Words I have learned in the podcast :
– sustainability = pérennité
– forecasters = prévisionnistes
– wallets = portefeuilles
– high-end = haut de gamme
– the hirer = le locataire
Psychology of fashion is a topic published by “Speaking of psychology”, a bimonthly podcast of the American Psychological Association. This interview is conducted by Kaitlin Luna who is receiving Dr Carolyn Mair, a cognitive psychologist who created the Department of Fashion Psychology at the London College of Fashion at the University of Arts London, and who is currently a consultant for fashion brands and who recently published a book entitled “Psychology of Fashion”.
In this video different subjects are covered such as the ecological impact of fashion or the consequences on mental health and on the identity that fashion can have.
This podcast, even though presented by the American Psychological Association, may be of interest to different audiences. First of all, psychologists to carry out behavioural changes among consumers. But also consumers to make them aware of fashion addiction and overconsumption. However, merchants and creators could also introduce new sales and recycling strategies to minimize the negative impacts of over-consumption.
This podcast presents different topics from fashion psychology. First of all, the idea of over-consumption and the impact it can have on the environment. Indeed, Carolyn Mair explains that shopping has become a hobby, a habit, shopping becomes a part of ourselves and our identity. It has become an addiction. In addition to being negative for the individual, over-consumption is negative for the environment. The fashion industry is one of the most polluting and creates a lot of damage to the environment. So psychologists have a role to play here. They have the opportunity to help individuals change their consumption habits, this will have different impacts:
- lives of experience rather than accumulation of material objects. This will save them money and pollute less, for example by buying a good quality article rather than five of low quality.
- understand and anticipate requests to avoid losses. This will avoid overproduction and subsequent disposal.
- help individuals engage in clothing recycling behaviours, both through resale and modified use, as well as through donations to organizations.
In addition to this well-developed topic, other questions related to mental health problems and identity through dress style were questioned.
First of all, the mental health problems induced by this abuse. This over-consumption creates constant pressure on creators to always produce and innovate, which leads to drug addiction, depression, eating disorders…
Health problems can also be observed in models, they must be present non-stop for photo shoots of new collections, they are considered as objects and their health comes in second plan
Consumers are also victims of this fashion, through the creation of an addiction but also through the vision of advertisements presenting ever thinner models. The cult of slimming conveyed by fashion creates body dissatisfaction among consumers who feel less comfortable in their bodies.
Finally, the question of identity is also addressed. People dress in a way that does not necessarily suit them to suit society’s expectations. They worry about what people will think of them depending on how they are dressed. This still raises the question of the image that is being conveyed.
One passage seemed relevant to me (3’29 to 5’35). In this extract, Carolyn Mair first explains the importance of clothing, its role in our identity and the negative impact of fashion on the environment. She explains that psychologists can analyze, predict and modify behaviours. It would therefore be interesting if they could try to change people’s attitudes regarding fashion. As seen above, changing these practices would be beneficial for individuals (less financial loss) but also for the environment. It would therefore be a matter of predicting demand to produce less. But also to make people understand that clothing is not the most important thing and that we should focus on life rather than appearance.
This podcast was therefore very enriching and allowed us to discover the other side of fashion. This highlights the addictive behaviour that individuals can have, and the pressure that can only be exerted by clothing. This is an field that is still not very well studied and I think we should develop this publicly to make people aware that global warming is also accentuated by this overconsumption of clothing.
I would have appreciated if social identity had been more developed through clothing and also to learn more about the link between the choice of our clothes and our moods, for example. I think the way we dress reflects a lot about us. If you are discreet, you tend to wear sober clothes, while if you are extrovert, you will dare to use colours. I would have found it relevant that a podcast on « fashion psychology » would have developed these points more.