catwalk. Next, with development of globalization, it seems combining each region to form a whole single market. Fashion designers strives for demonstration of their creativity and imagination in fashion shows every year. Their clothing could also be widely seen in the entertainment industry by celebrities, singers, movie stars, and influencers. Clearly then the audience would follow their stylish look accordingly. As a result of this, the fashion industry stimulates the demands and generates colossal revenues. Furthermore, some social issues would be raised from fashion designs. For example, men wearing women’s clothes. This concept is against conventional gender values. Not to mention that Chanel, a French luxury fashion brand, has been famed because the original designer catered to women’s tastes with elegance in trousers and suits of simple design when women could only wear complex skirts during that era. For these reasons, I feel that the fashion industry has a huge impact on our everyday life, not only in beauty but also in social and political issues.

In the past decades, globalization and mass production has favored the universal popularity of fast fashion. With development of digital technology, social media platforms accelerated the pace of fashion trends from twice a year to every two weeks. Some point out that consumers tend to make impulse purchase without careful consideration of needs. Hence, unprecedented rate of rags have been cast off and become a serious problem of waste in many countries. In the beginning, recycling seemed to be an effective solution. This may be true, but in reality, causes more disregarded clothes. Consumers have a tendency to accept that they could buy more because their old clothes could be recycled and sent to the third world countries. Ironically, they turn their purchasing pleasure into certain advantage of social benefit.

Another argument put forward is that the use of child labors in an odious working environment has been a matter of debate. Multinationals have made every effort to reduce cost of production in order to provide competitive and affordable pricing in fast fashion markets. Recently, social awareness in relation to sustainability has been on the rise. Many believe that every enterprise should take corporate social responsibilities for a better society and a better world. Therefore, focusing on environment protection, no forced labors, improving hostile working environment, and using natural materials have been extensively discussed. For example, according to BBC news (22nd March 2021), it reported, “Several Western countries have imposed sanctions on officials in China over rights abuses against the mostly Muslim Uighur minority group.” Some major brands, including Nike, Adidas, Converse, H&M and Burberry, expressed their concern regarding these ethical issues.

In conclusion, I believe that a significant mission of branding is to take social responsibility and to create a better world. The question should not be simply to choose from which side, “Ethics vs. Sales.” Pursuit of profit seems a fad for the society. It is also unrealistic to think that both multinationals and consumers could detach themselves from these unethical acts. We all live in the same world, breath the same air, and share the same environment. Famous brands play a role in leading the trends of stylish and unique taste to bring a sense of aesthetics. Meanwhile, as lifestyle leaders, they should pay more attention on social issues because they do have a huge impact on their target audiences.