The Dark Side of Fashion: Beyond Fast Fashion

When we talk about the dark side of fashion , we almost always think of fast fashion. It's understandable: rapid production, low-cost garments, labor exploitation, and low-quality materials are now familiar to many.

But reducing the sector's critical issues to just this is a mistake . The truth is that the problem goes much deeper , and often also concerns what is sold as luxury or artisanal.

This article was born as a sincere reflection on a world that appears light, bright, and dreamy, but which often hides a completely different reality.

A world where, behind glossy covers, lightness gives way to unsustainable rhythms, superficial choices, and a lack of respect—for people, for materials, for true beauty.

Fast fashion is just the tip of the iceberg

Let's not get this wrong: fast fashion remains a huge problem. Not just because of the speed of production, but also because of the quality of the materials, the toxicity of the dyes, and the lack of attention to detail.

All this translates into clothes that don't last, that can cause allergies or irritation, and that often aren't actually useful to the buyer. A continuous overproduction of "things we don't need."

But the dark sides of fashion don't end there .

- The luxury that exploits and hides -

Without naming names, it's important to state an uncomfortable truth : even in luxury —or in what is sold as such— the same mechanisms of fast fashion are replicated.

Extremely tight deadlines, constant pressure, and lack of respect for professionals.

Fast fashion , paradoxically, has become a useful distraction : a perfect scapegoat for avoiding what happens at the top levels of the fashion system.

- The fashion system is not just glamour: it is also burnout -

Have you ever wondered why those who work in fashion often appear tired , tense, and nervous ? It's not just runway stress.

The hours are crazy , the pace unsustainable , the demands often unrealistic . We work to appear, not to create.

There is a world made of appearances and undergrowth: improvised designers, senseless requests, superficiality disguised as creativity.

A real-life example? When they ask you for a silk effect... but with poplin.

Anyone with experience and knowledge of the materials knows that certain things aren't just "difficult"—they're impossible. But anyone who hasn't really studied doesn't understand this.

Yet these people are often in the spotlight. While those with true passion and expertise… work in silence .

Who Really Makes Fashion: Between Study, Knowledge, and Passion

Luckily, there are still those who make fashion with love.

There are tailors, artisans, and designers who aren't looking for a party, but rather the time to create well. Who believe in lasting beauty, in tangible quality.

As one of my professors used to say:

“You will only be a designer when you can create beautiful, wearable things.”

And to do so requires years of study, experience, and testing.

An idea isn't enough. You need hands. You need technique. You need pattern-making, tailoring, and real tailoring. Everything that's often overlooked, but is essential to creating truly beautiful, comfortable, and long-lasting garments.

Why ddLab was born

ddLab Milano was born from an awareness.

I felt the need to get away from a world that no longer resembled me.

I wanted to create something different: a workshop where time was valuable, where garments were carefully designed, where fashion was gentle.

This is why I talk about a collection in constant evolution.

Each piece is born from study, experimentation, and the choice of materials that make sense—for the skin, for the body, for the environment.

We don't run: we walk . And we do it consciously , every day.

Conscious fashion : our alternative.

Discussing the dark side of fashion isn't just about exposing it. It also means imagining a concrete alternative: one based on quality, slowness, and transparency. It means stopping chasing the "new" and starting choosing the "right."

And perhaps this is precisely the future of fashion: returning to the essence, to a beauty that doesn't need to amaze, but simply to last.