Kudos to Suzy Menkes - Why Fashion is Crashing

So why am I hailing Suzy Menkes today? Her Vogue article "Why Fashion is Crashing" published earlier this week detailing the punishing schedule of high end fashion and reflecting on the departure of Raf Simons from Dior is why;

January is haute couture; March is ready-to-wear; May is cruise; July couture again; September ready-to-wear again; November resort - or is it cruise again? Add to this the advertising campaigns, personal appearances, store openings, global visits, trunk shows, museum exhibitions, interviews, Instagram - and it's a wonder that any designer is prepared - or able - to keep up the pace.

The fashion industry is the largest polluter after the oil industry and an estimated 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment. This environmental cost doesn't stop fashion labels churning out over 50 collections year and with Suzy Menkes summation of what's happening at the top of the fashion tree, it seems the term "fast fashion" can now be applied to both ends of the fashion spectrum - high street and designer.

Suzy Menkes with Raf Simons (right) and Nicolas Ghesquière

Picture credit: Jean-Luce Hure

So what's next? Will fashion implode? This article, for me, is a warning shot that fashion, high and low, simply can't continue at the pace we have become accustomed to over the past 10 years, something has got to give and by something, I don't mean designer's well-being.

Our expectations of the fashion industry have the power to change the fashion industry 

If we consumed less fashion, less fashion would be produced. We didn't always have fast fashion, we can do without it again. All hail slow fashion!

Read the full article here.