Process Book - Dear Fashion - Loïs Lindeboom - class AP118i

DEAR DEAR

FASHION FASHION

ïs

Hi there! Welcome to my first process book before you browse through it, you should know that: • All my reflection moments are marked with an orange background

• All my important notes are marked with a green background ( from lectures and documentaries I wachted).

• I would recommend to read the recaps of every week. They are handwritten and sticky-taped to the orange background.

Loïs Lindeboom class AP188i

week 1 Dear Fashion, You ARE...

Instead of just taking regular pictures, I wanted to do something with my skills with Photoshop and Illustrator.

I decided to use a bit of collagework in a very experimental way. It was challenging at times, because usually I like to finish my work til perfection.

There were so many garments to post that I had to let go off my perfectionism and gave it a more experimental approach.

C.M.I. CLOSET MASS INDEX

NEW 4 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

OLD < 1 YR 10 10 15 8 9 10 1 2 9 8 0 6 3 3

SECOND HAND 0 0 5 2 3 5 1 0 0 3 2 4 1 2

Blazers

0

2

0

Traditional Wear

0

0

0

Accessories

0

23

7

Shoes

0

10

0

Total How many items of the total amount are from a sustainable brand?:

10

129

35

T-Shirts eg.

Tops Blouses Sweaters Cardigans Dresses Jumpsuits Suits / Sets Jeans Trousers Shorts Skirts Coats Jackets

4

Please fill in the questions below: 1. What is the top/bottom ratio in your wardobe?

2. What is the division of basics/seasonal/top fashion garments?

3. Do you see a pattern in the items that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wear?

4. Where do you shop the most?

5. What is your main trigger for buying garments (fit, price, etc?)

6. Which materials do you prefer the most?

7. Do you wear every item that is in your closet? (seasonal) 8. What do you do with the clothing that you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wear/want anymore?

9. What would you like to keep the same or change after seeing your CMI? 10. Which garment has the most emotional value to you?

11. Do you follow the care label instructions for all garments?

12. Do you repair any of the garments if they are broken/damaged?

1. What is the top/bottom ratio in your wardobe?

Top: 73 items Bottom: 32 items 73: 32 2. What is the division of basics/seasonal/top fashion garments?

Roughly , I would say my closet contains of 60% basics and 40% seasonal garments.

3. Do you see a pattern in the items that you don’t wear?

Most of the items I do not wear are colorful, I found out during dear fashion that the items I wear are mostly black/grey. I feel most confident/comfortable in plain items.

4. Where do you shop the most?

Vanilia, Zara, Sissy-Boy , H&M. 5. What is your main trigger for buying garments (fit, price, etc?)

My main trigger is if items are on sale, if they have a soft material and if they fit either way oversized in winter or really bodyshaping in summer.

6. Which materials do you prefer the most?

The most garments are made from cotton, linen or modal.

7. Do you wear every item that is in your closet? (seasonal) No , there are a few items I haven’t worn last season, but I can not say goodbye to them yet because I feel like I might wear them again in the future/special occasions.

8. What do you do with the clothing that you don’t wear/want anymore?

Me and my friends sometimes swap clothes and what’s left from that I sell on united wardrobe/ vented/ijhallen.

9. What would you like to keep the same or change after seeing your CMI? I will keep these garments because they are all still close to me but I will not purchase that more seasonal garments anymore. I mainly prefer having good basics with dark colors in my closet because I tend to wear those the most.

10. Which garment has the most emotional value to you?

My embroided skirt, My leather jacket , My lammy coat & my King-Louie dress.

11. Do you follow the care label instructions for all garments?

I do nowadays, I like to invest in good/sustainable/basic items and if I want to keep them for a long time it’s important to wash them with love  I wash for example all my jumpers and jeans preferably by hand.

12. Do you repair any of the garments if they are broken/damaged?]

I always repair my jeans/trousers/jumpers. I find it hard to repair holes in t-shirts though.

THE 3 CHOSEN GARMENT FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

VOTES: Leather Jacket : 7 Skirt: 5 Dress: 0

WEEK 2

Tool to gain insight into the stylistic & iconic origin + evolution is of my chosen garment.

THE LOVE LETTERS Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still indecisive over what garment to pick so I decided to write 2 loveletters. One to my leather jacket and one to my embroided skirt....

Dear Skirt, I fondly remember the day I found you. It has been over 4 years ago. It was love at first sight. You draw my attention from across the room in Zara.

I did not intend to purchase anything that day. However, you aroused something to my shopping senses. I brought you immediately, I desired to make you mine. You felt comfortable, yet exciting.

When I open my closet, you are still the first garment that catches my attention. You light up my closet with your colorful embroidery and your different textures. You are nothing like my other garments. Your embroidery inspired me to start embroidering myself. Embroidery, a new hobby I survived the insecure days of self-quarantining with. You are such a magnificent item, considering my whole closet is a black rainbow and you go so well with black yourself. You and me were a match made in heaven.

