Practice
Noun: the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.
Verb: perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency.
During a webinar about sustainable fashion the other day that featured Stella McCartney and Gabriela Hearst, the moderator began by asking what their definition of the word sustainability was. In a manner as spare and elegant as her designs, Hearst answered by saying for her it was a “practice”. As a pragmatist, I love when someone breaks something down in a way that is actionable as well as realistic. Thinking of fashion as a “practice” allows us to explore it from multiple perspectives and also let’s those of us who use it to express our identity to make purposeful statements to the world. My fashion as a “social practice” facilitated the disruption of stereotypes about aging albeit “accidentally”.
A few months ago I changed the bio on my Instagram profile from model, writer, content creator blah, blah, blah to say simply, “No longer accidental”. In the coronavirus time for reflection, I see now that in that change I gave myself agency to have a purpose, something I really did not intentionally have before. So I pose the question for study once again, “How can fashion as a form of creative expression be rebuilt in ways that promote social well-being and human and ecological flourishing?” I hope from this I can come to a practice.
So I’ve decided to start my Friday Fashion Bibliography again but in a more intentional way. One that supports practice. So there will be way less content, thoughtfully chosen with the assignment to think about how you(me) can put it into practice. I’m also an optimist so I’ll introduce you to others who are excited by possibility. But as Marc Jacobs cautioned in a recent interview we also need to mourn all the losses before we can think of what will be. I’m holding on to both mourning and hope.
So let’s start with this designer/interdisciplinary thinker/trend forecaster, Li Edelkoort
There are several pieces where she is sharing her thoughts, including the proposal for a World Hope Forum.
Your brilliant thoughts as usual, please! Stay safe and well and have a good weekend.
I love that term practice. Makes me feel less guilty for not having the sustainability thing down yet. Worrying about if we are being 100% ethical, may be more harmful than we think. I’m not perfectly ethical in my clothing choices. But I’m trying. And that’s good enough.
Just read the interview with Li Edelkoort. She is very inspiring and informative with her thoughts on how fashion needs to change after this pandemic. She is right that we are given this opportunity to change and start fresh — and not just go back to normal. I look forward to following her and the concept of the World Hope Forum. I hope more fashion designers can engage in this new direction of considering all “parts” of fashion and the consequences. Consumers will follow the lead.
Just wonderful. You really inspire me. Than you.
I believe that COVID-19 will hasten the death of fashion, because we aren’t out in the world every day trying to impress, trying to wear the dictated uniform in our own style. Fashion, for me, is something that gives us direction and guidance on what to wear when we present our face to the world. Sitting at home in front of our computer screens, there is little worry about impressing others because no on really sees much of us as we converse virtually. And when no one is looking we can look at what is comfortable, and what we think looks good; we can exercise a personal esthetic. I do love my costumes, and like the idea of being free to put them together my way and not be dictated to by someone else. What is right for me, is right for me. There will always be the proper attire to wear for an interview, a business meeting, a wedding or funeral. But the parameters of that attire are expanding as we sit at home looking at the computer screen, waiting to break free. And the expansion is welcome news. Please keep writing, and inspiring.
Sustainability is finding your signature look and make up and stick to it for more than a season! having your own personality should help in buying less and better quality. We have to be more discerning when we follow fashion trends to really take only the ones that are adaptable to our signature look and our real life not the one we wished we had! I am guilty of buying evening or events outfits and I live in the countryside and rarely go to events that need to dress up!!!!
An other thought: he problem I had previously was not to be able to find the pieces I needed when major trends were taking over: like low rise jeans/pants, skinny jeans, tops with sleeves covering your hands or too short/too long tops at the waist.
We should also get more creative in adapting your older clothes that you still love by learning to sew???
Fashion will always be very important: during WW2 women exchanged food stamps (even sexual favours!!!) to get nylon stockings!!!
Keep informing us of your thoughts….
I love this approach. I am by no means a fashion expert (my expertise lies in food) but I do love to be unique and to feel good in whatever statement I am feeling in the moment. Now you’ve gotten me thinking (which is both dangerous and exhilarating) about how to apply this practice to healing foods. Hmm… food for thought.
