Sustainable Fashion Moves Toward Ethical Sourcing

On November 7th 2019, Emilia Ferrara was interviewed by Georgetown University’s revered newspaper “The Hoya” about how the sustainable fashion movement has transformed global companies to source ethically. See the original article here or read below.

“Sustainable Fashion Moves Toward Ethical Sourcing”

by Maeve Silk

Whether as an art form or as a means of self-expression, students use fashion as a marker of identity and representation while speaking to their personal values and beliefs. Fashion has come to represent this same intersection, as some voice moral complaints to increasing trends of fast fashion, which focuses on overseas factory production to minimize costs. Sustainable fashion aims to fill this niche and offer guilt-free clothing that, while more expensive, is ethically sourced.

With the current political and social focus on environmental issues such as climate change, fashion has also been scrutinized as a potentially wasteful and harmful industry. Some are gradually beginning to replace the desire for a large quantity of cheap clothing with a new appreciation of sustainable quality over expansive quantity. 

While the definition of sustainable fashion can vary in specificity, it generally includes clothing that is ethically sourced and ecologically responsible, which involves the fair treatment of works and respect for the greater environment. While broad, this definition has value because it allows for a broad understanding of sustainable fashion for everyone, according to Emilia Ferrara (COL ’10), an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University and a board member of the D.C. Sustainable Fashion Collective. 

“There’s a very vast definition of sustainable fashion today and that’s not a problem. It doesn’t need to be narrow and specific, doesn’t need to be in a box.” Ferrara said. “It just means that the definition is varying as wide as a lot of different key players and stakeholders can participate, along with people like you and me.”

The DCSFC, a nonprofit group founded in 2018, works to promote consumer education about sustainable and ethical practices in fashion and supports businesses and individuals working toward sustainable fashion practices. 

The collective hosts different events, including an annual conference called Fashion Revolution Week, which aims to increase awareness of sustainable fashion through panel discussions. Ferrara joined the board after attending its first annual conference last year, where she was moved by its message of promoting fashion sustainability in Washington, D.C., through its interaction with locals and businesses. 

Fashion retailers within the Georgetown neighborhood are increasingly emphasizing the importance of sustainability in fashion and one of them is The Phoenix. The boutique opened in 1955, selling sustainable clothing, jewelry and housewares and has been sourcing its items solely from ethical sources for decades.

The Phoenix features many local and small designers and creators, and uses its wide range of fashion items and housewares to emphasize their diversity in creativity. The Phoenix ensures that all of its products are created ethically by working directly with creators, according to Samantha Hays-Gushne, owner of The Phoenix.

“When my grandparents started the store in the 1950s, that was their ethos,” Hays-Gushne said in an interview with The Hoya. “They were working directly with artists and artisans and so it was really sort of a natural progression for when I took the store over that we would maintain that throughout the years.” 

This ethos works to both help the artists and make the customers feel better about what they are purchasing, according to Hayes-Gushne.

“The nice reactions that we get from the lines that we’re carrying, that people react really nicely to so that’s part of the reward,” Hayes-Gushne said. “Both working with the artists, but also secondarily having the customers react in a positive way.”

While these stores are important and are furthering a vision of a sustainable world, Georgetown students on a personal level have other issues to focus on. Overconsumption is the biggest issue that students should be focused on within sustainable fashion, according to Ferrera.

“It is very helpful to not buy new clothes and also very helpful to buy secondhand, if you were to shop that vintage stores that carry high luxury brands,” Ferrara said. “Or if you were to shop at, you know, smaller used clothing can use clothing the cheek or even Goodwill.”

Students can also engage in activism, which includes sharing social media posts and articles highlighting issues within the fashion industry to get involved in the movement, according to Ferrara.

“If you are reading about the sustainable fashion movement, if you are posting things on social media and if you are emailing friends and family articles, you can be a part of the sustainable fashion movement,” Ferrara said. 

Politicians Use Fashion to Develop Messages, Expand Platforms

On September 27th 2019, Emilia Ferrara was interviewed by Georgetown University’s historic newspaper “The Hoya” about the intersection of fashion and politics and the trend in campaigns to send messages through attire. See the original article here or read below.

“Politicians Use Fashion to Develop Messages, Expand Platforms”

by Susanna Blount 

On Feb. 5, 2019, the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives was a sea of white; white jackets on white slacks on white blouses as far as the eye could see. The record number of newly elected Democratic women were using fashion to make a statement during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address to honor the women’s suffrage movement, which often used white as a symbolic color. 

Coverage of women in politics can focus too much on appearances and likeability. And while critics are often right to call out pundits’ focus on appearance, politicians, especially women, also have the power to use fashion as a tool to amplify their beliefs and share their backgrounds with the public. When used and interpreted correctly, fashion can benefit and complexify female politicians, rather than merely saddle them with sexist stereotypes.

