Lecture Reflection
I have listened to several lectures within the Better lives unit, each of them being very interesting, but especially Kate Fletcher’s lecture on “Nature” caught my attention. In the first part of the session, she broke down the differences between the terms “Nature”, “Environment”, and “Sustainability”. Nature being “the self-originating material and spiritual world of which we are a part, including the powers that sustain and govern it”[1] as Michael Bonnett stated, the “Environment” being a geographical term and “Sustainability” the “Dynamic process which enables all people to realise their potential to improve their quality of life which protect and enhance the earth’s life support systems”[2].
Fletcher continued by telling us about the History of the Easter Island and its extraordinary 1000 sculptures, whose origin we don’t exactly know, as a comparing example for our current global situation: After the first inhabitants arrived sometime near 1200 AD the population grew to about 15000 people, which then dropped to 2000 by the time the Europeans arrived in 1722. A scientifically accepted theory for this drastic depletion is the deforestation that took place on the islands for cultivation and the transportation of the enormous sculptures. Before the inhabitants came to realization, the last tree was chopped. Deforestation causes loss of biodiversity, increase of greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion, and the disruption of the water cycle which makes a place unliveable.
This example struck me, but what Kate talked about next had an even bigger impact on me. She talked about planetary boundaries which need to be in perfect balance to make earth safe and productive. She stated that if any of these boundaries were transgressed, our planted would experience catastrophic changes.
The breaking news is that already three of these planetary boundaries have transgressed. We are now experiencing these catastrophic changes.
The problem is, Kate stated, that we don’t see the connection of the geological system to our daily life, we live in an era “where humans see themselves at the centre of everything”[3] even though Nature is the centre of everything.
She talked about our relation to nature, that it is only seen as “a resource, a means to an end, nature only exists in order to meet human needs”[4].
We need to connect and associate with Nature, with our environment, and design to grow our ecological identities.
I have always been interested in the ecological impact fashion has on nature and the other way round. This lecture gave me the inspiration to dig deeper and go further with my projects and to keep in mind that “Nature is the enabler of the fashion system, the fashion’s limiting factor and or source of material”[5].
Fletcher raised the important question we need to ask ourselves:
“Can we find ways to reinforce our experience of nature as the context for
fashion provision and expression?”
[1] Kate Fletcher (2020) ‘Nature’[Live]. Lecture5: Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 13/02.
[2] Kate Fletcher (2020) ‘Nature’[Live]. Lecture5: Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 13/02.
[3] Kate Fletcher (2020) ‘Nature’[Live]. Lecture5: Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 13/02.
[4] Kate Fletcher (2020) ‘Nature’[Live]. Lecture5: Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 13/02.
[5] Kate Fletcher (2020) ‘Nature’[Live]. Lecture5: Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 13/02.