You have seen a lot of places together with me. From festivals in the summer to a long backpack journey throughout Asia. You are a conversation starter with your colorful design and ethnical feel. You represent my deep interest in different cultures, zeitgeists and colors.

Even though you are made and bought from a fast-fashion brand, you give me a vintage appearance when I wear you. I preferably dress you together with a black turtleneck, some tights and sturdy boots. You have that magic ability to make me feel feminine, even on days I thought I never would.

Your label says youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re made in India. However, your embroidery design looks East-European to me.. You are made out of 100% cotton. Nevertheless, I do not think that you have been made in the best circumstances.

However, I will always take good care of you. Just like you do to me.

Love always, LoĂŻs

Dear Jacket, It was over three years ago, in a small boutique in my hometown when I saw you. I always had a little crush on you, however I considered you out of my league. Due to my pitiful income, I was always in doubt to get the courage to make a move on you. On the day of my birthday, the 3rd of July, you came in my life as a complete surprise. My parents set me up with you. I am filled with gratefulness, because we have been inseparable ever since.

You feel like a comfortable, warm hug each time I put you on me. You caress my neck, shoulders and gently grip my wrists. Your leather material has the magic ability to keep me warm in Fall/Winter and surprisingly cool in spring/summer. I adore your timeless, bold and simple design. Your strong zippers, your soft leather and bold ridges on the shoulders make me feel valorous. You have that magic ability to make me feel confident, cool and comfortable. Although you might not be the most unique garment I own, you are always there to fall back onto.

I cannot imagine a single outfit you do not fit with. From a simple pair of jeans to a feminine dress, you add an interesting contrast to the outfit.

I must say I’ve taken you to a lot of different places. From the blistering heat at the beach to torrential rain filled autumn and winters in the Netherlands, you have been my partner in crime.

I am forever most grateful for the fact that you always got my back.

Literally. Thanks for being my best-friend. I hope you could be able to tell me I’m yours too.

Love always, Loïs

be d ul is is o t w . Th ed art a n w wh h o sho y p rity on arc . I & m ajo felt e v ese oth ds e m irt ed i s ci a r o b rien th sk cid e t s nd do ers rs, f ter ided I de y em i o t y el nt t lett pee e le bro ere, n m m re rme love ore lov em th ee o t ex l ga 2 o m the the rom t tr s a na ote t ng elt t. F en w I y fi wr hem adi y f ar rm m hy I of t r re the y he ga w th fte hat o m ch & bo r. A e t e t ear rt. ne ld m clos res iski to ost my in m do ed m to oid br

The Garment Exactitudes

Valentino s/s ‘14

Gucci F/W ‘17

Valentino Resort ‘16

Street Style

D&G F/W ‘18

The Garment Exactitudes

Garment Research Garment Tree & TIMELINE

‘The Hemline Indiex’ by George Taylor (1926) The theory suggests that hemlines on women’s dresses rise along with stock prices.1

EXAMPLES

Roaring 20’s

first flapper dresses above the knee

40’s Recovery economy after WWII - over the knee

50’s Economic ressecion still over the knee but A-lined

60’s BOOM

0

EMBROIDERY RESEARCH 1848 Industrial Revolution Machine Embroidery

Middle Ages Europe

Religious embroidery 475 - 221 B.C Chu Tomb China

Chain Stitch

30.000 B.C

first embroidery found Cro-Magnon Siberia

Made in India

Bro·de·rie French for embellishment

I started reading myself into different embroidery styles throughout different regions of India. I decided that it is a nice way to visualize & compare the different styles with my skirt by using Photoshop. I used the shape of my own skirt as a ‘Clipping Mask’ for other embroideries from Wikipedia/ Books/Educational websites.

Embroidery is to much of a ‘‘catch-all’’. Embroidery is from every culture & exists since the time textile was invented...

I need to do only one specific style in embroidery --> reduce it down to Indian embroidery styles

Chikankari Lucknow , India The Chikankari embroidery started around the 3th century B.C. mainly to decorate woman’s muslins. But these embroidery patterns lack any color, ornamentation or anything spectacular to embellish it. Chikan embroidery started with white on white floral embroidery. 2 Materials: Silk, Chiffon, organza, net.

Kasuti Karnataka, India The Kasuti embroidery dates back from 12th century. The name Kasuti comes from Kai (meaning hand) and Suti (meaning cotton). The Kasuti embroidery features folk designs influenced by rangoli patterns of Karnataka, mirror work embroidery and gold & silver thread embroidery were mostly used for special occasions like weddings.

The patterns are stitched without using knots to ensure that both sides of the cloth look alike.

Materials: mainly on cotton Kashidikari Punjab, Kashmir, Bihar and Karnataka – India Kashidikari is an embroidery style based on the Kasuti style.

