Yesterday: Paris Ethical Fashion Show September 2010: D1 – Défilé means catwalk
Tomorrow: Paris Ethical Fashion Show September 2010: D3 – The colours of technology
Today’s post is going to be very short. Which is due to mainly two factors.
– First, I’m admittedly enjoying myself while walking around all the stands and brands that offer ethical fashion, as well as meeting people active in the field.
– Secondly, and more importantly, the ‘public’ day at PEFS wasn’t all that terribly interesting as far as the panel discussion were concerned.
From any of the brand’s perspective, having a public day at the beginning is strategically not ideal. As individual sales were apparently only allowed on that day, they couldn’t make proper use of the opportunity to off load spares samples, and lighten the load for the return trip.
From a visitors perspective, the panel discussions were … bureaucracy heavy.
Both of the panel discussions largely turned around, and gave abundant examples of, how ‘fashion’ is being used in France in the context of social re-integration, social coherence, education, professional skills training for female prisoners, etc.
If it were not for the fact that all the involved governmental institution, including the European Union, thankfully are sponsors of PEFS, …. This said, while each an every single one of the mentioned programs in the panel discussions is a laudable effort in reducing poverty, social segregation and disadvantages, I feel it a bit risky to assemble them under the banner of ‘fashion’.
These are clearly occupational training and skill acquisition programs, capitalising on development of social and professional skills. It’s about learning the trade of a seamstress, a tailor rather than what usually rings in the ears when hearing ‘fashion’. I totally agree that these are valuable skills that are being transferred, notably because as it goes, not many people in current day Europe have decent skills to make, mend and change clothes. Each of the people that comes out of such an educational program is an important puzzle piece in the larger picture of durability of garments.
It just doesn’t feel right, and not doing these persons much justice either, to just label it all ‘fashion’.
These people acquire craftsmanship. This may not sound as jazzy as ‘making fashion’, but in fact, it’s probably the more practical, pragmatic and technical side of it all.
An example of one such projects – though financed privately and through donations – is ‘Les Filles du Facteur’ from which the picture on the right stems. They work with Roma women in Montreuil – the place recently in all the newspapers across the world as the Roma were being deported from France in large numbers
Tomorrow: Paris Ethical Fashion Show September 2010: D3 – The colours of technology
Yesterday: Paris Ethical Fashion Show September 2010: D1 – Défilé means catwalk
