Post 1
I attended many different Better Lives lectures that discussed various issues in the world and in fashion that reflect the Better Lives themes. One lecture in particular that stood out to me was Teleica Kirkland’s talk on Representation; I found many of the other lectures to discuss ideas which I have deeply explored before, whereas many of Kirkland’s ideas were new to me. The main focus of her lecture was misrepresentation in the media and stereotyped portrayals of different people, focussing greatly on black persons. She also discussed cultural appropriation, which is a subject that I have always been greatly interested in due to its great controversies and varying opinions around what is appropriation and what is appreciation. The Better Lives theme she was focussing on was diversity.
One topic she discussed in the lecture was when the ideas around a particular group of people as being undesirable become so pervasive that they can directly affect the people that themselves are a part of this group – particularly pertaining to race. These ideas come from abundant misrepresentation in the media that eventually becomes so normalized it can change the way we think about both ourselves and others. This is something that I have pondered in my own life, being myself of a mixed raced background and having grown up completely submerged in ‘Eurocentric values,’ as Kirkland called it. She references the book Black Skin, White Masks, by Frantz Fanon in which he, “Perceives the necessity of the black person to adopt the behaviour of the predominant white culture.“ My own experiences and Kirkland’s sort of validation of my own feelings, brings me to consider how these innate feelings that have been pervaded upon us by the media of particularly racist, but also sexist, ageist, ableist, etc., notions effect our creative decisions without us even necessarily noticing or acknowledging their existence. It brings me to consider my own work. Do I bring unbiased opinions about people who are innately looked down upon by society; or do ideas seen in the media and elsewhere permeate my ideas?
On the topic of cultural appropriation Kirkland showed us two examples of cultural appreciation. Personally, I have always had a difficult time understanding the bridge between cultural appropriation and appreciation but with the examples she provided, such as the Wafrica project, where African and Japanese cultures are respectfully represented, I feel that I have a much better understanding of what defines each. I have learned that in fashion using ideas valuable to other cultures is not inherently bad, as fashion news would have us believe, but can in fact be done respectfully and appreciatively.
In my opinion fashion is extremely prevalent in the global media and has great ability to influence people and their ideas and values. As such, I think it is important that I consider this in all of my future work, journalistic or otherwise, and work to remove any innate notions that I have developed without choice about myself or others in regard to human differences.
Regarding the Better Lives themes, fashion, now more than ever holds an extreme social responsibility to in particular permeate change in the way we represent and portray people from diverse backgrounds. My learning during this lecture showed me how much of an influence representation can have, as well as the importance and positive effect of cultural appreciation.
References:
Kirkland, T. (2020) Representation, Better Lives Unit, London College of Fashion (accessed on: 19 February 2020).
2nd May 2020 @ 2:46 pm
Blogpost 4, Peer Review
Having read through many of the fantastic posts on the SMC Better Lives blog, I came across Emily Phillips’ lecture reflection on Teleica Kirkland’s lecture on representation in fashion. This was very enjoyable to read as I also attended this lecture and I found it very interesting to read about another student’s opinion and experience of it. I personally found the lecture incredibly eye-opening, as while I have always been aware of this problem within fashion, I don’t think I had previously appreciated the extent of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation in fashion.
Phillips discusses “the ideas around a particular group of people as being undesirable become so pervasive that they can directly affect the people that themselves are a part of this group”. I felt that throughout her discussion of this idea presented in the lecture, Phillips was really able to understand the detrimental effect that misrepresentation and cultural appropriation have on the world of fashion and on those involved in the industry.
The way in which Phillips explored this theme was often greatly personal, referencing “a sort of validation of my own feelings” from Kirkland’s lecture. This was greatly enjoyable to read as I felt that Phillips not only felt that the lecture resonated with her but also that she was exploring how this would then inform her journalistic work in the future. Phillips managed to create a very personal tone to the blog post which I believe was very effective.
Phillips was then also able to acknowledge how she had “always had a difficult time understanding the bridge between cultural appropriation and appreciation”. I believe that this part of her blogpost showed a very deep personal insight and also showed that she was aware that often in fashion, appropriation and misrepresentation are often mistaken for appreciation when in reality it may have a very negative effect on the industry.
Phillips was able to recognise the fact that cultural boundaries are often overstepped in fashion and that sometimes we as consumers may not even realise it, which I think showed a great level of insight. As I mentioned previously, I also felt that I hadn’t realised the full extent of this problem within the industry. I therefore found it very interesting to read that another student had realised something similar from the lecture.
Phillips also wrote that “ fashion, now more than ever holds an extreme social responsibility to in particular permeate change”. I believe that this perfectly sums up the overall message of the lecture, and how we as fashion students hold a lot of this responsibility as we strive to become the future of the industry. I do feel that Phillips could’ve reflected more on the responsibility that brands and designers have in regard to appropriation and misrepresentation but overall, I felt that this blog post was extremely effective in identifying the overall message of the lecture and also showed an impressive level of self-reflection.