120: Reality Check-The Global Impact of Paris as Fashion's Capital

The New Paris Podcast

(Special two-part episode!) Every season, all eyes are on the Parisian runways as onlookers try to get a peak at what big and disruptive trends await for the following year. But few know about the history of how this industry came to be, the role of colonialism in its development, and how the industry upholds many of the same ideas and practices today. As you will discover, the legacy of colonialism lives on within the fashion industry, and not only in France. You’re going to hear from a fashion historian, environmental journalists, and activists over the course of the next two episodes who will help me unpack the darker side to la mode, why it’s crucial to amend old ways and correct for generations of unethical labor and overproduction, and what the idea of decolonizing fashion really means.

GUESTS

Aja Barber, activist and author of Consumed

Khémaïs Ben Lakhdar, fashion historian, lecturer, & PhD candidate at Paris-1 La Sorbonne

Esha Chhabra, journalist and author of Working to Restore

Catherine Dauriac, President of Fashion REvolution France

SOURCES

The King of Couture: The Atlantic

The Empire of Fashion and the Rise of Capitalism in 18th century France (William H. Sewell)

Colonialism's Clothing (Victoria L. Rovine)

Aja on Al Jazeera

Tiffanie Darke's Substack "It's Not Sustainable"

Clothing landfills in Ghana's textile market

Waste Colonialism

Special thanks to Matthew Jordan for producing and editing this episode.