Diversity and Representation
After receiving the Better Life unites brief and attending numerous lectures thought out the course of the 2 weeks. I understand why the Tutors decided to choose these key themes which are Diversity, Social Responsibility and Sustainability as our main focus for the Better Life, as it is more current than ever and is factors that everyone should pay attention to in our practices. Looking thought out each of the lecture’s summaries, I found myself always being attracted towards lectures which features Diversity as their main focus. This is because, as I’m able to relate on a personal level and share my thought and experiences on what it’s like to be a minority. However, this does mean that I think Social Responsibility and Sustainability is not just as important as Diversity.
One of the most, memorable lectures I attended was about Representation by Teleica Kirkland. Throughout the lecture, she touched on topics such as why Diversity and Representation are necessary and Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation. I’ve always been interested in these two topics because as someone who doesn’t fit into the general stereotypical Asian women, I’ve always interested in how to introduce and bordered people knowledge of different cultures and people in Asia through my work.
Kirkland mentioned Dr Diana Yeh, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Culture and the Creative Industries in the University of London, researched Model minority in British East and South-East Asian. After hearing a bit of her research in the lecture, I did further research on her studies and I agree with Doctor Yay because many people might not notice but there has anyways a Hierarchy in Asia and who is the most desirable Caste and whom people trends to gravitate towards. We can see an example of this in every practise not just fashion. I’ve seen numerous collections and editorial where only a certain type of Asian are being used- the stereotypical Oriental look and never the South or South-East Asian which makes me wonder do the creator think that people won’t be able to tell the difference or are they just choosing what looks normal in the eyes of the world or are they just using them to use the word “Diversity”.
Teleica Kirkland definition of Cultural Appropriation shares the same values and understanding of my point of view as well. “It is about who has the power and who has the privilege to be able to use that power and whatever they want from any culture at any time without recompense or acknowledgement” I believe that is fine to take inspiration from other cultures but as long as you understand and acknowledge the history and value behind it. There are hundreds of brands who forget this value wrong seasons after season. For instances, Marc Jacobs, Loewe, Prada, Gucci, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Chanel etc… You would think a respected high-profile brand as they are, would know the differences between Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation.
Diversity and Representation are fundamental and essential now than ever as boundaries between cultures and races are becoming burry and soon enough that boundaries will become invisible. Which only makes sense to start featuring and showcasing the real look of realty.
19th April 2020 @ 3:08 pm
I enjoyed reading your blog post especially because you picked things up that I never thought of when I attended that lecture so it was nice to see your perspective. I feel that you have reflected fully on the themes we were told to think about as you broke it down in the first paragraph you explained what the industry is currently doing but in future maybe show how fashion can implement things to create better lives.
24th April 2020 @ 1:45 pm
You have clearly understood the Better Lives themes and have been attentive to the lectures and I have enjoyed reading your approach on diversity and representation within the fashion industry. I feel we have experienced a similar journey in relation to the Better Lives project and themes; I have created projects based on my culture, my experience being a British Indian. How being brought up in the UK not knowing my mother tongue has also placed me into someone who also doesn’t fit into the stereotypical Indian woman. For that reason, I chose your blog to review as I was attracted to the theme diversity and it was very interesting to read your perspective on the theme. Myself being Indian I am someone who feels strongly about cultural appropriation and I agree with your comment about high-profile brands not understanding the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. The reason for this is I have experienced personal offence from Gucci AW 18 where models were wearing turbans- tied and folded in a way that mirrors how they are when within the Sikh religion. I believe that cultural appropriation should be a serious topic as brands are continually appropriating other cultures without facing the consequences/backlash to their mistakes. It is great that you have openly spoken about diversity, mentioning your personal feelings and how it has affected you. Also, you have understood both cultural appropriation and appreciation showing you have regarded and analysed the lecture Representation by Teleica Kirkland. However, to improve it would have been nice to read examples of high-profile brands where cultural appropriation has taken place where you consider it reprehensible. Also, you could have analysed cultural appreciation further to show how the fashion industry can start to create a better life. Overall, reading your blog post was very enjoyable and had great points.
