Labels Are For Clothes

Marking their 30 year anniversary, high street staple River Island celebrated their 30 years in the best way possible; with a campaign celebrating love, diversity and clothing for everyone.

Campaign
Bullying has always existed in one nasty, catty form or another, but the easy expenditure of online outrage has proliferated the issue. River Island has stepped up with their new campaign to celebrate their many varied customers and make way for a world without bullies.

Labels
In conjunction with anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label, River Island is selling T-shirts for 24 euro with this message: ‘Labels Are For Clothes’. And RI already sent me this T shirt.
And some extras: Do YOU also want this T shirt? Leave a comment, what will be on your shirt! And maybe you will get yours.

Dubbed ‘Labels Are For Clothes’, the campaign with girls like Zara Sheriff,model Stav Strashko, model Sabina Karlsson, shot by photographer Richard Burbridge and styled by Ondine Azoulay, challenges consumers to leave labels to the clothes, rather than the people wearing them.

“I’m proud to be part of our most exciting ad campaign to date. In recent years we have witnessed a shift in the market and the attitudes of our consumers – they want to express themselves and not be defined by convention. The Labels Are For Clothes campaign is our recognition of this welcome movement”, explains Josie Cartridge, River Island’s Customer Director.

Stop labeling yourself!
I think it’s a fantastic statement. And I totally agree. No more labels, no more judging. I believe if we keep labeling ourself, we will label others. And the stigma, bullying, prejudice will stay. I think when we really stop putting a label on our forehead, slowly the stigma will go away.
And yes, I came up with a new label: inbetweenie. That was to get more attention for this ‘forgotten’ group. You can also call this group ‘average size’, but also this label is not really spectacular: who wants to be average? And in the end, the word inbetweenie will disappear as concept I meant it. In the end it will melt into the straight size fashion, no more different size-categories anymore. At least, that’s what I am hoping for, but that will be my forecast.

No more labels
But, after years, I believe in  not labeling myself anymore. I only use them as tags, without tags, no one will find you anymore online nowadays, specially instagram. That’s why we keep seeing: fat, fit, curvy, inbetweenie, 40plus, old, young, tall, short, healthy, sporty, etc. I really believe we have to stop that. And that’s so weird, no one wants labels, but for google, we still have to think in boxes, think in labels, finding persons, finding things, finding stereotypes, etc . And that is so contrary, from one side we don’t want to label, but labels are so useful… or not?

Thank you River Island, for sending me this T shirt. I have many words I can mention on this shirt, that’s why I did it digital. I am 100% Edith, it all starts with that. I am 100% myself, I am 100% unique, I am 100% whatever I want. 100% fashion-lover. 100% vegetarian.

Do YOU also want this T shirt? Leave a comment, what will be on your shirt! And maybe you will get yours.

Reminds me to the song of Alanis Morissette
“I’m a bitch, I’m a lover
I’m a child, I’m (no) mother
I’m a sinner, I’m a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I’m your hell, I’m your dream
I’m nothing in between
You know you wouldn’t want it any other way”