On The State of Fashion

From Pamela Rolland SS’24

Recent events have prompted me to think a lot about the current state of the fashion industry, and my personal relationship to it.

I first became enamored by the fashion industry because I observed the beauty that it was capable of producing. At some point, a bunch of individual creatives, passionate about clothing and textiles as an art form, got together and decided they wanted to create beautiful things together. And I wanted to be a part of that.

But over time, the products of this work and this passion have begun to morph into something else entirely - both in my life, as well as the broader industry. Instead of serving as a physical manifestation of inner beauty, it began to uncover and reveal the ugliest layers.

How can an industry built on creating beauty produce so much ugliness?

To state the obvious - money - the pursuit of which has plagued the industry (and the world) ever since the early days. But the passage of time has only fueled our desire for power and control. We raced to develop technology and AI so that we could make even more money - quicker, faster, at the expense of our values. As technology and fashion inevitably became intertwined, the former began to gain dominance over the latter. Instead of creating art for art’s sake, we began answering to the technology behemoths of the world. It’s why we now have the likes of Meta and Amazon sponsoring the biggest fashion events, and we trick ourselves into thinking that without their support, this industry would crumble - profit is greater than passion. A lie that has now become our reality.

I often wonder what would happen if we refused to accept money from tech bros. Would it be a return to innocence of sorts? Stripping down the runway or red carpet to just the foundations - before strobing lights, pulsating productions, and celebrity star power interfered, when the clothing and the craftsmanship was enough to speak for itself.

Or have we already strayed too far past the point of no return? Would we be left unsure of how to return to the basics - to the heart of our industry?

As a publicist in the business of client services, I’ve witnessed brands struggle to hold onto their founding values (typically rooted in craftsmanship or responsible consumption or providing “better quality” alternatives), eventually giving up the fight in return for funding that would “keep them alive.” But at what cost?

On a similar note - If you truly understand PR, then you’d know the value comes from relationships, and its success should not be measured by ROI or hitting sales goals. Yet so many brands make it about that - they push us publicists to compromise our relationships so that they can instantly turn a profit, forcing us to abandon our best judgment and years of experience. We’re often treated as a means to an end, rather than as a partner. The relationship becomes tense, the collaborative discussions end. But that’s often because they, as a brand, also have to report to a board or some entity that holds $$$ over their heads as a threat rather than as a tool to champion another’s art.

A brand’s “glory days” are almost always at the beginning of their inception. Before the pressures of money become involved. When the bulk of the pressure lies between a designer and their craft, the creative challenge that amplifies their talent. That’s when the designs are most distinct, untouched by the commercialism and sell-ability that the pursuit of money demands.

I think back to when I first dipped my toes in fashion, and I miss the feeling of innocence. Because I was on the outer rings, just a baby in my career, everything was distilled to its most basic form. All it took to bring joy was just being near beautiful fabrics and designs. Now that I’m very slowly on a trajectory towards the center, that joy is becoming harder to reach. I have also allowed myself to compromise the beauty of fashion in order to appease clients, and lately it’s been taking a noticeable toll on me and my career.

My future in fashion is becoming harder and harder for me to visualize. I experience cognitive dissonance on a regular basis - doing things that greatly contrast the reasons I wanted to to be a part of this industry. Sometimes these things are commanded of me, and sometimes they’re things I do of my own accord, hypnotized by what “success” has come to look like in fashion.

At the same time, I cling on to hope! I ask myself, after everything I’ve observed, do I still want to be a part of it? And my answer, as of now, is still yes. The fact is, there is a reason that fashion excited me, and I believe those reasons are still true and they still exist. I remind myself that this industry does create incredible beauty. It is still a reflection of God’s beauty. He is the one who gave everyone their gifts and abilities, so there must be a purpose for this industry.

I don’t have all the answers, and I never will. Who knows if I’ll even still be in fashion 10 years from now. But I do have hope! Hope that beauty can overcome ugliness. Hope that humans are beautiful and are capable of creating beauty. And as I’ve said before on this blog - hope is what propels us forward.

xoxo, jo