RETURNING THE GAZE

This article delves into the issues of representation and diversity in the fashion industry, highlighting the ways in which neo-colonialism and Eurocentrism are perpetuated by the exploitation of cultures, people, and the environment. The author argues that the industry, which employs over three billion people globally, has the potential to create opportunities and transform lives, particularly in Africa and the Middle East where youth unemployment rates are highest. However, designers of color, particularly Black and Indigenous people, are severely underrepresented in the industry, while tokenism and tropes are frequently used to limit their creative output. The author calls for a fundamental change in the industry's practices to bring about genuine change, rather than temporary solutions that ultimately reinforce the status quo.

GAVIN RAJAH

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RETURNING THE GAZE

“The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change” Audre Lorde, 1984.[1]

“There is no history of Western civilization without enslavement … our ways of dressing, seeing, consuming, are implicated in the suffering of others … Who is being seen? Who has the power to see? Who represents? Who is being represented?”[2] asks sociologist and decolonial thinker, Dr. Rolando Vázquez Melken of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

‘Being seen’ is a central tenet of fashion, and yet it thrives on obscuring. One-in-two people in the world works in fashion, or 3.45 billion people, according to the World Bank, in a $3-trillion industry which creates two percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product[3]. Yet in the West, designers of colour form less than five percent of this industry. In the United States only?four percent?of the members of the Council of Fashion Designers are BIPOC. Just three percent of those who show garments on Paris runways are black. And in Africa, UNESCO tells us that the fashion and textile industry:

“…is the second-largest sector after agriculture… with an estimated market value of $31 billion in 2020 and growing every year, with the potential of creating jobs for millions across the continent, especially for women and youth. Persistent issues such as lack of investment and infrastructure, weakness of vocational training, brand development and protection, difficulties accessing new markets and challenges linked to ecological, ethical and sustainable factors are affecting the sector’s development...”[4]

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Africa and the Middle East experience the highest youth unemployment in the world with around 55 percent unable to find work. Joblessness is often a factor of poor education, yet the skills required by fashion do not need higher education to plant the crops, harvest, weave, dye, sew, transport, or sell. The money and opportunity fashion could bring to communities, could transform futures yet destruction trumps consideration.

“In fashion, the exploitation of the environment, the exploitation of people and labor, and the exploitation of cultures are all interrelated,” writes Toby Slade[5], a fashion researcher at the University of Technology, Sydney. “Without the logic of coloniality, extended in globalization and international capitalism …fashion as it currently operates would be impossible.” Camouflaged by the rhetoric of an open world, neo-colonialism persists. Celine Semaan writing in The Cut[6] notes that “supply chains for most major clothing and apparel manufacturers … show that world trade routes are mostly the same as they were 150 years ago at the height of European colonial exploitation. In the same way that colonized nations provided cheap sugar, chocolate, coffee, and fruit to the West, ‘developing’ nations now provide cheap semi-disposable clothes to the West and global economic upper classes.”

This, Vazquez Melken suggests, “affirms whiteness and patriarchy”[7] or what he calls the “arrogant ignorance” of Eurocentrism.? “The ‘other’ is racialized, animalized, impoverished, de-sexualized or hyper-sexualized and made sub-human and the male/white/western self becomes the norm of the human.” ?

Arrogant ignorance was a theme in Felix Choong’s 2017 award-winning essay[8] which critiqued an American Vogue spread with a Japan theme, no Japanese models or crew, and only one Japanese designer. His notes echo the frustration of designers of color across the world: “This American idea of Japan is mythic, a representation that is fantastical and exoticised, working to confine Japan to an Orientalist discourse in the American imaginary. This discourse places gaze as crucial to hierarchies of power and … representations are created that are ethnocentric, fetishistic and exotic to perpetuate binaries and the exceptionalism of the West… In the eyes of the oppressor, giving agency to allow authentic representation would serve to undermine the power structures in which neo-colonial containment consolidates and operates.” This type of gaze is extended to African designers who are forced to produce collections and products that must entrench an ‘African’ identity, once again imposing traditional cultural costume and motif as the only source of inspiration. Designers in need of the exposure in mainstream media play into these impositions and soon realize that they become pawns in a game of tokenism and tropes. This has diminished to a great extent their ability to be players in a global industry.

