FASHION REVOLUTION

FASHION REVOLUTION
FASHION REVOLUTION

:AN INVESTIGATION INTO CRAFT,

COMMUNITY AND THE SEARCH
FOR SUSTAINABLE WELLBEING RO N
OK
A B
N BR DESIG 1
O N R
A DIS SHIO YEA
M FA 1
1 0 00
CT SSAY
: DC E :
U LE T ED UTOR
D A T DE
MO USTR AR
IL L E W
R AIN
R
LO
I British Pop-Rock band, The 1975, are challenging the current system
we live in with acts of civil disobedience, from controversial t-shirts,
N to collaborating with social activists for their music. There’s been a
strong shift in recent years in what the band have come to represent.
T Matt Healy1 has become one of the most uncompromising voices in
today’s music industry, a strong engagement politically, as well as on
R the current climate crisis we are facing.

O I experienced this first-hand when attending one of their shows at

Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, in February 2020, seeing a range of
D Earth Positive2 merchandise alongside a partnership with Reverb Eco

U Village. The promotion of both sustainable merchandise and

community-based projects, were neither ideals I’d witnessed with
C any other music events.

T The question is why now? Why hasn’t this been done before, and why
was this relevant to the band’s ethos?
I
O
N

Fig.1. (Cover image) An image still from a video on NME, capturing the screen printed mer-
chandise at Reading and Leeds festival (2019)
Fig.2. The 1975 collaboration with Reverb Eco Village, Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, Feb-
ruary 2020, posted on the @DirtyHit Twitter Account (2020)

1
Matt Healy is the frontman/singer of the band ‘The 1975’
2
Earth Positive products are manufactured solely using renewable green energy from wind and solar power.
 The mindset of the
band is followed by
alternative solutions
to our current
systems, although
not perfect, it leads
to further
questioning on our
individual
approaches to
helping with the
environmental
downfall we are faced
with. When looking at
implications of our
actions, the
overconsumption of
what we perceive as
‘disposable’
commodities, has had
a detrimental impact
on wellbeing and the
climate crisis.
Fig.3. Statistics from Fashion Revolution featured in Halternative
‘Over-consumption in
(c.2019) rich countries
represents one of the
key barriers to
sustainable wellbeing
worldwide’
(New Economics
Foundation, 2012 : 6).

As a fashion design student, I want to change my mindset and begin to question

the implications of the way I’m taught to work. Opposed to constantly creating
new, is there a way I can look at alternatives to the design process, perhaps by
sourcing existing commodities. In the first part of this essay I look at how the
industrial revolution brought about mass production and mass consumption. This
modernist approach of seeking a unifying utopia became oppressive. Whilst pos-
itive for the masses, it spun out of control into a dystopian ideal. Therefore, the
second part of this essay will entail the negative impacts of consumer culture and
the implications of the industrial revolution on our fashion industry. Finally, rebel-
ling against the current system, I explore further ways of which The 1975 demon-
strate a post-punk sensibility, by choosing to avoid the mainstream and create
their own approach to the fashion system we are used to.
 The Industrial Revolution: Analysing
the Impacts of Industrialization on the
Fashion Industry

The period of time the

Industrial Revolution3 changed
the way most industries
operated, was between 1750
to 1950. With the key aspect of
mass production that
became apparent in the 1920s;
the cheapest way to produce
goods was uniformity. The
textile industry became highly
efficient, with British factories
enabling mass production of
versatile textiles, such as
cotton; which is a workable
fabric, ideal for mass
production. Commodities
became cheaper and
accessible to the masses, no
matter the social class. Prior to Fig.4. Untitled, An image from the 19th century demonstrating
the industrial revolution: the clothing worn of the upper class and the behaviour of the
upper class.

‘fashion tended to be reserved for the upper classes and royalty,

this left the lower classes to use clothing for function rather than
style. Not because of lack of fashionable knowledge but economic
barriers.’ (Spoljaric, S, 2017, pg 38)

Fashion was a luxury and acted as a

symbol of social class and wealth, as
demonstrated in Figure 4, until about
the 1920’s.