These are thoughts of noble intention. But we are far from a post-pandemic existence. Our perseverance will arise through our ability to re-imagine as we endure day to day. I have been a cheerleader of small, sustainable wardrobes for the sake of preventing corruption to environment and people. But because we are only a bit into a fragile, three month awareness/response/reaction to an unseen/moderately controllable enemy, we are still in the frail, nascent stages of processing our present. This is unlike war that has existed over a period of years/decade. We are just now trying to process shell shock in response to that which is still fully active everyday. I only hope we are not too quick to apply ethereal solutions before we truly know the circumstances with which we deal. With shut-downs, lock-downs, thousands dead, reemergences of the virus, questions about egregiously negative, global leadership valuing profits/secrecy over people, the collective damage to our civilian awareness/psyches has barely had time to develop. It is admirable and natural to begin to react/respond. However, I’m not quite sure we know to what, exactly, we are responding right now, with so many layers of stress and uncertainty. While a more authentic intent in fashion is critically needed, I fear that such fashion aspirations at this point, in this crisis, brushes over, borderline denies the reality, the millions of citizens clinging not to the next revolutionary and sustainable fashion trend/movement but to a precarious financial balance within a disabled workforce on which we rely for food, shelter, transportation, and healthcare, truly essential needs to humanity.
I feel the same way as Joel.
I would also add that I was not impressed with Li.
Noel,
Your post is raw and truthful. As best as we can make we are in the eye of the storm. Hindsight is the only way we can appreciate this moment. We can leave that to historians. For the fashion industry, the job of providing us with the emotion to move forward starts with some simple acts that are taken for granted. Getting dressed every day, putting on lipstick, wearing your favorite pair of trousers despite staying at home. Fashion wakes up my spirit of hope. Tomorrow we will have the lessons learned from all sectors of society.
Average citizen,
Angela
Beautifully stated.
I agree with many of your points. But into this undigested time that you so eloquently describe, there are other voices and powers that are working to make it all return as to before. There needs to be alternative discourses that are loud enough to make people see what is happening behind the scenes as those people are capitalizing on the very state you describe and exploiting it. Sadly what I have found is that there are more people who engage with me through the vehicle of fashion than when I was a social welfare professional and academic. There are more people that read my blog and follow my Instagram than read my journal articles or my academic book. So if this is a way to engage more people into a conversation about all of the topics that you mention, to make them aware of the underlying issues, fashion is but one lens through which to see the lessons we must learn. I have also found in my work with people who have been experiencing these conditions of inequality and social justice all the time, not just now that hope and resilience are essential to mitigating the impact of trauma.
See my reply below. I appreciate your analysis.
Wow! So much to ponder here. I read Li’s article from early March Just now and it is very thought-provoking. She says that our future fashion will be handcrafted, creative, local, amateur. I can see myself buying much less, but buying quality items that I absolutely love. I plan to shop my closet now, since I have way more than I really need. I don’t think I really need to buy anything for years. I love resale shops and will continue that into my new future when things open up again. Lyn, keep up the fashion practice. I am listening and watching and learning for my new future normal.
Love this!!
Love your thoughtful, and always spot on, blogs.
Can’t imagine folks who rely on food banks & churches to help pay the electric bill in good times think much about buying the newest cashmere fashion in November rather than May. Sustaining our small businesses and rejuvenating manufacturing on our shores can revive the middle class. Hopefully “globalism” will be scrutinized more accurately for its limitations.
As a social worker for 45 years who have worked with those you describe, many actually do care about looking well and that is why many in the communities I have worked with do not use thrift stores and spend money on sneakers and clothes. It is a way to participate in the expression of personal identity and expression of culture and who they are. That’s why fast fashion is so popular it’s cheap yet trendy and also inclusive.
I love this approach. I am a “trained” designer but currently move in the world as a Catholic minister. [btw–the church needs this vision 🙂 ] I am starting to work my way through my fabric stash as a creative and love outlet, if you would, so that I am being more sustainable. Like you, I talk the sustainability talk well but don’t always follow through. I appreciate your candor and your efforts! and also your vision. the slow fashion movement is dear to me and it is reinvigorating my creative energy, which I greatly need for ministry. the social justice ramifications of this issue are huge. thanks for publicly wrestling with this practice and serving as a beacon for us all.
Thank you for your posts, and particularly the link to articles written by Li Edelkoort. Such insight and inspiration!