References
Christian Madsen, A, (2018), Gucci Autumn/Winter 2018 Ready-To-Wear Show Report. [online] Vogue.co.uk. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/autumn-winter-2018-ready-to-wear/gucci [Accessed 20 April 2020]
4th May 2020 @ 5:02 pm
I chose Sadikchaya’s blog post to reflect on because it’s very well written but also because it is something I can relate to on a personal level, thus making it so much more intriguing to me. It is very clear that she has understood all three Better Lives themes and was genuinely engaged in the lectures. Her interest in the topic of diversity parallels my interest in that same topic as well.
I can relate to her experiences with diversity and her thought process behind this complex concept as I am Arab-Circassian. Therefore, I have had my own experiences with diversity and cultural appropriation. Due to my interest in this topic, I dedicated my Better Lives critical design project to the same topic of diversity regarding religion and ethnicity. I was born in Jordan thus making me Arab. However, I am also Circassian (south of Russia), but I never had the chance to learn my language or even visit my home country. To most that seems like I do not fit the criterion of being Circassian, and I also do not fit to the criterion of being an Arab. So I have struggled with my identity for a while now. That is why her blog post is interesting to read and something I can relate to on a deeper level.
Overall your blog post was a good read, however I found it extremely thought-provoking when she mentioned that it “is fine to take inspiration from other cultures but as long as you understand and acknowledge the history and value behind it.” I do not think I could have phrased that sentence in a better way. I completely agree with what she said. I think that acknowledging the history as well as the value behind a culture is the most important thing. Each culture holds an enormous amount of antiquity and history behind it, that it is not reasonable for certain people to disregard that.
I enjoyed the personal feel to this blog post, I felt as though Sadikchaya really opened about how this topic has affected her. I also think that she showed a deep understanding of the three concepts that we are supposed to focus on. For further development I think that Sadikchaya can portray more examples of cultural appropriation in more depth, and that she could suggest possible ways in which conflicts within this topic can be overcome.
8th May 2020 @ 8:38 pm
After reading through many blog posts, I decided for my peer review to reflect on Rusa Biebeda Mijero 2nd blog post as I feel like we have a lot in common and share very similar experiences. Rusa’s blog has touched points on each of the better life themes which are Sustainability, Diversity, and Social Responsibility and has also included personal experiences.
In her blog, I can tell that she has more interest in diversity and sustainability by the way writes and I feel like these two sections are the parts that I can relate to the most as well. When Rusa talked about her experiences of sustainability, I found it so hilarious because I’ve experienced the same thing in my household. My parents think it’s a waste of money to keep buying plastic bag when you have so many free bags at home and now that’s my mindset as well and has become a habit. Furthermore, in her blog, she said “The constant mention of the term has made me want to be less ignorant with my actions when it comes to my fashion spending habits” which I agree with a lot and I mentioned in my blog before that as fashion student we are constantly reminded about sustainability and our action but I feel like it’s a topic that everyone needs to be reminded of as well. Additionally,
It would be interesting if you share your new ways to be sustainable to your family and how they would react.
Furthermore, your view on diversity is quite thought-provoking because I always find it fascinating to see what other people’s point of view of diversity means to them. To me, Diversity is a topic that I contently question and challenge in my creative practice and I can tell that it’s something that Rusa is passionate about and want to explore further in her work. She mentioned in her blog “Growing up I this was not something I paid attention too at all but with the likes of social media… I soon realised how much of an issue misrepresentation was” and that was my thought as well when I was younger because I grew in South-East London where there it was a diverse community with the majority of them being minorities. I was always surrounded with people from all background, which lead me to think that’s it’s like this everywhere but when I was younger I never really saw people that look like them or me on media and when I did see them there was a misrepresentation of them. That’s what lead me to study Creative Direction because I want to showcase and work with those who were never got the chance to be in the limelight.
Overall, I think Rusa blog is relatable to the majority of the student in UAL and I enjoyed reading her blog and her personal touches in it too. Rusa has shown that she understands that better life theme which is Sustainability, Diversity, and Social Responsibility.