Blog 3 – Reflection on how Better Lives has influenced my project outcome and personal development.
As a creative direction student, an area I am very interested in is photography which is why I picked it to further develop my skills and understanding of this industry. The Better Lives themes have definitely influenced the way I think as well as my personal development throughout this course. For example, during an online lecture where Daniel Treacy spoke about Cindy Sherman’s work, I couldn’t help but think back to the lecture on ‘Diversity’ by Shahidha Bari. As we all know, Cindy Sherman was highly influential in the late 1970s, her work challenged and critiqued the concept of gender and identity which are both themes that Bari mentioned during her lecture. I think it is very important to always keep in mind the concept of diversity as well as inclusivity when undergoing any project because without it we would be excluding minority groups.
Continuing on the concept of Diversity, the Better lives themes influenced my work during a visit to Shepherds bush market. During this lesson we separated into different groups to photograph whatever we saw appropriate for the project. I chose to photograph different people in the market carrying on with their daily lives. I decided to do this because I felt like this is one example of a minority group that rarely shows up on magazines, let alone covers. More attention needs to be brought to these group of individuals because they portray reality and I believe people can relate to them more than a model living in Beverly hills. Sometimes the fashion industry shines the spotlight on not necessarily the wrong group of individuals, but a very small collective that we constantly see on covers. I want to see restaurant workers, police officers and cleaners on the cover of vogue, and hear about their life stories, not another 73 questions with a celebrity. Regardless, Diversity in the fashion industry has improved massively compared to just a decade ago. We now live in a more accepting society, however, there is still much room for improvement.
The Better Lives themes has been very influential and I believe it will continue to affect how I think in the future. I will continue to keep in mind the three themes; diversity, sustainability and social responsibility not only during projects but throughout every aspect of my life. Apart from the better lives project I am currently building my own business and one thing that I really believe in is fair pay for workers, because It is important to support workers and ensure a healthy working environment. Better lives has been a very enjoyable learning experience which I hope will continue because it is important that the messages are heard.
Bari, S. (2020) ‘Diversity’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 14 February.