Blog 1: Lecture Reflection
The better lives unit was an opportunity that I was well aware of when applying to study at London college of fashion, and when the time came to begin the unit I was excited. Over the first two weeks I attended 6 lectures, but one that resonated with me significantly was from Julia Crew, on the theme of power.
According to her Linkedin profile, Julia has experience across all aspects of the fashion industry, from design to education, management research and events. Prior to the lecture, I wasn’t entirely sure how Power would relate to the better lives conversation, and was intrigued to learn more.
The exploration of how fashion can be used to communicate power was enlightening, making note of hierarchies, referencing uniforms as a tool to oppress some and build up others. But how we can see a microcosm of that structure within the use of suits in business. This could be a modern re-thinking of traditional roles of clothes.
This reminded me of the great male renunciation at the end of the 18th century, where extravagance was put aside for stronger gender stereotypes in men’s fashion, and how that lead to a power shift between women and men in a visual sense.
Another question posed by Julia was that of who has power in the fashion industry. In an ideal world, power in fashion would lie in creativity and talent. But ultimately the power lies in economics.
As the popular phrase says, ‘money makes the world go around’, and this rings true for fashion, from the billions of dollars earned by the top players to the less than minimum wage earned by workers worldwide. The truth of fashion is that it has come down to cutting corners to earn the most, and do it the fastest, with little true regard for human rights/
Now acknowledging that isn’t quite enough anymore. It just sounds fairly depressing. Julia talked about the power that consumers have. To an extent, the general public has the choice to begin equalising the playing field. By shopping sustainably, and consciously, the consumer can influence the people with the money (and subsequently power) to provide something much healthier for our planet, and the fashion industry.
I really enjoyed this particular lecture as it opened a new conversation for me, and really made me consider the structure of power within the fashion industry, and how there is definite potential to cause change, even when as individuals change might feel impossible.
This idea is something I’m going to carry forward in the better lives unit and apply to the work I produce. I will make sure to consider the potential knock on effect of every aspect of the work I create and explore every option to create better lives through the fashion industry.
-Shaw Fowler