Oh hello darling and welcome back to fashion month on benpechey.com, today I am continuing the fashion content, and bringing some realities to the world we live in.
I have a fashion degree, specifically Fashion Promotion and Imaging - I got a First, thanks for asking. The number of times I see people ROLL their eyes when I say this is immense, as if somehow a degree in fashion is WORTHLESS. I will say this, that my degree was no easier than your degree in Business Management Karen, so let’s leave that there.
What baffles me is that people actively LOVE to HATE fashion, like that’s really cool. The ironic thing is that that iconic blue belt rant in the Devil Wears Prada is spot on. If you’re wearing clothes, you have bought into the fashion industry, which globally is worth 1.5 TRILLION DOLLARS. So financially, this is an industry that is worth taking seriously.
I also want to impart with you what fashion means to me; fashion is art, it’s culture and it’s a visible extension of who we are as individuals. It’s not about trends or ‘it bags’ but more about the references that have gone into a collection. I recently watched a stunning film from Maison Margiela and Nick Knight, and watching Galliano detail the inspiration for the collection is pure art.
Fashion means so much to me on a personal level, but it goes deeper than that. Fashion is also important to employment and local economies, and major fashion houses are keeping industries alive that would have been lost.
Chanel is a personal favourite, and by this, I mean the modern couturier and not Ms Chanel’s Nazi leanings. Modern-day Chanel through its Couture arm owns several smaller businesses that keep craftsmanship alive. Lessage is a specialist embroidery house that has been used by countless designers, such as Galliano for Dior in the early 2000s. Chanel purchased the house in 2002, and have kept this brand alive. Chanel has also invested in the U.K., buying the Barrie knitwear factory in Hawick back in 2013, keeping traditional Cashmere production alive in Scotland.
Beyond that, I genuinely believe people think fashion is frivolous and wasteful. A lot of people love to make SUCH a fuss over the price of high fashion pieces. Which is ridiculous when most consumers are happy to shop fast fashion, which is dangerous and exploitative to the people who work for those brands, and damaging for our planet. High fashion is also accountable for environmental issues, but is far more accountable, and is making changes where necessary.
Hating on fashion isn’t interesting, doesn’t make you clever, and doesn’t exclude you from even funding the industry. I would love to see in 2020 for more people to be more accepting. I don’t imagine you need to understand something to respect it. I don’t particularly care for professional sports like football, but I don’t malign it to cover my lack of knowledge. So please can we stop hating on fashion.
Thank you so much for joining me today darling, I’ll see you next week to continue Fashion Month!!
Shot by Rachel Pechey
