Following on the successful Women, Beauty, and Image conference in April 2005, Murray Hill Institute hosted an international seminar Fashion and Its Effect on Society June 1 through June 4, 2006 for women working in the fashion industry. Thirty invited guests from countries such as Kenya, France, Ireland, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico as well as from the United States met to share ideas with the objective of putting their new insights into action when they returned to their homes. The basic goal of the conference was expressed by a Canadian participant as: “To help women to be conscious that their way of dressing can and should express their dignity as women. And so to help women to be conscious of their true worth.”

Many of the participants are involved in initiatives that promote dialogue among professionals involved in fashion and image-making. For example, Marie Astric Vidal, from France, works with MAD (Mode Art Decoration). MAD is a forum for dialogue, analysis and reflection on fashion that works with fashion designers, artists, sociologists, philosophers, marketing experts to establish bridges between the fashion industry and other fields of work. Mary Warren, from the United States, works with Elegance In Style, a consulting service that runs fashion seminars for women and teens, publishes a newsletter, and offers training for image consultants. Donatella Costa Solenghi is President of Moda e Modi, Milan, Italy. This organization sponsors round-table discussions for fashion designers, fashion students and fashion journalists to discuss how fashion can give value to the person.

The group toured the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum of Fashion with museum director Dr. Valerie Steele. The tour was followed by a seminar with Jeffrey Buchman, Professor of Advertising and Marketing Communications at FIT, on the role of the consumer with respect to advertising in fashion. Prof. Buchman affirmed that “There are many elements which influence ….new tendencies, but what is clear is that the client has the last word. I can assure you that the letter that a company receives with praise or criticism about its products or its advertising does not remain in a drawer.”

Other themes addressed during the conference dealt with the importance that fashion and styles of life have in the framework of social life and personal relationships. One’s own responsibility as consumers of fashion—to demand what one what prefers—and the professionalism required when working in these areas were among the topics emphasized in the work sessions. A number of the participants contributed their experience as image consultants: it is not difficult to make a woman see what is really elegant and fitting for each age and situation, but they often need individual encouragement and advice since outside pressures can be great.

One of the work sessions focused on formulating action steps regarding key aspects of the fashion industry. For example in the fashion photography in magazines and advertising: What image of women do they portray? What can we do so that the image portrayed be the one of a woman with depth, with intelligence? Many positive repercussions can come from photos that give importance and care for personal dignity in dress, postures, and gestures.

Several presentations dealt with the influence of fashion on young women. These included talks by Deborah Burns, former VP Publisher for ELLEGIRL, Annie Lang, founder of LeadersNow International, and representatives from Fashion Forum, a New York-based initiative undertaken by college and high school students who were inspired by Murray Hill Institute’s 2005 Women, Beauty, and Image conference.

“Best Practices” sessions were devoted to interchange of experiences. Initiatives of every type were presented: courses on elegance and femininity for professional women, sessions of design and garment construction given by a teen fashion designer, consulting firms of fashion, a company that organizes weddings, and so on. The women left the conference with many concrete ideas and potential projects in mind. In some way we all work in fashion: each one can make her voice heard and her preferences known in ordinary life, in the stores to which she ordinarily goes, in the circle of family members and friends.

Alice Trimmer is the Executive Director of Murray Hill Institute.