The reputation things have in society often change on the basis of how we precieve them. In our world, if something is considered of high calibre, It is often considered great and vis-a-versa. So, lets talk about high culture today- what exactly is it? Who all are a part of this culture? Is it better then low culture?, and so on!
High culture encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art and literature that a society consider representative of their culture. In easy words, high culture refers to a set of cultural products or activities that are held really high esteem by society.In the past, high culture may have existed for the pleasure of the elite or the aristrocratic. Ususally, they are in form of arts. From classical music to operas, from marble statues to illustrations in chapels, these are all part of high culture because they are associated with intelligence, finery, art.
Belle- A high culture dance form.
High culture is often considered a legacy,the product of past stages of our society. It is considered to be ineradicably assosiated with the ruling or the elite class of our society which is why it is now being replaced by popular culture . As it is being noticed that by the passage of time the difference between high and low culture is becoming somewhat blur. Elite classes are now probably listening to pop music whereas the lower class might be interested in learning belle. Who knows if Prince Harry is already edicted Ke$ha, and what if there’s in boy in some slum area reading Shakespeare’s Hemlet right now?
Examples of low culture
Even I As a kid enjoyed reading Dickens and Jane Austen whereas i even enjoyed reading The Diary of a Wimpy Kid as well as Goosebumps series. So who is to say which culture do i belong to?
Goosebumps (left), Jane Austen (right)
What I’m trying to say here is that high culture is just a little bit more intellectually challenging and fancy-sounding but it doesnot necessarily mean that it can be put on a pedestal above the low culture . So, pick a product and like it, keep it, or change it, just don’t demean a culture just because you are not that into it.
Fast fashion is about making trendy clothes- quick, cheap and disposable. It’s like toilet paper that almost makes you like Ariana Grande. There are alot of fashion retailers like h&m and zara. Fast fashion is popular because it has democratised high fashion,and they do that by knocking of designer brands at scale. Balenciaga shoes that costed 800 bucks are now available at zara for just 60 bucks.
And nowadays it won’t be wrong to say that fast fashion is “The Fashion”. We all basically want the feel of luxury without being able to spend high amount of money. And according to the senses , from last fifteen years fast fashion is the only form of fashion that is growing on a tremendous scale. It won’t be wrong to say that fast fashion companies are actually killing legacy brands like levi’s and GAP.
So now the question is ”How fast is this fast fashion?” Well, H&M salespeople told that new clothes come in every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. So instead of two seasons in a year they practically have fifty two! and fast fashion has created this!
H&M store
We all know fast fashion is stylish and cheap, but lets be real, social media really blew it up! Nowadays, we dont repeat clothes. Why? because evrything is now going on social media, we can’t repeat the clothes we wore last week, looks need to keep changing! It’s not like we will stop buying clothes, but we really need to slow down. Alot of brands like levi’s and Raulph Lauran have all said that they want to speed up there supply so as to match with the fast fashion brands.
But what most of us dont know is what this is doing to our planet, at what cost are we fast fashioning? Fashion Industry and Textile Industry is actually the second largest polluting industry after Petroleum. The problem start right at the beginning- What are the fabrics used to make your clothes? For example, one cotton shirt is taking up 2.5 years of drinking water for a person! And if this is not alarming, then what is? Well, lets go through another example, Synthetic fibers like Spandex and Nylon use almost 342 million Barrels of oil a year! Still want more examples? google them yourself, I can assure you that at every turn you make during this research its only gonna get worse.
A fabric called Spandex
During every manfacturing proccess till we get our clothes, it includes alot of chemicals that are usually dumped in the rivers without treatment, which again is not only harmful for the aquatic life but also for us. This has to stop, right?
So, up untill now, we were just talking about making clothes,what about getting rid of them? You know, one thing that I like about us Indians is that we think of clothes as our legacy- we pass it generation after generation and when its not worth wearing anymore we make it into a mop! But as far as it goes for the rest of the world; For instance lets talk about Americans. An average american throws out about 80 lbs of clothes a year. And if one is doing this, then what about 350 million Americans. What I dont understand is that we cry for global issues all the time but why are we not addressing this problem at all? why are people still unaware of this problem? why are people still shopping endlessly? why repeating clothes is still such a big issue?
A cloth dumping pit
Well, for now i have given you alot to think about for now! Now let’s grow up and get into action, Because for saving the world, you dont have to be a super hero. All you need is a little awareness and a little action!
Slow and steady wins the race is a phrase we all have heard and we all still do hear. I totally believe in this, that slow is a necessity, especially in today’s fast and forward moving society.
Now you all must be thinking that why am I talking about this phrase esecially in a fashion blog? so, let me get straight to it.