Suzy Katz, writing for CALA[9], echoes Choong’s frustration: “Many fashion designers outside of the established fashion capitals are repeatedly asked to reference their cultural backgrounds in interviews, pushed into using these stereotypical viewpoints in their work such as ‘wax-print for African designers, bold colors for Latin American designers, or minimalism for Asian ones.’ This reductive depiction of culture is directly in keeping with the traditional imperialist values of colonialism… To be taken seriously in fashion, many are forced to “‘self orientalize’” or “‘self-exoticize’” to compete on the national and international market as consumers are conditioned to expect these defining characteristics in their work.”

Choong raises another important issue: “While racism is often regarded as explicit racial prejudice… inclusion stands as the antithesis. However, inclusion does not equate to equal representation. Instead, it works to amnesia the injustices enacted by America.” ?How do we address the scale of the problem when even reformers are hobbled by their own backgrounds? M. Angela Jansen, a fashion anthropologist, notes that most critiques of “eurocentrism [are] by western and western educated academics.” She acknowledges that although she has spent two decades studying fashion in Morocco, she cannot speak Arabic, and is confined to reading French and English. And so, the silos of thinking, President Barack Obama warned of, persist; we speak in echo chambers and are blinded by what we fail to see. How do we transform? Counteracting eurocentrism requires a conscious effort to acknowledge and challenge the ways in which European perspectives and values have been centered as the norm or standard, often at the expense of non-European perspectives and experiences. It requires listening to communities of practice - engaging with diverse communities, and actively listening to the perspectives and experiences of those who have been marginalized or excluded by dominant Eurocentric narratives. Ultimately, counteracting eurocentrism requires a willingness to actively question and challenge dominant narratives and perspectives, and to actively work towards promoting greater understanding, respect, and equity for all cultures and communities. Looking at where and how these Eurocentric values are embedded such as institutions, including education, media, and politics can perhaps help with transformation. This can involve challenging curriculum that prioritizes European history and culture over others, advocating for more diverse representation in media and entertainment, and supporting policies that prioritize the voices and experiences of marginalized communities. Ultimately, counteracting eurocentrism requires a willingness to actively question and challenge dominant narratives and perspectives, and to actively work towards promoting greater understanding, respect, and equity for all cultures and communities.

Returning the gaze on fashion is not just about opening opportunities, but too, ensuring environmental protection. During the late 1970’s, the famous environmental slogan "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" became widely known when Americans were demanding air pollution, waste and water quality demanded attention post the Vietnam war, but in recent times, its implementation has mainly focused on recycling. This has been criticized by some experts who argue that recycling promotes consumption, which ultimately leads to environmental issues. Sadly, the negative impacts of this overconsumption are becoming more and more evident as the global water deficit is projected to increase by 40 percent by 2030[10], which will have serious implications for food and cotton production. Additionally, the textile industry produces more than 80 billion pieces of clothing annually, and most of these items are discarded after a short lifespan, with only a quarter being recycled. As a result, landfills and incinerators are being overloaded with the remaining three-quarters of discarded clothes, which has detrimental effects on the environment. Moreover, the International Labor Organization estimates that 170 million children worldwide are engaged in child labor, including those who produce textiles and garments for the global market to meet the demands of consumers in Europe, the U.S., and beyond.

How do we transform systems so engrained into our ways of thinking and being, that they have become instinctive and persistently destructive? “In a world of possibility for us all,” Lorde wrote, “our personal visions help lay the groundwork for political action.” She often quoted Aime Cesaire’s Caliban in A Tempest, his rewriting of the Shakespearian classic:

Prospero, you are the master of illusion. Lying is your trademark. And you have lied so much to me (Lied about the world, lied about me) That you have ended by imposing on me An image of myself.

Underdeveloped, you brand me, inferior, That’s the way you have forced me to see myself I detest that image! What's more, it's a lie! But now I know you, you old cancer, And I know myself as well.

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Sources:

·?????? Barenblat, Ayesha. “Colonialism in Fashion: Brands Are Today’s Colonial Masters.”?Remake, 27 May 2020,?remake.world/stories/news/colonialism-in-fashion-brands-are-todays-colonial-masters.

·?????? Choong, Felix. “All in the Name of Fashion: American Vogue and the Neo-Colonial Containment of the Asian Other.”?Global Horizons, 14 Sept. 2017,?globalhorizonsjournal.wordpress.com/portfolio/all-in-the-name-of-fashion-american-vogue-and-the-neo-colonial-containment-of-the-asian-other.

