PERSPECTIVES
garment industry.
Though I had covered stories such as the effects of
climate change and HIV/AIDS on Bangladeshi communities, the tragedy of Rana Plaza is the most traumatic I have
ever experienced. The death, pain, chaos, and destruction
were reminiscent of a war zone. Even though the scene was
devastating, I knew that I had to push forward to document
these people’s stories. In doing so, I came across moments
that I will never forget.
On the first day of the collapse, I was trying to balance
photographing the scene with helping the hundreds of volunteers rescue the survivors. After an hour, two volunteers
saying they wanted to show me something guided me to
two dead bodies under the rubble. A black cloth covered the
face of a woman clinging to the body of a man. It appeared
as though they were hugging, huddled together to survive.
Though I had been struggling with wanting to both photograph and physically help, the sight of these two individuals
who had been caught in their last moments of life embracing
each other convinced me to keep shooting. In that moment,
ized that most people simply do not know where their clothes
come from. To garner public opinion about the clothing
industry, I asked people along Fashion Avenue in Manhattan
if they knew where their clothes were produced. Many people
did not know, and some did not even care. I will never forget
one person’s response: “Maybe in some sweatshop in some
third world country? Who cares? That is life!”
The questions I asked myself, my friends and the responses I received from strangers about the global garment
industry gave me the courage and inspiration to push forward
with the issues surrounding the trade. After discussing my
concerns with filmmaker Nathan Fitch, our project, “The
Cost of Fashion,” was born. We began work on a multimedia
piece to link the events surrounding the Rana Plaza collapse and third world production to western consumerism
and cutthroat competition for low prices. We also created
a website to serve as a platform for viewers to learn more
about the collapse and ways in which they can help. On
February 6, 2014, along with The Illuminator, a political
art collective that has staged hundreds of interventions in
“Though claims of this public service drew me to documentary photography, it wasn’t until I covered the Rana Plaza collapse that I truly understood its necessity.”
I realized that it was my responsibility to bring the voices of
these people to the rest of the world through photographs.
The images I took showcase irresponsible policies and the
deadly cost of fashion.
Though I continued to document the aftermath of the
collapse for one month, it took longer to process all that
had unfolded. When I look at my photographs, I can still
hear the sounds of the victims’ families grieving. However,
even then, I knew that the photographs would eventually
be buried