“Slay”- The Film Fashion Brands Don't Want You To See
This film was something that showed such powerful information on the dark truths of the fashion industry, which I believe everyone should be aware of and see. This was the film I watched for the women wear daily group project so I was aware of most of it. Although I did the research on the film through the article on WWD I wasn't able to actually watch the film in its entirety. Before I talk about my point of view from the film, I want to talk about some things I learned from doing my project that was really interesting. SLAY is a new and intensely eye opening documentary that strictly focuses on the dark truths and hypocrisies of the fashion industry. The director takes viewers to several countries such as China, India, and Italy to investigate the ethics of the fur trade. Viewers are taken inside fur slaughterhouses to get a first hand perspective on this consistent issue. SLAY is labeled as, "the film that gets under fashion's skin" due to the honest, dark tones throughout it. Capelli noticed in her closet that fur, leather, and wool were most common, and decided to focus the film on these three materials, and the way they are unethically produced. Capelli explains that within the fashion industry, synthetic fibers are not the sole contributor to the climate crisis. Furs, wool, and leather are all contributors as well, in addition to causing great harm to animals.
The title “Slay” is a play on the common slang definition with the more serious and dark original connotation. A quote from Capelli states the following, “My goal with the film is also ultimately to operate a cultural shift to understand that skins are not a ‘material’-- they are the skin of an animal”. With that being said I'm going to talk more about my thoughts throughout the film and my key takeaways. This film was probably one of the most disturbing things I've seen that highlights the mistreatment of animals in the industry. Although it was very hard to watch, I don't believe if it wasn't so disturbing it would have the same effect on people who watch it.
My favorite thing about this film is that it shows just how much fur and animal byproducts we see in our everyday lives. I personally started thinking about all the items I have in my closet that have fur on it ,although I've never gone out of my way to buy something simply because it has fur I still see it in my closet. I usually don't wear fur or leather and the pieces I have have been passed down from family or thrifted.It just goes to show that although you may not be in support of an industry you could still possibly be complicite to the industry. One of the most disturbing things of this film was the imagery of the animals actually being in the cages and abused. Watching them be abused, hunted, and killed while the people doing it have zero remorse made me sick to my stomach. It actually made me think that I could give up on animal products as a whole. Something that was interesting to me was the sustainability of the animal products. The film talked about how we see a lot of brands try to capitalize on the fact that their products are sustainable and “green” which my group talked a little about. We explained that greenwashing misleads and exploits consumers who prefer to buy their goods from companies who are truly environmentally conscious. Something that was new to me is that a lot of times when they are using these natural products they mix them with synthetic chemicals and fibers which make them not disposable and just as bad for the environment. I dont see in the near future that we as a society will stop using animal products only because the industry produces so much money even for things outside of the fashion industry. Like she said in the film the fur and meat industry are different sides of the same coin.
