Fashion’s lack of diversity created its lack of creativity. Fashion week after fashion week, we hear the same sentiment about how there is a void of innovation in fashion. How across brands and conglomerates, brands are meshing into each other and presenting similar collections. Calculated or not, this pattern is a consequence of the greater issue. That: obviously, runways will look the same if the creative directors all look the same.
Diversity does not just mean a sprinkling of a few brown and female faces to quell the politically correct brigade. Diversity transcends ‘on the face’ factors like race and gender. I find it comical that the powers that fail to recognize the value that having diverse teams on every level of the fashion hierarchy will directly and indirectly contribute to not just brand success but will also introduce new ideas and innovations into the dry fashion landscape.
It’s simple really, fashion is an art form. And more often than not, art is inspired by the perspectives and ideas that the artist is surrounded and informed by. So, let’s see our designers as these artists. If these artists are all from a subset of European countries, who’ve attended the same subset of European fashion schools and concurrently been trained in the same conglomerates, it is likely that there will be great overlap in their work as there is a major overlap in their lived experiences.
Obviously, this observation doesn’t exist in isolation, other factors contribute to the production of what we see on the runway. Some may argue that many designers have been inspired by cultures that are not their own and have no aesthetic correlation with their European background. And to that I argue, why should we always wait for white male designers to give us their take on “Eastern fashion meeting Western Fashion”, “bringing Africa to the world” or “feminist activism in fashion”. Why do they have the authority to bring us in the greater fashion diaspora to the mainstream as if we’re some pariahs in a cave? Why doesn’t fashion do a better job of hiring senior designers and creative directors from outside this exclusive pool of white male faces?
Cast the net of hiring to diverse creative backgrounds and see the fashion zeitgeist shift beyond narrow Eurocentric approaches to already existing fashion phenomena. Kerby Jean Raymond of Pier Moss once brilliantly spoke about how activism is good for business. Extending his idea, I add that diversity is good for fashion business. There is depth and beauty in indulging in equally stunning clothing presented by culturally varying designers. This depth transforms fashion into art.
Ultimately, as fashion outside the mainstream, my proposition is to shine our eyes on the immense talent within our borders (that often are pinned on the mood boards of our favorite European designers). Here in the developing South, here in Africa, South Africa and specifically Johannesburg we are already regarded as a fashion mecca to cities in our sphere of influence. In my view, the final step to the full realisation of our own potential is for us within our fashion community to see ourselves as the gold standard.
