Thoughts on the Fashion Industry 👗🤔💬

I’m a quote unquote “fashion designer”, and honestly, I hate the fashion industry. 

To be real with you, I hate the word “fashion” itself, which is why I never refer to myself as a “fashion designer” and I don’t think of Studio Dialectica as a “fashion brand”. To me, the concept of “fashion” seems frivolous, fleeting, inaccessible, saturated, lacking in purpose, and just overall unnecessary to the world we live in today where 80% of our textiles end up in a landfill, pollute our waterways, and release exorbitant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The truth is when I began studying and working in the fashion industry, I was an outsider. In an earlier time, this industry felt vibrant and full of life. After working in the fashion industry for a few years, the glamorous veil was quickly pulled back and this industry revealed itself to be something MUCH less attractive… 

"The truth is when I began studying and working in the fashion industry, I was an outsider." 

Arushi dressing a model for her debut collection at Rome Fashion Week in 2018

It may seem contradicting, but after I realized my true opinion of this industry, it only fueled my desire to found a clothing brand, enter: Studio Dialectica. I believe that it’s possible to make quality clothing in a way that is better for the world: without taking too much from the earth and from others. 

I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of conglomerate clothing companies like She*n, H&M, Zara and countless others that have been caught perpetuating awful business practices, especially when it comes to offshoring the manufacturing of their products. I don’t think I need to tell you about all the unethical practices in depth, but to name a few: child labour, incredibly low wages, unsafe exposure to toxic chemicals, sexual and physical assault, and poor working conditions are just some of the common practices that are happening everyday at factories which produce most of the clothing we see in stores and online today. 

You may also know that fast fashion companies are not the only culprits of perpetuating poor working conditions and low wages. Some of the most costly brands you can think of produce their goods in the same factories as the aforementioned fast fashion brands. Even across Europe, and the Americas, the fashion industry is notorious for unethical treatment of workers at all levels of the industry. 

You may have seen clothing corporations advertise new initiatives like textile recycling, or eco cottons, less water consumption, recycled fiber fabrics, the list goes on. Don’t be fooled and do your research because most of the time, these companies are just riding the wave of conscious consumerism by introducing initiatives that are really just what is known as “greenwashing”. The impact of their unethical production outweighs their textile recycling efforts everytime. Overall, the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. Just think about that for a second!  

Perhaps the most damning thing about the fashion industry is the illusion of it. The efforts that are put into trying to make us forget and to cover up all the atrocities that happen daily because of this industry makes me shudder. The rampant colonialist practice that is employed to center the western world in fashion imagery while profiting from the unethical labour of low-income workers in developing countries is an exploitative and intentional masking of the sad truth that is the fashion industry.

"Perhaps the most damning thing about the fashion industry is the illusion of it."

Oof, that was heavy.

Now to tackle the other side, the seemingly “good” side. Throughout my time studying and working in the apparel industry, I became increasingly aware of the sustainability movement. Like a lot of people in my generation, I’ve grown up seeing the impacts of our activity on Earth and I’m fearful of the future. This thrusted me into wanting to create responsibly and engage with that part of the apparel industry. But I noticed that the current sustainable apparel sector was not all that inclusive and expensive to take part in, and it was marketed almost exclusively to a very specific kind of consumer. Realizing that true sustainability is only possible in an inclusive, accessible environment that takes into account differing cultures, body types, gender identities, and wallets opened my eyes. 

Alka Chopra modelling our Sari chore Jacket upcycled from a 100% silk sari

As an Indian-Canadian person, I noticed how differently apparel was approached from two separate cultures. I’m sure you’re familiar with the fact that Indian people are known for their extravagant outfits and all the events they get dressed-to-the-nines for. I agree, these outfits are stunning, but a lot of them are only worn once as “outfit repeating” is a social sin. I struggled with the idea of all this beautiful, quality fabric just sitting in some aunty’s closet for decades. So I was on a mission to dig those fabrics out and turn them into one-of-a-kind daily wear pieces. Instances like this made me want to create sustainable apparel through a more cultural lens, and that’s what brought Studio Dialectica into existence! 

As I wrote this blog and recounted the reasons for my disregard of the fashion industry, I still overwhelmingly feel like Studio Dialectica can make an immense positive impact in the apparel industry. We’re not interested in being trendy and current; we’re in it for the long haul, and man is there a lot of work to do so LET’S GOO!! 

Thanks for reading,

Arushi
Founder, Studio Dialectica

CREDITS:

Banner image by Sahar Rana

In text Image 1 by Domenico Longo

In text image 2 by Arushi Chopra