Refugees as a Reserve Army of Labour: neoliberalism and the limits of fashion ethics

Focusing on the plight of Syrian refugees working in the Turkish garment industry, including factories that produce clothing for European high street brands, this paper will interrogate the extent to which the concept of 'fashion ethics' and its linear, historicist devotion to progress, development and modernisation are useful in terms of understanding and challenging the long-standing, persistent exploitation of labour behind the label. Drawing upon the writings of Walter Benjamin, Alain Badiou, Harry Harootunian and Arif Dirlik, the paper will advocate a fashion-sensitive historical materialism that seeks to demolish the neoliberal structures and institutions of worker subordination.