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Project 2
Dynamic Interven.on
Do the following historic fashion trends seem absurd to you?
Foot Binding • 8th -‐ early 20th century China • Foot binding was a display of status for woman of wealthy families that did not need to work. It became a symbol of beauty in Chinese culture.
• Between ages 2 and 7, feet were soaked in a bath of herbs and water or urine and vinegar.
• All toes except the big toe were folded down, and the arch of the foot was bent inward.
• The process went on for several years, and the bandages were progressively Hghtened unHl the feet were approximately 3” long.
Lead Powder Makeup • 700 BC -‐ 1920s Europe, Middle East, China, Japan, Africa, Australia North and South America • Before the age of commercial cosmeHc brands, men and women used lead-‐based powder and loHon to render their faces porcelain white. White skin displayed social status, because women and men of wealth did not work outdoors and expose their skin to the sun. • Symptoms of Lead Poisoning: brain damage, central nervous system damage, headaches, loss of appeHte, anemia, a constant metallic taste in the mouth, paralysis, insomnia and a limp wrist.
Queen Elizabeth I of England
Lead Poisoning VicHm
The Corset • 16th -‐ 19th century Europe and North America
• 1500 -‐1600s, fashion dictated rigidity in dress and European women wore corsets to completely fla[en their stomach and breasts. • 1700 -‐1900s, fashion evolved into the hourglass figure and corsets were redesigned to abnormally narrow the waist and li] the breasts so they would swell out of the corset, further exaggerated a woman’s curves.
• Made from fabric and wood, horn, ivory, metal or whalebone. • Associate medical condiHons: chronic fainHng, inferHlity, miscarriage, endometriosis, digesHve disorders, varicose veins from restricted blood flow, deformaHon of bones and muscles, and internal injuries, impalement and death from accidents.
Queen Maud of Norway
The Beaver Skin Hat • 16th -‐ 19th century Europe and North America • Beaver skin hats were highly fashionable menswear because the fur was warm, so] and resilient. The beaver coat could easily be combed to make a variety of hat shapes from funcHonal hats to top hats. • Mercury was used to preserve the shine of the beaver coat and was absorbed into the skin when touching or wearing the hat.
• Symptoms of Mercury Poisoning: tremor, psychiatric disturbance, hearing loss, seizures, kidney toxicity, mercury pigmentaHon, paralysis, neurological changes, death.
Mercury Poisoning VicHm
Clothing is one of the 4 basic necessity's for sustaining human life.
Water, Food, Shelter, Clothing
Yet, the fashion industry has exploited a basic human necessity in ways that are harming mankind.
In what forms can we ques.on the ethical responsibility of today’s fashion industry?
Body Image and Marginaliza.on • In 1990 the average U.S./European female runway model wore a size 6-‐8. Today the average size is 0 or 00. • Male models are also subjected to the same scruHny. • In the past 15 years, the diagnosis of eaHng disorders has increased by 15% with a 27% increase in men.
Sub Topics within Body Image and Marginaliza.on • Idealized low body weight contribuHng to an increase in self esteem issues, anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder.
• Photo retouching contribuHng the image of an una[ainable body. • MarginalizaHon of ethnic diversity in fashion runway and adverHsing. • MarginalizaHon of body size in fashion design, runway and adverHsing. • MarginalizaHon of fashion design and representaHon for the handicap.
• Modeling agencies that now place a minimum BMI on models or fire models that are too thin.
Animal Rights • As of 2014, 90% of angora rabbit factory farms are concentrated in China. According to the InternaHonal Wool TexHle OrganizaHon, roughly 4,700 tons are produced each year to meet the demands of the fashion industry. Yet China does not have laws that regulate the treatment of farmed animals.
• PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) revealed the shocking condiHons of angora rabbit factory farms in China used by H&M, Esprit, C&A and New Look. • Rabbits are repeatedly skinned alive every three months. If they do not immediately die of shock, they are placed back into dirty cramped cages and the process is repeated unHl they’re put to death.
Sub Topics within Animal Rights
• Inhumane condiHons inside factory farms producing leather and fur.
• Unethical slaughtering pracHces of animals in factory farms.
• Animal welfare laws.
• ProducHon costs of real fur vs. faux fur.
• Environmental impact of real fur vs. faux fur.
• AlternaHve material opHons for wool, fur and leather.
Ecology • ValenHno, Levis, Zara, Diesel, Gap and Giorgio Armani all use toxic dyes (such as arsenic) and cleaning agents (such a ammonia) in their manufacturing process of texHles, which also includes heavy metals such as cadmium, cobalt, lead, mercury and chromium. • In 2013, Greenpeace collected water samples from rivers located near texHle factories in Indonesia where a large porHon of the clothing for ValenHno, Levis, Zara and Diesel is manufactured. Greenpeace found that texHle waste had raised the water’s PH level to 14. A PH of 14 will burn human skin on contact, kill all aquaHc life, and have a devastaHng effect on the local fishing industry and surrounding environment.
