Undress Runways: Redefining The Ethical Fashion Essay.

Discuss about the Creative Enterpreneurship Undress Runways Company.

Undress Runways Company is a platform that is focused on redefining the fashion industry. Besides the runway shows, Undress runways has other core targets that include alerting the urgent need for change in the fashion industry by recognising and celebrating the inventive creation certain good ethical designers from all around the world (Sciencedirect.com, 2018). The purpose of this case study is to show how the Undress Runways Company achieves to make ethical fashion default. This involves bringing an assemblage of designs together and showcasing ethical attires mainly through the annual runway show and making it public the necessity to have a fashion industry that merits ethical practices (Godart et al., 2015).

Located in Brisbane, Australia, Undress Runways is one of the leading sustainable fashion companies in Australia. The company has an extended influence on the fashion industry as it aims to bring up trends that are ethical and sustainable in the market. The organization was founded by Edda Hamar in 2011 with a crystal clear mission to reinvent the Australian fashion base and influence the world at large by opening eyes to a different world of collections that consider ethics, smart textiles, technology that is wearable, zero-waste designs and high end couture that is made from recycled material. When it comes to the runways by Undress, the main theme is promoting an eco-friendly and ethical fashion which the company believes is the direction that the fashion industry should take into the future. The views of the company believe that if you don’t know where it was made, how it was made and what it was made from, it is something you should not wear (Jones et al., 2016).

 Undress Runways stands for diversity, smart and eco-friendly textiles, equality, sustainability and respect. All these can be termed as success factors for the company. The runways organized by this company feature designs from both established and upcoming designers who showcase their work. (Battaglia et al., 2014))However this company is not all about clothes and fashion runways. They also bring to light ethical issues in the fashion industry such as child labour in factories concerned with fashion, unethical production method and harmful products used in manufacturing industries that are not only harmful to the environment but also to human beings. Throughout the years, Undress Runways has gained a great amount of recognition worldwide in the fashion industry and has worked with many designers, and managed to host a couple of runway shows. The company also engages in fashion campaigns in collaboration with well-known fashion bloggers.

Opportunity recognition

Therefore, certain ethical and theoretical perspective has also been observed in this case. In an organisation, every member should get an opportunity to treat equally and continue his or her employment without any biasness (Niinimäki, 2015). In this company, certain opportunities are provided to the employees. The company makes various ethical considerations so that their product could not affect the individual and the environment as well.

The Undress Runways projects and campaigns started in 2011. Edda Hamar, the founder, realized the need to set a trend in the fashion industry that would arise to great changes in the coming future. Being the director of the company, she is keen to showcase and celebrate the works of sustainable designers from all over the globe (Posner, Williams & Posner, 2015). Having a good market base in Australia, the company holds annual runway events which are meant to educate, encourage, bring awareness and inspire Australian consumers to appreciate sustainable fashion. The need to educate and create awareness is the major reason behind annual events held by the company in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. While Edda might be a fashion advocate and enthusiast now, fashion was not always in her bucket list. Born in Iceland, her growing up was summed up by worldwide travels. While sailing on a 48-foot yacht with her family, they settled on the Gold Coast and for her teenage life, she grew up in Bonogin Valley. She eventually came into conclusion at age 12 that she would pursue a career in events organizing, in particular the Olympic Games (Chan, Ngai & Moon, 2017).

 Fashion for her was just a whim, and her very first fashion show with a friend. In this show, something she did just to challenge herself. Post that, her and some friends came together and Undress Brisbane was launched. It may seem deceptively simple but looking back at her launching years; Edda recalls the frustrations she encountered as it is extremely difficult for a start-up business especially in the fashion industry to take root (Success in Entrepreneurship, 2015). She held a Master’s in Business Marketing, which came in handy but she has to somewhat start from scratch, learning all about fashion from fashion shows and fliers. She found it challenging to master the fashion jargon quickly, fashion shows and what they entailed and what worked and did not work on the runway. Getting manpower was also a problem as the staffs are run by a team of volunteers. However, her efforts did add up in the end and Undressed Runways, which is the name it goes by, now, is a celebrated success (Australia News, 2010).