3
The industrial revolution is defined as the changes in manufacturing and transportation that began with
fewer things being made by hand but instead made using machines in larger-scale factories.
The fashion industry possessed
an exclusivity, as the lower class
worked in the factories, the upper
could derive pleasure from their
luxury garments. So, what was the
issue here if efficiency increased
and more people could access
clothing? Surely mass production
could be deemed a complete
success. However, prior to the
industrial revolution, garments
were constructed by hand, through
knitting, crochet, needlework,
weaving, embroidering, dyeing and
leather tooling. The consequence
of this was losing the craftmanship
and value of fashion, opposed to
now seeing a standardisation, as
shown in the garment factory in
Figure 5.

Figure 5. Image capturing the local garment industry and the people in
November 1932, featured in ‘The Story of Rochester’s Garment Industry,
(2017)
 ‘ONE REASON WHY
THESE GALS BUYS
FREE IS THAT WHEN
THE JEWELLERY GET
OUT OF ORDER OR
OUT OF FASHION,
THEY CAN FLING
IT AWAY AND GET
FRESH.’
(Mayhew, H. London Labour and the London Poor:
Volume 1. January 1. 1861. London. Griffin, Bohn,
and Company. 293.)
Modernists were celebrating the new found efficiency, however unaware of how
the society began to open up, boundaries of classes began to blur, a standard of
living that everyone in the world can have access to and have the same things,
for a lower price at the cost of a decline in the quality. This led to an excess of
fashion items flooding the market. In London Labour and the London Poor:
Volume 1. Henry Mayhew stated:

By stating how consumers can ‘fling it away and get fresh’,

suggests how the perspective on clothing has shifted to be seen
as disposable. As the emerging middle class and lower class can
now access the mass-produced garments. They ‘buys free’ with
little consideration for durability, but instead for the short period
of time a piece is considered to be in style. Whilst searching for
a unifying utopia for all, this idea became oppressive and lead to
inequality, conflict and the beginning of throwaway culture.
 The fashion industry has become
detrimental in the 21st Century,
According to a 2016
one of the biggest polluters in the
Oxfam report, ‘more
world, the reason for this? The
than 60 million
overwhelming supply of
people work in the
cheaply produced clothes, caused
for consumers to lust for garment industry to
constantly owning the latest fuel fast fashion:
fashion, at the cheapest cost; fast more than 15 million
fashion. However, this demand for those are based in
a bargain, comes at a decline in Asia, and more than
the conditions for garment 80% are women, often
workers. As a result of the young and from poor
UTOPIAN IDEALS OUT OF CONTROL

industrial revolution and rural backgrounds.’

globalisation4, this led to
outsourcing the production
process to minimise costs; those
factories being predominately
based in LEDC’s5.

UTOPIAN IDEALS OUT OF CONTROL

UTOPIAN IDEALS OUT OF CONTROL
UTOPIAN IDEALS OUT OF
UTOPIAN IDEALS OUT OF CONTROL

:Analysing the fast fashion industry and the external impacts

4
Globalization is the process by which businesses or other organisations develop international influence
or start operating on an international scale.
5
LEDCs - Less economically developed countries
 This shows how the industrial revolution was deemed a utopian ideal, yet
instead is reflecting dystopian qualities, with clear evidence of inequality,
scarcity and conflict. Rana Plaza, ‘the deadliest structural failure in modern
history’, shown in Figure 6, represents the inequality and lack of wellbeing
garment workers endure. More than 1,100 lives were lost, whilst fulfilling the
orders of ’31 Western Multinational corporations’. As consumers, shouldn’t we
want to be more aware of the process behind where our clothes come from,
rather than contributing to the corporations that put others wellbeing at risk?

F
Fig.6. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Rescuers at the Rana Plaza factory collapse. The illegally built factory collapsed on
24th April 2013, killing more than 1,100 workers and injuring more than 2,500. EPA / Abir Adullah.
As buyers, it’s more important now than ever that we make conscious
decisions when using our disposable income and purchasing power; so
that MNCs6 don’t view garment workers as disposable. The throwaway
culture, which became apparent as an external effect of the industrial
revolution, shopping is now a habit that we can’t seem to overcome. One of
TED’s ten aims, as shown in Figure 7, the eighth aim is:

‘design to reduce the need to consume’.

