Has Anything Really Changed In 2020?

We look at representation, structural inequality and silent advocacy in the fashion industry.

- Jason Alexander Basson

2020

It was the year we stayed at home and took a long, hard look at ourselves. None of us liked what we saw. As if Covid-19 wasn’t enough, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Elijah McClain were sobering reminders of a much older disease that still plagues the world: racism.

While this series of events was nothing short of devastating, it galvanised the world to the tune of social justice for all, including within the fashion industry. London’s genderfree Fashion Week was one of the most thought-provoking and inclusive events in the industry to date. It’s not that the world’s forgotten about the #MeToo or the Trans Lives Matter movements or the ongoing issue of violence towards foreign nationals in South Africa; none of these issues is new, and many of them are inseparable. It’s that the stone’s gathered moss, and the world’s reached its saturation point in its demands for accountability and change. But what role will the fashion industry play, and what can consumers do to influence the landscape of inequality?

WHAT’S CHANGED?

These days, retailers, big brands, magazines and fashion weeks are more inclusive. The most obvious change over the last decade has been equal representation for people of colour, varying skin types, more wholesome or representative bodies and more advanced ages. Brands are actively challenging the once-narrow perception of beauty.