• These chemicals build up in the body of both humans and wildlife. Over Hme they can cause irreversible damage to the liver, kidneys, thyroid and the central nervous system.
Sub Topics within Ecology • The effects of toxic clothing dyes and fabric cleaning agents on global polluHon, aquaHc life, the food we consume and/or human health.
• Illegal dumping of texHle factory waste into natural waterways. • Environmental destrucHon caused by the fur and tanning industry. • The regulaHon of toxic and/or carcinogenic agents used in the producHon of texHles. • Why manufacturers choose to use a toxic processing of texHles instead of natural processing.
• The shelf life and decomposiHon of clothing made from unnatural fibers.
• The mass producHon and consumpHon of clothing contribuHng to landfills.
• SyntheHc fibers and chemical dyes vs. natural fibers and dyes.
• Zero waste approach to pa[ern design and producHon.
• Slow Fashion vs. Fast Fashion • Biodegradable Fashion
Labor Rights • On April 24, 2013, the deadliest garment-‐factory accident in history occurred when Rana Plaza (an eight-‐story commercial building) collapsed in Bangladesh. 1,129 people were killed, including many child workers. The factories manufactured apparel for brands, including Bene[on, the Children's Place, Joe Fresh, Mango, H&M and Walmart. • When cracks were first discovered in the foundaHon of the building, the shops and businesses of Rana Plaza immediately closed. However, the owners of the sweatshop factories on the upper floors ignored the warnings. They ordered the their garment workers to return to work the following day or else they would be fired, only to have the building collapsed during the morning rush hour.
• In Bangladesh, Labor Code establishes 14 as the minimum age for work and 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, although it permits children between the ages 12 and 13 to perform light work with certain restricHons.
• In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor found that 90% of sweatshops in the U.S. violate health and safety standards, directly contribuHng to word-‐related injuries and death.
Rana Plaza Collapse
Illegal sweatshop in Bangladesh
Sub Topics within Labor Rights • Abuse and exploitaHon of child labor, forced labor and human trafficking in garment factories.
• Underpaid, unsafe or inhumane condiHons for workers in garment factories. • Unregulated worker’s rights and/or a need for stronger unions for garment workers. • Companies turning a blind eye to working condiHons in order to acquire cheap labor rates for the manufacturing of their product.
• Sweatshop vs. Factory vs. Fair Trade manufacturing.
How can we create awareness and change the current industry standards?
Body Image and Marginaliza.on Pro Infirmis, a Swiss organizaHon for the disabled, created a series of mannequins based on real people with physical disabiliHes. Pro Infirmis collaborated with individuals including, a Miss Handicap winner who has spine malformaHons and an actor with Bri[le Bone Disease. The project enHtle Because Who Is Perfect? was placed into the window of high-‐end retail store in Zurich’s main shopping district to generate public reacHon and awareness to the way we define beauty in the world of fashion. h[p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8umFV69fNg
Animal Rights In 2008, Joshua Katcher (aka The Discerning Brute) created a blog on “fashion, food and eHque[e for the ethically handsome man”. A commi[ed vegan, environmentalist and social jusHce advocate, Katcher started The Discerning Brute as a resource for men who want to make ethical, informed decisions concerning their lifestyle. Katcher believes that high fashion can also be ethically responsible. www.thediscerningbrute.com Katcher interviews Project Runway’s Tim Gunn on Fur h[p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nws1MpjpYls#t=120
Labor Rights United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) is the naHon’s largest student-‐led, labor rights organizaHon. They have affiliated locals on over 150 US college campuses. USAS seeks to hold accountable the mulHnaHonal companies that exploit people who both work on university campuses and in the overseas factories where collegiate apparel is produced. On the 6 month anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, USAS launched a new country-‐wide campaign requiring universiHes producing college-‐logo apparel to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The document is a legally-‐binding contract promising greater protecHon for workers and a voice for unions in addressing deadly working condiHons. The contract effects sweatshops used by the brands VF CorporaHon (owner of JanSport), Adidas, and Nike. h[p://usas.org/2013/10/16/we-‐need-‐a-‐contract-‐to-‐end-‐deathtraps-‐in-‐bangladesh/
Ecology Thi Wan is a fashion designer at Opening Ceremony. He graduated from Parsons in 2013 with a dual degree in CommunicaHon and Fashion Design. His senior thesis enHtled “Outlines” was made enHrely of biodegradable material, which directly addressed the issue of fast fashion (fashion that we only wear for 1-‐2 seasons and discard) by contribuHng zero impact on the environment. Wan developed the material himself by mixing biodegradable medical gels that he hand-‐sculpted and cast into a 3D membrane that acts as fabric. The fabric-‐like material is completely organic and decomposes over Hme back to natural sand. h[p://chasseurmagazine.com/2014/02/15/
All industries are subject to change and change starts with us.
What do you want to say to the Fashion Industry
or even the world?
What changes would you make?