Blog 2 – How the better lives themes may enhance my practice
The lectures taught me a lot about the problems with the fashion industry at the moment, highlighting brands who have made mistakes in these areas and suggesting ways to improve the world of fashion. My mindset has expanded to realise we need to change and be more considerate moving forward in the fashion industry. The main lecture themes that resonated with me were wellbeing, diversity, representation, and sustainability. These themes relate to how people and the planet are treated in the industry, and I look forward to incorporating these themes into my work.
Fashion photography is at the centre of media and communications within the fashion industry. In order to portray a positive image to consumers, the product or brand must be represented accurately and thoughtfully by the photography. This is why it is so important in my practice to think about the points which I have outlined above. My main aim is to work to minimise mental health, discrimination, and environmental issues within the fashion industry. The first way I would do this is by promoting a supportive psychological background to fashion by allowing campaigns or shoots to include messages for diversity or togetherness. This will help the consumer to feel involved in areas of fashion which they might before have been excluded from. Eating disorders are one issue which should’ve been tackled a long time ago and if photographers and brands chose healthy models for a shoot (for example), it would show that the desired look isn’t to be underweight. This would enable the models to realise they do not have to be below a certain size, and also would help the consumer and the viewer of the photos to realise they are a normal size and do not have to conform to unrealistic beauty standards which we see so often portrayed in the media and the fashion industry. Using models from all cultures, ages, races, and sizes, as well as using a range of different looks will help with inclusivity and this is my aim in my practice going forward. I also know that I am only happy to work for brands who promote this along with values such as caring about the origin of the clothes, not supporting sweatshops or fast fashion and being anthropocentric, putting the wellbeing of the workers and consumers before profit. In 2017 Paris swore to ban all models from their runways who were underweight, or “ultra-thin” starting with Paris Fashion Week. The models had to have a note from a doctor confirming their weight to be healthy. This meant that the viewers of the shows were shown clothes as they would look on a person of a healthy weight rather then someone unrealistically skinny, and that the models avoided the dieting, fasting, and starving that they might have put themselves through before shows previously. In my opinion, and especially after listening to the lectures in the Better Lives unit, I believe steps like this are a really positive move forward. This is what I will be trying to achieve in my own practice, and I will use my knowledge from the lectures and examples which they used to also support and drive my work.
References
BBC News (06.05.17) France bans extremely thin models. Available at (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39821036) (20.03.20)