It
is inevitable that technology will evolve and that we must face the
consequences that come with it. We live in a universe where digital technology
has continuously been taking over all sorts of roles that play a part in our
day-to-day lives. In the past, the advancement of technology was predicted to
only make life easier for humanity, but the reality is that not everything is
made to solely have a benefit; dangers arise as well.
With regards to the fashion
industry, one of the most spoke about things today would be whether or not a
person was wearing a real designer, or simply a fake replication piece. Everybody
wants to fit in and follow the latest trends, have the most recent releases, or
just profit off of reselling a big name. The downside to this is that not
everyone is able to afford everything, therefore they make copies and call it
authentic. It’s been seen on social media platforms such as YouTube on how to
“get the look for less” or “DIY fashion trends” so that the people who aren’t
able to afford the luxuries can still fit in. Now don’t get me wrong, I
personally admire these hacks because they not only create a budget friendly
look, but they also encourage recycling and reusing items which benefit our
world. Although the danger with this is that because creating replicas of items
or accessories is so easy and accessible nowadays, the original pieces are
beginning to lose their value and authenticity.
To the average eye, the differences
are so little that not everyone is able to decipher what’s real and what isn’t.
Though to more knowledgeable fashion lovers, a fake can be spotted miles away.
For example, from afar, even the most replicated t-shirt can look similar to an
original brand because majority of people focus on the look of something
overall as opposed to knit picking on the quality. Replicas are so easy to get
and make without getting in trouble with trademarks because what people do is
change the look of things very slightly, so then by technicalities they aren’t
ripping off the designers and companies. When a person comes to take a closer
look of a replication, with knowledge on how original things are made, they
would be able to say whether a piece was real or not by investigating the
little things such as the fonts, spacing, and even stitching. I still remember
this one time when someone was trying to convince me that their Jordan shoes
were authentic, but it clearly said “Air Jordam” instead of “Air Jordan.”
Tying back into technology, the
pros do include making production much easier because now things can get done
in packs as opposed to one person doing a job. Technology will always be able
to work faster than the average person, therefore in a way this advancement is
more productive and less time consuming. With the creation of replicas, it can
be seen in a positive perspective because more people can feel like they fit in
at a more affordable price, and as I mentioned before learning to recycle items
and pieces plays a role in the sustainability aspect of the fashion industry.
The cons on the other hand deal with other issues such as how much pollution is
being made from the fabrication of these working technologies, how costly
everything is and how high the levels of job loss rose since the work of humans
are being taken over by machines. In relation to the negatives of replicas, the
overall idea seems like a big con altogether, but the way that I see it is that
genuine authentic pieces lose their value overtime.
Technology and the Fashion Industry
are just two out of millions of topics that battle against the evolution of our
digital universe. I took the time to talk to local designer Jillian Joy Ubando
of Jillian Joy Hand Crafted to see what her opinion was on the industry
and dealing with replicas as technology moves forward. She believes that
everyone’s fashion, whether high end or low end, is beginning to look the same
due to today’s society that wants to look like the celebrities and always fit
in. Industries and companies may be losing value as well as potential profit
and consumers because of the rise of replicas, but she doesn’t believe that it
is a significant loss. According to Jillian, “someone can point out the adidas
three stripes right away, and if there are only two stripes it can be easily
considered a replica or an attempt of replication, but not many people can
easily point out a Vera wang gown or Hailey Paige dress without studying each
brand in depth.” What I took out of this was that replications do cause dangers
in the industry, but more so towards certain departments of a company instead
of a complete disruption of destruction overall.
So, now that we have a better
understanding of the correlation with technological advancement and the easy
access of replicating pieces and accessories, who can we blame and who is at
risk in the future? Technology is going impact the industry no matter what. In
retrospect, we all saw this coming, we just weren’t prepared enough to deal
with the consequences. Will replicas be a continuous development as well? Who
knows, but in the meantime, our duty is to be aware of what’s going on and find
balance between the two in a way that can benefit not only the future of the
industry, but the future generations to come as well.
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