Women are the main shoppers and we all need to look at frivolous ways we are propping up the economy and look at substance that promotes a healthy planet and peoples living on the planet. The fashions of the different ethnic groups could be respected more and emulated. Fashion just for fashion is not sustainable anymore. Fashion with compassion is so important. It is a pleasure to watch your evolution! Thank you so much.
Fashion is a tool. Since it has caused a great deal of harm we can use it to make change.
Thank you for this post and thought provoking read. I am ready for a change and though I am already living a sustainable earth friendly life I am hopeful that these new ways (old ways?) to live will be the new normal.
I applaud your desire to reconsider the environmental footprint of fashion but please, please remember that for many of us seasonal change brings optimism and uplifting emotions like nothing else. Seasonal fashion is part of that experience. It creates excitement, energy and happiness. I hope we always have that to look forward to. Perhaps your focus could include the development of compostable fabrics and fewer synthetics that take decades to decompose. Packaging is another major area to address. I appreciate your thoughts and am glad you share them.
I am not advocating that we do away with seasonal fashion. I am advocating for us taking a look at how we produce, how much we produce etc. I for one use fashion for multiple emotional and psychological reasons, that is my point how do we find a way to have both.
This is very interesting. In Europe a large number of CEOs for large company groups and organizations have put together a manifesto highlighting the necessity to develop new Economics and sustainable ways to produce goods and services and to create a new Society.
Their manifesto is very much in line with Li Edelkoorts ‘Dito.
I’m so glad you mention sustainability, as this is core to my life too. This goes for clothing – choosing natural fiber clothes that will last for a long time – hemp, wool, linen, and cotton. I wear these in place of all clothing that would need to be dry cleaned – and the same goes for household items. Linen hand towels, and duvet covers that will last twenty years. Less laundering too, to help with saving water. A few drops of essential oils in the dryer on a face cloth if desired for fragrance, and never fabric softener with toxic chemicals that are next to the skin. Sustainability and conscious choices are so important for all of us now, and with this gift of time and introspection, we can look more deeply at our lifestyles and make adjustments – and then practice, as you say, moving into new paradigms for our people, our planet. I hope one day there is a major fashion house that specializes in natural fiber clothing! Thanks so much, Lyn, for another thoughtful article!
“How can fashion as a form of creative expression be rebuilt in ways that promote social well-being and human and ecological flourishing?”
I’ve been struggling with this one lately, despite towing the line between Tomboy (is that term still okay to use?) and fashionista from the time I was a small child. I remember ruining a beautiful, frilly dress my mother bought for me from an exclusive kids boutique because I got it wrapped up in the chain of my bicycle – minutes before we were heading out to a wedding.
I’ve worn many different hats – student of early childhood education, preschool teacher, retail worker, PhD candidate, archaeologist – and throughout it all I’ve always towed that line. I have the utmost appreciation for the tension and irony it brings to my life. In the field I wear Carhartts and while about town I may throw on my favorite Marni dress or Comme des Garçons garb. I think to myself, I wonder if anyone else in Montana owns a sizable collection of vintage Marni?
But lately, my feelings have changed. All of the negative connotations left over from retail work have come back to me. I worked for Paul Smith and at shops that sold lines like Dolce and Gabbana – so high end stuff. I vividly recall the piles of trash that come with each delivery. Plastic bags and clips, cardboard inserts, tissue paper. The smell of toxic dyes as things are removed from their plastic shells, shells that may eventually find their way into the ocean. It’s all so worthy of a “Instagram versus Real Life” meme we see on social media these days.
So, I think to myself – I love the tension I hold. Flowing between delicate flowers and grit, soft cotton and steel. It’s in me and it’s beautiful. Why do I care so much that other people see it? Isn’t having it for myself enough?
Then, just yesterday, I saw a video of a St’at’imc Nation man dancing – feathers flowing in the wind, leather fringe jumping with each move, proud face beaming. Reclaiming heritage stolen long ago. It was so powerful. I watched it over and over and tears welled up in my face each time.
That right there is the answer to your question.
The fashion industry needs to change. Fast fashion gets a lot of flack, but it all needs to change.
As for me, for the first time in weeks I’m thinking about wearing something a bit avant- garde, perhaps the little Margiela number I picked up for a steal through the RealReal, for the next time I need to make a trip to Missoula. But not yet. Right now the trail and my trusty furry companion are calling me.
