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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    How 2020 Influenced Fashion

    How+2020+Influenced+Fashion

    2020 has truly been a cultural-shaping year in many different aspects, with one of the biggest being the fashion industry. The fashion industry is a dying fabrication and 2020 really exposed a lot of the behind-the-scenes secrets.

    This year we went through an abnormal time that enlightened us to our true selves and our true desires. Being away from society for months allowed us to express ourselves in any crazy way we desired without having to worry about criticism from society or the people in our small town.

    During the pandemic, people were able to discover their own specific fashion taste and style. Sophomore Sadie Gregg opens up about her quarantine experience and how it influenced her style, saying “when you are spending that much time alone, you learn to be more comfortable with yourself and you start to experiment with different interests that may have intimidated you at first.”

    But that’s not all 2020 did for the fashion industry… This year there was much enlightenment to the detrimental impact fast fashion has on our planet.

    Fast fashion makes up about 10% of carbon emissions for all of humanity, not to mention more than 85% of textiles used to make clothing gets thrown out. This is a complete waste of energy and valuable fabric that could be used to make clothes for those in need.

    These statistics are just a few reasons so many have made the switch to thrifting in 2020. Thrifting not only saves so much energy and resources but it also allows you to find clothing that specifically suits your taste at a much more affordable price!

    The past year showed us so much about ourselves, our environment, and our society. This summer we were awoken to the true corruption in the U.S. government and the prison systems through the Black Lives Matter Movement.

    The movement brought much clarity to the botched values of society. For example, platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are excellent ways to spread information about the ways we can help humanity and make the world a better, safer place, which is exactly what the BLM attempted to do. However, their voices were overshadowed by multi-million dollar companies who are trying to promote their clothing made by underpaid and mistreated workers in second world countries.

    In 2020, the BLM movement also illustrated to us how poorly people of color are represented in the fashion industry and while certain stars such as Rihanna are using their platforms to bring attention to these issues, there is still much work that needs to be done to ensure equal representation in the industry.

    There is a lot that needs to be done to make the world a better place, but I think it’s fair to say that 2020 was an excellent year to start. We need to continue our growth and continue to indulge in our desires, no matter the judgment we receive from others.

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