Swipe Right

Her résumé reads writer, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and now, author with two bestselling titles. Journalist and thought influencer Dana Thomas has us rethinking the future of fashion. Akanksha Kamath digs deeper into her latest page-turner, Fashionopolis: The Price Of Fast Fashion And The Future Of Clothes

You know, the teacup I am drinking from right now was my grandmother’s,” says Dana Thomas, as she greets me very early in the morning over the phone from France, where she lives. “So I guess, in a way, we start our day here with vintage,” she says of her morning routine that also sets her intention for the rest of the day and in many ways, her life. In September 2019, Thomas published her third book—Fashionopolis: The Price Of Fast Fashion And The Future Of Clothes, a 350-page tell-all, with the grip-ping, sensorial writing of a crime novel. The matter at hand? No less than a crime.

When the 2013 fire broke out in Rana Plaza, Dhaka, Bangladesh, it brought to the fore all that was wrong with fast fashion. Yet, come payday, we are guilty of tapping open our shopping apps, scrolling, and adding 10 items to our cart. An excerpt from the book reads a scene similar to Rana Plaza, but miles away in Honduras: ‘The drinking water reportedly contained faecal matter. Workers were forbidden to speak. They could only use the restroom once in the morning and once in the afternoon... Women were subjected to pregnancy tests; if one came back positive, she’d be sacked.’ If that doesn’t make you cringe the ₹899 shirt off your back, what will?