The toxic luxury fashion

Let’s talk about luxury fashion. All that glamour, and yet so toxic! Why? There are two reasons if you ask me.

First, luxury brands fulfill a deep psychological need. We crave them to elevate ourselves by owning something exclusive. Being unaffordable to most, luxury items come with a status symbol helping us to find our place in the society. It’s easier to stand out by showing off, which is a quick fix for our insecurities. To put it differently, we are not buying clothes, shoes or bags – we are buying an identity. I have therefore I am. And this is exactly why desire for luxury items can be so toxic for our wellbeing in the long run. This doesn’t mean it’s not ok to be fond of certain brands – I have quite a few of those!. What I think we sometimes need though is to remind ourselves that we don’t become irrelevant if we don’t possess certain items. We are enough – just the way we are. With the bling bling or without. And this is the type of confidence that our children need to see when growing up – instead of our wardrobes changing every season.

Second, despite the hefty price tag, most designer brands have much less than glamorous ethical and environmental footprint. Like their affordable fast fashion counterparts, the absolute majority of well-established fashion houses have supply chains that emit massive volumes of CO2, use exotic animal fur and skins and create fabrics that are not only not organic but are treated with toxic chemicals and shed microplastics that end up in our oceans degrading ecological systems. Poorly compensated and cared for workers behind the fashion items is another burning issue. 

When buying clothing, I often consult the Good on you, which in my view provides the most comprehensive and diligent ratings of fashion brands. To show how poorly most designer brands score, I’ve compiled their ratings in the slideshow above. As you can see, not a single one has received the top grade.

And boy did I use to like those Valentino rockstuds! Well, not anymore. Because what I like more is knowing that people, animals and the planet have been treated with care they deserve – this is what I call “high fashion”.