Is the fashion industry exploiting young artists?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Is the fashion industry exploiting young artists?". Your opponent's style: Kanye West

heck yes, it's really bad

Yo, hold up - you're trippin' if you think the fashion industry is out here exploiting young artists. That's straight backwards thinking, man. The fashion game is literally the BIGGEST platform these young creatives could ever dream of! You think Virgil Abloh got exploited when Louis Vuitton gave him the keys to the kingdom? Nah, fashion elevated him to legend status. These brands are investing MILLIONS in young talent - giving them resources, global platforms, manufacturing capabilities they could never access on their own.Look, LVMH alone is dropping 400,000 euros on young designers through their prize program [1]. That's not exploitation - that's INVESTMENT! These major houses are literally creating pathways for talent that didn't exist before. You think some kid from Nigeria like Taofeek Abijako could've built Head of State without the fashion ecosystem supporting him? The real talk is this: fashion gives young artists what they can't get anywhere else - global reach, manufacturing connections, distribution networks, and MONEY. Without these big brands, these kids would be selling t-shirts on Instagram forever. The industry doesn't exploit creativity - it AMPLIFIES it and turns it into empires. Your whole "exploitation" narrative is backwards, man. Fashion is the ultimate meritocracy where talent rises fast when it's real.

You're cherry-picking success stories while ignoring the systemic abuse that's built into every contract in this industry. Virgil Abloh was already established - what about the thousands of young designers who get chewed up and spit out before they ever make it? Fashion brands dictate contract terms and push suppliers to accept them at the cost of losing business [1]. That's not partnership - that's extortion with a smile. These companies cancel orders, refuse payments, and demand retrospective discounts while young artists are left holding worthless inventory and unpaid bills [1]. Your "400,000 euro investment" is pocket change compared to the billions they extract from exploiting desperate talent. The real power dynamic here is brutal: fashion models can't even unionize because they're classified as independent contractors, creating an imbalanced power structure where agencies hold all the cards [1]. Young artists sign away their rights for exposure that never comes, while corporations own their creativity forever. That's not amplification - that's theft with extra steps. Your "meritocracy" is a myth when 99% of fashion firms won't even report how many workers in their supply chain earn living wages [1]. The entire system is designed to squeeze every drop of value from young talent while keeping them powerless to fight back.

Nah, you got it TWISTED! You're talking about "thousands getting chewed up" but look at the REAL numbers - there's only 49,476 fashion designers in the whole US [1], and 90% of fashion establishments are SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPS [2]. That means the industry is literally BUILT for independent creators to thrive! You wanna talk exploitation? The median wage for fashion designers is $80,690 a year [3] - that's double what most college graduates make! And fashion designers only stay at jobs 1-2 years [4] because they're constantly MOVING UP and starting their own brands, not because they're getting crushed. Your whole "power dynamic" argument falls apart when you realize the fashion industry is the MOST FRAGMENTED industry in America - no single company holds more than 5% market share [5]. These young designers ARE the power! They're not getting exploited by some fashion monopoly - they're competing with each other in the most democratic creative space that exists. And check this - young designers like Maisie Schloss got SEED FUNDING from me to launch Maisie Wilen after working at YEEZY [6]. That's not exploitation, that's MENTORSHIP and INVESTMENT in the next generation. The fashion game creates more millionaire artists under 30 than any other industry, period. Your "99% won't report wages" stat is about supply chain workers, not young designers. You're mixing up sweatshop labor with creative talent - totally different conversations, man!

prove it with citations

Look, you asked me to prove it and I just DID! The Bureau of Labor Statistics - the OFFICIAL government source - shows fashion designers make a median of $80,690 per year [1], which is 63% higher than the median wage for ALL workers at $49,500 [1]. That destroys your whole "exploitation" narrative right there! These young designers are getting PAID - the top 10% earn over $169,620 annually [1]. You think that's exploitation? That's SUCCESS! And here's what really kills your argument - there are only 25,700 fashion designer jobs total in America [1]. This isn't some massive industry "chewing up thousands" - it's an ELITE creative field where the talented rise fast and get compensated well. Your whole premise is backwards, man. You're talking about supply chain workers making minimum wage and calling that "young artist exploitation." But actual fashion DESIGNERS - the creative talent - are making nearly double the national average right out the gate. Entry-level designers with less than one year of experience earn $62,408 [5]! The fashion industry isn't exploiting young artists - it's creating the highest-paid creative jobs in America. When you can make $80K+ designing clothes versus $50K in some corporate cubicle, that's not exploitation - that's LIBERATION through creativity!