The algorithm is killing creativity

And fast fashion is monetizing on it.

I've always been the type of woman who likes to go errands to take inspiration from shop windows. But now I feel like there's nothing to take inspo from.

Everything looks the same. I'm not kidding. EVERYTHING looks the EXACT SAME, doesn't matter what shop window you're looking at. It's just so boring.

I can say I'm now bored of a thing I used to really enjoy doing when I was younger. Not that fast fashion didn't exist back then, but the fact that I was just a pre-teen/teen girl who wanted to experiment with trends made everything more acceptable, even desirable.

Fast fashion made everything easy. I didn't have to make so much effort to tap into the next trend or even multiple trends at the same time: the solution was just under my nose or no more than one shop window away.

I could shop until I dropped, like a greedy child on a pack of Smarties. I could feel the sugar rush pumping in after every purchase. For the record, I have never gone too far (I have always been financially conscious) but I liked to buy little treats for myself, like for example jewelry. I was obsessed with jewelry. Like…too much, WAY TO MUCH. Especially with earrings. I had tons of earrings. But also a lot of bracelets and necklaces. In conclusion, I used to have tons of everything. But everything was cheap. And, soon or later, all chickens come home to roost. When I started to grow up into adulthood I realized how low value was the majority of my wardrobe (but especially accessories, which represented what I was used to buy the most) and I started to feel dissatisfaction. A real, deep, haunting dissatisfaction towards how bad I spent my money.

Do you know what happened next? Since I hate waste and almost everything was in good condition, I donated everything I wasn't enjoying anymore to charity and I slowly started to rebuild my wardrobe from top to bottom. I wanted it to reflect my evolving taste and personality. My uniqueness as an individual. And, ultimately, I wanted it to communicate how much I cared about the quality and durability of everything I would have bought from then on.

But in this process I finally realized how difficult it is to be different in a world that wants us to look all the same.

It was difficult for me to find something that would scream “It's so me, it's Martina”. And that's when I finally turned my attention to vintage fashion and secondhand. But since there's enough to write another chapter, I'll set it aside for now because I don't want to lose the focus of this article.

The muffled room

I'm going straight to the point: algorithms work as a collective anesthesia. Why? Because led us to think there's no other, not even a single one, having a different point of view than ours.

Photo by Reshma Mallecha on Pexels

And when the bubble finally collapse, we end up extremely disappointed. Algorithm is a very effective machine that keeps on feeding us with WHAT WE WANT TO SEE. Not what we need to see. And that's a huge difference.

Algorithms are made to make us think there are no contradictions.

So we end up living in a bubble full of aesthetically pleasing content which is a reflection of what we like, value and want the most…but I think in the long run this mechanisms is going to hurt us rather than liberate us from difficulties.

The lack of contradictions makes difficult to learn from different perspectives. The lack of communication makes even harder to try to understand other's point of view.

So everyone ends up living in its own bubble without really interacting with anyone. Everyone looks the same, since nothing is challenging the personal status quo at the basis of apparent quietness.

I think the success of fast fashion fits into a broader context than it might seem and that social medias exacerbated a process that was already going on, even if (maybe) at more underground level.

We have been taught to never challenge the system, otherwise we might face problems. And the system is working to divide us in communities of like-minded people who distrust anyone who seems to be different.

And in a context like that, fast fashion is the absolute winner when it comes to make people the copy of each other. Or at least is so unless someone decides to don't adhere to the imperative and trending aesthetics.

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Do we even know what we want?

Let's say, for sake of example, that a dog is constantly fed exclusively with dog biscuits because are the most economic choice. The owner acts only paying attention to finances, but not to dog's health. And the dog himself knows that biscuits, despite being delicious, are not going to provide enough nutrients for a balanced diet. In fact the dog starts becoming sick more frequently than dogs that are fed properly.

Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels

This metaphor serves a specific purpose, which is asking a very simple question: if we know that fast fashion is harmful to us, to the environment and to all the workers who are exploited, why do we continue to buy from it? Why do we continuously fed ourselves with clothes that contains poisonous chemicals? Why, even if we see and know the consequences, don't act accordingly?

I often hear people saying they really care about the environmental consequences of fashion but can't help but keep on buying from fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion solely for an economic factor. I know that not everyone can spend a lot of money in clothing, but at the same time this shouldn't be an excuse to overlook responsibilities. I personally think, as adults, we always have the power to choose what to do in everyday life about ourselves. And that's why, if someone is not able to buy expensive clothes, then it's totally fine to have less.

It's better have less things of higher quality rather than a lot of low quality.

As adults we should be able to stand up for ourselves and clearly decide to opt out of the trend cicle, because if we support that we are going to invest in things that are not worth our money, time and effort.

Believe me, you are not going to starve if you don't buy something from the latest trending aesthetic. You are going to suffer if you try to do it.

Buying loads of crap has most impactful consequences than accurately investing in something that really counts: the investment is going to repay itself on the long run, the crap is not.

We have to ask to ourselves what we truly believe helps us build a long term happiness: only by knowing what to prioritize we can finally make shifts in our consumers behavior.

The lost art of good taste

I know, I know…taste is subjective. But at the same time is not, because needs a bit of objectivity. After all, good taste makes easier the process of discrimination between something of a good enough quality and something which is simply not even worth the time observing.

Photo by Liza Summer on Pexels

Good taste is what differentiates us from others. And by that I mean that, despite the partial nature of objectivity, the other half of subjectivity is more than enough to make everyone different.

Personal taste is what save us from anonymity.

I bet no one wants to end up in oblivion, then why are we doing everything to don't be remembered? Is it because we fear so much to stand out?

But guess what? At the end of the day no one is going to care about whether or not you're going to buy the latest trend. No one is going to shut you down for being a little different. Try with tiny steps, then when you start becoming more comfortable try push the boundaries of the current comfort zone even further.

Evolve into your most authentic self. Unapologetically.

For me, this meant exploring different styles and deciding to buy from the secondhand market. It also meant starting to appreciate handmade things and learning to crochet (thanks to my mom who passed down her knowledge to me).

Now I'm addicted to my uniqueness, and I'm not willing to trade it for anything else.

My uniqueness comes from my creativity, my sense of self and my curiosity to explore new styles. Don't let yours die, don't let fashion industry dictate who you should be or what you should like. Don't let anyone decide for you, this is your one and only life.

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Thank you for reading all the way to here! If you enjoy what I do, consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Every little bit means the world!

I give you my best regards. We’ll see again soon!

Yours truly,

Martina.