Two posts in one: token interpretations and cynicism for profit

Photographer: Bob Adams, 2009 Model: me

For some time now consumers have shown some impatience with the current beauty standards endorsed by the fashion and beauty industry, denouncing them as being unrealistic and based  on aesthetic predilections reflecting specific cultural preferences. They have demanded greater inclusion in the way they are represented in both fashion and advertising. So far so good.

As a result of such critiques there has been a response from those industries, reassuring consumers that such questions concerning who their products are aimed at are being taken very seriously, with an impact on marketing strategies. 

Gradually, companies have come to a point where they almost seem to vie with each other to demonstrate how enlightened and aware of the ‘diversity issue’ they truly are in their marketing campaigns.  The resulting number of initiatives promoting ‘diversity’ is considerable.  
But ...

I cannot help feeling that it is all still somewhat tokenistic and ultimately aimed at increasing profits at the expense of the 'diverse' consumers (no pun intended). It is as if ‘diversity’ were itself a fashion, thus every fashion house and every clothes manufacturing company is nodding its metaphorical head, saying  “yes, our clothes are meant for diverse customers. We are inclusive. Do go out and buy, you shall find what you seek”.

Photographer: Suzy Conway, 2011

This greater acceptance of ‘diversity’ in fashion seems to be accompanied by a burning desire to pigeon hole, slot everyone into a neat box and category and make as much money as possible out of it. 

Disabled? Don’t worry: we have fashion for disabled people. Muslim? But of course, we have hijab fashion for Muslims. Fuller figure? Ta-da, we have plus-size fashion. Under 20? Teen fashion. Over 50 and above? Oh yes, we have ‘timeless’ fashion, for the ‘timeless’ consumer.

The point is  that diversity and inclusion in fashion, as in other cultural arenas, are a lot more than  a collection of neat boxes into which consumers can be slotted.  What about  concern for the way clothes are made, by whom and for whom? Respecting diversity goes hand in hand  with a non-exploitative fashion aimed at people who are not willing to be pigeon-holed and whose diversity is accepted as the norm, rather than as a deviation from the norm. Clothes aimed at individuals, rather than age groups, or specific groupings and categories.

Photographer: Ashley Cameron , 2010

These categories are transient. I am able bodied today, I may have a terrible accident tomorrow and find myself in a wheelchair, but I will still want to be able to wear what suits me as an individual, not what suits me as a disabled person. Moreover, I don’t want to buy something that is made of material that pollutes our planet or is made by women and children who are paid a pittance.

There is a disparity that underpins all this ‘fashionable’ interpretation of diversity and which is not at all inclusive: there are many women and men bypassed by fashion. They are those who make the clothes, for a fashion industry which addresses itself to someone who, like me, probably (but not exclusively, as there is a global growing middle class) lives in a developed country and has some consumable income.

Diversity and inclusion in fashion, in other words, go hand in hand with an acceptance and respect of diversity and inclusion in all areas of life, with a significant bearing on economic and social issues.

***

All of the above brings me to an issue that has been troubling me for some time. It really is a separate post but I have decided to write two posts in one - it's Easter and tomorrow it's a Bank Holiday (that's my excuse).
I happened to watch - a year later, I admit it - a documentary shown on Channel 4 entitled Plus sized wars. I found it quite shocking that for the sake of profit, obesity should be encouraged by brands.  You may have an extremely pretty face and a sense of style but if you are 5'4 and a size 24 that means there is something wrong with you, you carry such excess weight that it will definitely affect your health and the quality of your life. Yes, you will say, but I too want to be able to wear nice clothes. And in come the brands offering you clothes in your very large size and claiming 'you too can be stylish, obesity is OK'.  Something is terribly wrong with this logic, underpinned by the notion that profits will receive a boost.

Photographer: Darren Porter, 2010

I have met several women who are beautiful and larger than average. Some of these women chose to shed some weight when they realised that it was affecting their mobility and health. 
It is dismaying  that the average British woman is only 5'3 inches tall and weighs 11 stones (71.2 kg). Something has gone haywire: being very overweight is AS wrong AS being severely underweight. 
We eat badly, far too much junk food is consumed and in huge quantities too. People do not exercise  enough or if they do, they exercise badly.
The myth that you can be 'fat and fit' has been shattered. There is plenty of medical reports confirming that obesity is bad for you and an obese person is at risk, if not immediately, certainly later in life.
I don't advocate extreme thinness nor do I support morbid obesity. Is moderation really an old fashioned notion?

I am celebrating ten years of modelling, so this post has a range of photos taken over the past ten years. I shall post more. Happy Easter!