March 2020

The Better Lives unit introduced many examples of problems and solutions within fashion which relate to culture, diversity and sustainability. The lectures taught me many things I hadn’t yet considered and I am very happy that we have had these points outlined in depth for us so I can take them into account when doing my own practice. There were some lectures in particular which highlighted problems I need to avoid and important social issues of which I could possibly influence and raise awareness. 

I found the ‘Cultural Sustainability’ lecture by John Lau really interesting. He started by outlining the definitions of objective and subjective culture which made me aware of the different situations where culture is introduced and the influence this may have globally on fashion. When cultural norms are modernised it can lead to them developing and this is essential to drive the fashion industry forward. If people do not understand the meaning behind a cultural piece of clothing, the item becomes simply a costume, which leads to cultural appropriation. I have a much clearer understanding of the issues around cultural appropriation due to the ‘Cultural Sustainability’ lecture and I am now determined to consider ways to avoid and solve problems surrounding this. We should all be striving to achieve cultural competence – people should consider inclusion and representation when designing, not just the aesthetic. If you can take a culture into account and work not only to represent, but also to provide support for that culture, this can lead to a productive outcome for all. However, if you simply exploit their culture for the aesthetics then this can lead to appropriation. 

I also found the wellbeing lecture by Jekaterina Rogaten intriguing as it went into depth about the psychological factors which should be considered in fashion. Very often this is an area which is ignores and which can cause mental health, environmental and exploitation issues within the fashion industry. For example with creatives like Alexander McQueen, Isabella Blow and Kate Spade, their lives were all ended early as they were weighed down by the pressures and struggles of the fashion industry. Ideas like the ‘Paradox of Choice’, ‘Cognitive Dissonance Theory’ and ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ suggest solutions to poor wellbeing in the fashion industry, and I find this area fascinating. The depth of information in the lectures has helped me to understand the extent of the problem. In order to reach a sustainable, diverse and responsible outcome we need to first work on the mindset of the people in the industry and work outwards. This also includes thinking about not only the needs of the designers and people running the industry, but also the consumers. We should be striving to decrease the number of eating disorders and people with body dysmorphia, and stop producing images that can lead to lack of confidence and identity issues which people face due to unrealistic body standards in the media. Inclusion, diversity and representation of all people should be at the forefront of our industry. The Diversity and Representation lecture by Teleica Kirkland was very useful to help highlight these issues currently in the industry and show why we need to make a difference. 

I think that if we focus on these main values in our lives and our work then the fashion industry will become more friendly, inclusive, and representative.

Well-being is something that has been connected to us since the human existence and it relates to every single action that happens during our life. Whether it be school or even something as simple as daily routine actions such as cooking. 

Fashion in itself, such as the well-being, have an immense impact on the human’s life and it has been like that since the 19th century. As Coco Chanel once said: ‘’Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening’’, this represents how fashion is in everything and the way it can influence the way of thinking and well being. As a matter of fact the way we dress up can give us self-esteem, determine personalities. Clothes are an extension of ourselves, it can be consider as a second skin. However, this one you can personalize in your own way. Fashion can make everyone feel better, since it expresses identity statements. 

There are two types of well-being: Eudaimonic and Hedonic. The Eudaimonic type focuses on the experiences that the human have, such as self-actualization, esteem, love or belongings, safety and psychological. Whereas, the Hedonic type approaches the positive and negative effects in actions and the mental state of mind. Fashion plays a crucial role on both types of well-being, not just for what we wear, but the way we wear the clothes we choose. 

In a world where cruelness is a big part of it, it is important to stay true to ourselves and fashion is way to do that. Anxiety and depression are really common these days and trying to find something to give comfort in order to get away from negative thoughts can be complicated. Fashion can be a way out since it enhances the creativity and well-being. In spite of what society might think, fashion is not just clothes, is a state of mind and it is completely normal to feel comfort on simple items such as clothes or accessories. Accordingly to Bill Cunningham: ‘’Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of the everyday life’’.

Taking care of our mental health nowadays is crucial, every single action has an influence on our state of mind and having control over everything that is going on is impossible. Nonetheless, having control over one thing can create an enourmous impact on our state of mind. Therefore, fashion  enhances the creativity and as a consequence, the well-being.

References:

Harper’s bazaar staff (2020) ‘The 70 Greatest Fashion Quotes of All Time’ Harpers Bazaar. Available at: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a1576/50-famous-fashion-quotes/ (Acessed: 13/03/2020)

The better lives project has made me reflect on previous work, as well as work I am going to create in the near and distant future. I feel that in the past I cared about inclusion, about sustainability, about collaboration, about representation, and so many other issues we currently face but during the better lives project I realised just how crucial all of these things are, and how if we all work together we really could create a better world for everybody, including future generations. 