Value Addition to users

Undress Runways is the largest sustainable fashion runway show in Australia. It embraces volunteers to take part in the creative works of the company. This helps the youth to get engaged in exploring their passion in the fashion industry, learning new ideas and expressing their creativity. The company has also given a platform for eco-friendly and ethical sustainable designers to showcase their work on a platform that can be recognized across the globe. Following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh in 2013, killing 1,134 people and left over a thousand other injured, Undress Runways has used this to bring to life the social and ethical injustices within the fashion industry. Production companies and consumers as well have become more conscious to the impact that both manufacturing and purchasing choices have on the industry workers and also on the environment.

Undress Runways has been advertised throughout the world with the help of social media. The company’s website is easily accessible through internet. The company has also used various techniques in their resources to guarantee that they have a greater audience. They have created a publication named The Naked Magazine that educates what Undress Runways is about, sustainable factors in fashion, entertainment and various ethical issues related to the fashion industry. Undress Runways also hosts runway events which attract a great audience (Niinimäki, 2015). The aim of the event is to showcase the work of the great designers affiliated with the company’s mission. In January 2016, the company has launched a garment line with the label VIHN that has transformed the garment industry. VIHN is an Icelandic word meaning friend, which is purposed to remind consumers that there are actual real people behind the label and behind the clothes. Proceeds from sales also go to a meaningful course. For example, if you buy a VIHN dress, you are providing child-care for the workers.

Considering the facts, it is recommended that if any individual aspires to make an entry into the fashion industry then they should lay out a plan idea that will both be eco-friendly and safe for all when it comes to the production and manufacturing process. According to a survey, it has been noted that in most manufacturing industries, a lot of people have succumbed to illness due to the types of harmful products used. In Bangladesh on 24^th April 2013, a number amounting to 1129 people lost their lives after a factory came to the ground. Awareness should be raised to the mainstream brands and factories that unethical production should cease. Cases of factories collapsing and environmental destruction by the fashion industry is an issues that should not proceed into the future. While fashion is always a trending topic, designers could use social media platforms like twitter, Instagram, Facebook, fashion blogs and websites to even let people behind the clothes they design to be aware that while looking good and fashionable matters, it is also key to do so in an ethical way. The issue of sustainability of the fashion industry affects us all. On a day to day basis we are making choices of what to wear, where to buy it from and just how much though we are putting into such decisions.

Conclusions

The mega contributing factor to the success of Undress Runways is that its innovative ideas and works have not been done yet by any other major company in the fashion industry. The success of the expansion from Undress Brisbane to Undress Runways provided an opportunity for Edda to work on The Naked Magazine, a publication that elevates Undress Runways and shows what really goes on behind the scenes in the industry. The Naked Magazine is brimmed with informative articles about the impact that fashion has on the environment. It also exposes how fashion workers are treated unethically and the thin line between designers and the production. The publication does not come shy as being confrontational but the aim is to acknowledge what actually goes on for change to be able to take place. It has received great support from not just people in Australia but also in many countries across the world (Burns, Mullet & Bryant, 2016). In addition, it has received partnership from other organizations and companies that share in values of Undress Runways, giving the company a good support system.

References:

Battaglia, M., Testa, F., Bianchi, L., Iraldo, F., & Frey, M. (2014). Corporate social responsibility and competitiveness within SMEs of the fashion industry: Evidence from Italy and France. Sustainability, 6(2), 872-893.

Burns, L. D., Mullet, K. K., & Bryant, N. O. (2016). The business of fashion: Designing, manufacturing, and marketing. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Chan, A. T., Ngai, E. W., & Moon, K. K. (2017). The effects of strategic and manufacturing flexibilities and supply chain agility on firm performance in the fashion industry. European Journal of Operational Research, 259(2), 486-499.

Godart, F. C., Maddux, W. W., Shipilov, A. V., & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). Fashion with a foreign flair: Professional experiences abroad facilitate the creative innovations of organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 58(1), 195-220.

Jones, C., Svejenova, S., Pedersen, J. S., & Townley, B. (2016). Misfits, mavericks and mainstreams: Drivers of innovation in the creative industries.

Niinimäki, K. (2015). Ethical foundations in sustainable fashion. Textiles and Clothing Sustainability, 1(1), 3.

Posner, H., Williams, S., & Posner, H. (2015). Marketing fashion: strategy, branding and promotion. Laurence King Publishing.

Sciencedirect.com. (2018). Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences | 19th International Scientific Conference "Economics and Management 2014 (ICEM-2014)" | ScienceDirect.com. [online] Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/18770428/156/supp/C [Accessed 26 Aug. 2018].

Undress runways (2018). Retrieved from https://www.undressrunways.com/#undress