Rabari Gujarat and Rajasthan, India The Rabari Embroidery is originated from the 17th century from a nomadic tribe in the semideserts of Northwest-India. The Rabari women are famous for their embroidery skills, which are passed from mother to daughter. From the 20th century, Rabari embroidery is characterised by its use of mirrors (shisha) surrounded by colourful embroidery. Many of the large and bold designs are inspired by Rabari mythology and their desert habitation. The basic pattern is normally worked on a dark ground, with the individual motifs being outlined with chain stitch and then filled in with buttonhole stitch and herringbone stitch, all in brightly coloured threads. 3

Materials: mainly cotton Kantha Bangladesh-West-Bengal-Tripura- Odisha , India.

Kantha is an embroidery style from the West-Bengal region of India. Traditionally this embroidery was used for quilts, dhotis and sarees, but over a period of time it has evolved and made its way right into the heart of Indian fashion. The yarn is taken from old saree borders; the design is then traced and finally covered `with running stitches. The motifs in Kantha embroidery were mainly animals or birds. 4 Materials: cotton, silk, crepe, chiffon.

Kutch

Kutch district – Gujarat, India.

This embroidery with its rich designs has made a notable contribution to the Indian embroidery traditions. It originates back to the 16th and 17th century when people migrated from countries such as Afghanistan, Greece, German, Iran & Iraq. The designs created on the cloth to embroider relate to the themes of daily lifestyles, animals and birds (like elephant, camel, parrot, peacock, etc.), flora, religious places such as temples, and figurines of women in dancing posture. The types of stitches used are ‘square chain, double buttonhole, pattern darning, running stitch, satin & straight stitches. The signature effect of the colorful embroidery sparkles extra with the use of the previous calles Sisha ( mirrorwork). Depending on the tribal sub groups of Rabari, Garasia Jat & Mutava involved with this craft work many hand embroided ethnic styles have evolved.5 Materials: Cotton, Satin, Silk.

Aari Kutch district – Gujarat, India.

Aari is a form of the many Kutch embroidery styles. Exquisite needlework of repeated fine chain stitches, worked in multi-colored silk on a satin or cotton ground, is a timeless craftsmanship of 12th Century India.

Flourishing in the states of Gujarat and Sindh under the patronage of the Mughal court, it is a series of unbroken stitches that take the shape of abstract nature and wildlife motifs. The uniqueness of the ”Aar” holed needle that is used to create these stitches, gave the name of what is known as Aari Embroidery.6 Material: Cotton, Satin, Silk.

Phulkhari Punjab, India & Pakistan Phulkari originates from the 15th century from the Punjab region in India as well as Pakistan.

Although Phulkari means floral work, the designs include not only flowers but also cover motifs and geometrical shapes. The main characteristics of Phulkari embroidery are use of darn stitch on the wrong side of coarse cotton cloth with colored silken thread. Punjabi women create innumerable alluring and interesting designs and patterns by their skillful manipulation of the darn stitch. It was never made for commercialization. Fabricated for familial customary obligations, Phulkari became famous mainly by word of mouth. For the people of Punjab, Phulkari is not just a style of embroidery. For them it is a traditional family culture, a pious ceremony that begins with the birth of the male child. 7 Materials: Mainly cotton.

Chamba Rumbal Kangra, Chambal, India The Chamba Rumbal embroidery originates from the 13th century in a small village, Chambal. Chamba, situated on the river Ravi, was one of the most important centers of miniature painting.

Chamba embroidery designs were based on nature, mythology, articles of everyday use and happenings of everyday life, animals, birds and trees etc and geometrical designs are also very popular.

The most popular colors used in Chamba rumal are ultramarine, Persian blue, carmine, parrot green, deep red, pink, brown, black, white, lemon, deep yellow, brilliant pink, and purple.8 Materials: cotton, silk, untwisted silken floss.

EVALUA TION GARMENT COMMUNITY FILES I reached out to a lot of people on United Wardrobe to ask if I could interview them about similar embroided skirts (preferrably from Zara).

Not many responded to me and some unfortunately sold/ thrown away their garment. I only found one person, Gaby, and she is in the garment community files. I had to come up with a Plan B for my interviews so I thought it was interesting to interview people on garments with embroideries in general. I reached out to Mabel, who I found on Instagram. She posted her embroided boots on her Dear Fashion instagam-account and she was very helpful.

I found out not many people now about embroidery and are not that interested in the craftmanship as I am. What was surprising as well is that a lot of people have no clue from what cultural origin their embroidery was inspired by/ copied from. And to be fair, neither do I still with my skirt after trying to research it.

WEEK 3 DEAR FASHION, YOU ARE MADE OF.....

The Technical Scan

Life-Size Drawing

The Technical Drawings

The Technical Drawings

The Garment Comparatives

The Garment Comparatives Compare my mini skirt with 4 similar garments from different segments.

