Eileen Fisher and Inclusivity

- March 13, 2019

In a high-end department store, image is important. What is glamorous, exquisite, and even excessive are demanded. An impossible standard that is supposed to represent beauty and success which very few people even in middle to upper class society can achieve. And in the haze of beheld desire, something that I have noticed recently is more women coming in looking for plus-sized garments, and not having any options to purchase. I realized as we come into the first wave of the 2019 spring / summer collection, I felt badly telling these women that we cannot service them.

I never felt uncomfortable about the way we as a society treat plus-sized women. In my previous fashion retailer store, I would often hear complaints when I directed customers to the plus-sized section, "Nice. Stick us in the back." And while we had a fair collection of merchandise, the placement in the store was marketed without much compassion. When I was encountering these customers several years ago, I didn't really care about their needs, but I didn't really care about fashion either. For me, fashion was the de facto elite system where only a small percentage of what I falsely perceived to be genetically superior people had any real business being involved in.

And that is what this article is about - compassion. But...is there compassion in fashion?

There are many assets and liabilities in the fashion industry; it employs 60 million people world-wide,¹but it is also one of the greatest polluters in the world.² Clothes become almost worthless by the end of the season, and even the way they are treated in-store by the time they go down to clearance never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes, there seems to be no soul in fashion, despite its designs being inherently creative and born of passion.

But there is one designer who is able to be successful, bring dignity to people of all body types, and design and create sustainable pieces. And sustainable is a key word. Sustainability permits inclusivity. Eileen Fisher³ gives more credit to design than to fashion. Fashion is trend based, it changes frequently, and pieces are often times not fit to be recycled or reused in later seasons. What for a few brief months is coveted and unattainable for many, soon finds its fate in a landfill.

But design starts simple and basic, evolving as it takes note of what customers want, and how its vision expands though experience and maturity - this is the first indicator of sustainability. Another indicator is that the pieces, being simple, are classic and not only require little attention to detail, they can last a decade (or longer!). And finally, what is possibly Eileen Fisher's crowning accomplishment - creating eco-friendly and or organic pieces.

Fisher's collections are reliable, and fit slim to large, as well as petite (another demographic which is excluded from the fashion industry). Her beauty, maturity, and spirit are so powerful, and the way she supports her community and her customers demonstrates that there is a huge possibility for other designers to follow suit. Pun intended.

The new name of the game in fashion is inclusivity, and Eileen Fisher is leading the way with humility, intelligence, fearlessness, intuition, and compassion. Because no matter what the media has taught us for generations, there is a place in fashion for the health of the world, the respect of the woman, and the dream of the romantic.