It’s been just under a month since I started studying fashion law. In so many words, it’s been eye-opening. I read up to 400 pages a week. I spend hours each day studying until my eyes can no longer stand to stay open.
This past month was my first time being in NYC for Fashion Week and being able to attend events. I purposely avoided them. I couldn’t do it.
In this past month, I’ve learned so much. I’ve studied the superficial parts of the fashion industry alongside the selfless parts. For some reason, I find myself obsessing over both.
I was blessed enough to not have to take on any student loans during my undergraduate career. I was awarded with a scholarship that covered everything except for my meal plan my freshman year; I knew that I had to keep this all four years or I wouldn’t be at Howard. My mom told me I needed to go to a college that covered all my expenses. Thankfully, I loved Howard and it was that one that was willing to throw me around $16,000 each semester.
As someone who is against fast fashion, I hate seeing a trend appear on the runway and then end up poorly replicated in one of those stores everyone loves for their low prices. It leads to overconsumption–you buy the newest trend at the beginning of the year, and then throw it out when you find a new trend at the end of the year. Trends are just another gimmick to make you spend your money; hence, why they typically only last for a season or two. With this in mind, do we really need fashion week anymore?
Designers put months and months of work into a 10-20 minute show. And that’s it. Fashion shows aren’t free to produce. Why not remove the drama and additional stress?
Some of my favorite brands, like Orseund Iris and Omondi only release collections when they want to, rather than displaying during the traditional times in February or September. It’s not forced or fabricated. They create, and then introduce it when they deem it necessary.
Designers don’t put time into their collections just to be remembered as one of the hundreds of shows that occurred during fashion week. They put the work in so you (the consumer) will feel joy when you buy an item and appreciate the hard work they put into it. They create clothing as an outlet for their own creative energy. They create these things because they have a love for art.
It seems that NYFW is no longer about the clothes. It’s about getting into so-and-so’s party, seeing if a celebrity showed up to a certain show, and flocking to Instagram to see which influencer has front row access. I’m starting to believe fashion week is outdated and reduces the excitement surrounding the drop of a collection. It doesn’t hold nearly as much weight as it used to.
It’s time to move on to releasing collections only when a designer wants to, not when the fashion world deems it appropriate.
I’m extremely embarrassed. It’s been 7 months since I posted on this site. I tell people threads & such is my baby, but what kind of parent neglects their child for seven months? I haven’t fed it, given it love, or even looked at it a lot. I just checked it every so often to make sure that nobody had hacked into my site.
Since April, I’ve risen, fallen, lost, gained, and much more. I’ve been really happy, and I’ve been really sad. Most importantly, I’ve worked hard. I’m wrapping up my senior year and just trying to graduate. I’ve worked so hard I didn’t give any attention to my passion.
What good is working hard if you’re not working towards your passion? A majority of my time goes towards working–I never delegated any time towards working on my site–an extension of me.
Some highlights from the past few months:
As the year wraps up, I have a lot more to look forward to. I’m feeling pretty indifferent about how this year has gone, but I still have a chance to finish strong. Everything is in my hands. I’m hopeful, but at the same time reluctant–the same way I feel about pretty much everything.
I’ll be posting a few more times on here and actually speaking on important things (fashion, duh) so be on the lookout for that.