Fashion is a huge industry. Fashion touches the psyche of everyone in the society. It’s an enchanting industry, nevertheless with its own glaring issues.

The biggest problems of fashion and fashion designing industry relates to people. It’s about those who put herculean efforts in an ultra-creative industry. It’s also about those who believe in fashion to solve insecurities of appearance.

Fashion industry facts and ruthless confessions could upset us having believed in fashion and even joined fashion design schools! But the revelations are forcing amends.

About Hard-Work & Going Berserk!

In the fashion industry people often work in excess. These include fashion designers, models, photographers, PR people, writers and even students who undergo fashion design training. They continuously meet challenges of nerve-wracking commercial and creative expectations.

Their life is rife with busy schedules, long work hours, compelled creativity, poor pay, skipped meals and neglected health. Fashion being a competitive fast-paced industry puts a crushing creative pressure. Students should grow a hard will from fashion designing institutes itself.

Solutions

Working at a reasonable pace can boost efficiency. Fashion houses should be considerate to the workers’ physical and mental needs and must shun exploitation. Creativity has to be considered more human than mechanical and should be a major mention in fashion and design courses.

Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is where garments are made for consumers who dispose clothing in short periods owing to trend changes. Fast fashion companies offer trendy clothing at cheap rates.

It’s wrong because it creates a large volume of wasted garments that’re frequently dumped, adding to the pollution around us.  Another major concern is the use of non-biodegradable synthetic material in garment manufacture causing critical accumulation of toxic materials.

It also goes against the healthy cycles of clothing trends. Fast fashion creates a much shorter trend cycle. Moreover, the rapid need for more fibre triggers shortage of natural materials.

Solutions

Circular Production Model is an innovative solution, that ensures that garments can be completely recycled into their original fibres. This decreases carbon footprint by promoting sustainable materials in manufacture.

Faulty Fur

Fashion is well known as a medium of representation and projection of personalities, affinities and popular perceptions. Being so, it has taken heat for a few scandalous practices.

Designer wears that use fur and animal skin has been condemned by animal lovers and animal rights organisations. Hunting down animals for fashion has left critics across the world seething.

Solutions

 People around the world can join in solidarity with the animal rights organisations and activists to deplore the cruelty on animals for fashion. Campaigns like PETA’s has already elicited positive response worldwide.

A Case for Mother Nature

Excessive cultivation of fibres to meet demand and heavy pesticide use are realities caused by fashion industry. There’s also the use of toxic non-biodegradable synthetic yarns.

Solutions

There has to be a counter to fast fashion culture. Fashion companies should follow ethical practices. Fashion professionals should honour fashion’s ethics they learn at fashion designing colleges. People should avoid cheap temptations of mindless fashion. The governments can regulate heavy use of pesticides and excessive fibre cultivation.

The Lean Concept of Body Image

A lot of fuss follows what fashion industry qualifies as perfect beauty, favouring lean figure and white skin. Fashion campaigns project this body image, spreading negative perception of other body types. Such standards are killing the models too!

Solutions

 Spreading word on social media is effective. New laws can check on this sickening trend. A parallel trend of normal bodied and multi-ethnic models walking the ramp and appearing in fashion campaigns is also helping.

The above are the real issues of fashion industry that those involved with fashion has to be aware of and responsive to. Every student pursuing fashion designing courses should be mindful of ethics and best practices in the industry.