Looking forward to the direction you’re going in.
Well written. Thank you! I am rinsing my habits to figure out what personal changes I can make.
You are right, perfomance needs practice. However, there is always a theory behind everything as well. And yes, in the application, you follow the concept of that theory. Coming from a life perspective of more than 40 years in science, there are several words that I have a hard time with. Sustainability is one of them. Pair it with fashion, as you and I do (scientists never grow up, right?), one gets into big trouble what one wants to sustain and what impacts it has on society (your research field), weather, climate water and air quality (my research field).
Agreed and that’s why interdisciplinary collaboration is essential at the moment.
Inspired and inspirational.
Comment
Olá, escrevo para você do Brasil. Há muito tempo acompanho suas reflexões feitas a partir do universo da moda e que se espraiam, no modo como entendo, para a vida em geral.
Costumo pensar e me admirar, como mulheres que residem tão distantes podem olhar e sentir o mundo de maneira semelhante e em como isso é bom!
Sim, gosto da idéia da vida como práxis, do entendimento que as teorias apenas se sustentam e somente existem nas práticas que adotamos. Por tudo isso e pelo momento que agora enfrentamos juntas quero lhe dizer que sim, concordo: Não é acidental! Grande abraço.
PS: I wrote in portuguese, because i can express myself bether. Hope you undestand this opcion and have a translater.
Hello;
We are now pre-occupied not only with the health-emergency aspect of this terrible pandemic but with the question of what each of us can do (besides of course, the essential of staying at home).
This crisis has already affected the entire fashion community like it has the art community which I belong to. From designers and their employees to retail workers up and down the economic scale. There are those who fear they won’t make the payroll; others who have seen orders returned, their stores closed and who fear their businesses and livelihoods may not survive.
Like the art community I belong to we are reaching out to each other to provide support, to tell our stories, to raise awareness of how we have been affected and how we plan to move forward. The same should be applying to the fashion community and fashion icons like yourself.
Please be safe and well
Regards
John-David (JD)
The level of local support and community is so inspiring to me. There is so much collaboration and not competition happening, I find it inspiring.
at The age of 14. I started working,I couldn’t wait to receive my first pay cheque,I was to give my mom all of it and I was given 1 dollar to. Spend ,I took myself to the shopping centre and lay Bye my fist dress the excitement ,and the feeling ,was unbelievable, and freedom that now I had my own identity
Wow what a feeling that was,I can now show The world my true self , I wanted the world to see me ,I wanted the world to recognise the new me freedom finally.
60 years later many things happened but the love of dressing has never changed,
Eleni
I had exactly the same feeling at age 16 when I got my first paycheck and did exactly what you did. Before fast fashion we had a very different relationship with clothes/
Thank you so very much for sharing The World Hope Forum. What an amazing idea! I’ve been wondering how this pandemic will change people and their habits, and concerned that without leadership for sustaining changes, most might simply return to life as it was before, in time.
My first thought, after reading the proposal was how could this idea be implemented at my local level? I now have more food for my thoughts.
I love that question, let’s keep asking it.
Love this new change in your approach…..I think personally that fashion now should keep the `environment’ top most in our fashion choices… We must buy locally and support natural fibres and agencies that don’t exploit in production of their fashion items. Up till now I have not bothered to look at labels and where the item has come from …how it was produced etc.
Strange as I try hard to buy produce via `fair trade’ …… After this crisis is over I would like to see myself and my friends and wider community adapt their wardrobes and try and revamp what they already have in a concerted effort to save on waste, thus helping the environment….I would like to see `pop up’ shops with accessories and and ideas on how to revamp an old outfit…
I believe in the creative ability of the fashion industry and their innovation to transact fashion and still function economically. Maybe I am an `Dreamer’ …..too much imagination….but who was that great `thinker’ that said imagination is a human gift ..something like that. Love your site. regards Wendy Collins (New Zealand)
Not a dreamer, just not a dualistic thinker who stays in the world of either/or
Well done !!! I too have shifted from the mindset of Style being somewhat superficial to “Dressing for the Day you Want”. There are proven benefits to getting dressed with intention similar to those when making your bed first thing. Thank you for being so open and sharing so generously.
