Authenticity in Fashion
On Authenticity
“The term ‘authentic’ is used either in the strong sense of being “of undisputed origin or authorship”, or in a weaker sense of being “faithful to an original” or a “reliable, accurate representation”.” (Lukes, 2020)
Authenticity was seen differently in the centuries before. So-called individualism used to be the term for “sources of social dissolution and anarchy and the elevation of individual interests above those of the collective” (Varga and Charles, 2020) during the French revolution. The French aristocratic political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–59) described individualism in terms of moderate selfishness that disposed humans to be concerned only with their small circle of family and friends.
Individuality had a negative connotation because it used to mean stepping out of the fixed role assigned to them depending on their family, wealth, status and sex. Humans were seen as placeholders in a range of systems of social relations, not as an individual. Simultaneously people became more aware of their “inner self”, which resulted in a distinction between one’s private, unique individuality, and one’s public self. Amid this conceptual change, the value “individuality” started to be a virtue instead of a vice. (Varga and Charles, 2020) Several significant cultural changes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries resulted in the start of a new ideal in the Western world. Compared to the human being one of many and easily replaceable the most significant change is that nowadays “being human” is best achieved through being unique and distinctive, even if your traits collide with certain social norms. (Trilling, 1972)
How does this connect to fashion?
If regarded in the context of fashion, how can a brand be an accurate representation of oneself if the self is a group of employees? Like any company, fashion brands exist to make an increasing amount of money every year from selling services and products. Corporations do not live and breathe as a human individual and do not make decisions based on emotion. Or do they?
Depending on the size of the company, there are either a big or small number of people in leadership positions making decisions that can either be good or bad for the company. Every company has some form of company values on which they base their decisions. These core values, if implemented effectively, should have the effect of an idea of “consciousness” or “culture” within each employee. Company culture is a number of shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way employees act. It distinguishes the organization from other organizations. In some sense, therefore, one can argue that a company can be a conscious, liable “body” of people.
Why do we need authenticity?
Over the last decade, a rising trust deficit has affected the fashion industry. (Balchandani, Berg, Amed, Hedrich, Rölkens, 2019)
People are not only looking for a company that represents their visual aesthetic anymore, but they are looking to identify themselves with the core values of a brand. They are looking for a physical representation of their core beliefs, money and status or lack thereof. Each fashion item they own is there for a reason; be it belonging (or wishing to belong) to a group or societal status.
Rising awareness of the negative aspects of fast fashion also contributes to the customers’ mistrust in brands. People want to know who makes their clothing or at least if buying a piece of clothing makes them a bad person. Authentic and relatable marketing is a strategic tool that brands are starting to use because it increases the trust between brand and customer.
An industry example
An example of a brand that is marketing towards the trend of authenticity is Everlane. Everlane is a clothing brand that claims to partner with the best, ethical factories around the world and source only the finest materials. They share where they produce their products and the “true cost” of them. They call their motto (a.k.a. core value) “Radical Transparency”. By showing the customer the cost of materials, labour and transportation combined with their lower-than-industry-standard markup, they proclaim to be sustainable. For some products, they offer 365-day cash back guarantee to show their investment in long-lasting products, and they are also producing a line of pullovers made out recycled plastic.
When I first read about it, it sounded too good to be true. Could it be the first online retail store that shows signs of transparency?
The promise is too good, indeed. When researching the website and Everlane’s collection, I noticed that they do not deliver quite what they promise. The “true cost” (after the documentary of the same name) is only given for a few selected items, and the map showing the location of their factories seems to sell pictures of laughing factory workers and weak promises.
Where is the proof of their authentic, sustainable approach?
Usually, if a brand wants to show their commitment to sustainability, they publish their Code of Conduct. It ensures what they say is what they do, but for Everlane, there is no Code to be found.
I am not saying that Everlane is not going in the right direction with good intentions, but I am saying that there is nothing genuinely radical about their transparency. Authenticity is not a pick n’ choose game. It has to be implemented in the core of the company and everything they do. For example, Everlane uses leather, wool and cashmere without stating the sources. The welfare of both animals and workers cannot be guaranteed if a brand does not list the source of animalderived materials. What’s more, although the images provided depict healthy working conditions, there is no confirmation that they are genuinely representative of Everlane’s suppliers, as they were not or audited by an independent third party.
