Now, I’m not a particularly fashionable person. I don’t understand why cadet hats were so popular for a couple years there, and the movement towards fashionable yoga-wear weirds me out. I’m all for stretchy pants in the studio, but how strange to be at the grocery store and find yourself surrounded by an ocean of spandex.
And yet, even I can’t deny the fascinating convergence of spirituality and modern fashion.
From the mainstream popularization of the tree of life to the explosion of deity attire, the newest trends in fashion are undeniably … mystic.
Historically, the fashion industry hasn’t been known for its sensitivity or spiritual consciousness – we’re talking fur coats and blood diamond encrusted dresses here – and if we’re being entirely honest it began its life as an industry that existed solely by instilling customers with a feeling of lack followed by the immediate gratification of ownership.
But. At the same time it’s also an industry that attracts some of the most thought-provoking creatives of our time.
It only makes sense that the time has come to reconcile those two disparate truths.
Traditional fashion designers the world over have been experiencing a collective burnout of sorts. 2015 saw the loss of several creative directors from major fashion houses. According to The Guardian, this is due to the increasingly hectic search for markets and sales, which in turn takes its toll on those who are charged with coming up with the newest ideas to woo the public. The unbalanced quest for fast money always seems to have the same effect upon the minds and hearts of deeply creative people. According to Clarizen’s Jen Howard – a marketing professional who bridges the gap between creative teams and the business world on a regular basis – business breaks down when artists feel pressure from the money-people. They start to feel like “simple order takers, expected to produce on demand without input into long-term objectives.” Eventually the overwhelm wins out, the creatives quit their jobs, move to mountains, and that’s that.
Who can live up to the expectation of regularly producing art that everyone will adore and pay beaucoup bucks to obtain? Not many people, it turns out.
Enter the newest breed of fashion designer: the conscious creative.
In an effort to change the nature of consumerism in the fashion industry, the whole business is making a grand pivot.
Hot on the heels of 2015 New York Fashion Week, Veronique Hyland of New York Magazine noted that “luxury brands seem to be courting a customer who’s got more on her mind than this season’s fur loafers, who’s well-traveled, well-read, socially conscious, locavore, and spiritual.”
Mainstream fashion brands like Monsoon, People Tree, Pachacuti, and more are taking a spiritually and culturally aware look at their affect on the world. This manifests itself in many forms – everything from socially conscious production practices to the incorporation of the spiritual edge into the clothing designs themselves – and consumers are totally into it.
Bangkok based fashion label ISSUE Thailand draws upon the philosophical concepts of compassion and perseverance inspired by the teachings of the Dalai Lama.The result is graphic and dynamic clothing that speaks to the intermingling of spiritual life and government. It offers consumers a means of both personal and cultural expression based upon the experience of the everyday citizen, far beyond what traditional glitz-and-bling fashion ever offered.
There are some creatives who have been working in this mode for years. And it turns out that even the highest of high-end fashion houses welcome the trend with open arms. Texas-born postal worker Kermit Oliver – lauded by fashion connoisseurs as “one of the best known Hermès artists” – was humbly discovered at a Waco art fair by Jean-Louis Dumas, and is now best known for work that’s imbued with mythology, spirituality, and Native American history. His scarf designs sell for over $400 and are some of the most beloved of all the Hermès pieces.
Kermit Oliver’s simple yet bold designs have catapulted him into the role of unwitting icon. He continues to live a quiet life in Texas with his wife Katie despite his mythological-level successes. While for some designers the shift towards spirituality seemed to be externally-motivated, a reaction to a lifestyle and culture that proved draining and unsustainable, for Oliver the “allegorical and slightly mystical” temperament of his art feels deeply internalized. It’s confident. It would continue to exist whether or not the world cared for it.
On the other end of this creative-meets-business transaction, why do we as consumers feel drawn to this new incarnation of fashion? Why do we buy the Ganesha print t-shirts and pay more for the ethically produced shoes?
I honestly don’t think it comes from a negative, ego-driven place. (Which is usually the assumption when it comes to fashion, let’s be real.) Aside from the altruistic offerings of social responsibility, it’s also a fact that we live in an era where individuality is king, and it’s all too easy to get lost in din. Our choice of clothing is a way to participate in the chaos without getting lost in it. It’s a way to be in the world, not removed from it in a cave.
It’s a fine line we walk though. Spiritual materialism can get out of hand. If the desire to be seen as a spiritual person overpowers one’s actual practice, well, that’s not doing anyone any good whatsoever.
Consider for a moment that the fashion choices we make are a means of reaching out into the world and connecting with like-minded people.
It’s a way to do it without making a big fuss and without proclaiming yourself as a Buddhist or Yogi or crystal lover to the whole world. These new spiritually-inclined developments in fashion are a convenient opportunity for the quieter personalities to make themselves known, and perhaps to connect with like-minded people.
So go ahead, if you see someone wearing a tree of life shirt, say something to them. And see where the conversation leads.