The segments are: • High Fashion/ Couture • High Street Fashion • Fast-Fashion • Vintage

‘‘ Do it online or in stores’’ --> I’d

rather do it online hence the fact that Amsterdam is a hotspot with COVID-19. I don’t want to risk getting anything by going out shopping unnecessarily.

1. High Fashion

Description The past and the ”Authenticity” are linked to the future through a new interpretation translation of the “Handmade” of the “Homemade” where the creative ingenuity and craftsmanship of our Sicilian/Italian tradition become the protagonists. The color palette of the F/W is intense: “The Black” strong and vibrant absorbs all the other colours, becoming the new trend for the next season. The focus is “The Archaic” hand-made work, which translates into this knitwear collection. In the hands of our designers the clothes, ”Living objects”, change their volume and proportions becoming creative canvas. The DNA is reinterpreted as a dream between fantasy, tradition and genius, the focus is “Fatto a Mano” and the value of the Craftsmanship.

Miniskirt embroidered and embellished with gemstones, tape and tulle: • Regular fit • Stretch waistband • Rear zipper fastening • The piece measures 45 cm - 17.7 inches from the back of the waist on a size IT 40 • The model is 175 cm - 68.9 inches tall and wears a size IT 40 • Made in Italy

2. High Street Fashion

This short denim skirt will give your look an edgy finish, with its Tommy Jeans logo embroidery and raw hem.

Highlights • • • • •

Pure recycled cotton rigid denim All-over Tommy Jeans signature logo embroidery Five-pocket styling Tommy Jeans branding Tommy Jeans flag patch on coin and back pockets

Shape & fit • Regular fit • Our model is 1.76m and wears size NI2

3. Fast Fashion

4. Vintage/second hand

Garments

Material

Embroidery

Fit

Price

Does it say on the website where it’s been made?

100% Cotton

unknown 78% Polyes- 100% probably Silk ter Cotton 22% Poly(Recycled) amide

outside: 100% Polyamide inside: 92% Silk 8% Spandex

threat

threat

threat

threat

Beads

A-line/wide

A-line/wide

straight

straight

straight

€49.95

€ 15.00

€29.95

€ 99.90

€ 4500,-

No.

No.

No.

No.

Yes. Made in Italy.

WEEK 4 Dear Fashion,

2 DOCUMENTARIES

The Garment Origin Doc

‘Motherbrand’

• India is a country in SouthEast Asia • 2nd most populated country in the world.

• 1.326.093.247 popluation • Country’s capital city is New Delhi - biggest city is Mumbay.

• Tiruppur, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Ludihana and Chennai are the important manufacturing centres of India.

The Indian textiles industry, currently estimated at around US$ 108 billion, is expected to reach US$ 223 billion by 2021. The industry is the second largest employer after agriculture, providing employment to over 45 million people directly and 60 million people indirectly. 9

What percentage of Inditex’s manufacturing is based in India?

Inditex’s business model is based on what is known as proximity manufacturing, as the company aims to adapt to changing consumer tastes in a highly flexible manner. The bulk of its production is concentrated in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey and other European countries.

Our India-based manufacturing accounts for no more than 5% of the total and is associated with the Indian textile industry’s specialisation in certain types of garments. Approximately more than 100 suppliers currently work for the Group in India.

What is the Vidya Project?

Following an extensive on-the-ground review in 2009 in the New Delhi area, Inditex’s CSR team found anomalies at a network of workshops to which garment manufacturing might have been outsourced. The team documented and filmed practices that violated the Inditex Code of Conduct. The Vidya Project is Inditex’s response to these shortcomings, and it was enacted with a dual purpose: • To apply a zero-tolerance policy on child labour, forced labour, non-compliance with payment of the minimum wage and unauthorised outsourced work.

• To begin a process of steady improvement in working conditions at facilities operated by Inditex suppliers in the region.

CSR teams assigned 24 suppliers in the Delhi area – which did not work exclusively for Inditex yet did some work for the Group – with a D rating, the lowest possible grade according to the Group’s standards. The low ratings persuaded Inditex’s specialised CSR teams to launch a wide-ranging correction and training programme targeting these suppliers.10

Are these suppliers owned by Inditex?

Inditex does not seek exclusivity in its suppliers, and all of these suppliers also work for other customers.11

If Inditex (Zara) doesn’t know who their suppliers are or where they outsource their manifacturing, it must be impossible to keep a good track on the working conditions.

A lot of companies, like Inditex (Zara) post annual reports of all the good accomplishments the company made, but very little about the mistakes they should take accountability for.

Taking accountability for your mistakes/ ignorance as a company is in my opinion a definition of being 100% transparant.

Next to that, there is little to none information on where Zara’s factories in India are located, which makes it really hard to trace down if they really meet their claimed ‘standards’.

https:fashionrevolution/docs/fr_fashiontransparencyindex2020?fr=sNmI5NzYxMDk0OA

India is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest producer of cotton at the moment. The United States has been the largest exporter for many years.

