March 2020

Throughout the Better Lives unit series, we discussed important socio-political issues that concern the fashion industry. The lectures were engaging and helped us, the first year students, understand the impact of fashion in a more authentic manner. Having an open discussion during the lectures exposed me to the ideologies that are not only ingrained in fashion but also how as a society we perceive and consume fashion and media. The lecture that stood out to me was on representation. As a person of colour who grew up in a society which preferred white skin to brown, I believe it is important that we change the traditional standard of beauty. This type of change happens when we have open discussions and exchange of ideas like the lecture on ‘Representation’ delivered by Teleica Kirkland. 

This lecture helped me understand how the fashion industry still drives a Eurocentric image in advertising and media. Despite a need and want for more diversity somehow major fashion brands use people of colour simply for tokenism diversity. Kirkland goes on to explain how whitewashing is prominent in industry and people with lighter skin are preferred. This is due to two reasons one being the history of advertisement. Products and services were marketed to “white families and people” as they were assumed to be wealthier and the targeted audience for the products. The other reason is the deep-rooted racism in society. To date, Eurocentric features are seen to be more “beautiful” or “attractive” by us. Features such as plump lips or wide hips which naturally occur in black and brown women are perceived to be more appealing on a white woman.

This leads to the topic of cultural appropriation and appreciation. Kirkland discusses how various brands and celebrities are ignorant of other societies and races cultures. This she says stems from a place of power and privilege, many of the people producing these advertisements and products are unaware of the history behind the culture they are ripping off. This sense of ignorance and entitlement makes them appropriate culture without any regard to how it will be noticed by the people of those societies. While on one hand culture appropriation is still is popular, due to globalisation various artists can draw inspiration from other cultures and integrate that into their work in a respectful manner. For example, a project by the company Wafrica which merged the Japanese culture of kimonos with the African textiles. He did this with sensitivity to the Japanese heritage and his personal experience while living in Japan (Jewell, 2018). With us approaching in a new wave of fashion it is important to remodel what we perceive to be attractive and fashionable. The fashion industry has a social responsibility to its consumers and must hold themselves at a higher standard than they do right now and be the change in society that leads us all to a more diverse and inclusive society.

Jewell, C. (2018). Wafrica: exploring identity through design. [online] www.wipo.int. Available at: https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2018/06/article_0004.html [Accessed 1 Mar. 2020].

‌ Kirkland, T. (2020) ‘ Representation’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 26 February.

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