The ethics or values of creativity against the background of fashion and style, from my point of view, have been distorted.
Now it is a question of producing and consuming to the fullest regardless of how it is made, where it comes from, why it is made in this way , that is, it does not give relevance to the story behind the clothing / accessories. Both on a creative, expressive and human level.
According to my vision, garments are an artistic expression and I see how that meaning has been lost in many cases, becoming something purely functional (dressing for not going naked) and at the same time for the recognition of the exterior (marks that determine that you are in a social status or other, trends that mark if you are “up to date or not”, etc.). I do not perceive the idea that clothing is only something functional, for me it is an artistic expression
1- Why conceive fashion as an artistic expression?
Because it is a channeler of what we are. That which defines us can be expressed through clothing. Fashion is expression and at the same time, you express wearing what you choose to wear. It’s about feeling comfortable with what you wear, knowing that it goes with you, with your style, is to capture through clothing who you are.
⇒ Fashion and style go hand in hand.
⇒ Fashion is the tool to express who you are.
⇒ Fashion is the means through which you achieve a style that characterizes you.
⇒ Fashion is something that is created, it is that “costume” that allows you to express the character that you are.
⇒ The style is that character, it is something innate in each one according to the personality, the tastes and what you want to express.
⇒ Style is the essence while fashion is the wrapping.
⇒ For there to be an expressive harmony, one has to know “his character” and be consistent according to what defines you, in order to choose fashion that is in tune with it.
⇒ Be aware of your style + choose the fashion that represents it = Express who you are through the wardrobe.
If one has flavors labeled as extravagant (according to his personality) and wants to be consistent with what he expresses through the wardrobe, he will choose extravagant clothing (whether due to the shapes, colors, textures …).
From the outside, you may or may not like what they wear, but that person will wear what they feel characterizes them. Hence, beauty is something that is not imposed by “what has to be carried” according to established norms (trends and basic cultural and current principles on what beauty is). * The topic of beauty will be discussed in another post more widely *.
2- How to know the style of “my character”?
This is simple. But first we talk about the aspects that limit when it comes to knowing one’s style. There are two main ones:
⇒ Not knowing you, your tastes, your preferences, in short, what personifies you.
⇒ That you want to be like someone else. And I do not mean that another inspires you and from there you get ideas that help you define yourself, but literally copy. Copy because that style is socially imposed or because you deny who you are to the point of wanting to be someone else’s sticker.
⇒ Style is something natural and essential in everyone.
When you talk about someone having no style, it is because they have forgotten their own expression. By releasing the imposed constraints, what is already there emerges, the style.
I am not against trends. It is not about rejecting that. The trends I see as a game, when you go to a costume party and there is a theme or several themes proposed for the guests. And they have to dress in something premeditated, related to a theme.
The trends are there, one is free to play his game or not. Sometimes they limit because if what they wear does not go with our style, and you give in to them for not going out of the “normal imposed”, you are moving away from your own expression.
On the other hand, if you freely do not want to be conditioned, you are being whole with your style, and finally you wear what you are born to wear.
In case that just what is in fashion that season, goes in line with your style, you go to play with the trends, but not because it is something imposed but because it goes with you. You are still free because trends do not condition you but are useful for you at that time.
And absolutely nothing happens for not wearing what you are wearing, you can find other clothes. For example, skinny pants are nothing of my style and I have never had one, even though for years they have been a trend. And so I don’t go without a bottom. I use other things that are my style: leggings, skirts, bell bottoms, shorts … and without problems.
3- How to get the wardrobe to reflect my style?
Once you know your tastes and you decide to be consistent in wearing clothes that express who you are, free of impositions and stickers, it only remains to choose what resonates with you.
⇒ Visual arrow: The first thing is to be clear about the style. The choice of pieces that represent you is shot once you know what your style is. It is like knowing what you want to dress up and choosing the costumes that fit that idea. And it is very easy because visually when something goes with you, innately that piece catches your attention.
Even children are clear about it. It is common for a child to ask you for something of a color because they like it, or in a way because it attracts their attention. Visually we are attracted to one thing and not another.
It is the first instinct when choosing clothes: the visual. If you don’t like something anymore, you don’t even look at the price or want to try it on.
⇒ Accessibility of the garment: The typical thing that is done after you like a piece, see if it is your size, that the price fits within your budget and that once tested on your body, you like how it fits. From there you usually go to buy that garment that is perfect for you.
⇒ What lies behind: This form is common for some and not so much for others. Because the most common thing is that it enters your eyes, that the price fits you and fits you well in your body.
I mean look at the label. And not the price or size label but the label that says the composition, and where it is made. Be interested in the background of the garment.
It is about giving relevance and awareness to the process of making clothes and accessories. Production is important, both at a human, business and environmental level… it is not the same to be produced in one way than in another. All this has consequences.
The concept of “fast fashion” has come to produce absent of principles and ethics. It goes beyond human rights, from my point of view, it does not make sense that there are workers in inhumane conditions or even people die so that others can dress cheaply, with a lot of variety.
⇒ We are responsible for this situation: some for production and others for consumption.
Solutions? Is it in our hands to transform the current situation in the textile sector? How can we consume more carefully?
These questions and others, will be addressed in the next posts. I am not going to give the badge wanting to impose anything on anyone, but to give my vision, inform and give solutions (talk about brands) that value fashion as an expressive phenomenon and try to do their work with the highest possible ethics. Because there are the most respectful brands and it is not as expensive as it seems.
What is your formula when choosing clothes? What is more relevant to you: the visual, the price, how it is made …?
