High-street fashion is notoriously lacking in ethics and morals. Most of us are aware of this, but few are active in boycotting the worst offenders or campaigning to prevent worker exploitation. You might feel a twinge of guilt when you’re rifling through the bargain rails of Primark, ASDA and H&M, but, at these prices, who cares?
Well, campaigning groups such as War on Want and Labour Behind the Label (LBL) certainly do and both have released revealing reports indicating the shocking state of working conditions in clothing manufacturing.
The high street is to blame for the phenomena of disposable clothing. Now that ranges are changed every few months, cheap and cheerful copies of the hottest catwalk trends are produced quickly, worn a couple of times and then substituted for an equally inexpensive replacement. But by what means are suppliers able to speed production to this rate, whilst maintaining low costs? It doesn’t take a genius to realise the conditions in these production factories are not quite as cheerful as the clothing that they manufacture.
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SAN FRANCISCO, April 19 /PRNewswire/ — Scott Shuman abandoned the world of couture to hit the mean streets of New York City photographing real people wearing fashions their way. This veteran of the couture industry, who once represented legendary designers, including Valentino, Helmut Lang and Jean-Paul Gaultier, discovered his passion for fashion reaching new heights when he launched “The Sartorialist” blog which displays these photos for the world to appreciate.
The Association of Image Consultants International (AICI) holds its Annual Conference, “Partner with AICI for a Winning Business,” from Thursday, May 17 through Monday, May 21, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Shuman will be the featured speaker at the opening reception, Friday, May 18.
“Scott has had a magnificent career in the fashion business, and his transition to becoming a successful new media blogger is a very timely subject for our AICI members and guests,” states Anna Wildermuth, AICI, CIM, the vice president of the conference and a certified image master, one of only a select few in the world to attain that status. “Our conference is all about education, certification and maintaining the highest standards of professionalism. Scott has built a powerful brand with the ‘The Sartorialist’, which has earned him many accolades, including a monthly column in ‘GQ’, the top-rated men’s magazine and a daily post in Style.com.”
Visit Scott’s website here www.thesartorialist.com
Street fashion exhibit ongoing at CU’s Van Rensselaer Hall
Punk, goth, hippie, neohippie, hip-hop and hipster are just a few types of street fashion that Cornell researchers are taking seriously.A new exhibit, “Street Fashion and Youth Subculture: An Ethnographic Costume Exhibition,” featuring more than 50 authentic examples of street fashion, has opened in the Elizabeth Schmeck Brown Costume and Textile Gallery, located on the third floor of Cornell’s Martha Van Rensselaer Hall. It will be up until Wednesday, May 9.
To donate clothes, preferably ensembles of street fashion that is considered part of a current or past subculture, contact Jirousek at caj7@cornell.edu or 255-8064. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
She was named Dean of the Columbus Law School in 2005; she is the first woman and first African-American to hold that position.
Its so interesting that a fashion trend would be recognized as something culturally notable in its own time, rather than only within future trends or within its own given subculture. Maybe society is starting to recognize that fashion can be a part of a culture as important as its art or music.
