Fashion does more damage than good

This week we were tasked with a debate surrounding the topic of 'Fashion does more damage than good'. My group were supporting the topic as we were 'for the consumer'. We decided to look into the main topic of Body Image yet with the following sub categories; Weight and eating disorders, Photoshop and image manipulation, Race, the objectification of women and self absorption.

I feel that fashion has a negative effect on the consumer as they present the idea of an unrealistic lifestyle through the use of over edited images and the objectification of women within the media. 

Photoshopping: 

As a consumer, we are exposed to 5,000 airbrushed images a week.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) monitor every advertisement published for the British public, although there are no defined laws as to what the magazines can post, but the images must be realistic.These enhanced images psychologically alter the way that influenced young people perceive their bodies to be. Eating disorders, extreme exercising and even depression can be linked as a correlation as factors between the enhanced images and problems. As most supermodels are a US size 0 or a UK size 4 – sizes which are not natural for most women- they would feel pressure to change to look the same. Negative thoughts about their body would rise and dissatisfaction for the way they look.

Weight and Eating disorders:

The industries version of ‘plus size’ is a lot slimmer than what it is in real life- they are calling a size 12-14 plus size, when realistically this is a healthy weight for women. Brazilian model Anna Carolina who worked for brands such as Giorgio Armani and Dior died aged 22 from anorexia and Anna Reston died of an eating disorder-she weighed only 88 pounds yet at a casting call she was called fat. The impact of this imaginary plus size is influencing all ages to believe they’re too big to be pretty or famous.

Race:

The representation of ethnic minorities within the industry is so poor, it is not a true representation of the society that we live in today. It is creating stereotypical views which are then perceived by many consumers that this is 'ok'. When black models are rarely represented in the industry they are made to stick out like a sore thumb and treated as 'token' models in catwalk shows. An issue of Italian Vogue stated that "that's enough to get media of their backs, they've 'done their bit" by having black models in their campaigns or runway shows. Rick Owens has tried to embrace racial and body image but has ended up producing an SS14 show portraying models of ethnic minority in animalistic ways.Thirteen out of 92 shows at the most recent New York fashion week featured no black models at all. These statistics show diversity in fashion to be sliding back rather than improving. Season after season a substantial number of design houses use little to no models of colour. No matter the intention, the result is racism.

Sexual objectification:

Women are often shown as an object through the fashion media, an example being this photo of Miley Cyrus taken by fashion photographer Terry Richardson. Once a child star, “Hannah Montana”, her fan base was millions of youngsters. Her new image leaves little to the imagination and is plastered all over the internet and magazines, making her young fan base believe it’s acceptable to objectify themselves. A woman so dominant in the current fashion industry should not be allowed to promote this. I showed 30 people these photos and asked their opinions of them, 57% of people said that they were “disappointed in Miley Cyrus” and this is because she once was a role model to a young audience. The rest said that this photo made them feel “self conscious”. When asked how the “Blurred Lines” video represents the women in it, people replied the women were represented “as an object”, “vunerable”, “degraded” and “as sex objects”, 96% of people who answered my survey had seen a “photo in the media that shows women as a sexual object.” Which is completely unacceptable.

Self absorption:

Lighthearted films such as Mean girls and in-depth books such as 'The Hundred Dresses' highlight the issues of bullying and of being ostracized due to not wearing the right thing. Terms the media uses such as "must have" and "ultimate" imply that if you do not have this, you are not one of the fashion crowd. They influence the consumer into buying to ensure that they fit in with these high levels of social pressures that society sets. Whilst this social shaming is set out more in females, men are still affected. Children are widely affected by this too, having to have those 'kickers', or that 'Nike bag'. In schools in the US, designer clothing affords some Children "the opportunity to become popular and that protects you and gives you social power and leverage over others" according to a Study by Professor Dorothy Espelage, University of Illinois.

Therefore I feel that each of these points proves that “Fashion does more damage than good”. Instead of encouraging diversity and individuality, Fashion promotes conformity and an unrealistic self-image.