5 June, 2024
From Helsinki, Finland, Maya Torseke brings an interesting perspective on sustainability, fashion, and consumer trends. Graduating from Polimoda in 2024 with a degree in Fashion Business, Maya has a diverse background in social media, tech, and start-ups. Her insights into the intersection of language and overconsumption in fashion provide a compelling call to rethink how we interact with clothing and each other online. These types of conversations open our minds and encourage us to think critically about the decisions we make and their consequences.
Receiving her undergraduate degree in Fashion Business, Maya's thesis explored how to create a more seamless interaction between consumers to reduce waste and promote circular fashion. Working in social media and tech, she spends a lot of time online. “In writing my thesis, I observed how people online interact with their clothes—how they wear them but also how they speak about them. As someone who also creates content about fashion online, I started to realize how the language we use when talking about clothing has changed just in the way people online ask me about my outfits. So, not only as a content creator but as someone who has an education in the fashion industry, I have been trying to make sense of people's relationship to their clothing and what has made us value the things we buy with such low regard.”
Maya Torseke, Milan
Maya noted that the fast-paced nature of TikTok has significantly changed how people consume and discuss fashion. “We are used to getting things fast, just look how angry people get in the comment section when 'part 2' of a video isn’t posted right away. And I think this sense of urgency has also shifted into the way we speak to each other online, we dropped filler words and jumped directly to the point, which I want to note, I don’t think is inherently bad. Language is supposed to evolve with us, but when the language we use starts to degrade who or what we are talking about, an issue arises. Not only do we speak about clothing poorly, the way we speak to influencers and content creators has become simply, rude.”
She provided examples, comparing comments like "top from where" to more thoughtful questions such as "Hey, your pants are really cute. I'm wondering where you got them from?" Maya emphasized, “It really takes value away from the item itself. When we talk about something so directly and without emotion, we forget that there is a whole industry behind it, and people that have made that piece of clothing. Clothes can hold deep and meaningful stories if we just let them. So, when someone asks 'top from,' I feel like I need to skip the story and give them a direct answer.”
Maya Torseke, Venice
This shift in language, according to Maya, contributes to overconsumption by making it easier to see clothing as disposable. “If we don't place value on the clothes we wear, we see them as disposable. On average, an item gets worn 8 times before it gets thrown out. That means you are not even wearing a piece of clothing once a month for a whole year. If we speak about something with low regard, it is much easier to firstly purchase it and secondly throw away.”
Maya's observations extended to the broader environmental impact of the fashion industry. She reiterated that fashion is the third largest polluting industry in the world. Despite this, stopping production isn't a viable solution. Fashion represents much more than just clothing—it's about self-expression, storytelling, community, and creating safe spaces. However, in the current digital environment, the focus has shifted towards aesthetics, trends, and viral products, leading to overconsumption and the devaluing of fashion items.
Influencer culture also plays a significant role in this dynamic. Maya discussed the perception of influencers as catalogs, a view shared by both audiences and brands. She sees influencers as the medium for a brand to tell a story. “Sometimes it feels like a perfect marriage of two brands coming together, and other times it can feel forced. From the perspective of an influencer, the right partnership with a brand can feel extremely empowering, and I think audiences can sense that. Conversely, when it comes off as a transactional relationship, audiences can also sense it.”
She elaborated on this point, sharing her experiences with fast fashion brands. Maya has been contacted by many to create content in exchange for free clothing. This practice treats influencers like mannequins, which contributes to the way we perceive the clothes we buy. Additionally, affiliate linking and commission-based partnerships drive overconsumption. When influencers are paid based on sales commissions, they are motivated to encourage frequent purchases, thereby normalizing the constant buying of new clothes.
Maya often wears second-hand clothing, which she believes adds another layer to the conversation. The positive aspect is that she gets to tell a story with the clothing she wears and promote sustainable shopping, showing how simple fashion circularity can be. However, it can make it harder to share details. “At the end of the day I don’t believe in gatekeeping, I think fashion should be for everyone, but in wearing second-hand clothing it can be hard to create that connection to an audience. But the main goal is to make it accessible and also normalise wearing the same items over and over again.”
Maya Torseke
The assumption that viewers can easily get direct links to purchase items seen in videos is another facet of the issue. While the internet's convenience is undeniable, Maya cautioned that this streamlining of the purchasing process often skips over critical decision-making steps, leading to impulsive buying. “I mean that's the beauty of the internet! Everything is directly available to us, so it's not unfair to ask someone for a direct link to buy something. I think we do need to be more mindful of our consumption, and having such streamlined ways to purchase products directly, usually skips over the decision-making process.”
Hyper-specific categorization for aesthetics also encourages overconsumption. Maya shared, “I am anti-niche and anti-aesthetics! I think they can be a fun thing to play into from time to time, but I think picking an ‘aesthetic’ or ‘personal style’ is overrated. We are fluid, we change, we have so many interests if you really love a piece of clothing it will stick with you through these ‘aesthetics’ and represent you, not the trend. I think that's definitely something to keep in mind whilst shopping.”
Maya Torseke
Maya also touched on the broader implications of treating content creators like search engines. Screens have desensitized us to the fact that we are interacting with real people. In person, no one would rudely point at another's shirt and demand where it's from. "We need to prioritize having more humane conversations online, and talk to each other like people and not profiles."
Ultimately, Maya believes that education is the key to changing our approach to fashion consumption. “We have enough clothing to dress the next 6 generations, so we really should be trying to buy as much second-hand as we can and understanding what our relationship to the clothes we wear is. Overall becoming more conscious of what we consume!”