A Quiet Place

For all of fashion’s finery and glamour, mental health isn’t something that it’s nailed going by the luminaries it has claimed (this year marks the 10th anniversary of alexander mcqueen’s tragic suicide). The stress and burnout that come with the industry’s cut-throat pace for ideas, merchandise and content mean that those working in it are 25 per cent more likely than others to experience some sort of mental illness, according to reports. The good news: conversation about it has been rousing in recent years, especially within the creative community. Keng yang shuen gets five singapore women from various disciplines who have been vocal about the cause to share more about what you need to know, erase and do next about mental wellness.

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In the totalitarian classic 1984, one of the ways in which the existing system exerts control over its citizens is by eliminating undesirable words from the dictionary. The logic: You can’t express yourself or your ideals properly when you don’t have something as fundamental as the vocabulary with which to articulate them.

A scenario in which people are not equipped to address painful topics is a familiar one in not-so-long-ago days when mental health disorders were perceived as something shameful, to be covered up or carelessly dismissed with variations of “you’ll get over it”. Even in the so-called liberal world of fashion, it’s an ongoing problem – this even though the list of its geniuses who suffer from depression and succumb to suicide keeps on growing (the latest being the heavily lauded modernist couturier Josephus Thimister, who died last November at age 57).

Despite having her most decorated and successful year in 2019, model Adut Akech wrote on Instagram that it was the “worst year” for “Adut the human, not Adut the model” due to her depressive disorder. As omnipresent and unstoppable as he might seem, Virgil Abloh had to famously take three months off from the business – including missing his own Spring/Summer 2020 Off-White show last September – because his doctor had said his schedule was getting too much for his health.

In fashion, the main outlet for dealing with the industry’s madness seems to be, quite simply, to bow out – temporarily or otherwise; no further discussion. (And don’t forget to do so with a great dress and big smile on your face.)