Bigger Closets, Bigger Statements

From the politics of former secretary of state and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits to Democratic majority leader and the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) burnt orange Max Mara coat during an Oval Office showdown with Trump, women in politics have used their style choices to make a statement and spread their message. Pelosi’s coat sparked such intense public discussion that Max Mara decided to reissue the piece six years after it was originally sold. 

Politicians will always benefit from a wider array of options when it comes to how they present themselves, according to Georgetown University government professor Lise Howard.

“Anyone in the public spotlight will be scrutinized about every decision, including fashion,” Howard wrote in an email to The Hoya. “It seems to me that women in politics actually have more leeway than men to dress in ways that make them feel authoritative, authentic and at ease. Men only have a choice between this or that dark suit.” 

Women have used the entire color spectrum and a multitude of silhouettes to make an impression, but some men have been able to shirk the limits of their closets to make statements through their clothes, like 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s choice to forgo a tie or former Texas representative and 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s constant rolling up of the sleeves.

Even though many men find their options limited, they too can craft a brand for themselves that explains what kind of candidate they hope to be, according to Kate Bennett, CNN White House reporter who covers fashion in politics and the first lady of the United States.

“It would feel weird if Bernie Sanders put on a Hugo Boss suit with a slim-cut trouser and a skinny tie and a pocket square, right?” Bennett said. “So it works both ways, for men and women, I think.”

A plethora of options make fashion a more flexible and powerful medium through which to share a political message, according to Emilia Ferrara (COL ’10), who teaches a fashion journalism course at Georgetown and serves as editor-in-chief of Capitally, a Washington, D.C. fashion magazine.

 “I do regard fashion as an imminent vehicle for strategy and excellence,” Ferrara said in an interview with The Hoya. “The more options in your arsenal, the more power you have.”

Dressing for a Global Spotlight 

Personal style creates a visible, dynamic platform to share a politician’s cultural point of view with an international audience, making fashion a tool of diplomacy. Politicians and diplomats can wear clothes that draw attention to their personal cultures and represent their communities with pride, according to Howard.

Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s fashion choices, which shared traditional Liberian clothing with the world, perfectly exemplified this stylistic strategy, according to Howard. 

“She is always elegant and confident, while demonstrating her commitment to Liberia by wearing Liberian fashions,” Howard wrote. 

Wearing a silhouette found across West Africa, Johnson Sirleaf takes traditional garments like the gele, a tied headscarf, and revamps them for the modern era and shares them on an international stage, fashion historian Amber Butchart wrote in a Google Arts & Culture editorial feature.

When a record number of women were sworn into the House of Representatives on Jan. 3, 2019, a contrast between the Democratic and Republican sides of the chamber was apparent. While the Republican side of the chamber was largely filled with white men in dark suits, the Democratic side was a rainbow of colors, patterns and styles. The new wave of women in Congress, most of whom were Democrats, used their fashion choices to express their diversity. 

Lawmakers like  Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) woreclothes that honored and showcased their traditionally marginalized and therefore politicized personal backgrounds. Tlaib wore a Palestinian thobe, a traditional embroidered gown, in tribute to her mother. Haaland, one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, wore traditional clothing, moccasins and jewelry from the Pueblo tribe, of which she is a member. 

Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright used pins to send a message in diplomacy, according to Ferrara. After an Iraqi media outlet referred to her as an “unparalleled serpent,” she wore a snake pin on her next trip to Iraq in 1994.

“She picked a pin that was extraordinarily tied on a deep level to the situation she was in,” Ferrara said. “Her pins always had a remarkable point of relevancy.”

Albright’s pins became such an integral part of her diplomatic repertoire and messaging strategy that the Smithsonian Castle featured them in a 2010 exhibit titled “Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection.” 

Regardless of the policies they represent, these fashion choices represent how women can use their clothing as a way to make a statement that transcends mere aesthetic value. Choosing what pin to wear to any given event helped amplify Albright’s own political stances in a subtle but powerful way, the former secretary of state said in an NPR interview in 2009.

“As it turned out, there were just a lot of occasions to either commemorate a particular event or to signal how I felt,” Albright said. 

In foreign policy, as well as in Congress, leaders make strategic choices about fashion to serve their goals and further their countries’ agendas. To argue that these choices are somehow less important because they happen to take the form of clothing diminishes the importance of visuals in communication and the power of the ability to harness fashion as a storytelling medium. 

Fashion Faux Pas

While women can benefit from the multitude of ways to express themselves and their cultures through their clothing, they also face more pressure and face severe sexist critiques. 

