Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.17234/SocEkol.30.1.3
In the Circuit of (Post)Modernity: Students’ Perspective on Fast and Ethical Fashion Consumption
Ivana Brstilo Lovrić
orcid.org/0000-0003-0969-7409
; Odjel za sociologiju, Hrvatsko katoličko sveučilište, Ilica 242, 10 000 Zagreb
Marta Šuća
orcid.org/0000-0003-3983-3264
Paula Zujić
orcid.org/0000-0001-5638-1832
Abstract
This research aims to fill the gap in the existing literature on fashion consumption by looking at the Croatian context. As referential literature shows that students have particularly active fashion interests, our qualitative research focused on the student population by using the method of focus groups with a total of 24 students over 4 meetings in mid-2020. The general goal was to examine students’ fashion practices in their everyday lives, with the emphasis on the principles of fast and ethical fashion consumption, to determine their dominant profiles/models. Although the research participants were not provided with specific information about the (non)ethical practices of fashion stores and generally consumed fast fashion, they were open to ethical products, believing that fashion should not be a source for the oppression of the actors involved. The findings also revealed the existence of a (post)modern consumer conflict, with participants characterizing themselves as fashion individualists who followed the fashion trends (most were inspired by fashion content from their surrounding as well as various media and social networks), while at the same time denying any influence on their consumer choices. In developing their lists of fashion investments, they balanced between quality and quantity, often revealing themselves as mass exclusivists. The demonstrated complexity and hybridity of students’ fashion consumption was interpreted in the context of (post)modern lifestyle ambivalence and we indicate the need for better education and social engagement of students on this topic.
Keywords
fashion consumption; fast fashion; ethical fashion; students; Croatia; (post)modernity
Hrčak ID:
256293
URI
Publication date:
22.4.2021.
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