Cotton is a plant fiber that grows in shrub plants. The fibers of this soft and fluffy plant are used to manufacture a variety of fabrics and textiles, ranging from lightweight laces to thick-piled velveteen. Cotton fabrics are frequently used for clothing, furnishings and for industrial uses. It is commonly used to make clothes as it is very breathable; it absorbs and releases moistures quickly.12

Cotton has been used in India for thousands of years and early origins of its use have been traced back to the Indus Valley civilization that lived in the northwestern regions of South Asia. Thanks to its favorable climate, the majority of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cotton is produced in the zone that covers Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Nowadays there is a glut of cotton in the global market place. Thisis pushing the prices of cotton down. The costs of pesticides, fertilizers and seeds are increasing but the cotton price is falling down. Indian cotton farmers get around 50 dollars per quintal. A few years ago it was 100 dollars. The costs of pesticides, fertilizers and seeds are increasing but the cotton price is falling down.â&#x20AC;? This causes a lot of pressure on Indian cotton farmers. 13 GMO Cotton is Genetic Modified Cotton pest resistant plant cotton variety, which produces an insecticide to combat bollworm. The problem with this GMO cotton is that the seeds are expensive, more and it uses more water. Most small farmers canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford those changes in agriculture, leading to debts, stress and sometimes even suicide among cotton farmers. 14

India estitmated number of victims of modern slavery is over 5 Million, a shocking amount if you ask me.

With the increase of fashion retailers changing their collections more frequently, from 2-3 collections up to 8 collections a year. Bulk orders have been made for smaller, more frequent orders that need to reach the stores within the shortest time possible. This increased pressure on lead times lead to long working hours, (unpaid) overwork and in some cases even forced labour. 15 Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s caste system is contributing to the bad working conditions the apparel industry faces.The caste system divides people on basis of birth into unequal and hierarchical social groups.

Almost 60% of the girls working under the Sumangali Scheme belong to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Untouchablesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or Dalits, as they call themselves. The Dalits make up to one fifth of the population of India. Traditionally, they are compelled to do jobs such as cleaning, removal of dead cattle and burrying dead bodies. However, the garment industry is an exception to this: caste does not count as an access to the industry. This leads to a lot of Dalits working in the apparel industry.

The problem is that especially Dalit women face a lot of discrimination from (male) supervisors from dominant castes. 16

TAMIL NADU is the largest producer of cotton yarn in India, 44% of all bigger Indian spinning mills & 80% of the smaller mills. Tamil Nadu has also emerged as a global sourcing hub for ready-made garments, next to garment producing hubs in New-Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.17

In the apparel industry in Tamil Nadu, India, most suppliers make greatly use of the Sumangali Scheme.

Sumangali Scheme ‘‘Tamil word ‘Sumangali’ refers to a married woman who lives a happy and contented life with her husband with all good fortunes and material benefits.’’

Under the Sumangali scheme, girls‟ parents, usually poor and from the lower castes, are persuaded by brokers to sign up their daughter(s). The scheme promises a bulk of money after completion of a three-year contract working in the factory. It – ostensibly – meets the need of poor families and provides stable workforce to factories in Coimbatore. Workers under this scheme are recruited with the promise that they will receive a considerable amount of money after completion of three to five years of employment. Once the contract is signed, young girls are under the control of the factory or the broker. It is often reported that the girls lived in captivity for a long period. Local newspaper The Hindu2 reported on17th of September that a 17 years old girl escaped from a private mill in Coimbatore, where she had been trapped for the last five years. 18

Garment workers in India get around Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 (US$ 133 to 160 per month), while the living wage, as calculated by the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) is Rs. 29,323 per month (or US$ 386).19

Thousands of garment workers demand a minimum living wage in Karnataka, India

Thousands of garment workers in the Indian State of Karnataka are demanding the implementation of minimum wage revisions that have been pending for over a year.

The workers came on to the streets on September 12, when garment industry employees were not included in the list of 73 categories of employees for whom a revision of minimum wages was announced. Karnataka counts 3,50,000 garment workers in the State, of whom 85% are women.

At present, the garment industry in Karnataka contributes to about 20% of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garment exports. Several brands, including H&M, Inditex, Walmart, Old Navy, Target and Khols, source their products from garment factories in the state.20

Gender Inequalities Gender inequality is a big issue facing India. The gender pay gap in India is quite large at around 34% and there has been a decline in employment opportunities for women since the mid-2000s.

Today, women are often limited to basic agriculture, sales and handicraft manufacturing jobs. Sexual harassment remains a major challenge as well and generally goes unreported. While certain measures exist, the reality is that most garment factories do not have functioning mechanisms in place to ensure that gender issues are being addressed and dealt with.21 In the Global Gender Gap Index 2020 rankings, India scores very low, with rank 112. While the Netherlands for example scores rank 38. 22

source: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf

Luxury’s Hidden Indian Supply Chain

For many years Dior, Saint Laurent and other fashion brands have been quietly using Indian embroiderers for their goods, depending on their expertise while offering little in the way of employment protection.

