I've been reading an article today by Heather Marie Akou that discusses the terminology we use to describe fashion, the problems with the word western when it applies to areas that are simply not in the west but fit into the description as it relates to specific types of society. Akou proposes that we adopt a specific sociological semantic system to describe the way that fashion fits together so it looks as if I am going to branch into reading sociology at some point in the near future.

On another note I finally gave up on the vast majority of the high street and bought shoes from Clarks the other day. I am sick to the back teeth with the trend for heels dominating every shoe shop, no one wears the fucking things on a daily basis and haven't those flat ballet pumps worn themselves thin after a decade dominating our shops?

It's International Blog Against Racism Week and while the google links I have found seem to focus heavily on fandom icons I'm not going to go there. Racism is so apparent in the fashion industry, not only are there far more white models, a view that is widely recognised but it's apparent that the entire business of fashion rests on the disparity between the wealthy white, western countries and other generally non-white nations where the body of the manufacturing of clothing takes place.

There should be more black and Asian models in our magazines and on our catwalks but the fashion industry is weird about physical appearance. It's biases run far beyond the ethnicity of models, it's a thoughtless industry and this is demonstrated in all kinds of ways. Here is a link to a blog post from Threadbared about racist language online and the way it ties into height.

I don't really know what else to say about this, I want to nod my head to IBARW and the importance of the message, particularly when we're talking about international industry, particularly where clothing is concerned because it functions on a foundation of racism, of presenting people in incredibly negative ways and treating them badly. This isn't a surprise, it's bad that it just keeps happening, it's bad that it can't be stopped and it's bad that it's propped up by the various media that cover fashion. Why continue in this vein? Sort it out fashion industry.