Making bold fashion statements also can lead to criticism that centers the conversation solely around the visual appearance and gendered connotations of their clothes, according to Ferrara. 

“The flip side of that issue is when people say, ‘Well, aren’t women always criticized for dressing too sexy or aren’t women always criticized for dressing, you know, too much like a little girl,’” Ferrara said. 

Some female politicians may try to wear clothes that do not attract attention in order to bring attention back to their ideas, but this can bring criticism as well. Clinton’s style when she transitioned from being first lady to perfectly captured this phenomenon, according to Bennett.

“She was sort of ‘anti-fashion” fashion. She just assumed, like, if I wear this pretty standard-issue — although it might be Ralph Lauren, it might be a pretty high-end designer, — pretty standard issue suit, no one’s gonna be able to critique,” Bennett said. “She had to find clothes that made her sort of disappear in that sense.”

However, the think pieces and articles that major publications ran during Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign examining her fashion choices prove that even trying to hide behind inconspicuous clothes would prove an unsuccessful media strategy.

Likewise, female politicians themselves may object to the relevance of their outfits, but clothes make important claims that cannot just go ignored in certain contexts, according to Bennett.

On a diplomatic trip to Kenya in 2018, First Lady Melania Trump wore a white pith helmet, a hat worn frequently by European explorers and a symbol of colonialism.

“I was the one in Egypt who asked her about her clothing scandal from the day before, where she had worn the pith helmet in Kenya and created a hubbub. The next day in Egypt she did a quick Q&A with the press, and I asked her about that and she looked and me and she said, ‘I wish people would focus on, you know, what I do and not what I wear,’” Bennett said. “I mean, I would love to do that, too, Melania, but no, I don’t think we can.”

Analyzing the role of fashion in women’s political careers requires nuance, but it carries value. Dismissing reflections on fashion choices ignores a valuable part of many politicians’ messages, according to Bennett.

“People who sort of dismiss politics and fashion or that kind of coverage, again, are overlooking a multibillion dollar industry and a really viable way that politicians can and probably should be using their looks, their fashion, their style, to send a message,” Bennett said.

Luxury Brands Sell Expensive Stories to Younger Markets

On September 13th 2019, Emilia Ferrara was interviewed by esteemed Georgetown University newspaper “The Hoya” about her analysis of the aspirational economic system within luxury brands that cater to younger markets. See the original article here or read below.

Luxury Brands Sell Expensive Stories to Younger Markets

by Steven Botsoe and Michelle Brown

Walking down Georgetown’s busy M Street, tourists and residents alike ogle and peruse the countless high-end stores that dot the street and purchase anything from Chanel makeup to Michael Kors handbags. These luxury stores found throughout the neighborhood encapsulate modern luxury retail culture — a lifestyle filled with decadence and glamour, but one that is affordable only to the few people with enough expendable income to indulge such expensive tastes.

Modern luxury products now go viral often, confusing fashion writers with three-digit price tags for everyday items. The summer 2017 release of new luxury products like Balenciaga’s Speed Trainers, criticized by one such writer as “a $700 sock with a sole,” raises important concerns about its practicality and wildly inaccessible price. 

Despite this pushback, the way in which the Speed Trainer dominated the market and generated massive social media hype suggests these brands are selling more than a structured handbag, leather belt or sock-turned-sneaker. Their products obviously communicate a wearer’s particular preference for elastic shoes, but they also tell a story of creativity and personal expression that brands work hard to sell as a fulfilling lifestyle, despite the fact that the meaningful experiences they advertise carry hefty, unrealistic price tags.

Despite the sustained appeal of names like Balenciaga, founded in 1919, fashion lines now rely extensively on generating social media hype to target a digitally connected and image-conscious audience that forges meaning and identity from its clothing, changing the strategies and markets of brands while still maintaining an exclusive and elite vision. 

All Eyes on Younger Consumers

A 2019 report by Boston Consulting Group and Altagamma that surveyed 12,000 consumers in the 10 leading countries for luxury fashion sales indicates that these opulent brands have been immensely boosted by younger generations. The report predicts that millennials, those born from 1978 to 1992, will be responsible for 50% of spending in the personal luxury market by 2025.

Social media buzz, online shopping and the effect of influencers make up some key trends that will continue to grow for at least the next six years and effectively reshape the luxury market, according to the report.

By connecting to a growing urban and digitally savvy audience, brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton have refocused their target audience to include younger people and have begun including streetwear trends and clothing into their marketing.

However, what constitutes trendiness, determining the future of the luxury fashion industry, depends largely on the work that black people do as tastemakers for popular culture, according to Larry Taylor III (COL ’20), president of the Black Student Alliance, who personally incorporates luxury brands into his wardrobe. 

