BLOG 1 – ‘POWER’ Lecture Reflection
Within the first two weeks of the Better Lives unit I attended lectures and briefings that made reference to the following themes of sustainability, social responsibility and diversity within the fashion industry. Upon reflection I feel as though the lectures and briefings were a good insight into the better future Fashion is in need of, a future which happens to be in our hands as ‘consumers’. The lectures made me realise how as consumers, we have more power than realised. We have the power to speak, and brands listening.
The lecture ‘Power’ led by Julia Crew was an eye-opening and influential lecture which raised topics that stuck with me the most. The lecture presented power in relation to sustainability and different aspects within fashion. Starting off with fashion clothing, power has been able to be communicated in clothing worn by Royalty, the Military and Political figures, their attire has been able to communicate their status, class, accolades and professionalism for many years. Fashion has had power in controlling how we chose to portray ourselves and who we chose to be. Within the lecture the quote “Idealistically power should lie in the origins of creativity… Right now, power in fashion boils down to economic power” from Vestoj’s Issue 4: ‘On Power’ caught my attention. The quote made me think about the importance of creativity in the fashion industry and how it competes with the inevitable nature of fashion being a commercial and economic industry.
A topic raised which shaped my thinking on how fashion could create better lives is the huge divide and equality seen in those who are at the top and bottom of the industry. The apparel industry has proved to help richen people whilst enslaving others, taking a CEO only four days to earn a Bangledeshi garment worker’s lifetime earnings. I reflected on business’ needing to be more transparent to ensure no exploitation and also working towards being sustainable and diverse. Julia Crew showed us the faces of the top richest European business owners who all happened to be white and this showed there isn’t a diverse or representative group of rich CEO’s yet they hold immense power in terms of wealth.
Within the lecture Julia Crew also spoke about the importance of ‘you’ and the power in having a voice and making a change. It made me realise with every purchase made I am voting against or for humanity, whether I am buying from a brand who exploits workers or purchasing second hand clothes from a charity store. As a consumer we hold a lot of power and are able to act on it in many ways, such as protest. After the lecture I thought about the positive change I’d like to see in the fashion industry and how my role plays in this. As a media student, I reflected on how I can use the media and how it can be a powerful tool to inform and educate. And as a consumer, I reflected on being more sustainable by recycling clothes, taking part in ‘clothes swap’ and shopping at vintage and charity stores.
11th May 2020 @ 10:09 am
I chose to review Iman Coudoux’s blog post reflection of Julia Crew’s lecture on Power as I too found this particular lecture the most influential on my perception of the fashion industry, as well as relevant to my journey in exploring the Better Lives’ unit.
Julia Crew’s words regarding the adversity of the current power structure of the fashion industry were not only very appropriate, but also stipulating in its words for the call for improvement regarding social responsibility, cultural diversity and inclusivity, and sustainability.
Reading Coudoux’s reflection of the lecture piqued my interest as we both seemed to focus on the same facts and statistics put forward by Crew in her presentation. Iman delved deeper into these issues by introspecting on how it resonated with her as a fellow industrialist.
One particular thought she had, which I dwelled on later as well, was the competitive nature of fashion when it came down to creativity and commerce. It made me think about the relevant dilemma we all face as aspiring industrialists – do we choose to take the leap and follow our passion for creativity or first establish financial security? In the face of COVID-19, I believe that this internal debate is gaining more traction. Therefore, in my opinion, Coudoux’s reflection brought interesting arguments to the reader’s attention.
Her consideration of the inner workings of the industry was composed of insightful comments regarding the lack of cultural diversity, the requirement for more transparency to encourage social responsibility and the immediate demand for sustainability. Her touch on how she could make changes to the industry herself, for example through protest, as a media student and second-hand consumption as a consumer were relevant as Crew herself asked us to reflect on our potential role as students of the industry in changing the structure of the current power dynamic. It shows that Iman Coudoux has taken the Better Lives’ themes of social responsibility and diversity into consideration and is aware of how she may benefit from applying it to her practice as well.
I feel, in addition to her elaboration on the benefit of integrating the Better Lives’ themes into the current fashion industry, there could have been a personal note on the changes she would ideally like to see implemented for a more secure future in the fashion industry as an aspiring industrialist.
Her understanding of the themes of social responsibility, cultural diversity and inclusivity are succinct from the wording of her reflection. She may have delved deeper in her consideration of the need for sustainability and how power may be influential in meeting this urgency. A pertinent example may have been discussing how high power in the industry may be used for good by improving on issues such as fast fashion and consequential waste production.
I believe, overall, this review was not only pleasantly simple in its reflection, but also appropriate in its critique and introspection on how to be a better fashion student with the help of the themes introduced by the Better Lives unit.