Japan

I am rarely moved or disturbed by News, I tend to watch things and make a cynical remark; then go about my day. Parliament's recent buggery with Pensions? Cynical Remark. UN's hesitation to make decisive action in Libya? Cynical Remark. Wisconsin Union Ruling? ...well, you get the picture.
There is rarely a day in my life where Japan doesn't come up in conversation with my friends, all of us are big fans of the works of its Fashion royal family, Miyake, Kawabuko, Yamamoto, Watanabe... and when we aren't talking about CDG; we're talking about its Technology, Harajuku, Architecture, The Kimono...
Gertrude Stein once said "America is my Country and Paris is my hometown." And until I found Japan; I never truly understood what she was talking about.

Today I was climbing into the car and moaning about how crowded the train was when my Dad told me to be quiet while he listened to an interview on Radio 4. I was too tired and exasperated to care so I just switched off whilst Dad drove me home. But despite my complacency, I couldn't help but detect certain words; certain 'key words' like "Ordeal... Tokyo... Richter Scale..." I asked Dad what had happened; and suddenly Japan didn't mean 'Issey Miyake' or 'Memoirs Of A Geisha' anymore, it meant Tragedy.

Thousands of people are expected to have died in the events that unfolded in Japan; death tolls skyrocket in situations like this. It is vital that we forfeit our vanities at such a time as this for the sake of those suffering in our world. It is sad that some of us only ever feel moved to make a change, to do something, when a horrific disaster destabilizes something so rigidly close to our hearts. I am guilty of this, every time I buy a new magazine and a UNICEF pamphlet falls out I ignore it, drop it into the bin by my desk mentally chanting something along the lines of "I can't afford it..." When the truth is more like "I can't afford it seeing as I'm saving up for a new cardigan/T-shirt/Blackberry..." or, if put even more accurately "I can't afford it... I'm far too selfish."

People often accuse fashion of being a cruel, selfish industry. Supp'd not enough of the milk of human kindness. Lacking humanity. And I always bat those remarks away, referencing projects like 'Fashion Cares.' But the truth is, even though fashion cares; sometimes we forget to.

So please, save lives. Don't buy a T-shirt this weekend, donate £5/$5 to the Red Cross. Collect change from your friends, colleagues, family, neighbours. Make an effort. Please.