The Cost of Fashion: Undressing Fashion's Mental Health

The Cost of Fashion: Undressing Fashion’s Mental Health In a romanticised industry there is a long existence of debate proposing a correlation between the pressures of fashion on the employees and creatives and the impact this has on their mental health.

Creatives Earlier this year another creative was sadly taken to suicide, Kate Spade was only 55 when she committed suicide and had a $2.4 billion brand under her belt. She is tragically the third designer to die due to suicide since 2010, along with Alexander McQueen and L’Wren Scott. It is no surprise that creatives in this industry are under constant pressure throughout their career in such a fast-paced industry. DeCode, a genetics company based in Reykjavik, have supplied information that people working in creative industries are 25% more likely to suffer with mental illness than those working in less creative industries such as manual labourers. Many designers through history have been known to turn to drugs and alcohol, like Yves Saint Laurent who would get so intoxicated he couldn’t maintain posture at his own runways.

The cycle which seasons within the industry runs at a highpaced frequency with most designers likely designing a full collection within three weeks, along with the diffusion lines of the brand such as cosmetics. As a fashion creative your career becomes your life with constant events and networking with other individuals within the industry to promote the brand. Is there not enough support for creatives within the industry? Living in an age where everything is so high-paced, with technology offering fashion in an instant, trends and styles become older faster and it’s the creatives behind brands who are suffering under the pressure.

The strain on creatives is dismissed by many and is leaving the industry to be a daunting place.

BY LOIS WANDLESS

Models and Consumers

It is not only the creatives and powerhouses behind the labels who are suffering, the fashion industry is also impacting body positivity among not only models but consumers.

Many renowned models have spoken up on the topic of mental health and the fashion industry and explained their personal experiences. This is not a recent topic for models, at a “mental health issues in creative industries” conference in 2016 British model and activist for mental health care in the modelling industry, Rosie Nelson, discussed her experiences. Nelson explained how her self-esteem has been “stripped” while working in the modelling industry and how she was shamed when casting directors told her to lose weight “down to the bone”. Another model who expresses her troubles with mental health is Adwoa Abodah, who has modelled for brands such as Fendi, DKNY to even H&M. Adwoa explains that she feels that she was “born sad” and has struggled with drug abuse and even attempted suicide after she received harsh criticisms. These models are not alone with a huge 40% of models within the industry battling eating disorders and depression.

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The issue is becoming more recognized within the industry; professor of diversity in fashion, MBE Caryn Franklin explains “In the last 10 to 15 years the average size of models has increased from 5’9 to 5’11 with the same sample size, increasing the pressure to meet normalised ideals”. As the pressures on models are becoming recognised, LVMH and Kering luxury group follow a model charter. This protects the wellbeing of models, assuring that models under 16 aren’t hired and no smaller than a size 6. In addition to this the Models Health Pledge was created in London in 2016 to protect the health of models and raise awareness of mental health issues in modelling. Although measures are being put in place to protect the well fare of models the impact on consumers also needs to be assessed. With increasing pressure to fit social norms, is sizing and model selection impacting the mental health of us as consumers? Beat charity for eating disorders explained over 1.25 million people struggle with eating disorders within the UK alone and the majority of which being young people. The pressures of the fashion industry are not only impacting those working in it but also those consuming it.

To find out more information on the topic of mental health I spoke to Matt Legg, who after struggling with mental health problems himself made the decision to help others and works for the charity CALM. How has your experience been with mental health and what have you done personally to help with mental health awareness?

From the age of 16 I struggled with anxiety always in cycles, then throughout 2017 I had a depressive episode that spanned throughout the whole year and caused me to defer my studies at university. Durting this time I was suffering with low mood, but I was also unable to speak properly, everything felt like hard work even basic things like making the bed. I had no idea what was going on. By February 2018, I had recovered and since then have been working with CALM zone (Campaign Against Living Miserably). I also work for my own charity F.C Not Alone - in order to raise money for charities such as CALM and raise awareness about men’s mental health issues. My main achievement has been organising a World Cup tournament as Wembley with 240 players who all payed to enter as well as a corresponding justgiving page. All proceedings went to CALM totalling £8,000 and since then I have spoken to the likes of BBC and London North East Rail and worked with other mental health organisations to raise awareness.

What advice do you have for people who struggle with mental health problems and feel like they can’t reach out for help?

People need to know they CAN reach out for help. There are organisations set up now to provide help and support for people in these situations. There is nothing weak about asking for help and the alternative is that you suffer alone without your loved ones and friends having any idea and this isn’t a good place to be. From experience myself I know that those close to you would far rather help you than let you suffer alone. People will listen to you and people care about you, however big or little the problem may be it is important to try and talk to someone. It is far more common than you think to be struggling with mental health problems of any kind.

What are the impacts on day to day life for people struggling with mental health problems?

There is a whole range of different impacts on daily life for people depending on their specific mental health struggle. For me personally, when I have struggled with depression and anxiety the impacts are all encompassing. My whole day from going to lectures, meeting with friends and even looking myself was a huge struggle. I feel unable to enjoy any aspect/ most aspects of my life and my ability to carry on normal life is affected, desire to undertake any task is affected as a result. Ultimately day to day life feels far more difficult in a period of depression or high anxiety.

What advice can you give for people who find their career is making their mental health worse, or a suffering due to external pressures?

I would say let somebody know your mental health is suffering either due to your career or external pressures, whether a family member, a support team within your workplace. Colleagues and or bosses may misinterpret your worsening mental health for lack of effort and poor performance. If you speak to somebody, portray your concerns and your mental health continues to worsen, change profession. No job is more important than your mental well-being. Similarly, relieve yourself of the external pressures that you believe to be causing a negative impact to your mental wellbeing.

Finally, do you think mental illness is portrayed accurately in the media?

If I had been asked this question a year ago, I would say of course not, but there are strides in the right direction being seen in recent months. There is still a huge lack of educative material in newspapers and magazines. There are still occasions where there is a suicide and people fail to understand the connection between mental illness and suicide and wonder how somebody could do such a thing? Or how could that person be so depressed? Without understanding the nature of mental illness, that it can affect anyone.

OCD is the clearest example of misinforming by the media. OCD is not when someone wants something to be clean. OCD is far more a case where if somebody doesn’t perform a task, or a repetition of tasks, they suffer an influx of intrusive thoughts, leading to anxiety which cannot be resolved until they undertake their task again. It can lead to hugely life limiting circumstances where people struggle to leave their house in the fear they cannot perform their rituals.

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Depression and suicide are still lacking representation on the television as they still seem to be a taboo subject, and will remain so until they become a part of daily communication, however uncomfortable it may be.