Fast fashion is embedded in our consumer culture so deeply that we many times forget to recognize and thus underestimate its effects on people and the planet. The culture to look presentable at all times and adhere to constantly changing trends has made the majority of people dependent on fast fashion. Social media and attention to celebrities has made the masses eager to follow the most current trends in order to stay relevant.
According to Fletcher, the introduction of fast food in Rome undermined the important traditions of family eating and authentic regional cuisine. Similarly, fast fashion’s ever changing styles and low quality materials take away from fashion’s significance because garments are so easily exchanged, replaced, and thrown away. New styles don’t carry weight or authenticity because in just a few weeks, they’ll be seen as obsolete. Thus, the art of designing and creating fashion garments is undermined. Edelkoort similarly compares fast fashion to food items, remarking that despite the labor and design effort put into a piece of clothing, the costs sometimes still remain under the price of a sandwich consumed within minutes. When consumers can pay for a shirt in pocket change, how can people involved in designing, constructing, and distributing be properly compensated?
Fletcher states that slow fashion cannot change the current practices within the fashion industry if it is taken superficially. Slow fashion can’t be seen as another trend of marketing tool, because so many people are currently affected and oppressed by the dominance of fast fashion. However, it will be a difficult transition to the spread of slow fashion. Fast fashion is indeed superficial in the way it constantly changes, but millions of people are not capable of supporting slow fashion because of money restrictions. Slow fashion’s high prices make it inaccessible to a large consumer group who cannot afford to spend a chunk of their paycheck on clothes. People may say that investing in a pricier sustainable garment will make the cost worth it in the long run, but many people already wear the same fast fashion garments for long periods in order to save money, just as they would with a pricier piece. Fast fashion is definitely a detrimental force, but slow fashion needs to become available to everyone in order for it to take full effect.
Edelkoort states that men’s fashion is growing because they are currently raising more children and thus becoming more sensitive and elegant. However, fathers can’t be the only participants in men’s fashion. Raising children doesn’t necessarily lead to more fashionable taste, so I believe that Edelkoort is attributing the growth of men’s fashion to a too specific demographic. In addition, she says that men and women’s fashion should not be in the same runway show because the women’s designs upstage the men’s. I believe that instead of having to separate the two, men’s designs should become as diverse and free flowing as women’s designs are. Despite these, I appreciated Edelkoort’s tribute to powerful women and her encouragement of the success of women within a male dominated industry.