Week 3 Blog Post: Industrialization & Mechanization's Impact on Fashion
Walter Benjamin discusses the implication of mass reproduction. Benjamin argues that the original piece of art contains a unique “aura” of a piece of art destroyed by mechanical reproduction (Benjamin, 1). With reproduction, the piece depreciates and loses its authority (Benjamin, 1).
Reproducible art has been integral for the successes of fast-fashion companies. Corporations such as Shein, are guilty of stealing small artists' designs and reproducing them on a massive scale. To Walter’s point, the art that is stolen is never an exact replica and lacks aura. Below is an example of the original vs the replica.
The loss of “aura” is apparent. The original artist's use of an intricate crochet gives the original piece a sense of quality– while the reproduced pieces are less intricate and overall lower quality.
Davis states, “The fictions of "master " and "copy” are now so entwined with each other that it is impossible to say where one begins and the other ends” (Davis, 381). Consider the image of a 1:1 replica of a Rolex. The article showcases the replica quality, but also the problems such as quality inconsistencies (NDTV, 2023). Nevertheless, in the photo it is difficult to discern the “master” vs the “copy.”
(NDTV, 2023).
During Lecture, Dr. Vesna recounts the impact of mechanization. Specifically, how the printing press resulted in the separation of actions into pieces, having each worker do parts of the production (Vesna, Lecture 2). The impact of mechanization in the fashion industry is similarly apparent. Nowadays, the artistic process for many companies is broken up. Through this horizontal design production, various parts of the creative process are reduced to assembly-line like mechanization and outsourced to countries like China.
One recent documentary that relates to this topic is the documentary “Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion.". The movie shows the company's reliance on mechanization, while attempting to appear high end. Brandy Melville’s labels claim they are “Made in Italy,” associating luxury production. However, the film reveals that most of the clothing is made in a fast-fashion factory staffed with Chinese immigrant workers in sweatshops – that happens to be located in Italy (Vogue, 2024).
(McMillian Doolittle, 2024).
Shein's appropriation of artists' to produce fast-fashion replicas blurs the lines between originals and copies. Brandy Melville shows the deceptive practices of the fast-fashion’s attempt to conceal their reliance on mechanization. As this week's material has reflected, fashion's design, production, and consumption are shaped by technology.
Works Cited
Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 1936.
Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995).” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381-386. JSTOR. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Hernandez, Malu. “40+ Businesses Shein Stole Designs From: The Complete List.” Ethically Dressed, 1 March 2023, https://ethically-dressed.com/30-businesses-shein-stole-designs-from-the-complete-list/. Accessed 18 April 2024.
McMillian Doolittle. “The Brandy Melville Documentary Shines a Surprising Light on the Ingenuity of Sustainable Global Businesses.” McMillian Doolittle, April 2024, https://www.mcmillandoolittle.com/tag/recycling/. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Rodgers, Daniel. “The 5 Most Harrowing Charges From HBO’s Brandy Melville Documentary.” Vouge, Vogue, 12 April 2024, https://www.vogue.com/article/the-5-most-harrowing-charges-from-hbos-brandy-melville-documentary. Accessed 18 April 2024.
“Rolex Replica: 2023 Top Rated Trusted Websites to Buy Rolex 1:1 Superclone.” NDTV, November 2023, https://www.ndtv.com/partner-content/rolex-replica-2023-top-rated-trusted-websites-to-buy-rolex-1-1-superclone-4565610. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Vesna, Victoria. Module 3: Lecture 2. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Hi Madison, your blog post was so interesting to read. It is interesting to analyze how high-end products are reproduced for mass consumption, taking away the uniqueness and individuality of the item. This reminds me of how Cartier no longer authenticates their famous love bracelet, due to extensive replication.
ReplyDeleteHi Madison, I really liked your blog post and the connection to fashion! Fashion was completely off my radar when I was thinking about the effect of mass reproduction on art, but your insights on the loss of aura connect really well with Benjamin’s predictions. This is interesting, because my initial lack of association between everyday fashion and art most likely underlines how aura has been taken away from much of fashion except the very high end ones.
ReplyDeleteHi Madison! I really enjoyed reading your post, especially because I too am interested in fashion. Seeing how you brought up fast fashion and tied it into the main concepts of the readings we had this week was fascinating. Fast fashion has had a death grip on the general population. Your statement regarding Benjamin and how mass reproduction reduces the aura and authenticity of pieces of art can be exemplified through so many fast fashion companies. This reminded me of how Kylie Jenner stole an idea from a small business and mass produced it.
ReplyDeleteHi Madison. I liked reading your post for this week. I definitely didn't think about how the fashion industry was a huge source of reproduction. After reading your post and thinking about it, it definitely is the case where a lot of these pieces become replicated and sold for different and cheaper prices. It's definitely gotten to the point where telling the difference between a replica and real is a lot harder and challenges these companies as their art is being reproduced by someone other than themselves.
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