The Rhetoric of Social Change
In late July, on the second day of the European Conference for Arts and Humanities/ EuroMedia 2020, I took part in a panel entitled: “Embracing Difference: Fashion, Design and the Rhetoric of Social Change.” All five creatives/activists were invited to speak about the re-politicisation - my term, not strictly accurate - of an industry which has so far been characterised by its indifference to the wider world, in the face of the really enormous changes demanded by the climate emergency, by the pandemic and by key social justice movements and more. As the introduction to the panel said: “It’s becoming ever clearer that the fashion industry can’t be apolitical, and you cannot separate politics from fashion.”
Fellow panellists Matthew Coats, University of Brighton, United Kingdom; John Lau, London College of Fashion, United Kingdom; Sophie Skach, Fashion designer and Researcher, United Kingdom and Peter Jeun Ho Tsang, Foundry Powered by IFA Paris, France spoke about these changes and the responses they elicit from their perspectives. There was an emphasis on practical solutions and on different, better ways of doing things. My approach, influenced by nearly two years of work with Extinction Rebellion Fashion Action and rooted firmly in the emergency mindset, offered another take: that urgent and profound change was needed, not simply in means and methods, but in the ways in which we perceive labour and resources, and how much more we could expect of a planet already on its knees.
As with all the panels I take part in, I learnt so much from the wisdom and experience of my co-panellists. I look forward to meeting them, in some way - and in person - again. Please find links here to the original Vimeo film and to the conference itself. And here is the text, explaining the panel’s aims.
“For years, many in the fashion industry have chosen not to speak out on injustices in the world for fear of alienating consumers; many have considered taking a stance on civil rights and equality as unimportant.
But these same consumers are starting to question what that means for the character of a brand, and why many creatives aren’t being held accountable for actions, that have a direct impact on our political climate. It’s becoming ever clearer that the fashion industry can’t be apolitical, and you cannot separate politics from fashion.
Whilst the term ‘fashion’ has been historically used to describe the latest trends and how something is made into a particular form, the industry, and the wider creative industries, now find themselves in the midst of an escalating evaluation culture.
In an increasingly online, globally-connected world, and with consumers acting in huge numbers to create a new voice and new type of critical discourse through online social media platforms that provide a direct link to the industry heavyweights, fashion and politics have never been more interlinked. From calling-out discriminatory industry standards to holding brands and businesses to account for environmental abuses, the creative industries are democratising in a way we have never seen before, with fashion at the forefront of this discourse.
Change is happening rapidly, with the new landscape developing on an almost daily basis. The consequences are huge and will affect each part of the fashion industry — from design educators to marketeers to practising designers. Add to this the COVID-19 global health crisis, and it becomes evident that the fashion industry as we know it will never be the same again.”
By Bel Jacobs
These are the people changing fashion for good
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