‘It's not as sexy as it sounds' is a response to my time working in the fashion industry. My childhood dream was to be a fashion designer in London. During my Art degree, to scratch this itch, I undertook an unpaid fashion internship and upon graduating a paid fashion job. Whenever I describe this, people regard it highly, glamorous even. My knee-jerk response: ‘It’s not as sexy as it sounds.’ Despite fashion being a capitalist arts sector, I find there is miniscule money for workers. It survives by taking advantage of unpaid internships, attracting richer students/people. My company stretch themselves to pay the sales assistant role £11.05 p/h. I enjoy my job, but also have to work elsewhere to substitute my living. It’s not the shiny dream I dreamt.
Due to fashion's capitalist nature, creative decisions are wholly made on ‘what will sell’, ‘how can this be made cheap’, ‘ will a factory worker be able to make this quickly’. Questions like these end up watering down the concept behind each garment.
In this piece, the time it takes to knit each scarf equates to my rate of pay in my job. The scarf layer image consists of images and writings I am surrounded by at work: scribblings of profit margins, screen fatigue, and a skull-like image is formed from merging a ‘trying on’ photo of my face with a faulty waist band.
As these viewers ‘buy’ these scarves a brighter, more intricate colourful piece is revealed. This is imagery taken from my rented accommodation: what I work for. The fragility of the longevity of me renting this house is shown through the scarred cut in the middle of the piece. Despite this, living in London with my friends brings me joy and I have slowly realised that the luxury of living with people I love and being able to rest in a comfortable place is now my dream. The stress and pressures of my job do however creep into this warm place “It makes me worry I’ll never make something so beautiful.”
