Apparel Online India Magazine November 1st Issue 2018 | Page 36

FASHION BUSINESS
FA S H I O N D I C T I O N A RY 2 0 1 8
SEVEN FASHION CONCEPTS
WE ALL NEED TO KNOW
Fashion is a dynamic
industry, and in
every few years,
we see the rise
of a new fashion
vocabulary. New
debates on society,
culture and lifestyle
give shape to newer
conversations which
in turn shape a
new perspective
on how we see,
communicate,
produce or buy
fashion. 2018
witnessed yet
another wave
of change in the
fashion dictionary
with game-
changing concepts
coming into play
for the future
fashion market.
While retailers
are gearing up to
understand and
become a part of
these new fashion
terms, here are the
seven concepts we
all need to ponder
over this year…
Trashion Green washing
Combining the two words together
‘trash’ and ‘fashion’, the term ‘Trashion’
literally means turning unrecyclable,
un-compostable materials into wearable
art. Bringing about a creative change in the
waste management industry, even though
the concept of trashion is nothing new to the
market, its sudden popularity and consumer
receptiveness is a welcome change in the
fashion industry. Green washing is a term used for a PR
activity or a marketing gimmick wherein
a company portrays itself and its business
practices as ‘green’, without actually
implementing any activities that reduce its
environmental impact. More like a white-
wash on the consumers’ mind, big fast-fashion
brands are being recently criticised for green
washing in the fashion industry.
The most recent example of the same is
Nordstorm’s distressed sneaker being retailed
at US $ 530 price tag. British designer Stella
McCartney distributed invitations for her
Spring/Summer ’18 show at the Paris Fashion
Week, on a roll of logo-printed rubbish bags,
labelled ‘trashion bags’, which were later
available in selected stores as well. Another
designer, Vivienne Westwood partnered
with Ethical Fashion Initiative, to develop
her ‘Handmade with Love’ collection crafted
entirely from upcycled materials like rejected
canvas, old roadside banners, brass and
unused leather cut-offs.  Covering their tracks under the trend of
sustainability, many fashion companies
have been claiming to be sustainable, when
in reality they are producing cheap clothes
leading to landfills full of clothing. A leading
example of this was an alleged case of green
washing by fashion retailer Forever 21, where
on one hand the company announced its plans
to have the largest single-rooftop solar-power
system in Los Angeles County, but at the same
time it also planned to open a 18,000-square-
foot concept store that promised the
cheapest of the cheap merchandise in
greater quantities.
Stella McCartney distributed the invitation for her SS18, on a roll of logo-printed
rubbish bags, labelled ‘trashion bags’
36 Apparel Online India |NOVEMBER 1-15, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com
H&M releases a nineteen-piece unisex collection called Denim United
with gender-neutral silhouettes