What Happens Next?

Fashion is a multidimensional industry that crosses diverse cultures and groups, different socioeconomic statuses, and religions, reaching the individual to bring out multitudes of opinions, styles, identities, and aesthetics. As human society progressed alongside globalization, so too did fashion. Globalization allowed us to continue our human and social processes without regard for physical borders or boundaries; it allowed us to form an intense degree of interconnectivity throughout various social processes. Fashion has always been something we have engaged with, but as society progresses, our fashion does too. With globalization, we were able to come to a new form of fashion, fast fashion. It is distinct for its fast production and consumption style, and with our advanced social processes, this made the process of consumption that much easier. 

Alongside globalization, there are two distinct outcomes that impact fashion consumption: social media and environmental impact. Advanced technological innovations were made possible through globalization, a byproduct of such coupled with our need for interaction results in social media where we interact with one another internationally to connect and converse over shared values and interests. Globalization also heightened our exponentially increasing consumption where we are able to produce and consume quickly and borderline efficiently. This results in environmental degradation at all levels of the fashion process: resource collection, production, working conditions, transportation, selling, consuming, and even eventually disposal. How does this translate to identity expression?

Social media is key to identity construction, buying behaviors, and identity expression. We turn to online communities where we can converse and research different brands, styles, or aesthetics. Social media and this intense degree of interaction can open people to different forms of expression and styles that can impact identity formation and expression. Conversations about brands and how they handle their company and production or even the quality of their clothes impacts buying intentions and the judgements you use to decide whether it represents yourself and your views. This is visible through identity expression from clothes. Social media is an extension of communication, and we utilize this tool to acquire knowledge and educate ourselves on ways to construct and express our ideal identity. 

The concept of environmentalism within fashion also impacts our identity. Many are aware of the atrocities that make up consequences of the fashion industry from the momentous amount of pollution it produces, to the insufficient regulations and harmful working conditions, to the consumer’s degree of overconsumption and waste. Universally, climate change is a heavy topic on many’s minds, and those that can afford to live in sustainable ways do make an attempt. One of these lifestyle changes is sustainable fashion consumption. The way we express through fashion our sustainable living choices, is an identity. We are expressing to the world a specific view we believe in that is observable through our fashion and identity expression. 

If we are able to achieve all-around sustainable consumption of fashion, what would this look like, and what would this mean with our identity? We are able to consume sustainably through outlets such as second-hand stores, sharing, renting, borrowing, re-working, buying from sites that allow people to resell or sell their clothes like Depop, buying from brands that are transparent and sustainable in their production methods, or even buying good, quality clothes that are sure to last for years. It would look like conscious, calculated decisions about clothes and how you represent yourself. So the age-old correlation between fashion and identity would still exist, however, at least sustainably.