Fig.7. The Ted’s Ten Aims, a set of sustainable design strategies for textile and
fashion designers.

MNCs - Multi-national corporations

6
This is to revert back to how we designed before
it was cheapest to mass produce, to instead make
clothes for longevity, not for disposability. To make
clothes that consumers want to keep and look
after, rather than producing throwaway clothing
with little capability of emotional attachment. When
presented with the limited choice of fast fashion, it
can lead to;

‘paralysis rather than liberation, with

consequential misery rather than satisfaction.’
(Beverly A. Searle. Well-Being: In search of a good life? Bristol: Policy
Press, 2008, pg. 29)

The use of the words ‘liberation’ and ‘satisfaction’ suggests

an enjoyment of freedom that’s not confined to limits. But
with standardised fashion, this feeling of ‘satisfaction’ is
rarely achieved, we seem to be buying to follow trends and
harming the environment, rather than for clothes that
express who we are and reflect our beliefs. This
fast-fashion era portrays the post-modernists mindset of
producing goods which are cheap and replaceable for fun,
but if all we are left with is ‘misery’, is this the way our
fashion system should continue?
 ADVOCATING CHANGE
:ANALYSING WAYS IN WHICH DISRUPTING THE SYSTEM COULD IMPACT
OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT AND SUSTAINABLE WELLBEING

The British band, The 1975, from the beginning have tried to make themselves
known for going against the mainstream. A visual representation of this, they
became recognised for their consistent use of black and white. A music video
released in 2013, ‘Girls’, bursts into vivid colour and plays with the idea of pop
culture, yet the dialogue in the beginning of the video portrays the band
dismissing the confines of a stereotypical pop band;

“Everything feels totally wrong… We’re

not a pop band. It needs to be black and
white for a start.” – Dialogue spoken by front-
man Matty Healy in the Video

Since then, they’ve

been very
controversial with
the images and lyrics
associated with their
music. Addressing
cultural topics from
Grenfell7; the LGBT8
community; Donald
Trump9; the London
riots and the global
climate crisis. Climate
change activist, Greta
Thunberg, delivers a
monologue over the
self-titled track ‘The
1975’ on their fourth
album, with all
proceeds from the
Fig.8. Greta Thunberg pictured with The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy (Hughes. J)
track going to
Extinction Rebellion10.
7
A 24-storey residential tower block in North Kensington, London, experienced a severe fire in June 2017 with 72
deaths followed by protests and controversy
8
An initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
9
45th and current president of the United States
10
Extinction Rebellion is an international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt
mass extinction and minimise the risk
Whilst songs can’t change the world, they can help to change minds. Some of the
powerful words spoken in this song are as follows;

‘So, we can no longer save the

world by playing by the rules.

Because the rules have to be

changed.

Everything needs to change.

And it has to start today.

So, everyone out there, it is now
time for civil disobedience.

It is time to rebel.’
– Thunberg. G

This suggests how the current system can’t continue, but if

we reject it with change then we can help reverse the
negative effects and increase the level of sustainable
wellbeing. ‘It is time to rebel’ against the mainstream, to
advocate small changes that can positively impact our
climate.
 Fig.9. Reprinted merch from Reading and Leeds Festival 2019, posted on the @The1975
Twitter Account (2019)

Although perfection in the

way we produce and
consume isn’t something we
can achieve straight away,
smaller actions can have a
greater impact than we may
realise. An example of this,
an essence of counterculture
could be seen at Reading and What were the reactions to this project? Did they
Leeds Festival 2019. The 1975 manage to get people to think about the impacts of
chose to go against the constantly producing and consuming new?
typical way of selling This different way of providing merchandise came
merchandise; instead from an alternative, post-punk sensibility act,
repurposing old garments, although not perfect, this is an insightful mindset
as shown in Figures 9 and 10, that others can begin to consider.
with the screen printing of
the new album artwork over
pre-existing t-shirts.
Fig.10. Screen printing directly onto existing garments at Reading and Leeds Festival 2019 (NME)

