Does Pausing Creativity = Saving the Planet?
Targeting the ‘weak consumer’ to leverage sales is a corporate ploy as old as time, and now more than ever, our lives are constantly disrupted by marketing. Everywhere you go, every time you open your phone, every avenue of life seems berated by marketing schemes to get you to buy something new. Inherently, sustainability has a hard time fitting into the puzzle of consumption culture. As fashion is a huge part of consumer culture, I often wonder how sustainability and fashion fit together and if the constant creativity of new products and pieces is the enemy of sustainability? You may be thinking, of course it is as creating more and more ruins our environment. However, by that thinking, we are denouncing creativity and innovation in the name of nature. If somehow creativity is not the antichrist of sustainability, how can we design and manufacture new fashion in a culturally digital, fast paced age but make it sustainable?
In the book, Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion, Clare Press talks about how “40% of our in-store purchases are unplanned” and that “We shop on whim because we are told to…We shop because it’s easy to do so, and sometimes because we are bored, lonely, insecure or heartbroken.” In a Women’s Wear Daily article, ‘Overheated! Is Fashion Heading for a Burnout?’ their sentiments conclude that there are “Too many shows, too many collections, too many looks, styles, pressure. The result? Designers’ creativity is compromised, journalists are running on empty and we — the famous consumers — are bombarded day and night with the ‘latest thing we must have’ if we want to be cool.” It feels like the consumer is the weak and easy target - the goal being to make people feel like they need to buy more clothes to conform to the cultural environment we live in. As we statistically know, overconsumption of clothing has a stronger existence in western culture, specifically the U.S. However, designers and fashion experts are divided on what it all means and what they can or should do about it personally and as a society.
In this WWD article, they log the responses of designers and fashion experts on their opinions on the fast movement of fashion in today’s age. Some say fashion is moving too fast and we need to slow down and stop for a moment while on the other hand, a lot of people are inspired by the fast movement and don’t want to control the pace of creativity and motion. The article starts with a punch as Karl Lagerfeld announces, “If you are not a good bullfighter, don’t enter the arena…Everybody is allowed to show a collection. There may be too many — but that is not my problem.” Donatella Versace agrees, noting that we should not be limited, only looking at the opportunities within the fast pace.
What I find interesting personally, is the comparison from many designers about fashion to other art forms. Jonathon Anderson says that he thinks “it is a sign of the times and it is not just fashion experiencing that; music, film and art are all experiencing this thing where we need to keep up with the pace of the world.” Rick Owens agrees, comparing fashion to the Sunset Strip in L.A. with rock bands in the seventies and Anna Sui says the movie industry, music industry, and sports are all so in your face that you can’t calm it down. Ken Downing compares fashion to Hollywood launching movies and many more compare the fast pace of fashion to the fast pace of culture, the age of technology and the quick turnover of content from moment to moment.
Maybe the easy answer to this whole issue is to slow down and pause as many of thee designers are calling for. However, even if it would make the success of sustainable strategy integration easier to accomplish, it would not only be impossible to accomplish, but it would cap the creativity of many artists and innovators.
The constant consumption and creation of art isn't necessarily bad. In my undergraduate studies, I went to a very creative liberal arts school where everyone was constantly writing, making films, photographing, engaging in and creating art and it was beautiful, exciting and thought-provoking to be around. To have told any of them that they had to cap on their creation so that the environment could keep up would have made mother nature their enemy. To tell a designer they need to slow down to help with climate change isn’t the answer.
Instead, I believe we need to encourage creativity, but change the systems in which they are being amplified and enlarged. We need to make more sustainable systems that keep up with the fast pace. The pace of creativity can’t be blamed, the lack of sustainable production within the motion of creativity is what needs to be closer examined. Of course creating more products in a horizontal supply chain that works as an open loop and doesn’t consider afterlife ownership will cause harm to the planet. However, creating pieces that are vertically integrated in a sustainable supply chain, that are made with consideration of the whole product lifecycle and are designed for a closed loop system will lead to product creativity and innovation AND sustainable solutions. By shifting the technological strategy and logistical process of manufacturing fashion, we can keep up with the constant creative ideas of designers. This shift needs to be facilitated by fashion corporations, and it needs to be backed up by the fact that these strategic sustainable efficiency shifts will be a smart financial investment by companies. By investing in sustainable solutions, a company can as a result spend less on utility bills, have less product to slash prices and get rid of, have better quality products for consumers, have higher customer retention rates, increase marketing abilities, spend less money and time in logistics, have more accuracy in product forecasting and product identification, streamline systems and so much more. The shift within fashion creation needs to also be a financial business case to companies so they can see a holistic benefit.
Yes, slowing down consumption would be amazing and I wish it could happen. However, based on trends and consumer mindset patterns, the pause on fashion consumption isn’t happening anytime soon. Instead, a symbiotic relationship between sustainability and fashion innovation needs to take place to save our planet realistically.
