Fashion Week Is Coming, and Yet It's Always Here

This Stuff #159

At this point, you don't need to keep up with a fashion calendar to see a fashion show. You can just assume one is about to happen somewhere in the world on any given week. Right now, it's Men's Fashion Week in Paris, and soon it will be Fall/Winter 2023 Women's Fashion Week in New York and Europe. You'll be served an entire month of shows and street style, and then a few weeks later, there will be another round.

I love fashion shows and the theatrics that come with them, but how do we reconcile opulence with reality? We have labor issues, from the people making those garments to the ones wearing them on the runway, and we have way too many clothes. Even though these brands are pumping out a different volume than fast fashion, it's all related.

Despite years of thinking about this, I’m not sure how we address it.

On the one hand, celebrating the art of fashion is as important as recognizing the problems. A great fashion show, one that choreographs the movement and tells a story about what's behind the clothing, is like seeing any other incredible work of art. On the other, we’re kidding ourselves if we don’t see the full picture. Sometimes, a fashion show is just clothing and expensive fabric from a brand that knows the pieces will sell, whether or not there is a vision.

But maybe there is untapped potential in having so much attention on fashion. We have critics, celebrities and influencers together in a room thinking about clothing and the future. Perhaps we can address the very thing that looms over it all?

I’m aware of the conundrum, of course. Fashion week is supposed to be sexy, problems like overproduction and wage theft are not. They are happening though, and the industry, the workers, and the planet can’t sustain them much longer.

Can fashion week affect more than just the trends? Can the time be used to rally support for or at least raise awareness of necessary changes?

Let me know what you think in the comments below.