ReDuxion

We Are All In It Together
Retail Therapy ReDux

Film and fashion have a long history. Silver screen gowns were designed for fantasy lives in the 30s and 40s. In 1967 the costumes of the film Bonnie and Clyde influenced fashion designers. Later, deliberate marketing was pursued. Designers started to give celebrities gowns to wear to high profile events where the press and television crews gathered. Both the original designer and the knock-off factories benefited from this publicity. Though it has settled down a little, the designer and celebrity connection remains. “Though all meaning is in our minds, illustrated by our inner movies” (Wolz, B. 2005, p. 69) celebrities appear to sell products. The public must be buying into the perception that the diva endorsement is honest, special and valid.

Fashion is an industry with a beautiful facade and a rather hideous underbelly; it’s easy to love the best of it and to be disgusted with the rest of it. Turning the concept of fashion and clothing into something that works with the real world, not the delusional real we have come to accept, is where sustainable fashion enters the scene. A “shift in viewpoint is the key to mental and spiritual growth” (Wolz, p. 17) it is also the catalyst for action that enables physical change.

Fashion was the instigator of planned and perceived obsolescence. The market economy came of age in the 50’s and the Department of Commerce helped define USA style capitalism. Population growth and ever escalating consumption meant jobs and taxes, companies grew and the American lifestyle was promoted as the best in the world.

The ostentatious display became a marker of worth; an individual’s value to the system was advertised by large homes, with closets the size of Rhode Island, bursting with clothing and accessories. The rapid escalation had hidden costs. The toxins released into the commons of air, soil and water as manufacturing increased, became environmental problems. Environmental problems became health problems. Now we realize that products we use daily are contributing to ecosystem fallout and many are jeopardizing our personal health as well. The process and the product are suspect and need to be held accountable.

Health is a balance of mental, spiritual and physical well being. If this is accepted as true than our beliefs based on the capitalist vision that dominates the media and promotes the push of consumer economics to make our lives "better," while actually taking away the time to mitigate stress, nurture relationships, enhance collective intelligence and appreciate our lives, then that is unbalanced and therefore unhealthy on a new level. According to Birgit Wolz, in the book, E-Motion Picture Magic, “sometimes our beliefs get in the way of seeing something for what it is.” (p. 61) This product saturated, fast paced life may not be progress at all, it may be shortening lives and creativity, it may be a techno driven joke of an overdose.

As Americans, we have become accustomed to a lifestyle that is manipulated, unavailable on a large scale due to finite resources and though at first it was fairly consensual, we are starting to realize that it is an abusive relationship. Now more and more of us want it to stop! We feel we have been duped for the benefit of a very few, while the majority is played as scapegoats and pawns.

British research verified the truth of the shoppers high a few years ago. “During a shopping experience, the human brain apparently releases the chemical dopamine, a kind of natural messenger which is essential to the normal functioning of the brain, and which has a role in our ability to experience pleasure or pain. It appears also to have a role in addictive behavior. Simply put, if an action makes us feel good we want to repeat it.” (Kopp, C. 2005) This is a short term rush and as the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic implies, we are persuaded by the current economic system to re-experience it as often as possible. As “films transmit ideas through emotions.” (Wolz, p.17) Confessions f a Shopaholic shows the sensual pleasure the character derives from shopping. That it may be a misplaced emotion isn’t taken to task except as a credit card issue, thereby the consumer is blamed for following the path she has been carefully groomed to follow. It appears to be a case of double jeopardy.

This seduction has a huge cost that is not extracted from the bottom line by the production model we have constructed. Product lifecycle considerations are now questioned as is the transportation and resource abuse we have tolerated in the name of lifestyle. Now we realize the huge price tag we were encouraged to ignore. The bill is coming due and we need to accept that fact.

As we heal the earth, we may heal ourselves and vice versa. This is a micro to macro concept, for as we heal, we are in effect consciously striving to align with the greater field of consciousness. This shift in awareness may enable us to see more clearly the truth in the concept of the “we are one” just as we are also and concurrently, individuals. Though this appears in opposition, it is really just about degrees of change in perspectives.

The sustainable path of social justice, economic equity, ecosystem balance and cultural diversity is about altering the collective perspective. It is about paradigm change on a grand scale. It is the beginning of a new story.

“Storytelling has always been the preferred tool of great wisdom teachers.” (Wolz, p. 14) Fashion and film already collaborate to tell stories. Together they can illustrate healthy, beautiful and compelling new visions based on ideas with a sustainable lifestyle subtext or even overt dramatic messages. A parallel planet, human species healing is possible if we decide that it is do-able and act on that decision. The results could be simply awesome.

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