Blog 1: Inclusivity

While attending and watching multiple interesting Better Lives lectures, I found myself stumbling on Laura Salsberry’s talk that expressed a method of thinking that suited my vision of fashion. During Salsberry’s lecture, she discussed focusing on garments as tools to intensify the recovery of stroke survivors. Throughout the research, she realized that she needed to look into an audience that targets people who have suffered from different circumstances instead of disregarding factors such as elderly aged individuals that suffer from limited usage of physical elements of their body. For instance, a few years back, I dislocated my shoulder and was in a position where my shoulder needed to be stabilized for over six months. After my recovery, I found that often tight clothing or clothing with heavy designs on the shoulder area made it extremely difficult to dress for my fashion due to my limitation. Ultimately, I have had similar problems to the one she is targeting, that being limitation within my arms. By broadening her product and allowing it to not subject to only heart stroke survivors, she was able to capture a whole new target audience. By understanding the needs of fashion concerning a broader scope, it will create a more significant insight into the future on how to evolve products beyond a niche market circle. Hence, by adhering to people who have little use of their arms nor hands after an injury, and all those that classify under that scope, she can grow her target consumer and therefore be able to provide for more consumers.

Salsberry allowed me to understand the importance of including several categories into one and therefore building a better perception of how we can be more inclusive in fashion. She managed to create more consumer possibilities and inspired my vision on how to establish ideas not specifically generated on ordinary opinion in fashion. Having been affected by an issue regarding limited body function, I am very aware of the importance and benefits that her garment study will bring to many people. Aside from helping people, she also demonstrated the importance of extending fashion to a time and age, the way that as time extends, so do the ends of people. In order to be successful, the ability to serve those needs is vital. Eventually, Salsberry affected my thinking to a positive response in which these garments can succeed in the future and be stylish at the same time. From experience I know, it can be hard for those to feel comfortable in specific garments due to physical limitations. However, Salsberry convinced me by showing several examples that can make it possible.

Overall her Better Lives Lecture influenced my thinking the most, she addressed multiple factors and created a very powerful outcome in which I got convinced by her statements and ideas.

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