How can we “break” the machine that is accelerating production timelines, eliminating essential jobs, and relying on the self-exploitation of costume artists?

I can’t open a single website without being faced with AI. So, I’ve been thinking daily about the Luddites. No, not just people who reject technology but the original Luddites, the weavers who followed Ned Ludd to fight for their livelihoods in the Industrial Revolution. 

Intrigued? I suggest listening to The Triumph of General Ludd sung by Chumbawamba while you read this.

The Luddites were hand weavers in England who smashed industrial weaving machines, burned factories, and terrorized factory owners from 1811 to 1816. The Industrial Revolution was driving down the costs of textiles and undercutting their skilled labor. Skills these weavers had developed over a lifetime were being replaced by dangerous machines that spewed toxic smoke into the skies and killed children, so after their initial complaints were ignored, they took extreme direct action. Can you imagine a world in which the Luddites were successful? Where coal smog didn’t fill the skies of the 19th and 20th century? Where worker’s skills were still valued and crafts people could make a good living making the textiles we use every day?

Why do we forget the impact of the Luddites? Well, in many ways they “failed”; their mission was to minimize the harms of the Industrial Revolution on weavers and they were not successful. Since history is written by the victors, Ludd's name was turned into a slur by industrialists. Today, we apply that name to anyone perceived to hate technology.

That brings me to last week! I met with several other wonderful sustainably minded costume artists to discuss an upcoming event (see below for details) and, of course, a part of the meeting was spent venting our frustrations about the decline of costume rental houses, stagnant budgets, continued lack of labor equity with our peers, shuttering of local fabric stores (including JoAnne), lack of on-shore shoe manufacturing, etc… How the lack of local/domestic clothing infrastructure is forcing costume artists to lean on the corporations we would rather avoid.

So, we circle back to the Luddites; can we take inspiration here? How can we “break” the machine that is accelerating production timelines, eliminating essential jobs, and relying on the self-exploitation of costume artists?

Here are some ideas of how to (safely) take inspiration from the Luddites

• Work with local tailors instead of costume makers overseas.

• Avoid the temptation of AI.

• Shop second hand or rent costume items rather than overwork the costume team.

• Ensure everyone on your team is making a living wage.

• Encourage news literacy/fact checking.

• Support safer workplace standards.

• Consider if a task truly must be completed as quickly (and resource intensively) as possible.

I am NOT suggesting that we riot or commit acts of terrorism. For more about the ethics of eco-terrorism, I encourage you to read “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” by Andreas Malm. What I AM suggesting is healthy skepticism of new technologies and what long term impacts they could have on the health of costume artists, both as individuals and as a community. 

Ultimately, I think mechanization has been a good thing for humanity, but corporatization and industrialization have not been, which is an important distinction. It is imperative that we consider the social impacts AS WELL AS the economic impacts of emerging technologies. To examine them as aids to existing work processes, rather than replacements. As costume artists, we study history, social movements, conflicts, technologies, and more to understand how to clothe our characters. How do we want to be clothed now? How do we want to leave our mark on this period of industrialization?

In the looming (pun intended) face of tariffs, it is imperative that we bring our local and regional networks together. We’ve seen how COVID impacted the pipeline of costume artists. These technologies are also contributing to a brain drain. How can we ensure that our profession has good jobs in the future? Costume budgets have barely budged in 30-40 years and we are fully dependent on fast fashion, 2 day shipping, and unpaid interns.  Bespoke garments are core to our profession and we need these skills to stay local and affordable.

Personally, I want to support an economy that ensures that every person can live a good life without struggling for the essentials. I want an economy that allows for time to be creative and rewards innovation without exploitation of people or resources. I want an economy that values relationships, acknowledges and provides for essential infrastructures, and does not compromise the environmental systems.