Fashion is the dream of many, although perhaps less than before … This industry has been singled out for its excesses for a few years. It must be said that its raison d’être, obligatory “planned obsolescence”, generates sizeable environmental problems. Many also denounce its lack of diversity, both on the catwalks and behind the scenes, and its racism, conscious or not. Since COVID-19 first appeared in our lives, these accusations have taken on a whole new dimension for the fashion industry, which some consider to be on the brink of the abyss.
The documentary Apocalypse modeby Olivier Nicklaus provides an exhaustive portrait of the past and current defects in this sector of activity and suggests solutions to ensure its survival. The journalist, who covered this area for the Inrocks for nearly 15 years, illustrates these specifications, not without humor, through numerous examples of “missteps” and reprehensible generalized practices of the fashion and luxury industry, all commented on by specialists and critics from different backgrounds, including journalist Vanessa Friedman and Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Bel Jacobs.
The film gives pride of place to the initiatives of a few creators (Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney) to reduce waste and overproduction, and to the efforts of “sobriety” and representativeness of the diversity of certain major brands. But he does not fully answer his initial question: how must fashion reinvent itself in order to survive? It may be that the answers are yet to be found …
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