Picture credit: The Industry London

The trend presentation by Brand Union started out with a lecture by fashion icon Li Edelkoort and her opinion on the fashion industry today. She had recently published a manifesto that lists various reasons why the fashion industry is in deep crisis.

According to her, fashion designers today are educated to be catwalk designers while only 1 out of 1000 might end up in this elitist circle.

“We still educate our young people to become catwalk designers; unique individuals,” she said, “whereas this society is now about exchange and the new economy and working together in teams and groups.” (Li Edelkoort, Dezeen)

There is a lack of innovation in the fashion industry. Cuts, colours and silhouettes are reused and remodelled over and over again. There are no new ideas. There’s also a loss of competence in textile design. Sweatshop conditions are not addressed enough, and magazines and bloggers are too closely tied to big fashion houses which results in editorial coverage that looks like pure advertisement.

Nonetheless, there are brands that give hope and offer new and interesting concepts. Among them are Net-a-Porter or Dover Street Market where the fashion story is told in an editorial manner and customers are engaged in new and interesting ways.

According to Edelkoort, consumers today are creating their own lifestyle and therefore their own fashion style. They mix and match across brands, ownership becomes obsolete and sharing and swapping becomes the new norm.

For a more in-depth interview by Li Edelkoort and her attitude towards the fashion industry, please check out the Dezeen website:

http://www.dezeen.com/2015/03/01/li-edelkoort-end-of-fashion-as-we-know-it-design-indaba-2015/

(Picture Credit Cover: Dezeen.com)