As Communications Director for Fashion Roundtable and as the founder of Black Neon Digital there are a lot of synergies between the work I do and how through both platforms we aim to support the fashion industry.
The subject of our own wellbeing and how that plays into the long term sustainability of the industry is something that Tamara, founder of Fashion Roundtable, and I discuss frequently. We are busy mums, juggling priorities and various roles in work and life, all with the aim to create a better world for ourselves, our families and extended fashion family. Recently I was asked to attend Voices of Fashion on Mental Health, an event that Tamara also spoke at. It has taken a while to get this article online, particularly because of the sensitive nature of the subject. It by no means covers every issue in depth, but it does start to open the conversation.
Tamara and I had long ago decided to do a wellbeing event as part of the Fashion Roundtable offering, which will be in the spring, so please take time to read this article, and look out for our special wellbeing event.
Fashion is a unique blend of creativity and business. When the balance is found the results can be remarkable. Seeing a creative concept come to life, sell, make people smile and connect with others through an unspoken language is thoroughly rewarding. Fashion demands a commercial element and perhaps this is why it is often viewed as less noble than other creative outlets such as art, dance, music.
A champion of creating an inclusive fashion industry, Caryn Franklin, who opened the event (and spoken at two Fashion Roundtable events last year) believes that we must change the fashion industry from within.
We need to cut the cycle. There is a lot of manipulation, there is abusive behaviour within the fashion industry. The first problem we have is the lack of information. Many people do not know what is abuse, and how to identify that correctly.
Jodi Muter-Hamilton: Black Neon Digital, Communications Partner for Fashion Roundtable.