“You can look at Virgil [Abloh], who is the Men’s Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton, and think, ‘This man is a whole black man, and he’s putting on for the culture,’” said Taylor in an interview with The Hoya. “You have these high end brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Alexander McQueen and Gucci, even, shifting to urban clothing because that’s what’s hip, and that’s because, at the end of the day, black people make it hip.”

Additionally, many companies have aimed to perfect the balance between exclusivity and transparency in order to successfully convince younger audiences that their expensive products come without environmental degradation.

An industry webinar released by Nielsen, a market research firm, notes that the younger generation’s desire for sustainability and better business practices has also transformed the market. Seventy-three percent of consumers under age 34 reported being more willing to spend extra on a brand they consider to be environmentally and socially sustainable, according to Nielsen’s research.

A Story Sewed in Cloth

Brand storytelling is a potent marketing technique for encouraging a relationship between the consumer and the logo on the product rather than the product itself. Companies seek to communicate to consumers their purpose and values to humanize their releases as a way to attract customers, according to Giulia Melidoni (COL ’22), who serves on the board of the Georgetown Retail and Luxury Association.

“When a luxury brand is selling a product, it’s not all about the profit they will be making, but they are selling to their customers the story of the brand and its success. Luxury brands try to narrate the story of their origin, choice of craftsmanship, loyalty, excellence and premium quality,” Melidoni wrote in an email to The Hoya. “When GRLA invites speakers on the hilltop, these speakers share the stories of the brand they represent, bringing their vision to life.”

In one recent campaign, Gucci released a collection of short films in collaboration with students from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts as a way to market its $790 extravagant Ultrapace sneaker.

Each of the productions features young protagonists who find freedom and escape from mundane interactions through adventurous artistic and social endeavors. The four short films tap into subcultures and experiences to provide a sense of relatability and authenticity, or “brand belonging,” as the digital consulting firm Accenture Strategy terms it.

Companies cannot easily fake this sense of authenticity; they have to take active, specific steps to curate it in a campaign, according to Emilia Ferrara (COL ’10), who teaches a course on fashion journalism and serves as editor for Capitally, a fashion and lifestyle magazine focused on sustainability. 

“When you look at Dolce and Gabbana’s ads, you can see that this notion of community and family is highly choreographed — it’s falsified — and it’s honestly pretty thrown together,” Ferrara said in an interview with The Hoya. “They could go even deeper, and look at the professors in that area, the bakery owners, the baristas and the people that you and I think of as our style icons because they’re in our midst and we know them”

The collaborative fashion show between pop star Zendaya and Tommy Hilfiger at 2019’s New York Fashion Week is one example of a show that gets the portrayal of authenticity right by setting the personal brand, image and persona of Tommy Hilfiger aside and celebrating a different experience and narrative in the spotlight, according to Ferrara.

The show took place at The Apollo in the New York City neighborhood Harlem, and Zendaya sought to reimagine the luxury brand to be inclusive toward women from all walks of life by booking models with diverse skin tones and body types, even though many of the line’s products range from $100 to $300, with some pieces going for over $1,000.

“Designers are seeing the need to enter a cohesive world and sphere that already exists and belongs to an indigenous community, and showing it respect and being able to put on a show that brings those values to light and highlights them as opposed to trying to recreate them or rebuild them on a set,” Ferrara said.

International Brands, Personal Meanings

For some Georgetown University students, their interactions with luxury fashion are part of larger elements of cultural identity formation.

Using clothing to represent a larger lifestyle is not limited to the brand’s own work, but the reality that people’s choices to align with certain brands has class implications remains, according to Taylor. 

“There’s a class level to it, but there’s also a cultural aspect of it,” Taylor said. “I feel like that cultural aspect is supported not only by the fashion industry, but also like, hip-hop and music in general, just because I think that’s how certain people, including myself, find out about these brands.”

Luxury clothing and fashion take on different meanings when considered within certain communities, and that importance can further encourage consumers to save up to make those kinds of expensive purchases, according to Taylor.

“Within black culture in general, fashion is idolized. Most of the time it’s another form of art,” Taylor said. “When I started getting my own money, and was able to make my own purchases by myself, I think that was what allowed me to dive into what type of fashion I wanted to be a part of.”

Despite the power and allure of high-end goods, an individual’s personal style and own sense of fashion constitutes the most important aspect of self-expression through clothing, according to Taylor.

“People definitely feed into the hype of brands, but people also need to recognize that brands — no matter how high end they are — still release pieces of clothing that you could consider ugly,” Taylor said. “The brand is a bonus, but for me now, it’s more ‘So do I think this article of clothing looks cool?’ I have to think about the longevity of it and the versatility of it.”