BTS’s V hits the mark with his fashionable floral ensemble, if it was only sustainable fashion, it would be perfect.
Fashion has a major impact on the natural world - from the decline of bird species in the 1800s and early 1900s for feathers in ladies hats that precipitated the Migratory Bird Treaty, to today’s mass production of polyester clothes, an oil-based plastic that doesn't biodegrade and can remain in landfills for hundreds of years and whose toxins from the production process can leach into the soil and contaminate water. Each year over 200 million trees are cut down to be transformed into textiles for clothing, and most for fast, throw-away fashion. These trees are logged, processed with chemicals, dissolved into wood pulp, and then transformed into cellulosic fabrics like viscose, rayon, lyocell, modal, and cupro. Our desire for the newest and latest fashions has a major impact on the world’s plants.
Sometimes these things are easier to see when looking at another culture. Koreans seem to have taken American capitalism to the n-teenth level. (Disclaimer: Don’t get me wrong in my reflection on global capitalism below. I love Korean aesthetic: their art with a naturalistic influence, culture, food, shows. So no offense meant to South Korea). Its a fascinating phenomenon to watch from an outsiders perspective, seeing another culture, a much newer player in the global markets than the U.S., live out hyper-consumption in their lives and sell it to others across the world. They’ve been quite successful at strategically selling K-pop, K-fashion, and K-food around the world and it’s what’s helped pull their economy out of the depths of war, poverty and struggle to the GDP powerhouse they are today. In other words, they do hyper-capitalism really, really well, better than us I’d say. And, it offers a lot to reflect upon about the way capitalist cultures engage with the natural world. Love it or leave it, its the world we live in.
Take V of BTS (aka Kim Taehyung), for example, a fashion icon in the Korean entertainment industry and ambassador for several luxury brands. (I know, he’s off the radar right now serving his time in the mandatory Korean military so we have to live with old news about him in the meantime). He’s known as a mostly down-to-earth guy, living the life of a global pop superstar. His influence on fashion and consumption is like lightning striking. Like many top K-pop idols, what he wears in public will sell out in minutes after his photo in said brand shows up online.
But I digress. The point that fashion has an impact on the plants and habitats through encouraging over-consumption and production process is secondary to this….I looove V’s floral outfit!
Floral fashion is a hit or miss in my opinion. It can either be overblown, loud, flowery mess or a tasteful call out to botanical art traditions across the world. V hit the bullseye with his floral ensemble from the Parisian fashion house Casablanca that he wore during his 2021 L.A. Permission to Dance concert. An outfit like this could help bring back botany to the “cool” category as it was in days of yesteryear.
Let’s break down this outfit is a glorious example of floral print in the tradition of true botanical art. The orange poppies and other flowers are botanically accurate as are the leaves and illustrated dragonflies. To me the style harkens back to Minwha art, a traditional Korean art practiced by the common people during the Joeseon era that often depicted the flora and fawna of the land in informal ways. The denim bomber jacket made from Italian cotton includes graphics of Asian characters in calligraphy and blocks and colors with a decidedly Asian feel. Plus, some reference to wavy ping-pong paddles, a much loved sport in Asia. Of course, I am no fashionista. I can only name three things I love about fashion currently: botanically accurate floral prints, Tan France’s french tuck, and V’s style (most of the time). My read on this outfit may be totally different than the designers intended, but it looks to me like a perfect blend of traditional botanical art and modern styles, so I’m going with that.
In case you were wondering, you can’t get this outfit anywhere, it sold out shortly after V wore it. Now if we could only get him to dress in sustainable fashion, the world would be a better place and botany would be cool again.