Ahhh! So well said! Love your – statement – “How can fashion as a form of creative expression be rebuilt in ways that promote social well-being and human and ecological flourishing?”❤️
I know the concept of slow food has been a thing and consequently slow fashion would have also been mooted around the traps- but there is a shift in the direction of the precovid fashion zeitgeist and it happens to be I predict one of 180 degrees. Personally I feel the return to reverence and provenance will occur. Late last year I took up knitting and have made myself some pieces which are exquisite and because they have been made with the best fibres will last a hundred years if looked after with love. They have the potential to be heirlooms and I have since talked to my mother about the fact that I will treasure her Schiaparelli inspired hand knits after she’s passed. She liked that idea as she is going to be eighty next year. I grew up devouring Vogue but it was a few decades ago in an age where quality, style and the functional were the focus. Consequently I developed an eye for proportion, cut and just beautiful quality that I adapt in my (not fashion practice), but rather in my deeply personal style practice developed over time. I can make my own clothes but haven’t needed to for decades but now I find there is such a pleasure in finding the right fabric and matching it to a pattern that I can adapt just for me. I can’t afford to indulge in the vagueries of the fashion world apart from a gesture here or there. Consequently, hopefully, the practice of reverence for our wardrobes and the care of maintaining what we have with love and appreciation may change our choices going forward to reflect those considered values of sustainability, prevenence- the source of whence the clothes on our back cameto be, and ultimately a new conversation – of pride in our clothes – a new relationship with the hand made. Your own style practice could and should be a daily practice and one of the most creative acts you do.
There is a movement called “Craft of Use” and it focuses on what happens after we get our clothes, how do we use them? How do we love them”
Love, love ‘no longer accidental’! I have a book coming out called ‘The Accidental Caregiver’….and no longer accidental is a great idea for my sequel title!!
Thank you !
How do you dress with big boobies, I do okay, however, updating is important.
73 years, size 12, with a 14/16 top, then it’s too big at shoulders.
I wear scarves, in my hair, around neck, bracelets of silver, I refuse to be dowdy! ( and hats)
Hi Lyn,
We are much on the same wave length. Thank you for thoughts and introducing me to Li Edilkoort. Stay Well.
I have noticed that my respect for what l already have in my wardrobe has grown and l feel when new clothes are purchased l will take more time with my selection and where it has come from ….
To me sustainable fashion is:
+ returning to pieces that are wearable by real women (some couture creations, while engaging to the imagination, are entirely practical – and if no one wears them, then the material and labor and energy to produce are wasted for just one fashion show)
+ returning to elegance and beauty in fashion and in our daily wear
+ doing away with fast fashion and returning to craftsmanship produced locally. Yes, it is more expensive but it is beautiful and lasts.
And think of the emotional benefits one feels when they make something from start to finish. rather than just making endless pockets like a cog in a wheel.
I too want a new world to emerge, and quite frankly never want to walk through cheap and nasty polyester cloned “fashion”. I am all for craftsmanship, quality and less consumption. Look forward to more on fashion as a social practice.
I really believe that the only way we can return to a state of empathy is small, local and community. These are the people who have been supporting and sustaining others during this time. Just like we have seen in other recent disasters whether it is fires, hurricanes or now this, it is citizens stepping up for citizens and saving the day, sadly not the government.
I once felt I couldn’t go a week without purchasing one or more pieces from my favorite online consignment store. I still have top designer jackets, suits, boots, etc. Now with Coronavirus breathing at every doorstep, I do good to find a pair of jeans and a decent sweater to wear as I walk my dog, giving us both necessary exercise. Sustainability is when the Jean’s and sweater have no tips or holes. I no longer care to impress. Survival is the endgame now.
Yes and now that it is Fashion Revolution Week people are showing creative ways to mend that sweater if you do get a hole@
“I’m holding on to both mourning and hope.” Best line!
Such a nicely written post! Thank you for sharing!
so many great responses. i’ve always used fashion/my closet as a means of expression. not impression. it is a form of creativity that is closest to our bones. i’m often offended by the cost of things or fashion as costume. two vastly different subjects i don’t really know how to articulate that other than i see the beauty, but not necessary the connection between the clothes and the person. its such an organic thing. as much as i want to portray the person i wake up ‘being’, i need to recognize the person in the mirror. thanks again.