Fashion is an ever changing thing, trends come and go, then eventually come back again. But, what is the cost beyond our bank accounts? How does the continual pursuit of fashion and our comparing of ourselves to others impact our mental health? Abi, member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group takes a look at the cost of fashion.
Heyo!
Great okay, you’ve woken up.
But have you checked you’re in fashion yet?
The recent debates that have coloured my ‘for you’ pages warn of an imminent trend – being super duper skeleton thin 2000s skinny. And I am saying this as a someone who is super duper skeleton thin 2000s skinny (by genetics) and who used to be considered ugly. Chanel runways, low rise jeans, skinny brows, natural makeup and blah bleh blue are trending again, and whilst these are cool things, we know that Mr Capitalism has to divide and conquer to make profit out of it. Which means try and squeeze your self esteem dry to make profit out of you.
Children Commissioners for England states that most young people and the Understanding Society stated that almost 1 in 6 children were unhappy with their appearance in 2024. Who’s to blame them? According to Wikipedia, the fashion industry is a billion dollar cut throat empire, and its reign means that young girls and boys especially are targeted because if you can sell them a mindset, you can sell them a product. Whilst I myself admire models and couture, the darkest parts of fashion are not ignored by me. Anytime a new model trends, I have to remind myself to take their beauty with a pinch of salt and remember how many paid makeup artists, stylists, camera crew, lighting crew, hairstylist, assistants and managers are behind the look.
When I was younger I used to yearn for a thicker figure, as BBLs and lip injections just started taking off. It’s hard to see your natural state be sold to you as a “before” in a “before and after transformation” because it sells you the mindset (and product) that the “after” is how you’re meant to be. Your skin is meant to be this clear, hips are meant to be this wide etc etc. And then the 20 year mark comes around, and suddenly old trends are back again, people are having their surgeries reversed, lip filler dissolved, and again, there’s been another product sold.
It is so crazy how money can rot something inherently subjective. So many cultures consider different skin tones, heights, figures, facial features and even smells attractive, but with Eurocentric ideals we are slowly being bought, and being made permanent customers to dirty trades.
I’m a model who loves models. A girl who loves style, money and makeup, but most importantly, I’m a human being who’s made from the same sand as you are.
I’m writing this to help pass on my mindset from me to you, for you to know that everything online is by someone trying to make business out of you. There is no “right” way to be nor one way you’re “supposed to look.” You don’t necessarily need new makeup, clothes or “better” styling. Do you have all the right clothes, the right body, the right hair and face? Does this change how much you’re worth? People such as Courtney and Renee from the To My Sisters Podcast have helped me realise that there’s more to fashion than “being in fashion”, more to style than “being in style”, and I hope this article can plant a seed in your mind for you to feel the same.
Abi
Not just elected members
Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.
For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.