·?????? Jansen, A. Angela. “Fashion and the Phantasmagoria of Modernity: An Introduction to Decolonial Fashion Discourse, Fashion Theory.”?Fashion Theory, 2020,?24:6,?815-836. doi.org/10.1080/1362704X.2020.1802098.

·?????? Katz, Suzy. “Protocols for Decolonizing Fashion.”?CALA,?1moq.com/premium/decolonizing-fashion.

·?????? Lorde, Audre. “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” 1984. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Ed. Berkeley, CA: Crossing Press. 110- 114. 2007. Print.

·?????? Semaan, Celine. “Understanding Sustainability Means Talking About Colonialism.”?The Cut, New York magazine.7 Feb. 2018,?www.thecut.com/2018/02/understanding-sustainability-means-talking-about-colonialism.html.

·?????? Slade, Toby, and M. Angela Jansen. “Letter From the Editors: Decoloniality and Fashion.”?Taylor & Francis, 26 Aug. 2020,?www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1362704X.2020.1800983.

·?????? “Sourcemap | Leader in Supply Chain Transparency and Due Diligence.”?Sourcemap, 10 Nov. 2022,?sourcemap.com.

·?????? “The Fashion and Race DatabaseTM.”?The Fashion and Race DatabaseTM?- It’s Time to Decentralize the Study of Fashion, 3 June 2022,?fashionandrace.org/database/browse.

·?????? “What Is Decoloniality?”?William & Mary,?www.wm.edu/sites/dhp/decoloniality/index.php.

·?????? Weevers, Rosa. “Decolonial Aesthesis and the Museum: An Interview With Rolando Vázquez Melken.”?Stedelijk Studies Journal 8, 2019. Melken.”?Stedelijk Studies, 6 Feb. 2022,?stedelijkstudies.com/journal/decolonial-aesthesis-and-the-museum. 2022,?stedelijkstudies.com/journal/decolonial-aesthesis-and-the-museum.

·?????? Whittaker, Alice Irene, and Aditi Mayer. “Decolonizing Fashion, Reclaiming Culture.”?Reseed, 31 Jan. 2022,?www.reseed.ca/listen/reclaiming-culture-decolonizing-fashion.

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[1] Lorde, A. (2018)?The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. London, England: Penguin Classics.

[2] Decolonial aesthesis and the museum?(2019)?Stedelijk Studies. Available at: https://stedelijkstudies.com/journal/decolonial-aesthesis-and-the-museum/ (Accessed: March 19, 2023).

[3] Fashion industry statistics: the 4th biggest sector is way more than just about clothing

Available at: https://fashinnovation.nyc/fashion-industry-statistics/ (Accessed: March 19, 2023).

[4] Unesco.org. Available at: https://en.unesco.org/creativity/news/call-expression-interest-exploratory-study-african-fashion (Accessed: March 19, 2023).

[5] Slade, T. and Jansen, M. A. (2020) “Letter from the editors: Decoloniality and Fashion,”?Fashion Theory, 24(6), pp. 809–814. doi: 10.1080/1362704x.2020.1800983.

[6] Semaan, C. (2018)?Understanding sustainability means talking about colonialism,?The Cut. Available at: https://www.thecut.com/2018/02/understanding-sustainability-means-talking-about-colonialism.html (Accessed: March 19, 2023).

[7] Decolonial aesthesis and the museum?(2019)?Stedelijk Studies. Available at: https://stedelijkstudies.com/journal/decolonial-aesthesis-and-the-museum/ (Accessed: March 19, 2023).

[8] All in the name of fashion: American Vogue and the Neo-colonial containment of the Asian other?(2017)?Global Horizons. Available at: https://globalhorizonsjournal.wordpress.com/portfolio/all-in-the-name-of-fashion-american-vogue-and-the-neo-colonial-containment-of-the-asian-other/ (Accessed: March 19, 2023).

[9] Protocols for decolonizing fashion?(no date)?1moq.com. Available at: https://1moq.com/premium/decolonizing-fashion (Accessed: March 19, 2023)

[10] Ensuring sustainable water management for all by 2030?(2022)?World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/impact/sustainable-water-management/ (Accessed: March 19, 2023).