fake, counterfeit, mock, phony, artificial, bogus...

After saying I would perhaps view my opinions on the fashion industry visually I came up with the idea of photographing a model wearing a garbage bag pinned together into a dress. My thought was elaborated when I thought of giving my model a small plastic shopping bag to hold which has been filled and tied shut as if full of rubbish, to hold as if it were her hand bag. Moreover the idea behind this shoot being that  people would wear any ‘garbage’ if they’re told it’s in fashion. First thing I decided to do was look up ‘garbage bag dresses’ and I wasn’t disappointed. The ones that drew my attention were these:

However I’m after creating a more ill fitting dress, the idea is to accentuate its idiocy. I was also slightly amused by celebrities already following the garbage bag look.

My research furthered, I began looking at magazine front covers and reading their headlines. There was so much repetition, similar stories just surrounding different people. People seem to treat these magazines as a devout Catholic does his bible; they live their life by what it tells them. Filling out questionnaires on their relationships, reading how to have a better sex life, lose weight in a week, how to put make up on and follow the inaccurately documented lives of celebrities who in terms of the bible would be looked at as saints and gods. That’s when I thought of possibly building up a dress out of these magazines covers and if not a dress possibly something else I’m not quite sure. The only drawback being that though these magazines are full of junk they’re actually quite expensive. However I’m also thinking I could just copy the covers.

Something else caught my eye while reading these magazines which lead to a further thought. Basically, I’m amazed by the level of disapproval of fakery when such high standards are set. Celebrities are scrutinised for any physical alterations made and blind accusations are thrown.

Aside from physical expectancies its also assumed we should be splashing out on fashion items as if it matters. These magazines are filled with designer adverts, the prices of these products have the ability to bring a tear to your eye – they’re abominable. So what do people do when they want to keep up with the latest fashion and all the designer brands but can’t afford it? They do the exact same thing people who want to achieve the standards of what beauty is – they fake it. The amazing world of counterfeit products, they’re cheap and deceiving. I was tickled by the words of one designer through my reading who was affirming that the quality of counterfeit products is not near as good as the originals so people shouldn’t buy them. How hilarious, nobody cares. It’s not about quality it is however about the image and making people actually believe that you spent three hundred pounds on a bag because spending like you’re stupid is ‘cool’.

And our mentality of recognisable brands being the best doesn't only reflect clothing lines:

Through all this came the idea of producing products from paper and drawing on them designer names to emphasise how its only the name that matters and not the quality of the product.

Yet it seems all these counterfeit products cultivated a fad of their own and it was one which was proud of being fake.