The Death of Elegance: How Fast Fashion Killed Craftsmanship
The Disappearance of Artisanal Craftsmanship
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At the start of the year, I enrolled in a dressmaking course at my local community college, rekindling my love for creation since graduating. There’s something beautifully feminine and deeply practical about mastering this skill and I can already see myself carrying this craft with me through life as it’s fulfilling my soul.
However, as I begin sourcing my materials and navigating the overwhelming choice of fabrics, I can’t help but reflect on my strong stance against fast fashion. Elsa Schiaparelli was a surrealist visionary, Vivienne Westwood redefined high fashion while championing social change, and Stella McCartney remains committed to sustainability in her designs. Yet, despite all this history and innovation, we still turn to Shein…How did we get into this mess?
Once upon a time, fashion was a story told through the hands of skilled artisans, embroiderers, weavers and tailors whose expertise transformed fabric into wearable art. Every stitch was intentional, every seam a testament to technique honed over generations. Yet, in today’s era of fast fashion, where speed and volume reign supreme, true craftsmanship has been pushed to the margins, if not erased altogether.
The shift from artisanal fashion to mass production has been nothing short of seismic. In the past, garments were custom-made, and tailored to the individual, with an emphasis on quality and longevity. Now, clothes are designed for obsolescence. Cut, sewn, signed sealed, delivered within days, only to be discarded after a season or two. The rise of fast fashion has sacrificed elegance for efficiency, replacing the artistry of slow, thoughtful creation with mechanized uniformity.
The Lost Arts: Weaving, Embroidery, and Couture Tailoring
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Among the casualties of this shift are traditional techniques once considered the pinnacle of fashion. Hand-weaving, once a cornerstone of textile production, is now a rarity. Artisanal embroidery, which once adorned haute couture gowns, is increasingly replaced by machine stitching that lacks depth and nuance. And couture tailoring, the essence of bespoke fashion, has been overshadowed by mass-market sizing that favours standardisation over precision.
Each of these lost arts tells a story; a lineage of craftsmanship that stretches back centuries. Weaving, for instance, was once a labour-intensive process that reflected regional traditions and identities. A handwoven garment wasn’t just fabric; it was history, culture, and technique interwoven into a single piece. The same can be said for embroidery, which transformed garments into canvases of intricate storytelling. The painstaking artistry of haute couture, once celebrated by the likes of Christian Dior and Balenciaga, is now a niche luxury, inaccessible to most and largely displaced by factory-line production.
The Price of Cheap Fashion
Fast fashion’s dominance isn’t merely an aesthetic loss. It comes at a social and environmental cost. The push for cheaper production has led to the exploitation of labour in developing countries, where garment workers toil under unsafe conditions for dismal wages. In the race to produce faster and cheaper, synthetic fabrics have replaced natural fibres, leading to environmental degradation and mountains of textile waste.
Image: Taken by myself, MacCulloch & Wallis, Soho, London
What was once an industry defined by skill and precision is now dictated by quarterly earnings and viral trends. Consumers, conditioned by constant newness, have come to expect instant gratification, further driving the demand for disposable fashion—the very idea of a garment as an investment. Something to be worn, cherished, and passed down has been replaced by the mindset of quick consumption and inevitable disposal.
Can Craftsmanship Be Revived?
Despite the bleak landscape, hope is not entirely lost. A growing movement of independent designers and slow-fashion advocates is championing a return to craftsmanship. Bespoke tailoring, hand-loomed textiles, and small-batch production are re-emerging in niche markets, driven by consumers who value quality over quantity. Vintage and second-hand fashion are also experiencing a renaissance, challenging the notion that new is always better.
The path forward requires a shift in both industry practices and consumer mindset. True fashion, the kind that craftsmanship once embodied cannot coexist with a system built on speed and waste. Suppose we are to reclaim fashion’s lost artistry. In that case, we must move away from the disposable and return to the deliberate, celebrating the hands that create rather than the machines that replicate.
The death of elegance isn’t irreversible, but its revival depends on our willingness to choose timeless craftsmanship over fleeting trends. The question is: Are we ready to bring artistry back to fashion?
Image: Pinterest