The price of fashion
Every year, the “Festival for Fashion and Photography” assembles the international high fashion scene in Vienna. Right next to the glossy catwalk, vendors from developing countries make a living with fake brand goods on Austria’s largest flea market. A local inspection.
An acrid stench of cheap Asian plastic goods crosses the parking lot of the Vienna “Naschmarkt”. At the adjacent hotdog stands, homeless people quietly drink their Schnaps, while masses of people are passing them in the humid morning air. Tarik* flutters frantically around his stall, has no time for long conversations. Time is money. On a highly frequented Saturday like this the 28-year-old is under pressure. Today the Indian is one of 220 dealers at the biggest flea market in Austria. Between trashy polyester Dirndls and 3-D images with cats motifs, sloppy stitched “Messi” jerseys with crumby UNICEF print and designer belts with strange fonts on the metal buckles are also found in the range of the cheap goods seller. “This type sells very well,” says Tarik, who has been in the country for
twelve years, in broken German. He himself does not wear his clothes. “Poor quality”, he remarks with a grin. His company manufactures in India and Pakistan. “Like the others, just that the things there are still expensive,” defends the plagiarism dealer. His offers range from a pair of sunglasses, the least expensive item on the stand with five euros, to women’s bags, which are most expensive with 20 euros. But Tarik takes his liberties with the prices. The father of three children has to feed a large family in India. In times of mass production there is heavy competition. He takes what he can get.
At the same time and just minutes away, international representatives from the Fashion world meet for the nine-day “Festival for Fashion and Photography”. In the pompous Palais Schönburg Imran Amed, Editor in Chief of The Business of Fashion Internet platform, has invited two apparel companies from the luxury segment for a fashion talk. The panelists took the time to present their business models, discuss the future of the Western fashion industry in times of globalization, and strategies against low-cost production. For the Belgian investor Anne Chapelle money plays no role. Their high-class brands such as Ann Demeulemeester and Haider Ackermann produce entirely by hand. “Commerce destroys creativity. You can’t buy any good brands for less money, “criticizes the entrepreneur and sips on her miniature Vöslauer water bottle.
Dangerous greed
Meanwhile, the midday sun beats down on the Naschmarkt. Everywhere people rummage, bargain and buy. A sweaty, old man with a sombrero unloads a cart full of clothing bags on his stand. Immediately a crowd forms around him. The 27-year-old Huseyin, who pushes three bulging bags of flea market goods in a dilapidated baby carriage in front of him, takes an interested look. “I shop here because it’s cheap,” the Turkish father notices while his eyes cast down. As a skilled shoemaker, he did not find a job in Austria, now working for a few euros in a large cleaning company.
“If you sell a T-shirt for three euros, someone else is paying the price for it”, the Berlin fashion designer Kostas Murkudis points out in the Palais Schönburg. Well into the evening, the participants philosophize in a nice atmosphere about “brand prostitution”, sustainability and fair trade labels in fashion until the air in the room is used up. Time is luxury. Time to go.
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