Many of you already might have heard about fast fashion and slow fashion [more about fast then slow I’m sure.]. Those who haven’t , fast fashion is alot like fast food, one is unhealthy for us, the other unhealthy for our environment, hence, directly harmful for us too. It is actually the inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. It is so fast that where there are 2-4 fashion seasons in a year, H&M [fast fashion brand] practically have 52! But After the release of the documentary ‘The True Cost’ and ‘River Blue’, there was attention drawn to companies that have fast fashion practices. Despite the spread movement, H&M had revenues amount to $25 billion in the fiscal year of 2016. However, as the movement has grown in popularity, H&M’s stock and brand image has taken a hit as consumer awareness has spread of their environmentally unethical practices leading to a drop in sales.
A Women shopping in H&M store
Fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluting industry in the world and the credit totally goes to fast fashion, because nowadays we are disposing off more clothes then we are actually wearing them. So obviously, there’s a tremendous need for us to slow down. We need keep a check on our actions, alot more then we think is necessary!
This is when Slow fashion comes into account. Slow fashion is a concept describing the opposite of fast fashion and part of the slow movement, which adocates for manufacturig in respect to people environment and animals. In the process of manufacturing, slow fashion includes local artisans, eco-friendly material, less to no use of chemicals and also trying in reducing the wastage. It works in a way to satisfy the prducers and consumers with minimum to no effect on our environment. Slow fashion is a way to “identify sustainable fashion solutions, based on the repositioning of strategies of design, production, consumption, use, and reuse, which are emerging alongside the global fashion system, and are posing a potential challenge to it.” In simpler terms Slow fashion is the polar opposite of quick fashion. It refers to a fashion awareness and approach that takes into account the procedures and resources needed to create apparel. It promotes the purchase of higher-quality clothes that will last longer, as well as equitable treatment of people, animals, and the environment.
Alot of fashion brands are slowly moving towards slow fashion, whereas alot more are gradually moving towards fast fashion, leading our envirnment to nothing more then a dumpster.
Some of the fast fashion brands
As consumers and as responisible humans we must demand for mor slow fashion products. this will not only help the local artisans and workers but will also bring a huge cgange in our society.Now the question comes, that how exactly as an individual we can help in this movement?
Well, we can start buying vintage clothes, redesigning old clothes, shopping from smaller producers, making clothes and accessories at home and buying garments that last longer. New ideas and product innovations are constantly redefining slow fashion, so using a static, single definition would ignore the evolving nature of the concept.
Mansi Chauhan, a designer is working with the old t-shirts and making them into these extraordinary dresses and jackets, all hand stitched.
The spread of the movement has resulted in two fast fashion giants, Zara and H&M, switching narratives to become advocates for ethical fashion practices. With collections aimed at sustainable fashions, the two companies have shifted towards more ethical practices.Due to the audience that the movement against unethical fashion practices has accumulated, organizations such as the United States Fashion Industry Association have devoted some of their attention to ‘social compliance and sustainability’.
But What I don’t understand is why this problem is still unknown to so many people?, why is no one actually talking about such a big isssue pevailing in our society?, why are people still unaware about slow fashion?
I guess the answer to all these questions in that people who are already aware of the problem and it’s solutions are not playing their part in spreading the awareness. I did my part , I hope you all will start spreading the message from now on!
Let’s be honest, our environment is getting worse each day. In last few years words like global warming Climate Change, Water Pollution, Air Pollution, etc have become a part of our daily language so much that we have are becoming more conscious about how we can help save the environment and Reduce the usage of plastic, wastage of water and electricity and Reuse, reduce and recycle.
But what about the clothes us wear? Is there a collection between our clothes and environment? Yes! There is.
You know, a normal sweater we wear might as well take 300 years to fully decompose in the soil? and this is just the tip of the ice berg. You know it takes 2,700 liters of water to make cotton t-shirt and roughly this is the amount of water a person drinks in 2.5 years. And every year almost 2 Billion cotton t-shirt are sold worldwide. Rest you can do the math(coz I can’t! )Also almost 100 Billion garments are purchased every year, around the world and the chances are that a piece of clothing will be worn just 7 times before being tossed out and almost 93% of used clothes end up in landfills and because our clothes are mostly made of synthetic fibers, they are non-biodegradable.
Synthetic material is not the only problem. Where are the companies sourcing the raw materials from and how clothes are being manufactured contribute a lot to the pollution levels.
So, it’s not surprising that the fashion and textile industry is the 2nd polluting industry in the world. The UN says that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse emission annually.
It’s not like we are going to stop wearing clothes. Which is why sustainable fashion is the answer!!
Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a movement and process of fostering change to fashion products and the fashion system towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. Those clothes which are not made of synthetic fibers like nylon and polyester, but are made from ecofriendly environment, which can either entirely be from natural resources like wood pulp, jute, coconut, banana and pineapple as well or can be a mixture of both natural and synthetic fibers which put less strain on the environment and can decompose in a shorter span of time are more helpful. In fact, many major brands are moving towards sustainable fashion. And this change took place because we are becoming more conscious towards our environment.