‘It is exciting to realize that there are an increasing amount of

independent and creative minds who care enough to go against
the grain and produce music, art, magazines and literature that
is truly unique – whether it likely to sell or not.’ – (Gauntlett, 2011, pg.53)

Prior to the industrial revolution, we depended on craft to make clothes for

function and durability, not for the masses and low production costs. Gauntlett
demonstrates how in a nostalgic way we revert back to ideals of craft and D.I.Y,
‘since making and sharing things can have a positive contribution to well-being
and a sense of connectedness.’ This is shown by the emotional attachment value
added to old garments when personalised, with the 1975’s merchandise.
 In addition to this, sharing these
ideas through the means of
encouraging sustainable systems. I
experienced this first-hand at their live
show, with the Reverb Eco Village
project. This project includes
involvement from the band itself with
tour sustainability as well as
reforestation; for every ticket that was
sold, the band planted a tree with One
Tree Planted11. For the fans attending
the shows, they’re encouraged to sign
up to national climate campaigns;
connecting with local non-profits;
ditching disposable use products and
have access to Earth Positive
merchandise. Now more than ever, I
believe that people are questioning the
implications of their actions, seeing how
it can either have a positive or negative
impact on the greater climate.

‘Reverb is joining The 1975

on their 2020 tour to help
the band reduce their
environmental footprint
and create a positive
impact for the people and
the planet.’

Fig.11. A group of volunteers from Reverb Eco Village at one of

The 1975 live shows

11
A non-profit organization focused on global reforestation
 ‘people are becoming
increasingly aware that
the manufacturing of
endless stuff is not
simply a proud sign of
humanity’s superior
powers but has rather
troubling implications.’
- (Gauntlett, 2011, pg. 61)

It’s our responsibility to become compassionate and involved in our

system to help reduce carbon emissions. To encourage us in making a
conscious effort to alter our mindsets; for a way to move forward and away
from dystopian ideals brought about from the modernists desire of
efficiency, and also the post modernism view that goods can be cheap and
disposable. A sense of wellbeing and a passion to own items that we can
connect with, is a start to improving our fashion system.
 CONCLUSION

From projecting the pride flag during live performances to dedicating a song
to climate change, the British band, The 1975, is not one to shy away from
voicing their opinion on current events. Instead of promoting the sale of
unsustainable merchandise, I witnessed their latest approach of setting up
an Eco village and sustainable band t-shirt stalls in February 2020. This new
approach of engaging their community of fans to become involved in climate
changing projects, led me to question what was the need for this
counterculture act?

I explored within the first part of

this essay, the advancement in
technology throughout the
industrial revolution. The discovery
of how the cheapest way to produce
goods was uniformity, however this
led to a standardisation within the
fashion industry; rather the
uniqueness, that was previously
seen with craftmanship. With the
emerging technology of machines
allowed for efficiency and the
capacity to make more commodities
quickly and cheaply. The
perspectives of consumers shifted,
opposed to fashion for function or
luxury, but instead disposable.
Modernists’ lust for change
contributed to the development of
mass production, eventually
creating throwaway culture.

Fig.12. The graphics of The 1975 live show in Jan-

uary 2019, highlighting the lyrics ‘Modernity has
failed us’, from the song ‘Love it if we made it’ at
The London 02 Arena, Own photography (2019)
Following this, in the late 20th century, postmodernists created an excess supply
with rapidly changing styles and trends. I took a closer look at how this negatively
impacted sustainable wellbeing, with the fashion industry being the second
biggest polluter and how thousands of lives were lost in the collapse of Rana Plaza.
Ted’s 10 demonstrates strategies to change our current design process to ensure
sustainability. Opposed to meaningless mass production, we seek instead to find
meaning and enjoyment from our clothes, buying for longevity; not disposability.

