ABSTRACT
Chapter 7, “Consuming Fast Fashion in The Man in the White Suit (1951) and In Fabric (2018),” elucidates the potential power of satire wrapped in horror to expose fast fashion’s implications by viewing The Man in the White Suit and In Fabric through three ecocritical lenses: human ecology, environmental justice, and evolutionary narratives. We first explore the Victorian roots of mass consumption associated with the textile and clothing industries by examining the roots of the department store, the modern bank, and the industries themselves. We then highlight how parody amplifies exploitation in these settings while also revealing human ecological and environmental justice issues underpinning them. Subsequently, we apply an ecofeminist lens to showcase environmental injustices associated with human bodies transforming into grotesque landscapes abused for consumption. Ultimately, we illuminate evolutionary narratives turning underground environments into cyclical and elemental spaces of ridiculous horror. This emphasis on consumption also moves us to our last section, Environmental Nostalgia, Fuel, and the Carnivalesque, in which chapters highlight conflicts between economic and environmental advancements.
