In times of fashion week… and last week I went to Milan to attend it… time on the train made me reflect on the fashion industry as a whole… Milan was a great experience and it will be subject to a post in itself, but now I wish to discuss the urge to consume for the sake of consuming and how this urge has contaminated the big luxurious brands. It is no news that Zara and H&M infest their shops with “cheap” clothes every day.. their core market is the mass consumption of clothes which are somewhat disposable… The turnaround is a season… sometimes a month… The whole concept is based on the purest of the capitalist theories… Low cost production in underdeveloped countries and cheap sale in developed countries . The whole formula was built with the view to increase shareholder’s profits based on the sense that through fashion anyone can belong. Powerful marketing has the ability to produce trends. Who does not recognise the Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Diesel and Ralph Lauren icons just by the glimpse of it? This is no surprise for the low end brands but the fast, furious and disposable trend has reached the luxurious market too. When I was in my early 20’s I used to remember that we had 2 big collections in one year  – spring / summer and autumn / winter… and some pieces that would be released in between. It was all so exclusive and prestigious. Uber brands such as Dior, Chanel and Louis Vuitton would focus on the Haute Couture collections and the Prêt a porter (ready to wear) would be second to it. The game has changed and it is hard to catch up… not to say, it is quite tiring, boring and bad for the environment as well. The number of billionaires in the world have increased exponentially and this had an immediate effect on luxe… Brands have lowered the level of their game. Profitability is definitely a reason, globalisation and competition as well… but I think exposure also plays a role. Once upon a time, we would wear our best clothes to go to major events… birthday parties, weddings and graduations… when we would know for sure that we would be photographed and we wanted to be beautiful in the photo album… Now our photo album is on our mobile phones… we are constantly clicking, clicking, clicking… and we cannot repeat the look, right? Brands, picked the trend to their advantage… including the top ones… But I and most of us cannot keep track…. or no longer wish to keep track… There are so many collections now that it feels that the brands are releasing the IT BAG or the IT SHOE every month… HOW BORING IS THAT? Now, not only we have the season collections, we also have the capsule collections… and they are several an year…. What used to be a treasure… now is becoming junk… yes, junk….   A bag that used to be purchased and wore for months, and sometimes years, now makes the shelf before the end of the month…. Where are we going with that? What impact does such behaviour have on our finances? or even on our self -estime? The planet is suffering, we are indebted and concentration of wealth does not stop to increase…. conglomerates are richer and richer… small businesses are broke, but it is all fine as long as we secured the IT item of the month Interesting times, right… I don’t have the answers but the more I think the more I realise that I am also becoming a hostage of it too… I often catch myself thinking to purchase such an item that I saw on Instagram… What about you? What are your views? I am truly interested in knowing your views… Happy to hear your comments. x Valentina   Ps: Pictures are not mine… I took out of the internet… not sure who made them but I just thought they are brillant.