Since the 1980s, luxury brands have quietly outsourced much of their embroidery work to India. The country is one of the world’s largest garment exporters, with a textiles market worth $150 to $250 bil-

lion, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a trust established by the Indian government’s commerce ministry. By 2019, India’s embroidery exports exceeded $230 million, a nearly 500 percent increase from two decades ago, according to the government’s commerce ministry.

As with fast fashion retailers, many luxury brands do not own all of their own production facilities, and instead contract with independent factories to make their garments or embroider them. And like fast fashion, they too have woken up to potential dangers with that system.

In 2016, a group of luxury houses introduced the Utthan pact, an ambitious and secretive compliance project aimed at ensuring factory safety in Mumbai and elevating Indian embroiderers.

Yet during visits to several Mumbai factories, and in more than three dozen interviews with artisans, factory managers and designers, The New York Times found that embroiderers still completed orders at unregulated facilities that did not meet Indian factory safety laws. Many workers still do not have any employment benefits or protections, while seasonal demands for thousands of hours of overtime would coincide with the latest fashion weeks in Europe. A lot of factory owners who signed up with the Utthan pact, experienced difficulties within the industry. With maintenance fees rising up, they needed to rise up the price too. Then orders dried up.

“I was not getting business,” a subcontractor said, as artisans around him worked on samples for Christian Dior. “They started giving orders to people who did the work for cheaper sums.”23

Reflection on Garment Origin Doc It surprised me how extremely difficult Zara is to reach out to. Almost as if they don’t want you to ask them critical questions. I approached them through their customer service chat, on Facebook & through an e-mail that i both never got a reply to. I decided from there to do research on my own instead. I was surprised that if you search for information on Inditex online, 9/10 reports are posted by themselves on google. The Transparancy test showed the exact same findings as I did.

I did read some annual reports that Inditex published themselves and even found one about their production in India, however no factory locations to be found. I did not expect that the India production for Inditex is only 5%, I thought somehow it would’ve been more than that.

Overall, I educated myself in a very broad way through this assignment. I’m more aware of the economic & social situations in India & the brand Zara (Inditex).

I was overall quite disheartened about my findings and it feels like fashion businesses like Inditex are taking a lot of advantage from the poor conditions (female) garment workers live in. What shocked me to was that not only fast-fashion brands, but even high-fashion brands are exploiting Indian textile workers for their skills in f.e embroidery.

In my opinion, India deserve so much more credit for the embroidery work that mostly comes from this continent.

This assignment definetly changed my view on the fast-fashion industry & the brand Zara in a more negative way.

week 5

DEAR FASHION,

I followed Theodorus Johannes for a while already. I love his embroidery work and research he did for the documentaries on community dressing. This was my favorite lecture of the whole Dear Fashion project. I loved the message he send out to us that we lost contact with garments and that fashion has been taken over by marketing.

NEGATIVE & POSITIVE

CARELABELS

Reflection on my Carelabels In the workshop for the carelabels in week 5 we were put in breakout rooms. I was with Zia and Mantas and we had to brainstorm for ‘the worst carelabel ever’.

It was one of my favourite workshops from this semester because it was such a fruitful cooperation between us three. We had a really exciting energy and complemented each other continuously in sarcasm and dark thoughts. I think our negative carelabel turnt out great and you can definitely sense the dark humor we shared during the break out room. I really enjoyed to ridicule our society by the ongoing trend of influencers posting in outfits they only wear once on instagram. Next to that, I’m really happy with the visualization of the carelabel me and Mantas came up with that I even used for my own carelabel.

I did feel a struggle with making the postive carelabel, I think it’s accountable that I did a lot of research for the garment origin doc and that changed my view on the fashion industry for the worst. I really had to try to find my affinity back and get the hope back that I can become a change maker. Luckily, I follow the ethical fashion social enterprise ‘Saheli Women’ for a while and their portraits of their beautiful embroiders from India inspired me to make a perfect label in which Zara gives credit to their manufacturers. In my dream care label would be transparancy of where the garment has been produced ( hence the ‘fake’ QR-code the costumer can scan). The QR-code will link to a website with information and even contact numbers of the garment workers who made your garment. This is ofcourse extremely unrealistic but it was all about using our bright imagination.

The carelabel shows me that I care about craftmanship and ethical circumstances for the garment workers. I would love to strive for some more credit for embroiders, because I know myself how much work and time it requires.

THE MINI ESSAY

How did your view on your Dear Fashion Garment change by looking at your garment from all these different perspectives that have been discussed ( in Theory Videos and their sources)?

