The pressure behind the glamorous fashion industry, bullying and discrimination

The outside world believes that the fashion industry is full of fantasy, but the shadow behind the industry is huge.

According to the fashion business news, Fashionista and A Fashionable Pause have jointly launched a survey project on bullying in the fashion industry. An anonymous survey of 640 industry insiders engaged in public relations, editing, retailing and design collected information about bullying, over-stress and The data on life and work cannot be balanced, aiming to expose the status quo of the fashion industry and stimulate change. The survey results show that the bullying problem in the fashion industry is still very serious.

The investigation first revealed the most serious bullying problem in the industry. In this investigation, bullying is defined as a health-hazardous abuse, threat, humiliation or intimidation; interference, destruction or prevention of completion of work. More than 60% of respondents said that the occurrence of bullying behavior is the normal state of their work environment. 81% of respondents said they had been bullied by their colleagues.

In terms of the form of bullying, 72% of respondents claimed that their boss would use public humiliation as a form of punishment. 60% of the people said that they were threatened by their bosses with words such as "There are dozens of people waiting for you, if you don't want it, you will leave." Another 77% of respondents said they were being slandered and insulted at work.

One more respondent wrote an anonymous letter to the investigation team describing his colleagues’ anonymous cyberbullying on Twitter, deliberately excluding others from company parties or meetings, and abusive behavior. In the entire industry, employees are not respected as commonplace. Another interviewee spoke of extreme cases, saying that his colleagues were fired and rehired three times by the same large company. This clearly shows that employees can handle and replace them at will. "We are worth nothing."

Bullying from the boss also includes unreasonable demands or becoming a scapegoat. 82% of the respondents indicated that their supervisors often made unrealistic demands. 51% said that they are often used by their superiors to do private things that are not related to work. Another 76% of the participants said that they were used as scapegoats by their superiors, which led to a low level of trust among their employees, and 87% of them did not trust their supervisors to discuss issues.

In addition to being bullied by a boss or a colleague, overwork and its disproportionate salary are another key point in the industry's unhealthy environment. The survey shows that half of the respondents work more than 50 hours a week, and most practitioners do not balance work and life well.

About one-third of respondents said they worked overtime for more than 10 hours a week. 76% of respondents said they often feel "not when they can go to eat or go to the bathroom" in their work environment. In addition, 83% of respondents indicated that even if they are on vacation, they expect to be able to contact them via SMS or email. Another interviewee complained that the fashion industry is underpaid, overworked and has no benefits.

At the same time, the glamorous fashion industry always requires practitioners to be radiant and beautiful, but in fact most people's wages can not support his demand for appearance. More than 62% of respondents said that the environment requires them to wear more than the ability to pay.

“Looking at the face” has also become the norm in the workplace. Almost half of the respondents said they had received negative feedback about their dress or appearance at work. A staff member mentioned in the interview that he was once praised by a famous publishing group editor. Although she is very smart, she looks too "fierce" for the paper media industry, so she is required to make serious makeup, otherwise she can only Work in the digital department because it only needs to look "creative". The editor-in-chief also refused to provide an opportunity for an employee to be promoted because of the reason that it seems to be inconsistent with the magazine's gas field, that is, it is not thin enough or beautiful enough.

The picky and prejudice against the body is not only found in the magazine industry, but also in the retail industry. A “big size” female respondent said that colleagues often complained and ridiculed that all fat people are lazy and do not understand why fat people can tolerate themselves. Another manager said that she believes that all stores should not have fat, because they should be ashamed of having such a figure. And all these words are said in front of the interviewee.

Discrimination against race and religion is a commonplace in the fashion world. For example, the refusal of Muslim staff to wear a specific dress during the holiday season, and one interviewee mentioned that his colleague often called the names of three completely disliked black employees, or joking them, but ironically, the office has eight light browns. The skin of the women, several of them still look very similar, but never been confused.

In addition to racial discrimination, it is not uncommon for women to be disrespectful in industries where women are predominant. As one interviewee said, “I want to go home and rest after 10 hours of work every day, but I was publicly criticized for refusing to participate in a gathering with the company’s male investors (aged with my father). When I think we are the props that the company uses to attract investors."

More serious than the harsh working atmosphere, practitioners believe that their prospects in the industry are not bright. More than 85% of respondents said they have no confidence in their connections. 79% of respondents said they need to “pay the price” to have a better chance in the industry. Approximately 84% of respondents said they were considering leaving the fashion industry. Of the half of the respondents who have worked in other industries, 77.5% believe that the previous industry environment is healthier than it is now. One interviewee reluctantly said that he has not heard positive career stories in the fashion or retail industry.

In fact, there are many reality show shows in the United States, such as "Project Runway" and "America's Next Top Model". The intrigues, tit-for-tat and the mentor's poisonous tongue comments are often discussed by the public. Whether it is a drama component or a real situation is difficult to study, but the intensity of competition in the fashion industry is obvious to all.

It is worth noting that not only the lower-level professionals suffer from anxiety and pressure in the fashion industry, but the high-ranking employees are also suffering from the industry environment. Lucinda Chambers, a veteran fashion director who has worked for the British version of Vogue for 25 years, spoke to the British independent fashion magazine Vestoj when she left, talking about the details of her dismissal by the new editor, Edward Enninful, and when she was at Marni and Vogue. The insider of the industry has even criticized the general anxiety in the industry, saying that “the fashion world is a group of worried people.”

In this article entitled "Will I Get A Ticket?", she said she was suddenly fired by the new editor, the Personnel Department, her 25-year colleague, and the chairman. Even the publishers didn't know about it. "It took only three minutes for them to make this decision." She continued, fast fashion has raised expectations for big groups such as LVMH, and business has forced designers to let every creative person think like a businessman, always wanting faster and want more. The design of 8 to 16 series a year puts the designer under pressure and is prone to alcoholism, dependence on drugs or mental breakdown. Today's fashion also lacks tolerance for failure, and everyone can go out at any time.

She also revealed that she was greatly dismissed after being fired. "Most of the people who leave Vogue will feel the difference. It turns out that your personal value has never been higher than the value of the company." But she believes that she will not be anxious about these things. As can be seen from an interview with Lucinda Chambers, anxiety is spread throughout the industry.

Some analysts believe that if the above problems are allowed to breed, ravage, or even become a "culture" in the industry, then those who stand tall will eventually be willing to do anything in a bullying, discrimination, and overtime environment, or The person who believes that the above behavior is correct.

Although the sample size of the fashion industry bullying phenomenon is small, it still has a warning effect on the industry. As practitioners, everyone has an obligation to work for a healthy industry environment, and the responsibility of the fashion media is to stimulate discussion. As Vestoj magazine said earlier, such discussions will make fashion media more "powerful and useful."