Sustainable Fashion Mood Board
Sustainable fashion concerns more than just addressing fashion textiles or products. It addresses the entire manner in which clothing is produced, who produces it, and how long the life span of a product is before it reaches the landfill. This sustainable movement combats the large carbon footprint that the fashion industry and fast fashion have created by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A sustainable dress
Among many makers of sustainable fibers an Austrian company produces a fiber variety which is called Ecovero , and is made out of wood pulp. This fiber can actually put less strain on the environment and can decompose fully in a few months. I know most of the clothes which many brands have right now are not made out of sustainable fibers but then how our economy works right? It’s about demand and supply, they also have to maintain their financial vitality. And while many brands are also slowly moving towards sustainable fashion, maybe we as consumers can demand more ecofriendly clothing? And who knows, if we all ask collectively for sustainable clothing, may be in near future all brands might just succumb to our demand or they might just be motivated to look at sustainable fibers as the norm rather than an exception.
It is without a doubt that over the last thirty years, Street wear has grown from a fashion subculture to mainstream behemoth, paving it’s way in and out of different styles and subcultures. That’s why peeling apart it’s layer is worth a deeper look.
Street fashion is the fashion that is considered to have emerged not from studios, but from the grassroots streetwear. Street fashion is generally associated with youth culture, and is most often seen in major urban centers.
Who other then Ariana Grande can rock the street fashion better!
Nowadays, street fashion is getting more and more popular. Most major youth subcultures have had an associated street fashion. Streetstyle is different all around the globe. Street fashion is on its apex right now, but there was a time when things were much simpler. Street style has always existed but it has become a phenomenon of 20th century. The increase in the standardization of life after World War ll may be linked to the appeal of “alternative” lifestyles for individuals in search of “identity”. For me, street wear is an identification of clothing, that correlates and enables you and others, to identify what subculture you identify with. Individuals, usually youth describes there multiple negotiated identities using street style methods and mixing it a little with what’s in trend. So, street fashion does give you an Individuality and ways to explore yourself with the act of dress!
Bill Cunningham (American photographer) once pointed out that street fashion is like a catalogue of ordinary people’s clothing. He also told that street style has a great story to tell about fashion if one listens carefully. Street fashion is like a live fashion show that’s going on 24×7. I personally totally agree with what he has to say.
I’m a huge fan of street fashion myself. I mean when I’m walking down a street all I look at what person is wearing what and how can I give that attire a better look. But there’s a problem in India that street fashion is unknown to a lot of the population. And the reasons behind that is that from the very beginning we look for an ideal look, a symmetrical look. But as we talk about street style, symmetry is really less to be seen. People are unaware of the street fashion tend not to like it.
Asymmetric designs of shoes
And also when we talk about big street fashion brands like balenciaga, or Versace are very expensive and we all know what are the economical condition of India. And the other reason is that when people try to wear street style they end up ruining the look as they are unaware of what might suit there body.
But as we are moving forward in time, the popularity of street fashion is increasing every passing second. Designers are taking inspiration from the street- on what styles are popular, which colour is in demand, which trend is leading to obsolescence. Street fashion has come a long way, and it has a long way to go ahead too!
Fashion is a vast term to start with in the first place. We really can’t describe it in one phrase or two. If you ask me, then I’d tell you to give my paper and a pen to list all the things that I think are part of fashion.
Fashion is a never ending process and in my opinion we are going back in fashion then we are moving forward, for instance, bell bottom pants are back, crop tops were in trend, and so many other examples. Fashion is something we can actually say is going to stay till infinity, it keeps on changing, but it never ends!
Crop tops and bell bottoms came back in fashion.
And what’s fashion for one, may not be for another. Some may adore a fashion trend others might despise it. It can be fun to play with, it gives your imagination wings to fly wherever and however you want. We can experiment with it as much as we want! Instagramers are surely experimenting by wearing a skirt as a top and shirt as a skirt. So yes! Anything and everything is possible in fashion!
Fashion varies with one’s mood – I’m feeling badass today, so let’s wear black leather jacket; I’m feeling bubbly, let’s wear a floral dress. And fashion also speaks a lot about one’s personality. People usually dress-up according to how they wanna be seen by people – they want to look like a professional or do they want to look like a hipster. We unknowingly also use fashion as a shield, as an armor, and I don’t find anything wrong about it because we live in a society where we are constantly being watched, being judged and if I can get a little protection by wearing something people might like, then I don’t think there’s anything wrong in it. There’s nothing wrong in feeling empowered; in feeling comforted.
A badass girl and a cute bubbly girl
All in all, for us fashion aspirants, fashion is way more then just a word. It’s a feeling, it’s happiness, it’s fun and above all, it’s life!!
A little fashion-vashion 