Today’s society is all about becoming “woke”. This year has been all about an uprising of awareness and issues related to social and political justice. The Fashion industry coincides inevitably with the current movements in society, through sustainability to inclusivity within advertising campaigns. However, it’s undeniable that the Fashion Industry reappears constantly with appropriating cultures of minorities. Appropriation is an ongoing layered and complex discussion, on historical and ethical matters. I would like to express in this essay the insights I gained about the fast-fashion industry, and how that translates into my skirt. The weekly expert video’s helped me to grasp a deeper insight, and conduct my research on certain topics regarding my skirt.

First of all, I found peculiar in the Dear Fashion Week 5 expert video, the fact that the issue ‘Fashion and Appropriation’ is both simultaneously passé and ever-relevant. Both producers and consumers of fashion have long expressed a fascination with difference, the ‘exotic’ and uncertainty through style-fashion-dress. 24 What I start wondering most is my embroided skirt inspired by a culture or stolen from/ appropriated? As Jennifer Ayores claims the line between ‘appropriation’ and ‘inspiration’ as well as ‘theft’ and ‘borrowing’ in the design process. I used to see my garment as a form of appreciation to the Indian culture with colorful patterns and embroidery. In hindsight, after the research I did on Zara’s outsourcing supply chain in India, I would claim that Zara does appropriate with this skirt, hence the low-or unpaid employment that you could call theft of labor.

Second of all , the video of week 3 gave me a unexpected interpretation of Karl Marx’ views on capitalism as a connection to the current fast-fashion industry. Garments used to be made by hand and passed to relatives for as long as possible, up until the Industrial revolution. Within this new transition, machines could do the work women did at home for decades. The development of the sewing machine and rapid transportation made it possible for people to get access to clothing due to wide availability and attractive prices. With the industrial revolution, a new mindset was born and that was Capitalism. Karl Marx claims that Capitalism with its focus on profits, results into the fact that labor from workers got exploited in return of poor wages. This stated exploitative system of production is central to the development of the fast-fashion industry.

The era of rapidly changing ‘fast fashion’ means seductive images of the latest catwalk styles, spread through social platforms, soon to be picked up by global fashion multiples who quickly turn them into readymade garments for sale to today’s consumers. Zara’s use of digital technology in design, stock control, buying and logistics processes has cut the lead time between identifying a fashion and getting it into shops in just a few

weeks. 25 Here you see again Zara could have easily ‘stolen’ the idea of an embroided mini skirt from a runway, and manufactured it quicker than the original designer.

I came to the realization through the lectures that nowadays, we lost contact as Marx states, ‘alienated’ ,with the garments we wear. My contemporaries and I do not realize how much time and labor has been put in our ready-made garments that we purchase for an attractive price. Nevertheless, I feel that the current system of fashion also brings the opportunity to youngsters and people with a lower disposable income to explore fashion. The younger generation would state that it’s impossible to develop their identity through fashion if they would not be capable of buying trendy garments.

The debate on appropriation in fashion is a hard one to me still. I do find it sometimes indefinite whether something is appreciation or appropriation. It does appear to me that most discussions about appropriation are taking place in popular media rather than academic presses.

It is overall a complex discussion on both subjects of the two matters, but I do realize that I I start to rethink and re-theorize the consumption behavior I had prior to the dear fashion assessment. I look at my skirt as a resemblance of Zara in a more critical way.

I can identify with those who claim that this could be appropriation in what kind of matter. To me, it is in an economic and ethical view definitely theft, taking in account the way Zara exploits their employers in India and next to that ‘imitates’ designs from other brands all for the sake of profits.

THE LOVE LETTER

REVISITED .....

Hi again Skirt , It’s been four weeks since I last wrote you, but it feels a lot longer than that…

We need to talk.

In this short time, my hands have touched you plenty of time, my eyes have passed a lot over you and my brains cracked a lot about what to make of you. I would have never possibly imagined that you would help to shed light on so many matters on the fashion industry. But you did, and I’m entirely grateful that you helped me with that.

When I read back my first letter to you, little did I know about you. I knew you were made in India and made from 100% cotton. I adored you for your embroidery and colorful designs.

At this stage, I know about your iconic history of your fit, your technical features. I remember from the last time I spoke to you that I wanted to find out more about your embroidery heritage. However, there was not that much information provided from Zara’s behalf about how, where and in what way you got produced. It’s fair to say I’m disappointed that your mother brand is not that transparent as I desired for. All I can assume is that you must have been made by dozens of hands, in unappealing working conditions.

I hate to admit it , but my feelings have changed for you in this short time. I lost my sense of innocence in fashion , I almost lost my joyful memories with you. Oh skirt, you resemble a feeling of guilt now. A feeling of guilt that I contributed in such large quantities in the industry you have been made in.

Is this the end for you and me now? No, that’s a step too far.

It took me a while to see the affinity I used to have with you. You still remember me of my passion for embroidery, craftmanship and different cultures. I have to be honest with you and tell you I won’t purchase any more siblings for you from your mother brand.

