The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion

We are delighted to be welcoming Tansy Hoskins to Left Bank for this very special event to mark the launch of her third book The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion published by Pluto Press.

Tansy E. Hoskins is an award winning author and journalist who investigates the global fashion industry. This work has taken her to Bangladesh, India, North Macedonia, and to the Topshop warehouses in Solihull.

Fashion is political. From the red carpets of the Met Gala to online fast fashion, clothes tell a story of inequality, racism and climate crisis. In The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion, Tansy E. Hoskins unpicks the threads of capitalist industry to reveal the truth about our clothes.

Fashion brands entice us to consume more by manipulating us to feel ugly, poor and worthless, sentiments that line the pockets of billionaires exploiting colonial supply chains. Garment workers on poverty pay risk their lives in dangerous factories, animals are tortured, fossil fuels extracted and toxic chemicals spread just to keep this season’s collections fresh.

We can do better than this. Moving between Karl Lagerfeld and Karl Marx, The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion goes beyond ethical fashion and consumer responsibility showing that if we want to feel comfortable in our clothes, we need to reshape the system and ensure this is not our last season.

At this event, Activist Sarah Autumn will interview Tansy about her work and the creation of her latest book before hosting a panel discussion with leading academics, activists and disrupters based in Leeds including Karen Dennis, designer and maker of recycled clothing and owner of Ketchup Clothes and Dr Esther Pugh, lecturer in Fashion and Researcher. (please note: further panel members tbc).

The event will culminate in an engaging Q&A with the audience.