We are the clearest example of a society which destroyed itself by overexploiting it’s own resources, whilst failing to anticipate future consequences. Currently, we are living through a crucial turning point in history, and what we do now during this climate emergency will be judged by future generations who will live in a world completely different to the world we currently live in, and it is our responsibility to do better and be better, not just for ourselves, but all future life on this vast earth. 

I am working on changing life long habits such as drinking cow’s milk, using single-use plastics, and purchasing fast fashion items, which are made in appalling conditions using cheap labour. I am changing my habits to try and make a slight difference to the earth, but it is bittersweet when elites, with their disproportionate power, feel they are somehow detached from the terrifying realities of climate change. Elites can make a massive difference by donating money, owning fewer things, travelling less, driving more eco-friendly vehicles, and owning fewer houses, as well as other things. According to Oxfam, the average carbon footprint of someone in the world’s richest 1% could be 175 times that of someone in the poorest 10%. Studies also show that poorer people will suffer the most from climate change.

“Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard” – Liz Fosslien

“I tell my students, ‘when you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.” – Toni Morrison

So as well as working on being more sustainable, I am also working on being more inclusive and representative of the beautiful range of people we have living on this earth, and I think it is super important to not only include people in front of the camera but behind the camera too. As a white, able-bodied, cis male I have a lot of privilege and power to create real change, and I am working on being more inclusive and using my privilege, voice, and platform to make people aware of the issues and misrepresentation that bipoc, plus-sized, queer, women, and those of a lower socioeconomic background face every single day. Create the change you wish to see in the world.

Diversity and representation play a huge role in our current society with the theme of Eurocentric values dominating many industries, most notably, the fashion industry. It is largely accepted that western culture has been built on a monoculturalist ideology spread through the rise of imperialism, colonialism and media. However, as we evolve into an ever-increasing digital age, this calls for more emphasis on the comprehension and representation of all groups, no matter how small or misrepresented within the industry.

Teleica Kirkland explains that when only one certain culture is shown throughout the media, other communities can often feel undesirable and somewhat “demonised”. With a focus on the black community, there is a prevalent problem with colourism and how those within the community begin to view themselves as undesirable or even frightening if they have a darker shade of skin compared to lighter skinned people. She mentions the Adidas ‘Change is a Team Sport’ campaign and highlights the lack of darker skinned women and attributes this to the problem of colourism which sees brands favouring lighter skinned women as more ‘attractive’.

The damage of misrepresentation in the modern world is an important aspect to mention as highlighted by Frantz Fanon in his book ‘Black Skin, White Masks’ first published in 1952 and increasingly relevant today. He argued that it is necessary for those within the black community to adopt the culture of the dominant white in order to fit in, causing a self-hatred spurred on by society. This is an excellent example given to illustrate the damage on wellbeing caused by misrepresentation.

However, this is not the only form of misrepresentation worth mentioning as we can also see it in cultural appropriation which happens ever more frequently with the rise of social media and the fashion industry. Cultural appropriation is to use another culture’s symbol or essence and deliver it to a wider audience in a way which misrepresents that culture and can be done for economic gain. Kirkland took this concept further by adding that it is about who has the power and privilege to take elements from another culture without acknowledgement. For example, the fashion label Marc Jacobs came under fire with their Spring 2017 collection for using dreadlocks to accessorise their model’s hair; a prime example of appropriation for economic and publicity gain. 

This lecture was especially eye opening for me as Teleica not only spoke about the downfalls of cultural appropriation, she also spoke equally about cultural appreciation. As a student, it is equally important to become aware of the positive impacts on the fashion industry. For example, the blending of the Japanese and African cultures to create colourful and poignant kimonos in the Wafrica project. The subject of diversity has proved to be increasingly important within our society due to the rise of social media and the influence of those on these platforms. This lecture has been a reminder of the importance of staying aware of misrepresentation within the industry and has taught me the need to remain conscious of this within my future work.

I have chosen to blog about the empathy lecture as it’s the one that stood out to me the most, the lecture opened with the question “what is empathy?” breaking this question down was interesting as we found out that it is defined in the dictionary as “stepping in the shoes of the other person and understanding their feelings and perspectives” there are two components of empathy; the first being an emotional response which means feeling and identifying. The second component is about coming from an understanding place which means imagining how it might be to go through what someone else is going through and imagining things from their perspective.

Understanding the meaning of empathy in more depth made me realise how important it is for artists, designers and creatives to be empathetic when we create things; Some of the world’s top brands including IBM, Apple, and Google have embraced the designing with empathy mindset in an effort to guess less and design products and experiences that truly resonate with their user base. Unlike decades prior, the one-size-fits-all, mass production approach is no longer enough to succeed and thrive and in my opinion the fashion industry is behind with doing this, it is important for us as the “future of fashion” to bring this change into the industry as currently it feels as though brands are only empathetic if there is profit to be made when really empathy should be normalized even if there’s no profit. 

