REMEMBERING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The German architect David Chipperfield is interviewed by Jan Dalley in the  British FT weekend paper, a favorite weekly edition that lasts me through the week and saves me from the atrocious Sydney rags.

He talks about the crisis that architecture is in. That it has lost its social purpose, the responsibility to build for people and societies not just the product of investment. “We all know what a great city is like, so why aren’t we building this type of city. We are building horrible cities”.

We are following the Western consciousness of looking from the outside in rather than inside out. 

I delved into few of the luxury brands for my interest in culture and to see whether there was any social responsibility as David Chipperfield reflects.

Louis Vuitton and Gucci are in a war to usurp each other, both owned by multi-billion dollar empires, these brands being just a dollop in their stable.

I am a supporter of paying more for quality and even a beloved brand that you like, however these brands have aimed at the 22 to 36 age range, prices over the $1000 mark for items that don’t state where they are made, poor quality fabrics that will not be found in op shops in years to come for their lack of quality.

Spouting artist collaborations, noble ideas of youthful trends from forecast agencies, it’s the emperors' new clothes. Smoke and mirrors. There is a Taoist saying “the bigger the front, the bigger the back’. It’s pretty skinny back there.

I hark on about quality and making good choices, socially conscious choices as an adult. These mega-brands are targeting the Millennials.

Again, have these houses of fashion lost any social responsibility around who and what they support and become a manipulative money focused machine akin to the heyday of cigarette companies. 

Is there a responsibly of these companies to support sustainability, ethically produced wear for young impressionable buyers.

The world’s wealth is becoming more polarised from the super wealthy to the poor, does this reflect the lack of principals and ethics in business.

There has definitely been a rebirth of craft, handmade, awareness around ethics in manufacturing and materials but it seems for the big guys, its the margins and money that matter most.

Largely these massive retail stores are creating a landfill of plastic, supporting a throwaway culture. 

These are mere reflections on our world, finding the dots join from field to field highlighting a bigger issue around what we see as most important in our lives.

If you reach too high without your feet rooted to the ground you topple - this may not be the case for this new world where these monopolies are hedged so massively there can not be the natural ebb and flow of things. “ all things must pass”.

Make good decisions and dive deep into what matters most, for at the end of your life you want to look back with warmth in your heart.

Christo Everingham