Word: asianized
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This weekend, tall, leggy models strutted down a glamorized version of what is usually Quad Yard. A large tent complete with runway, lights and seating reminiscent of New York Fashion Week played host to Project East, a fashion show exhibiting exclusively Asian designer names...
...Project East seeks to draw attention to Asian fashion designers who, according to the project’s mission statement, go “vastly unnoticed and underappreciated.” Combining the Harvard brand with a slew of pedestal names in fashion (the likes of Issey Miyake and Alexander Wang) the show also hoped to accomplish two other goals: to build a relationship between Harvard and the fashion industry so that aspiring undergraduates can enter careers in fashion and to raise money for the Confucius Foundation, which seeks to provide scholarships to children working in sweatshops making counterfeit designer...
...There is no doubt that the flowing silks and chiffons that came down the runway represented a project stitched together with the best of intentions. In fostering name recognition for Asian designers, Project East sought to pave the way for new lines of clothing and artistic dialogue. However, a potential complication lies somewhere deep under the layers of glitter and creative expression, on the demand side of the economic equation. The high-fashion industry is a manifestation of a global culture of consumerism that is not in particular need of reinforcement...
...relates to Asian designer labels and fashion in Asia more generally, the impact of marketing on consumerism is especially important. Asia is the land of the nouveau riche, an easy demographic to convince of the importance of symbols and status. As of the turn of the millennia, roughly half the world’s full-priced luxury purchases were made by Asians. And the industry is following the money: as of last year, Salvatore Ferragamo had 16 retailers in Singapore, a city-state of 4.5 million people; New York City, home to over 8.2 million and arguably the most developed...
...especially for developing regions like Asia. High-end consumerism is at the root of a great many social and environmental concerns in Asia. For instance, consumer protection organizations have formed in South Korea to campaign against “overspending mania” that is sweeping the country. Native Asian wealth is being whisked abroad to support the economies of foreign nations, creating illiquidity for local investments. In China, factory employees work long hours in outsourced textile production, making the region a smoggy, grey-skied dumping ground for pollutants no motherland wishes to claim...