Fashion Victims - Other people´s clothes

• Prize
• Photographer
  Florian Müller, Germany
• Studio
  -

Clothes make the man. But men and women who make the clothes for other people are often left behind. While India’s
growing middle class is following trends, the greedy tiger is chewing its working class for the well being of the economic
prosperity. For a long time Ahmedabad was known as the Manchester of the orient and still today the steam engines are
running at the textile factories in the city at the Sabarmati River. The factories spit out fabrics which will be offered later on
the world markets. Mahatma Gandhi once founded his ashram nearby. He sat at his spinning wheel and spread his ideas of a
nation of equality, tolerance and non-violence. But today, Indian reality looks very different.

Stories can be told about child slaves at cotton plantations in rural Gujarat, as well as stories about people who wash dirty
clothes for the wealthy. Those stories are far away from fair-trade or from the Bollywood´s glamourous image. A lot of workers drudge double shifts to enhance their salaries. Poverty makes them work under unacceptable conditions. A lot of them hardly see the sunlight. Long-term health damage caused by negligent handling of chemicals and colours or the dust that impairs from the work with cotton limit the lifespan of a lot of workers. Their lifespan lies below the Indian average already.

But India is changing. The Indians say that India is developing. Slowly but surely. As long as corruption, bribery and greedi-
ness steer this development only little of the economic prosperity will get where it is needed most. It is unclear whom to blame, but surely we have to take part of the blame ourselves as it´s our ‚tight is right’ mentality that keeps the workers wages low.

• Awards
  Photojournalism student at the university of applied sciences in Hanover, Germany Awards/Honourable mentions Honourable mention for "Fashion Victims" IPA 2012 Finalist Ian Parry Scholarship 2012 with "Fashion Victims" Bronze Medal for "Fashion Victims" 2012 Open Eyeland Awards 2012 Ian Parry Scholarship Finalist 2013 One Eyeland Awards: Bronze für »Fashion Victims« 2013 FotoVisura Spotlight Grant Finalist 2013 Prix de la Photography Paris, 3rd Prize »Fashion Victims« 2013 PDN Photo Annual Awards Winner »Fashion Victims« 2013 Photo Circle Vilnius Finalist 2013 PhotoVisa Krasnodar, Bronze für »Fashion Victims« 2013 Eddie Adams Workshop, NY, Class of XXVI 2015 Kolga Tiblisi Finalist with »Fashion Victims« Exhibitions (Extracts) 2010 “Peasants of the Lagoon“, Groupexhibition “Perpignan - 12 facets of a city”, Hanover 2011 “Brave ideal Fetishworld” – Groupexhibition „Photokina meets Academy“, Cologne 2011 Extracts from the series “Brave ideal Fetishworld” and “Big Fish, small fish”, Groupexhibition “Explaining Mankind to Man”, Hanover 2011 “Heimspiel” Projectexhibition “Hellfeld”, Hannover 2011 „Big Fish, small Fish“ Foodphoto Festival, Tarragona, Spain 2012 “Fashion Victims “, LUMIX Festival for young Photojournalismus, Hanover 2012 “Fashion Victims” (Extracts), Ian Parry Scholarship Exhibition, Mother Gallery, London 2012 2013 “Peasants of the Lagoon“, Groupexhibition “Partner.Stadt”, Hanover 2013 »Fashion Victims« VISA pour l`image- OFF-Festival, Perpignan 2013 »Fashion Victims« Photo Circle Festival Vilnius 2013 »Fashion Victims« PhotoVisa, Krasnodar 2014 »Fashion Victims« NewYork Photofestival Screening 2015 »Fashion Victims«, Kolga Festival, Tiflis