What do we stand for anymore?

A long time ago, youth culture and rebellion meant something. There was a cause. In the sixties and the seventies people protested against the war; the clothing connected with the hippies symbolized their belonging to a certain cultural group. In the summer of 1967 over 100,000 people flocked to the San Francisco area to celebrate the cultural and political revolution that had they, the youth population, had begun. Celebrating the freedom of youth, hippies created an unprecedented cultural phenomenon.

Nowadays American youth sit locked in their bedrooms spending mindless hours on Facebook and texting. Everything is hand-fed to us and no one appreciates any of it; we really are the 'teacup' generation. Political activism is no longer for the hipsters, but for the debate geeks. Fashion itself is an entire new culture thanks to online blogging and sites like Lookbook.nu.

It may just be that I feel guilty (guilty!) writing and blogging about fashion when people in Haiti struggle to find a clean water source. But this is a call to arms for the fashion world, an encouragement to make fashion the vessel through which you promote your cause. Because without a cause, what do we stand for anymore?