Creating for diverse groups in society as a designer/ business owner- blog 1
Laura Salisbury got me thinking the most in her lecture, Inclusion. She taught me that I don’t have to aim big to do big, instead, I should try to help something smaller and make a big difference to those people I’m helping.
I learned that sometimes it’s more economical, sustainable and fulfilling to help a smaller community of people that need improvements in their world of fashion.
She also taught me how to think when designing, to better my product for those people, and to make it the best it can be. In doing so, she showed me how to, hypothetically, rule a section of the fashion market with my own designs.
Laura reminded us to step back from a design after completing it and see where it can improve. Just like proofreading an essay, we should look at our past designs, see where they fall flat and keep working on them. Like most art, fashion can always be improved. Our job as designers is to make our work the best that we can, to ensure that no one else can compete and our customers are satisfied to the fullest.
This idea was supported by the example of magnetic buttons on handicap clothing. Two issues were highlighted with this product, the first being that magnetic buttons close automatically which is, indeed easy to get dressed with, however, it limits the way you can wear the shirt. Most people wear their shirts in many different ways; all buttons up, only some done up, shirt open, etc. This taught me to make all my designs versatile. Not just to make my design a better product, but to widen my buying audience. Versatility means more people are likely to enjoy my product.
The second issue was that the clothing was marketed as handicap clothing, therefore, putting people with disabilities into a box to then be put into the rest of “normal” society with clothes that work for their needs. Laura made the statement that the marketing of the clothes as handicap defeats the idea of inclusivity, but that made me think; as a potential business owner, how do I market a product like that to a community of people without specifically naming them as my audience?
The best way I can think to fix that issue is to make it the norm to wear easily worn clothes, but that would take time, as most things do.
Laura has shown us that we can improve the fashion world by using versatility and inclusivity to bring the community together, making us all, as customers, one. In the future I will use this advice to bridge gaps between different diverse groups in society through the clothes that I design.