Buy or Rent: A Photo Book Showcasing How Reframing Fashion Editorial Photography Can Affect the Consumer and Change the Way They Consume

Abstract

This practice-based dissertation explores how the visual framing of fashion in women’s magazines influences consumer behaviour, particularly in relation to fast fashion and the rising alternatives of rental and resale. While sustainable fashion is gaining traction in editorial discourse, it remains largely absent from fashion photography, a key driver when it comes to consumption. Through critical analysis and creative practice, this project investigates whether changing how fashion is visually presented can encourage more conscious forms of consumption.

The creative outcome, Buy or Rent, is a photo book styled and shot using only second-hand or rented clothing. Drawing on the visual language of high fashion and women's weeklies, the book reimagines sustainable fashion as stylish, expressive, and culturally relevant. It positions editorial photography not as a neutral backdrop, but as a powerful cultural tool capable of shaping peoples values and behaviours.

This research finds that weekly fashion media often reinforces fast fashion mindsets through product-led styling and commercialised tone. The project argues that more intentional visual strategies could help normalise sustainable fashion in mainstream media, and offers a creative way of moving forward that challenges how value and desirability are constructed in fashion editorial spaces.

Good.