I have always been into fashion and it been my constant since I got my first fashion retail job in 1996. Yep I’m grown. However, something i’ve noticed during the ? pandemic has been the magnitude of our society shift, as well as a glaring awareness of our social responsibilities.

Some brands have fallen by the wayside, while others have been outed as exploitative, money grabbing pigs, in recent days. The likes of Boohoo, who also own online brands Pretty Little Thing, Nasty Gal and MissPap (and was last year valued at £856.9m) have been super shady, churning out clothes for millions?, while paying workers as little as £3.50 per hour in their factories in Leicester.

In an article in the Evening Standard newspaper on the 14th February 2020, ahead of her London Fashion Week show, designer Molly Goddard was quick to point out the strength of her business integrity. In the article she highlighted that her brand was “all very proper. We’re living wage accredited and everyone has a contract,” she said, aware that this set her apart from many of her contemporaries running small fashion brands.

With exploitation seemingly very normal in fashion, high fashion, retail, modelling and all industries linked to this sector; has the pandemic shone a light on this much needed overhaul? I’ve no doubt the fallout of this awakening is having fashion editors around the world wondering how they are going to reignite anyone’s interest in trends, without encouraging billions more tons of clothes dumped in landfill. What fashion will look like after this phase of “the new normal” is anyone’s guess.

Life is expensive and relevance is priceless, so why are so many, paid so little for so much? The times have changed and I don’t want to think that this creative but shallow industry has had it’s day; but the only way we might be able to mitigate the damaging impact of fast fashion, is to buy pre-loved vintage and recycled fashion.

We all know that trends are cyclical and they always come back around. I for one have been buying vintage clothes for as long as I can remember… So let’s just say, I’m ahead of the curve!

Main image; Rick Owens Spring 2014 RTW Paris Fashion Week.

No copy right intended. Source unknown.