Things about the Fashion Industry no one talks about-The Dark Side
A chapter out of Madhur Bhandarkar’s blockbuster Fashion, and the dim reality of the fashion industry is unmissable. There’s glamour and glitz, pleasing to the eyes, but there is a dark side brewing in the underbelly, blindsided because of the lack of work and the need for relevant exposure. That said, the fashion industry is also the second largest contributor to global pollution, with landfills full of discarded fabrics and groundwater contaminated by chemicals through leaching. Be it changing trends, unequal and inadequate pay, drug abuse or prostitution, the fashion industry has seen it all and has integrated and accepted it as a global culture.
Unequal payment
Case studies have recorded that interns and other entry-level job holders in the fashion industry, especially ones associated with bigger labels, are paid in peanuts despite shouldering a major part of the workload. The general outlook is to exploit people based on their desperation for better opportunities and climbing the professional ladder as soon as possible. Be it designers, interns, models or photographers, the fashion industry survives well within the state of underpayment. As a cut-throat industry, the competition is always high. While models with money and influence pay readily for exposure and shoot campaigns, real and raw talent remains underappreciated.
Campaigns involving Kids are usually unpaid, where there’s free labour. The agencies hold on to the major share of the money allotted by the brands. In certain scenarios, kids are charged for each project, making it a negative working environment, that further aggravates the exploitation of a certain section.
Sexual Abuse and Drugs:
Models are coming out with stories of abuse and exploitation, especially after the #MeToo movement. When Indian-American designer, Anand Jon admitted to molesting models back in 2007, stories started pouring out. Recently, model Kawaljit Singh Anand brought to light, his story of sexual abuse by designer Vijay Arora. Delhi based photographer, Omar Afridi was found to use fake identity to lure in aspiring models and ask for semi-nude photos in exchange for work opportunities and fame.
Certain models are pimped out by agencies as escorts for high-end clients, while others take this task upon themselves for auxiliary support, especially to maintain a certain high-end lifestyle. These days the premise of ‘willing to compromise’ for gainful employment takes precedence and if often integrated as a part of the contract. Jewelry and real estate shoots bear the major responsibility for such expectations and demands. Co-ordinators and agencies are demanding in a way that exploitation forms the very basis of any project. It is also reflected in the fact that deserving and talented models are removed from the scene altogether.
Drugs and the fashion industry are more intricately linked than we can fathom. Snorting cocaine or other drugs to keep the hunger pangs at bay, just to maintain the so-called ‘figure’ is the ‘new norma’. The cotton ball diet, wherein a ball of cotton is dipped in juice and consumed is encouraged for a slimmer waistline as it reduces the daily calorie intake and keeps one full and satiated. This eventually leads to various physical and psychological ailments. Long working hours under tremendous pressure makes for these unhealthy coping mechanisms. While stories of famous models battling drug addiction make rounds in the international media, troubling tales of lesser known models go unnoticed.
Fashion and Mental Illness
The absence of regulations in the fashion industry ultimately culminates into depression and eating disorders. Suicides are more common in an industry that promises fame and fortune, because the price to pay comes at the cost of one’s physical and mental health. The constant work pressure and demanding assignments lead to severe anxiety. There is a fear of failure and the subsequent loss of a fixed income due to lack of assignments and high competition. In 2010, model Viveka Babajee committed suicide. Other models, including former Miss India Nafisa Joseph, have reportedly committed suicide due to their inability to cope with the industry that lacks professionalism and strict rules.
There’s also internalized discrimination wherein designers choose international models over native ones, due to their inherent brown-skin. This further cuts down opportunities leading to multiple outcomes, especially an increase in desperation to land better jobs.
Steps that can be taken:
The need for regulations for both agencies as well as for models is imperative at the moment. The allocation of money, a percentage determined by an association that is fair and unbiased, needs to be set-up. The registration for models and co-ordination and the allocation of work accordingly is being asked by people in the industry, one that will help bring regulation in a world that’s running hay-wire. There is a lot that needs to be regulated, but these would definitely make a huge dent in the unhealthy habits that are festering right before our eyes.
Fast-fashion-A Contributor to Global Pollution
Behind the scenes is another horrifying event that barely makes its way to the headlines. The Fashion Industry is the second largest contributor to global pollution, and we owe it to fast fashion, a demand and supply chain that refuses to pause and right the wrongs. Fast-fashion can be defined as clothes inspired by the latest fashion trends which are later mass-produced by certain brands in a limited amount of time. The constant change in the current fashion scenario sometimes within a span of weeks (called micro-seasons) rather than seasons leads to overproduction of clothes and the quality is often compromised. Using low-grade dyes, extensive depletion of fossil fuels, the perils of using cotton as raw material and the discarding of clothes no longer in demand are a few problems that exist.
On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza in Dhaka, an eight-story building collapsed, one day after it was asked to be evacuated, killing over 1100 people. This event was later called ‘the biggest catastrophe in the fashion industry’. Greenpeace mentions the dumping of about 75% of clothes in landfills, while only 25% is recycled.. It also launched a ‘Detox Campaign’ to reduce toxic discharge of chemicals as well as take responsibility for the harm they have caused, but only 80 or so companies signed up for it, highlighting the negligence by other brands who lean towards money-making and profiting of their customers. Unstable factories have been closed in accordance to The Bangladesh Accord but much needs to be done in this field.
The factories and the workforce (mostly from India and Bangladesh) are handpicked, especially the ones with an impeccable eyesight and knack for detail oriented work. Being from marginalized communities, they are usually underpaid and suffer from various ailments due to the constant exposure to harmful dyes and chemicals. Symptoms such as skin irritation, itching, breathing issues etc. are very common, and they aren’t provided with any basic medical help from their employers. Industries such as the hat-making industry use Mercury nitrate, which causes neuro-motor degenerative conditions such as tremors and anxiety. Fashion Industry is also one of the largest employers of child labour. Protests by employees for increase in minimum wages and to provide better healthcare facilities have had no effect on the government and that is disheartening.
The life behind the sparkling world of fashion is a story worth telling, one that misses out from most narratives. But as the days pass, more people are coming forward with their stories and that, right there is a ray of sunshine.
By Mridula Gupta