Nonetheless, I want to say thank you skirt. Thank you for helping me dive into the great universe fashion covers. I gained so many new insights about fashion, my relationship fashion and my core values. You will always remember me what I love and yet hate about the fashion industry. A reminder of where my passion is and what I would like to see as a change in the future.

Thank you dear skirt, I’m going to take a small break from you.

Love, Loïs

W E A R Y O U R V A LU E S

MY 3 CORE VALUES

Thank you, Dear Fashion The last 5 weeks have taught me so much. I evaluated in week onemy relationships with my garment. I picked my embroided skirt for further research and picked up how to put a garment in a historical frame and see connections in relation with time and space. It was a challenge to do research on embroidery, however I’m happy I educated myself more on Indian embroidery. I can recognize a lot of patterns from different regions.

Week 3 taught me how to look at my own garment from a technical point of view which I never did before. I know my garment inside out now and even discovered errors where my eye had never fallen before. This already caused a little feeling of dissapointment. The dissapointment got bigger with my research on the production side of my skirt in week 4. I found out that Zara is not transparant at all about their production. I educated myself on the horrific circumstances Indian garmentworkers have to produce in just for the sake of our materialistic wishes.

Week 5 was the great week of reflection in which I wrote my embroided skirt a new letter. There has been a big difference in my view of my skirt in week 1 and from where we are now. I only looked at my skirt in week 1 from a ‘shallow’ point of view. I liked the colors, embroidery design and the memories I had with it. Now, I have gained an indication of the hands that touched my garment, the conditions in which it was manufactured and where the inspiration for this design comes from.

I never imagined I would become the expert about my skirt I am today from these 5 intens weeks of research, view, understand and evaluate.

I would not say I know everything about the industry, but I definetly got more aware that change needs to come from myself as well. This weeks insights gave me a new point of view on the brand Zara and I ask mysel strongly if I still want to contribute to this current system.

Change has to start with me and I surely will with the insights i’ll carry with me after dear fashion.

So, thank you for that. It was an extremely useful start for my further AMFI-career.

SOURCES 1 Horton, Ros; Simmons, Sally (2007). Women Who Changed the World. p. 170. ISBN 9781847240262 2 https://www.contrado.co.uk/blog/history-of-the-miniskirt/ 3 www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com.library.scad.edu.

4 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Courr%C3%A8ges 5 Marjolein van Baardwijk, Philip Hans Franses (2010). “The hemline and the economy: is there any match?”

6 https://www.craftsvilla.com/blog/famous-indian-embroidery-styles/ 7 https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/regional-traditions/indian-subcontinent/rabari-embroidery-india 8 https://www.utsavpedia.com/motifs-embroideries/kantha-embroidery/ 9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutch_Embroidery 10 https://strandofsilk.com/journey-map/aari-embroidery/introduction 11 https://www.utsavpedia.com/motifs-embroideries/the-culture-and-future-of-phulkari-embroidery/ 12 https://www.utsavpedia.com/motifs-embroideries/chamba-rumal/#:~:text=Literally%2C%20the%20 word%20’chamba%20rumal,in%20pahari%20(mountain)%20paintings.&text=The%20term%20derived%20 from%20the%20Persian%20word%20Rumal%20which%20means%20a%20handkerchief.

13 https://www.ibef.org/archives/detail/b3ZlcnZpZXcmMzcxMTAmMTEy#:~:text=Market%20 Size,and%2060%20million%20people%20indirectly.

14 http://static.inditex.com/vidya/pdf/vidya_en.pdf 15 http://static.inditex.com/vidya/pdf/vidya_en.pdf 16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton#South_Asia 17 https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/19/asia/india-cotton-farmers-suicide/index.html#:~:text=It’s%20 a%20familiar%20story%20in,commits%20suicide%20every%20eight%20hours.&text=According%20to%20 VJAS%20data%2C%20some,the%20start%20of%20this%20year.

18 https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2018/08/complicated-truth-behind-gmo-cotton-india/ 19 https://www.somo.nl/nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/04/Maid-in-India.pdf 20 https://www.somo.nl/nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/04/Maid-in-India.pdf 21 https://www.somo.nl/nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/04/Maid-in-India.pdf 22 https://api.fairwear.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/fwf-india-sumangalischeme.pdf 23 https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/documents/Garment-Workers-in-Indias-Lockdown11.pdf 24 https://peoplesdispatch.org/2019/09/24/thousands-of-garment-workers-demand-a-minimum-livingwage-in-india/ 25 https://www.fairwear.org/programmes/countries/india/ 26 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf 27 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/style/dior-saint-laurent-indian-labor-exploitation.html 28 D.N. Green , S.B. Kaiser - (2017) ‘Fashion and Appropriation’ in Fashion, Style & Popular Culture Drexel University p.145-150 29 A. Sullivan (2015) ‘Karl Marx Capitalism and Fashion’ in Thinking Through Fashion: A Guide To Key Theorists , I.B. Tauris, London, p. 33-34