Civilisation of Fashion

Many concerns have been raised over the Afghan youth paying more attention to fashion then towards the reconstruction of their country. The growing materialism amongst the citizens of the war torn country is constantly pointed at. Its validity, on the other hand is debatable.

It is true that mankind has spent much time building houses and making them warm and comfortable, still every child love to stay out doors even if it is wet and cold. This is despite the revolution of games consoles and other such entertainment gadgets. However, children are becoming materialistic at a younger age in the current generation.

I asked a friend, if he would rather go out with a broken arm or a ripped shirt? He answered, “Broken arm, because people will give me weird looks if I went out with a ripped shirt and may even laugh at me”. He cared more about what people thought of how his clothes looked like than having a defect in his body.

Recalling a personal experience, I was able to understand where he was coming from. Just over a year ago, I attended a meeting at the Afghan Embassy in London. As I pulled in front of the embassy in my car - which I thought was a good enough student car and fit for its purpose I was greeted by a family friend standing outside. He looked at me with disappointment and quickly greeted me with the question, “damn Hamdullah!! Is that what you drive?” instead of Salaam, hello or how are you.

It made me realise it is more due to the pressure of the external world than it is human nature! The better you are dressed the more civilised you are considered to be. People don’t see your character unless they know you so the first thing to judge you by is your appearance.

The words civilised and fashionable are now synonymous. Every generation laughs at the older fashions but follows the new fashion like a religion forgetting that later generations will only laugh at it. Even so, fashion is becoming the identifier of our civilisation.

Nonetheless, I personally am guilty of materialism. It makes me feel comfortable if what I am wearing is branded despite knowing that a similar piece of clothing will cost me about 90% less without a brand name. With loans piling up and the student loan being the only income I have, it would be wise to go for the non-branded clothes but I can never convince myself to make the wise decision when buying clothes.

I once read that what a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates his fate. Therefore, I think as long as it is helping us feel better about ourselves then materialism is not such a bad thing or is it??