... a snappy, clear-minded attack on the fashion industry's rampant labor and environmental abuses ... At no point does Thomas shame consumers. But she does ask us to change our ways ... is most flawed when it comes to those consumers that cannot afford slow fashion. The only options Thomas offers are luxury rental, consignment, and resale, which for many remains prohibitively expensive.
... Thomas convincingly connects our fast-fashion wardrobes to global economic and climate patterns and crises ... includes a fascinating account of how NAFTA made possible the international success of fast fashion ... Not all of the book is this pessimistic: There is plenty of bubbliness and glamour for fashion lovers to get excited about. Thomas displays her skills as a culture and style reporter as she visits the visionaries who are attempting to remake the industry ... Among the book’s delights are Thomas’s sketches of her individual subjects ... The author also has a gift for bringing luxury to life: She conjures Moda Operandi’s London showroom so vividly that I felt as though I’d moved in ... However, it is in contextualizing this single industry from a broader climate perspective that the book falls short. Some statistics are exaggerated ... the practical considerations — cost, efficiency, resource limitations — are often left unaddressed ... it is not the goal of Fashionopolis to provide all the answers. Thomas has succeeded in calling attention to the major problems in the $2.4-trillion-a-year industry, in a way that will engage not only the fashion set but also those interested in economics, human rights and climate policy.
Thomas writes with fact-heavy authority, in a series of travelogue-style reports, about the ecological calamity of the fashion industry ... Thomas provides an excruciatingly detailed history of two of the most problematic fashion staples: denim and the cotton it is made of ... Thomas makes an effort to keep the reader from grabbing a set of pinking shears and attacking her book by focusing, in the second half, on fashion players trying to make improvements ... Fashionopolis is primarily a Marley’s Ghost–style warning of the irrevocable destructions to come. One imagines that a more attentive editor might have caught a few of the book’s redundancies. In the moments when she relaxes and allows her own voice to come through, Thomas is engaging and vital, sort of a more taciturn Joan Rivers. But she prefers to quote others pointing fingers and pontificating about the dangers of greed rather than point a steely finger herself. I wished she had allowed herself a little more style and subjective latitude ... With her focus primarily on changing the behavior of the reader, Thomas lets some of the more flagrantly abusive garment industrialists off too easily. That her book doesn’t rabidly name and shame more polluters and human rights violators feels like self-censorship and an overabundance of caution. Dana Thomas is no Ralph Nader ... Thomas never quite lays down the gauntlet and says that multinational conglomerates should be regulated by state and federal agencies in such a way that they are not incentivized to pollute or commit human rights abuses.
... a surprisingly pacey read ... Thomas takes a story most of us think we know, but tells it better and in compelling, readable detail ... Thomas’s focus on the big picture doesn’t get in the way of her love of a quirky detail ... Thomas’s long view is thought-provoking ... As David Attenborough once said: 'Anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist.' The same goes for an infinite wardrobe. Fashionopolis certainly convinces on why this is the case, but it also engagingly elucidates how we may change things.
... a wide-ranging exposé of the fashion industry ... Thomas offers readers hope for change by introducing visionary entrepreneurs who embody the future of fashion ... From clothes made on 3–D printers to factories full of robots, Thomas shows us sustainable alternatives for the future ... Fascinating reading for anyone who wears clothing.
... thoroughgoing and invigorating ... Thomas approaches Fashionopolis as both an intrepid investigative reporter and an aesthete ... This trenchant look at how clothes are produced today is both an environmentalist cri de coeur and an homage to good design.
...engaging and thorough ... It's a timely narrative ... Thomas’ emphasis on upstart innovators and entrepreneurs is part of what makes the book a pleasure to read. It has a downside, though. I would have liked to hear more about what the biggest brands — Zara, H&M, Uniqlo and so on — are doing to reform their supply chains.
Thomas efficiently covers these issues to great emotional effect, making the case for the innovations that are covered in the bulk of Fashionopolis ... articularly interesting are the textile innovations—the movement to convert tobacco farms to growing indigo to combat the toxicity of synthetic dyes, and advances in biofabrication, which uses science fiction-level technology to create animal-free leathers and silks. Her deep knowledge of the style side of the industry adds to the appeal of the book, which will find eager readers of both social issues and fashion.
... informed, fair-minded, passionate, and cautiously optimistic ... a distressing yet intriguing story of the textile industry and how the global explosion of 'furious fashion' hijacked a uniquely creative economic market ... Thomas isn’t hopeless, and her engrossing report is leavened with uplifting accounts of brands using organic indigo for blue jeans and a force of designers, merchants, and manufacturers eager to revolutionize the garment industry’s aggressive tide of overproduction through 'slow fashion' ... Convincing, responsible, and motivational fashion industry reportage.
In this informative volume, fashion journalist Thomas convincingly lays out multiple arguments against fast fashion ... Thoroughly reported and persuasively written, Thomas’s clarion call for more responsible practices in fashion will speak to both industry professionals and socially conscious consumers.
[Thomas'] gift for scene-setting and her sharp assessments of many of the trendsetting entrepreneurs behind the scenes across the globe keeps Fashionopolis engaging throughout. Though fashion’s high visibility as an industry means that it tends to get the most attention, it is not the only polluter of the environment – other consumer items such as electronics have questions to answer about their production in low-cost countries and the waste material generated, but, as they say, sin scéal eile.
