Patina of Glamour: Investigating Fashion's Industry Underside Through Forging Alliances
2016
This case explores the complicated nature of forging effective coalitions that integrate the interests of all stakeholders when performing public health research. The case examines the harsh working conditions of fashion models, who often work under difficult conditions but have very little recourse if they are exploited due to a lack of worker safety regulations in their industry. The death of a young model with an eating disorder attracts the attention of a physician and public health professor, who is drawn to this injustice and interested in promoting legislative regulatory reform of the fashion industry. She hopes to apply the methods of community-based participatory research to develop a close partnership with professional models, but quickly learns that establishing priorities and shared goals requires a lot more attention to the partners’ unique perspectives than a typical research study. The case ends with a “cliffhanger” that leaves students to grapple with how the professor and her team will be able to successfully forge a partnership with the model community, carry out the new research study, and ultimately result in new legal protections for models. A teaching note is also available free of charge to faculty and may be accessed by request.
This case is part of the STRIPED (Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders), a joint project between the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital.
Patina of Glamour: Investigating Fashion's Industry Underside Through Forging Alliances
Source:
Weinberger E. Patina of Glamour: Forging Alliances to Investigate the Underside of the Fashion Industry. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 2016. https://caseresources.hsph.harvard.edu/publications/patina-glamour-forging-alliances-investigate-underside-fashion.