The true power of fashion

So in my opinion fashion has helped to revolutionise society. I believe fashion helped to evolve our world into what we see today. Cliché a little but it did help to bring about that change for women’s rights. One of the leading designers for this I believe to be the magnificent Coco Chanel; one of the reasons I love her brand is because of the power her designs had and still have. That simple use of jersey material back in the 1920s and the androgynous theme to her designs, gave increased freedom and movement to women, shocked the world but ultimately assisted in securing gender equality.

Yet it shows just how much influence fashion has on the world.

Simply, you can see that power every-day. For instance, the current big trends are making your waist exciting with peplums. First seen on the catwalks for Spring/Summer 2012 back in September last year from designers including Alexander McQueen, Vera Wang and Yves Saint Laurent then making appearances on red carpets around the world with celebrities such as Emma Watson, Miranda Kerr and Blake Lively. Now peplums are well and truly here in every high-street store.

The power the fashion industry has is shown when that influence, is used in a different way to just spreading the newest trends.  It’s when one of the most arguably successful models Erin O’Connor, steps up to support a campaign that wants to explore the media’s portrayal of women it is highlighted. In the campaign ‘All Walks Beyond the Catwalk’ the aim is to discover how fashion can be used to promote wellbeing.

The campaign comes as news of Erin O’Connor’s Fashion Sanctuary has been forced to close for this season. The Model Sanctuary has been invaluable for young models since it opened in 2008. I personally think it’s this act of kindness for the welfare of the models that carries fashion. There are a lot of people involved in that setting of a trend; the inspiration, the designer, the manufacturer, the press but the model is the one that showcases it to the rest of the world. Therefore the biggest fashion should become to care for those who are the key to setting the trends.

I think that is one of the reasons that drew me to fashion. There are a lot of misconceived ideas that fashion is all about bitchiness, but it isn’t always so negative. Fashion does have the power to achieve a lot and influence so many on the basic level of the high-street and further than that society can also change due to it.