Translated by AI

Fashion may appear light and romantic, but it conceals a heavy industrial chain.

(1) Production Chain

The 'birth' of fashion spans from Southeast Asian factories to European runways, marked by significant inequalities. Fast fashion brands, aiming to reduce costs, continually squeeze workers' wages and environmental tolls. Creativity is mass-produced along assembly lines for "new seasons."

(2) Brand Chain

At the opposite end, luxury brands manipulate value. Colossuses like LVMH and Kering possess not only brands but also wield "aesthetic pricing power."

They can make a simple white shirt exhibit a two-hundred-fold price disparity solely because of an iconic logo.

(3) Communication Chain

Ultimately, via idol endorsements, K-pop MVs, magazine covers, and social network algorithms, "fashion" enters our realm of desire.

As we scroll through screens, we become integral to that chain:

—— both observers and consumers.

Three: The Trap of Symbols: Being Viewed

CORTIS's "Fashion" delivers a playful critique of fashion's contradictions:

"What I wear is irrelevant; what matters is how I'm perceived."

This perspective exposes the anxieties prevalent in the social media age.

We express attitudes and project personalities through attire, yet we are also subtly monitored and categorized.

Brands have grasped this—they do not merely offer clothes for sale but the chance to "be seen."

Thus, fashion transforms into a recurring cycle:

You believe you are selecting clothes, but in fact, the clothes select you.

Four: Rebellion and Expansion: Is Non-Commodification Possible?

Intriguingly, "Fashion" also engages in the consumption of the "fashion" concept.

Utilizing visually rich MVs, art, and brand imagery to depict anti-fashion substantiates the contemporary cultural paradox—even mocking it embeds you within it.

Therefore, the inquiry shifts from "is non-commodification feasible?"

to "can we penetrate the commodification structure and preserve our autonomy of choice?"

Five: Reclaiming Style

As fashion is enmeshed in supply chains, brand spectra, and promotional networks,

it transcends merely "looking good," focusing instead on "how you are interpreted by the world."

Complete detachment from capitalist packaging might not be achievable,

but we can dress with heightened awareness—

selecting brands with narratives and responsibility;

perpetuating vintage clothing, reinventing styles;

embodying "self" rather than "trends."

For genuine fashion has never equated to price tags and labels,

but remains—who within this cycle of desire retains a soul.