About nine years ago, I remember being deeply distressed at not being able to do a fashion internship I had secured. It honestly felt like the end of the world to have gotten it only to have to tell them that I could no longer accept the offer.
It was with a company called AF Vandevorst, now closed for business. The closure came way before the pandemic. The reason given was the inability to retain the brand’s identity in the rapidly changing fashion industry. Life has taken me down a different professional path, one that hasn’t been really affected by the pandemic and which doesn’t involve fashion either. However, I still think every day what might have been if I had tried harder to break in. Sure, the idea of being in the industry made me happy to an extent, but if I am to be honest, working in fashion has always been toxic, literally, and figuratively. Now with the pandemic, the whole thing seems like a recipe for disaster. Perhaps the stars were right to align the way they have.
Earlier in the week, I learnt that one of my past favourite fashion blogs Man Repeller, which was recently renamed Repeller, was shutting down officially. After months of controversy coupled with the pandemic, it was reported that the blog can no longer fund itself.
Things seem bleak for fashion and those who work in the industry. Guilt swamps the desire to indulge because so many inequalities have been exposed. In under one year we have gone from flashy fashion weeks, moving showroom installations to online fashion shows and stylish lounge wear.
We have been drenched in news about illness, death, unemployment and just about everything negative. Who honestly has time for the non-essentials? This would be a fair argument, but the reality is non-essentials don’t run themselves. Language can be equally powerful and dangerous. It is easy to dismiss the arts and those involved with them because of the language that has been shaped by the pandemic, though it is well-intentioned.
I feel it has made us cocoon ourselves and thus only think about primary priorities. As cases continue to surge and uncertainty looms more intensely, compassion should be at the centre of how we approach things. Everyone has hopes and dreams and in our darkest hours these sustain us despite them seeming and feeling unreachable.
