Unit 2 Images

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 8

UNIT 2 IMAGES

1. Do you know the difference between haute couture and high-street


fashion? Read the article and check your ideas. Explain the words in bold.

What is haute couture – and why does it matter?

Staging an haute couture fashion show takes unimaginable time and


expense, and most fashion houses make their profits from lower-priced
accessories. So what is the point of gobsmackingly expensive couture?

The clothes are sumptuous, studded with pearls and Swarovski crystals;
the sets are lavish, featuring Busby Berkeley-style choreography in enchanted
forests and space-age discos. It’s safe to say that the twice-yearly couture
shows, taking place in Paris, are quite the spectacle. The prices are as
gobsmacking as the dresses: a made-to-measure ballgown could easily cost
the same as a Rolls-Royce; a blouse might be the price of an apartment in
Madrid. Which begs the question: assuming that very few would spend six
figures on a frock, what is the point of couture?

Just as car manufacturers show off their expertise through the creation of
supercars, fashion designers use couture as a statement of strength and technical
ability. Couture is a showcase for a designer’s most outrageous ideas, where
budget is no limit to ambition. It is also an expression of financial muscle.

Given that most luxury houses make the bulk of their profits not through
clothes but through handbags, wallets and perfume, does the glory justify the
expense and hours of labour? The couture houses would argue that it does. Until
recently, couture clothing was only really visible to the masses during awards
season. But in the age of social media, when the day’s most fantastical images
are hashtagged and tweeted and Instagrammed around the world, the sparkle
and glamour created by couture shows has an ever greater footprint. And so
couture has become ever more likely to spark trends.

And finally, in the age of the global super-rich, couture really does sell.
According to fashion trade magazine WWD the average age of Dior’s couture
customer has fallen, from mid 40s to early 30s, a change Dior’s chief executive
attributes to the rise of rich, tech-savvy customers in burgeoning markets
including China, Russia and the Middle East. The point of couture is clear: it’s
all about glory, pizzazz and the bottom line.

2. Read the article about fast fashion. Explain the words and phrases in
bold.

What Is Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion is the term used to describe clothing designs that move
quickly from the catwalk to stores to meet new trends. The collections are often
based on designs presented at Fashion Week events. Fast fashion allows
mainstream consumers to purchase trendy clothing at an affordable price.
Fast fashion became common because of cheaper clothing, an increase in
the appetite for fashionable clothing, and the increase in purchasing power on
the part of consumers. Because of all this, fast fashion is challenging new
fashion lines that are introduced on a seasonal basis by traditional fashion
houses. In fact, it’s not uncommon for fast-fashion retailers to introduce new
products multiple times in one week to stay on trend.
Shopping for clothing was once considered an event. Consumers would
save up to buy clothing at certain times of the year. But that changed in the late
1990s, as shopping became a form of entertainment and demand for clothing
increased.
Despite the advantages for customers, fast fashion has also been criticized
because it encourages a “throw-away” attitude. That’s why it’s also called
disposable fashion—the clothing is cheaply made in a style that will change
very quickly.
Critics contend that fast fashion contributes to pollution, poor
workmanship, and poor working conditions in developing countries, where
clothing is manufactured.

3. Watch the video by The Economist The true cost of fast fashion and
complete the sentences with the missing figures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfNUD0-8ts

1. _______80______ billion items of clothing are manufactured every


year.

2. Globally, sorting plants that sort and recycle clothes only deal with
around ______25 %_______of discarded clothes.

3. In Britain, more than ____300.000_________tonnes of clothes end up in


landfill every year.

4. It is estimated that by _____2050________ global clothing sales could


more than triple.

5. On average only ____20%_________of clothes are worn on a regular


basis.

4. Watch the video again and complete the following sentences.


1. People are wearing ___garments__________ less often and disposing of
them at an unprecedented rate.

2. Сlothing recycling plant processes _discarded____ clothes from


recycling bins around the country.

3. The quality of materials has gone __down______.

4. Rent the Runway’s mission is to change ___consumers___ relationship


with the clothes they wear.

5. Ijeoma Kola is a fashion blogger who has been _____________ Rent the
Runway’s radical new approach to high-end fashion.

6. The ____fashion____ industry has become one of the most polluting in


the world.

7. Patagonia’s philosophy is to buy once, buy well and ____mend___


clothing for a longer lifespan.

8. Patagonia’s anti-fashion environmental message has __resonated__ with


people who buy into their vision.

9. Patagonia claims it generates ___revenue__ of nearly 1 billion dollars a


year.

10. Industry pioneers are proving that there are viable business opportunities
in selling less, others need to follow _suit_.

AFTER YOU WATCH

5. Answer the questions.


1. Why do people need to reconsider their shopping habits? To not cause
pollution

2. What happens to clothes discarded in recycling bins in the UK?


Pollution will happend

3. What are the environmental costs of fast fashion? Living with pollution

4. How does ‘Rent the Runway’ want to change consumers’ approach to


clothes. To not cause pollution

5. What approach does the apparel brand Patagonia suggest?

6. Cross the odd word out.

1. Apparel/attire/catwalk/garment

2. Fedora//boater/top hat/pendant

3. Sneakers/mules/culottes/flip-flops

4. Herringbone/milliner/paisley/polka dot

5. Corduroy/velvet/suede/trilby

7. Match the words/word combinations and their meaning


Apparel - clothes

Hefty - impressively large


flagship store - the finest, largest, or
most important one of a chain of
stores
champion (verb) - to fight for or
speak in support of a group of people
or a belief
high-end - denoting the most
expensive of a range of products
Swanky - very expensive and
fashionable
Affordable - not expensive

Trendy - modern and influenced by


the most recent fashions or ideas
Runway - the long stage that models
walk on during a fashion show
Fashionista - someone who works in
or writes about the fashion industry
Couture - the designing, making, and
selling of expensive fashionable
clothing

8. Fill in the gaps with the correct word from the box.
landfill cast-off borrowing recycling follow waste rags
sorting disposed environmental

1. Budget companies have been so successful that other airlines have had
to___follow_____suit and lower their fares.
2. Alexandra looked awkward in her ___ cast-off ____clothing.

3. Ninety percent of American rubbish is dumped in ___ landfill __ sites.

4. Radioactive waste must be __ disposed __of safely.

5. The supermarket has installed ____ sorting__ bins for old newspapers,
bottles and cans.

6. Media attention has shifted recently onto __ environmental __ issues.

7. The river was used for years as an industrial _ waste _ dump.

8. Their clothes were in _ rags __.

9. If brands offered clothing ____borrowing services, would you


participate?

10. A plastic bottle ____recycling___plant capable of dealing with some


mixed plastics has been opened outside Derby.

9. Work in pairs.

· How do fashion shows affect high street fashion?

· Why do people choose to buy designer clothes?

· What are the positive and negative aspects of fast fashion?

10. Group discussion Work in pairs. Decide whether you agree or disagree
with the statements below.

· What you wear is how you present yourself to the world.


· Style goes way beyond fashion; it is an individually distinctive way of
putting ourselves together.

· There’s no need to dress like everyone else. It’s much more fun to
create your own look.

· Designer brands are unreasonably expensive.

· Clothing and fashion industry has a big impact on our lives.

You might also like