Better lives Reflection on Lectures

Better Lives unit lectures that I have seen so far in some way made me think a lot about little and big things that are happening and has happened in the world. I decided to watch them all, they all unique and interesting in its own way. I think there were more than few lectures that affected my thinking and my feelings.

Here are two that made me think and made me feel.

Fashion Sustainability and Culture lecture by Anna Fitzpatrick made it clear how deep we felt into over consumption and pollution. She made a point about that these days generation can make changes in today’s fashion. Sustainability is not something that is necessary good for the world we live in only because the number of natural sources that are need for more sustainable fabric and products are sometimes twice as much as to make a synthetic fabric. Nowadays fast fashion industry makes us buy more things then before. In my opinion it is due to people being on social media too much and living in that world till it becomes your reality. Because there is nothing out there that makes you happy these days, it is mostly work-home-work lifestyle. People also feel that they are underpaid and underappreciated so that they reward themselves with new things as compensation. I am one of them individuals that does a non-individual thing by buying things that I might not ever use. Recently I started a new way of shopping, I remind myself that I had this specific cup in a past or I used to have something like this cup and where it ended up in the end. Do I need a new one but different colour to make me feel complete? The answer to that is – No! So I put that cup back and carry on with my life knowing that my cupboard has enough of those cups.

 I like the fact that Better Lives unit encourages us to make a diverse, sustainable and socially responsible fashion. I do try to donate most of my unwanted clothes to charities or giving it away to my friends. Talking about clothing, I was fascinated about Inclusion lecture by Laura Salisbury. She works with real people who are stroke survivors. Her Smart Fabric facilitates the recovery of the upper limb function, which is an absolute brilliant and amazing thing to do for people with that condition. In her lecture there was a video of deaf people not being able to experience an orchestra music. The piece of garment that is in the video is The Sound Shirt that helps deaf person to experience music through touch sensations of all the musical instruments that are used in that specific orchestra piece. While I was watching the video it made me cry, it is amazing that there are people who care about others with disabilities, that make fashion inclusive and inspire others to create garments like this. It is truly fascinating. Overall Better Lives unit tells you that fashion is not just a catwalk and weird designs made by crazy people it is a way of sending the message/making a statement through the work of art by creating and trying to show the world what is happening  behind the curtains what lies beneath it. Things that you wouldn’t usually pay attention to or dare to ask. Unless you are a curious one