sjsprWriting

H&M, a clothing store, collaborated with Balmain, a design house, to create an more affordable couture clothing line. The line went to sale today, November 5th. I was honetly really excited for this. Balmain can make really beautiful pieces of clothing, but of course, they are priced at thousands of dollars every article. This collection was a way to get my hands on something that resemble Balmain, but is not an immitation. 

With school, the soccer game, and my friend's birthday dinner I did not have time to go online and buy from this line until around 9pm. When I logge in, I expected some pieces to be sold out already, but boy I was in shock. EVERY SINGLE article of clothing was sold out. It was as if everybody who bought from there thought like me: "Well since I can't afford the real Balmain, let me at least get this." But why is that? 

I feel like our generation is so wrapped up in this consumerism that make us want only brand names. It's like if our worth was based on who we wear. This new line, that didn't even last a day in sotres, is the perfect example. People went out of their way to make sure the they have their hands on these clothes, but why? Yeah, it is pretty, but there are a lot of prettier, off-brand clothing out there that our generation seems to ignore. Maybe it is because we just want the label of a prestigious and expensive brand on the top-back part of their clothes. 

This bring me to another question. Did H&M and Balmain do this collaboration purely for profit. I mean that is pretty stupid, of course they did. But think about it, they probably do not care about the fact that they are making this chic clothing more accessible to the public, that was just an excuse to make the line. They probably exploited this competitive drive of our generation that competes on "who has more stuff" and used that to their advantage; that is why the poster child for this campaign was Kendall freaking Jenner. Who is more influencial for girls out age than her? No one. Whatever she is wearing becomes a trend the next day. People follow her and want what she has and H&M knows that. 

I feel tricked. I feel like they made this as a way to make money, not to expand fashion to those who can't afford it. What people wear gives them a sense of pride and self-worth. I believe it is good to feel confident in what you wear. This become an issue though when companies use this for their own benefit. They manage to turn everybody against each other and just spend money to beat each other.