We could choose to incorporate “Empathy things” as they could be mobilised to help design for empathy e.g using clothing “props” like walking sticks and glasses in photoshoots. You have to have empathy to be inclusive, otherwise you’ll be catering to only one crowd all the time, we need to think of people more marginalized than us when creating we need to practise empathy and choose ideas that help us all.

My Better Lives topic choice was Make-up Breakdown. Walking in for the first of technical classes, I did not necessarily know what to expect. The room filled with make-up stations and unknown faces filled me with moth excitement and insecurity. The tutor briefed the entire group, explaining we will be dealing with experimental design for fashion practice, covering theory and practice of make-up application. A key point of focus would be innovation in the form of creative mistake implementation to develop an original technique, both compelling and delivering social change.

This topic essentially caused mixed feelings in me. On the one hand, I realized that my perfectionist mindset may cause difficulties in creating imperfect works. On the other, I realized it was an amazing opportunity to overcome this weakness. Because of this, I started to treat Make-up Breakdown more like mental training than technical learning of make-up skills, additionally considering my previous experience and advanced skills so far. 

Such perception motivated me to undertake this challenge and actively participate in classes, showing engagement and gradually acquiring shifted viewpoint. For this reason, I volunteered as a model during the first workshops, covering the aspect of foundation matching. Such an approach was new for me as I usually tend no to stick out too much. However, in my everyday practice as a stylist, I recently noticed that sometimes it is better to be looked over than to be overlooked. Thus, I treated this task as a perfect opportunity to start doing so.

Next workshops discussed the technique of face contouring. To analyse it more in-depth, students were supposed to map each other’s faces contours using bold colours. This was challenging because of the pairing with a person of different origin, which involves working with different face features than those I was used to. Additionally, the colours were easily transferable and problematic to work with. Happily, both I and my classmate enjoyed the creative process and bonded while conducting it. Additionally, this task informed my practice as a stylist, inspiring me to think more inclusively in future practice. 

Last workshops introduced the smokey eye look, brief asking to create make-up that involved devy skin and smudgy eye. Tutor advised a simple method that involved a black pencil and blending brush, saying that it does not require too much minuteness and can be created quite freely/carelessly. Those tips were a complete opposite to information I acquired during my make-up training which was particularly focused on symmetry and details. Still, I decided to follow my tutor’s advice and let my creativity take a lead. Even though such an ethic of work was completely against my habits, I enjoyed the effect created. This inspired me to express the ideas more freely in my styling practice, keeping in mind that sometimes an accidental outcome may be more satisfying than a primary assumption.

Overall, I believe that the topics of Better Live workshops I attended caused shifts in my mindset, showing me that perfect does not always mean the best. This way, I started feeling much freer in my creative practice and gained loads of motivation to undertake experimentation in my future projects.

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.

Sustainability, Diversity, Social Responsibility – we discuss these three topics on a daily basis whether we understand it or not. There are heated debates about climate change, racism, sexism – all kinds of environmental catastrophes and discrimination. But what can we do about it? How can we change the ways we encounter, evaluate and find solutions to such problems? The Better Lives unit was meant to broaden our thinking and perception of these themes and help us think of better solutions as we are the ones who can build a better future.

I have always thought I knew enough about each of the categories, which the lectures covered, but my knowledge was not detailed enough. Thus, I did not particularly learn something brand new, but my views changed a lot.

I started thinking, is it necessary to buy clothes all the time, why not reuse them? I know that I am a consumer and sadly I cannot change this fact, but I can try to avoid constantly buying and looking for new clothes, because this is not only to the detriment of our planet, but to ourselves as well. There are lots of people that are underpaid and abused at their workplace. I do not want to stimulate this no more. Moreover, I do not want to build my identity following fashion trends. I would rather follow myself.

Consequently, sustainability and social responsibility go hand in hand. If we want a better future for our planet, we must allow people to have a better life. This could happen if people are more empathic, understanding towards each other. We are all the same, we all work together inside of this thing called society, we should respect and encourage each other.

To be fair, I was not really keen on changing my surroundings and meeting people from other courses, but during the process I found out that there is nothing scary in doing so. Working in groups (for our projects) to do something as simple as a collage and giving, as well as receiving positive comments, resulted in a simple, yet beautifully done piece of collage. This means that by simply acknowledging others you gain a wonderful experience and you do everything faster and better. The key is to be open and positive.

Then comes diversity, last but not the least. When a person is open-minded and positive, he/she/they can easily come together and implement their differences in their body of work. I learned that by getting in touch with people I can visit every place on Earth – through culture. In my future work I would like to demonstrate to everybody that we now live in a multicultural world. I do not want differences between cultures to be a problem, I want them to be celebrated. I want to re-evaluate where I come from, what am I doing, why am I doing it, and I want to understand where do all of the others come from, what are they doing and why do they do it this way, whether this happens through styling for fashion or illustrating for it. Because only by seeing how people style their clothes and visualise their ideas, I know that many, many things are different and at the same time are perfectly the same.