The Characteristics and Aesthetic Values of Slow Fashion from a Social Viewpoint

Abstract

Slow fashion can be viewed as an activism that provides an alternative solution to the problematic issues of fast fashion in a practical sense; however, (from a theoretical point of view) it is a fashion phenomenon arising from the criticism of an accelerating society. Slowness emphasizes the virtues of moderation. Slowness refers to the recovery of human ethics that have been neglected due to the goal-oriented nature of an accelerating society. Slowness can solve the problem of conformity and discrimination in society through pluralism and respect for local indigenousness. The characteristics of slow fashion can be defined by the aesthetic values of circularity, sustainability, moderation, expressivity and convergence. This includes the beauty of circularity (which views the relationships of all processes as organic), the beauty of sustainability (which ensures the maintenance of continuous emotions and the durability of products that can be promoted through slow processes), the beauty of moderation (which places importance on spiritual values and the moderate use of materials), and the beauty of expressivity (which plays the role of a social messenger that facilitates social assertion). These combined values present the beauty of convergence such as the harmony of local communities and the world in a blend of the old and the new with an exchange between producers and consumers.