Consumerism no matter how "niche" it is does not equate to individual agency

The art of weaving is synonymous within cultural femininity. Textile art has always had a distinct connection to feminine labor, passed down through countless cultures and generations of women.  Yet, this culturally rich feminine tradition now stands in stark contrast against its counterpart of Western capitalism's relentlessness. Today, the textile industry, especially in the exploited global South's satellite garment production hotspots like Bangladesh and Hanoi, subjugates the exploitation of the over 80% female labor force. By turning sacred matriarchal art into a vital crutch that survives off manipulation and inhumane conditions--in the broader, modern global context--it has become reduced to a differential within the fast fashion industry. Fashion is beyond and less than what it is made out to be; it is a commodity structured from the process and creative labor, both a mirror and a maker of our societal trends, a reflection and a distortion. As both parent and child of capitalism, it thrives and relies on all forms of capitalism; a basic human need, yet simultaneously utterly superfluous. Whatever constitutes the truth of fashion literally lies in the intersection of contradiction.