'Why do you all dress so badly?" - Vivienne Westwood

An article appeared in the Metro about a recent statement from fashion designer and icon Vivienne Westwood, in which she claimed that people are more badly dressed than ever before. She claims that we are becoming more and more conformist, and no longer think about our own individuality but follow crowds and trends even though we believe that this is making us stand out, when it is achieving the opposite and making us blend in. Westwood also states that we are all consuming too much and that this is adding to the problem, claiming that we are all spending money on multiple pieces that thousands of other people own, instead of really thinking about what we are buying and enjoying the uniqueness of one off or limited edition pieces, as people did in previous eras.

This continues on from previous points about excessive consumption in the fashion industry today but adds a further perspective that these shopping habits are taking away our individuality and making us like 'clones', as Westwood states. One only has to consider trends such as the 2007 craze of the “I am not a plastic bag” tote, which became incredibly famous not for its ethical intents, but for its popularity with celebrities which made thousands of people flock to shops to buy them, simply because they were the newest trend, one could argue. The bag was not particularly attractive, nor was it a masterpiece of design, it was simply the newest fashion phenomenon for fashionistas by the millions to latch onto. In this case, value retailers are not necessarily the issue, we are talking more about the many people who believe that buying from Topshop in particular, makes us automatically fashionable simply because it is from Topshop, yet this obsession that has swept the teenage generations is creating yet more celebrity look-alikes and less young people who are truly individual.

Many people could also raise the point that perhaps there is becoming a stereotypical 'vintage' style that is becoming increasingly popular and commercialised. However, it is easy to question the credibility of these statements with the fact that a huge majority of vintage garments are rare and unique and one is not likely to see an identical garment walking down the same street. Furthermore, many vintage retailers are now becoming interested in customisation, something that was exemplified on a recent visit to Brick Lane. Vintage sellers are taking garments and customising them, sometimes on request, creating truly unique and individual garments. This is something that should definitely be happening more in the fashion industry, encouraged by brands such as Junky Styling. This sort of philosophy not only is beneficial to the fashion industry in terms of diversity but is also less damaging to the environment and helps to reduce the conformist culture that Westwood warns is so damaging.