More Is More and Less Is a Bore

by E Eisenberg Upper Sixth

Rebelling against the toxic cycle of consumerism in fashion

The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of competitive business in the United Kingdom, heightened further by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of Europewide capitalism over communism in 1991. Since then, the popularity of social media and the globalisation of business has created an even more competitive atmosphere for nearly every brand. The solution is to encourage everyone to buy: to constantly introduce new things into their lives, to treat objects as disposable and temporary, and to always be looking out for what the next big thing will be. While it’s fun to pick new clothes for new occasions, new decor as the seasons change and luxury items just because - I mean, who doesn’t need different dinner plates for different occasions? - This is having a detrimental effect, not just on the environment as goods are made rapidly cheaper and with less and less care, but on the individual. According to Life Squared, the average person sees over 1,600 advertisements every day, and advertising is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s easy to slip into a cycle of never being happy with what we own, because something newer and better is always on the horizon. Similarly, it seems to be impossible to be satisfied with the lives we have made for ourselves because they do not contain the things that we are told will make it so much better. Millions of people every year look at their smartphones the second a new one is released and heave a sigh of disappointment at the fully functional device. 75% of televisions are scrapped for no reason other than that the owner considered it to be out-of-date, less than 20% of which are recycled. Televisions are considered to be one of the most important items in the home. If we think about our most important belongings in this way, what does this mean about how we think about

“If we think about our most important belongings in this way, what does that mean about how we think about ourselves?”

ourselves? Many sociologists argue that this has a detrimental impact on our lives; Merton coined the term ‘strain theory’ to describe the stress we suffer as a result of being told that we must achieve unrealistic and often totally unattainable pictures of life. The rise of influential figures who are choosing to step away from this cycle is growing, as more and more people tire of mindless spending. Minimalism is a movement that began in the 1960s but barely made it into the background of the lives of most people; today, it has millions of followers. It advocates for finding a meaningful relationship with the belongings you already have and making the important separation between

happiness and spending. While many think of minimalism as extreme and unrealistic, it has countless followers who live very normal lives but make conscious decisions about purchasing items and attempt to live mindfully. Filmmaker Matt D’Avella, whose Netflix documentary ‘Minimalism’ sparked a conversation in the households of many who had never even heard of the concept before, observed that “the whole point is to get past the ‘stuff’”. While we often think of minimalism as having less ‘stuff’, it’s not about the stuff at all. The goal is to get past the focus of material things in order to live a life that’s truly meaningful to you.” Marie Kondo, whose book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is a New York Times bestseller, has been named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people; such an achievement shows how desperately in need we are of a new method by which to “Would Gianni Versace, I wonder, be happy with models swanning down the runway in dresses stitched by underpaid, overworked, starving children residing in the most povertystricken areas of the poorest countries?”

“I wonder what the cost is to all the people they’ve exploited to produce it?”

live our lives. One of the most detrimental areas in this regard is fashion. Blair Waldorf, the style-obsessed main character of HBO’s hit series Gossip Girl, remarks at one point in the series that “fashion is the most powerful art form there is. It’s movement, design and architecture all in one. It shows the world who we are and who we’d like to be.” Fashion is arguably the area most dominated by the encouragement of consumerism. During the past year, the worldwide panic around climate change has introduced the phrase ‘fast fashion’ into the vocabulary of many. We’re often aware of the detrimental effects of disposable fashion on the environment, and on the workers who are paid well below minimum wage and work in extremely dangerous conditions in order to meet the standards of the companies who make cheap, poor quality clothing - the collapse of the Rana Plaza in 2013 made headlines - but rarely do we stop and consider the effects that this is having on the consumer. Gone are the days in which we save up for an item of clothing we desperately want and travel to a town with that particular shop in it in order to purchase it. From PrettyLittleThing’s selection of disposable £5 dresses to Missguided’s infamous £1 bikini - one Twitter user poignantly asked “I wonder

what the cost is to all the people they’ve exploited to produce it?” - any item of clothing is available at the click of a button and extremely cheaply, but only in terms of money. Fashion, which has had the intention of art and self-expression for centuries, is now almost too accessible. How can we express ourselves if we hardly think about what we’re buying? And how can we be happy with ourselves, what we look like and what we choose to wear, if it’s outdated within the month? Mere decades ago, fashion was considered to be the highest art form. Designers like Alexander McQueen and Mary Quant ripped up the rule-book, showcasing collections filled with passion, anger and artistry. Reporters famously stormed out of McQueen’s shows, disgusted by how his pieces were unlike the fashion they were used to. In 2019, many critics were also disappointed with the looks showcased at Fashion Week, but because they were uncreative and manufactured rather than controversial. There used to be four seasons a year in the world of fashion - Autumn/Winter, Spring/Summer, Resort and Pre-Fall. Now most companies have 52 ‘micro-seasons.’ Fashion, it is argued, no longer makes a political or emotional statement in the way it used to; instead, it looks to be as inexpensive and easily accessible as possible. Would Gianni Versace, I wonder, be happy with models swanning down the runway in dresses stitched by underpaid, overworked, starving children residing in the most poverty-stricken areas of the poorest countries?

“Mere decades ago, fashion was considered to be the highest art form.”

“Does your happiness depend on how up-to-date your belongings are?”

Courtney Carver introduced Project 333 in 2010. It is a project that involves reducing your wardrobe to 33 items and wearing only those for three months. While it may sound tiresome and impractical, the many people, mostly women, who have taken on the challenge report gaining clarity into their past consumerist habits and saving surprising amounts of money. Your default reaction to this, like mine, was probably along the lines of “why would anyone choose to do that?” But perhaps that’s what we’ve been conditioned to think. Minimalism is seen as the enemy by many figureheads in the fashion world, with artists Li Huasheng and Dieter Roth going as far as to advertise their work as ‘maximalist’ in response. But maybe it’s the answer. Not only is our worldwide habit of constant spending impacting the environment and the millions of workers whose safety is under threat

It is undeniable that reevaluating the accessibility of fashion comes from a privileged perspective. The fault here is not of the consumer, who often cannot afford to indulge in long-lasting staple pieces, but of the companies that encourage unethical measures in order to increase their sales. But when it comes to the privileged, it’s time to rethink excessive spending. Little meaning can be found in belongings if you own thousands of them. Does your happiness depend on how up-to-date your belongings are? What worth does each belonging in your life have? Happiness without dependence on spending should be something that we all begin to consider. In the words of Vivienne Westwood, “buy less, choose well.” every day, it’s also changing how we see fashion - and therefore, how we see ourselves. Courtney Carver is one of many thinkers who has made the concept of minimalism easy and realistic for thousands of consumers. It’s the fact that we don’t realise how heavily we rely on spending to make us happy that is so dangerous.