Finally, in the last part of this essay, I explored the ways we could disrupt our
current system, primarily how The 1975 have rebelled against the mainstream.
From the up-cycled clothing instead of mass-produced merchandise, to allowing a
new platform for climate change activists. Their support of community-based
projects for climate change, also encourages a move forward for sustainable
wellbeing, working together to reduce our carbon footprints.

There deemed unintentional dystopian ideals that surfaced from the industrial
revolution spiralling out of control. Yet if we embrace aspects of craftmanship with
a desire for depth in our clothing, this love for change will help to shock the system
and change existing mindsets. Through bringing these initiatives to our attention,
as consumers we can use our purchasing power to make conscious decisions,
altering the mindset we possess to improve our sustainable wellbeing. In terms of
my practice, maybe it’s not about the perfect solution, but instead rebelling the
system by changing our mindset, whether that’s with production or consumption.
As a designer, this has shaped my personal design philosophy, to now give my
designs purpose and longevity, opposed to disposability.
ILLUSTRATIONS
LIST

Fig.1. (Cover image) An image still from a video on NME, capturing the screen printed merchandise at
Reading and Leeds festival, 2019. [Online] Available at : https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-1975-
fans-recycle-t-shirts-reading-festival-2019-2541664 [Accessed 27 February 2020]

Fig.2. The 1975 Collaboration with Reverb Eco Village at their Nottingham show, image post-
ed on @DirtyHit Twitter account (2020) [Online] Available at : https://twitter.com/dirtyhit/sta-
tus/1228759003733352455?s=21 [Accessed 20 February 2020]

Fig.3. Statistics from Fashion Revolution featured in Halternative, (c.2019)[Online] Available at: https://
www.fashionrevolution.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/FashRev_Haulternatives_2019.pdf [Accessed 7
March 2020]

Fig.4. Untitled, An image from the 19th century demonstrating the clothing worn of the upper class and
the behaviour of the upper class. [Online] Available at: http://www.americaveritas.com/home/2016/10/11/
the-religion-of-social-justice-part-ii-the-rise-of-the-neo-victorians [Accessed 2 April 2020]

Fig.5. Image capturing the local garment industry and the people in November 1932, featured in ‘The
Story of Rochester’s Garment Industry, (2017) Available at: https://www.wxxi.org/highlights/2016/02/tai-
lor-made-story-rochester-s-garment-industry [Accessed 23 February 2020]

Fig.6. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Rescuers at the Rana Plaza factory collapse. The illegally built factory collapsed
on 24th April 2013, killing more than 1,100 workers and injuring more than 2,500. EPA / Abir Adullah.
[Online] [Accessed 7 March 2020]

Fig.7. The Ted’s Ten [Online] Available at: http://www.tedresearch.net/teds-ten-aims/ [Accessed 27

February 2020]

Fig.8. Greta Thunberg pictured with The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy (Hughes. J) [2019] [Online] Avail-
able at: https://www.nme.com/news/music/1975s-matty-healy-greta-thunberg-punk-person-ive-ever-
met-2551245 [Accessed 2 April 2020]

Fig.9. Reprinted merch from Reading and Leeds Festival 2019, posted on the @The1975 Twitter Account
(2019) [Online] https://twitter.com/the1975/status/1164540341120380929?lang=en [Accessed 20 Febru-
ary 2020]

Fig.10.Screen printing directly onto existing garments at Reading and Leeds Festival [2019] (NME) [On-
line] Available at: https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-1975-fans-recycle-t-shirts-reading-festi-
val-2019-2541664 [Accessed 27 February 2020]

Fig.11. A group of volunteers from Reverb Eco Village at one of The 1975 live shows [2020] [Online] Availa-
ble at: https://reverb.org/tour/the-1975-2020-tour/ [Accessed 9 April 2020]

Fig.12. The graphics of The 1975 live show in January 2019, highlighting the lyrics ‘Modernity has failed
us’, from the song ‘Love it if we made it’ at The London 02 Arena, Own photography (2019)

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The 1975, 24th July 2019, The 1975, West London, Dirty Hit Records
‘So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules. Because the rules have to be changed.
Everything needs to change. And it has to start today. So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil diso-
bedience. It is time to rebel.’

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