To move towards actually delivering transparency and therefore being authentic to their values, Everlane should make its Code of Conduct available to the public, provide a full list of suppliers and give more detail about its auditing processes. Even though on second look, their authenticity seems like a superficial marketing tool, the brand is successful.
Conspicuous authenticity
But why are brands like Everlane so sought after? The phenomenon can be explained using Veblen’s 1899 book “The Theory of the Leisure Class”. Thorstein Veblen, a 19th-century economist, states that to understand how capitalism works, one has to consider the need of “status-seeking”. His theory of “conspicuous consumption” states that competition between consumers (creating envy and resentment) is the main force that drives the economy. He also observed that for the competition to be successful, the form of consumption needs to seem useful. In other words, what used to be fox hunting and learning Latin in the leisure society of the 18th century (which served no real purpose but to show status) is now buying sustainable fashion items. Today we show status through conspicuous authenticity. This phenomenon does not mean that all efforts for an authentic living are superficial, of course. (Potter, 2017)
Conspicuous authenticity is the main form of showing status in the western hemisphere today, and it is incredibly lucrative. Searching for authenticity provides us with a life that has meaning, is good for the society and environment while being satisfying and morally beneficial. The status competition of today has become less obvious and more morally driven (as Veblen predicted). Nevertheless buying more local, organic and sustainable has become an implicit, never-ending, self-radicalizing competition of status. Authenticity has evolved into a status symbol. It explains why there is, as I have elaborated, a movement of distinction between fake and real authenticity.
What now?
The question of how to implement authenticity correctly in fashion remains open. What is clear is that the customer demands transparency. Brands holding promises marketed to the customer but also the people involved in the supply chain brings us a step closer to building trust between brand and customer. Nobody expects Asos and co. to be sustainable. Other than Everlane, they do not promise to be and therefore are viewed as more authentic than “sustainable” companies. Brands need to bring more to the table than products; their values need to be in place too.
Especially for new brands, there is still the possibility to find a niche in the saturated market because of the rising demand for authentic, value-based brands that go the extra step and fill a particular specific need of a more specified customer group instead of targeting everyone in one particular age group.
To become fully sustainable is a complicated and almost impossible act for already existing brands to implement. It takes significant changes and challenges within the supply chain.
Changing is connected to extra cost, labour and financial loss. Many brands choose to go the easy way and improve their marketing to seem sustainable, therefore faking authenticity.
Just like fake authenticity in the form of sustainability marketing, this trend expands into almost every industry. It comes up on our phones in the name of Instagram ads from a celebrity telling us to buy laxative tee, appetite suppressants and corsets to make us as attractive as them in full make-up and fillers they publicly deny using the hashtag “au natural”. The celebrities of the 2010s are the ones setting the unreachable standard by cashing in on our envy and supporting our competitive, superficial, status-driven economy. It does not come from the people buying into it but by the people with social (media) power that influence us.
Many customers are not mindless buyers anymore. They have access to endless information through the internet and social media. They are looking for a connection to brand on a deeper-than-surface level on which they can feel 100% secure of their impact. They need to feel like the brand is adding something to their individuality, making them more complete and genuinely
authentic.
References:
Balchandani, Anita, Berg, Achim, Amed, Imran, Hedrich, Saskia and Rölkens, Felix, 2019 „What
radical transparency could mean for the fashion industry“, MyKinsey and Company, Available at:
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/what-radical-transparency-couldmean-
for-the-fashion-industry [Accessed 18 March 2020].
Lukas, Steven M., 2020, „Individualism | Definition, History, Philosophy, Examples, & Facts“,
Encyclopedia Britannica [online] Available at:
<https://www.britannica.com/topic/individualism> [Accessed 20 March 2020].
Potter, Professor Andrew, “Authenticity Is A Con”, Vestoj The journal of sartorial matters (Winter
2017 Edition), pp.135–143.
Trilling, Lionel, 1972, “Sincerity and Authenticity”, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Varga, Somogy and Guignon, Charles, 2020, “Authenticity”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (Spring 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Available at:
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2020/entries/authenticity/ [Accessed 18 March 2020].
