blog post two: the themes
The Better Lives themes of sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility have made me think about how I am going to develop my practice.
Sustainability as a theme is very relevant right now. I believe I am already working in a sustainable manner as I source garments for styling from charity shops, people I know, my own collection, and create pieces myself. However, the theme of sustainability can still be brought into my sphere of thinking in terms of developing my work and the garments I use. I understand sustainability, within a fashion context, to be a theme of preventing unnecessary elements (such as fast fashion) from taking over the industry, trying to ensure these aspects of fashion are kept to a minimum – through education and slow elimination of fast fashion. There are ways in which I can take the Better Lives theme of sustainability to develop my work: looking at brands that are sustainable in terms of the creation of garments and their key messages in terms of sustainability; creating looks with materials I can reuse (items I already have), recycle (fabric, card), or return.
The Better Lives theme of diversity has made me think about the development of my practice and who I cast to be styled. As my practice progresses, I am looking to cast more diverse models (in terms of gender, race, age, ability, size, etc.) as casting different types of models increases the visibility of different types of people involved in fashion, allowing different people stories to be told. This theme has made me think about working in diverse creative teams to draw on different experiences people have developing work that is created.
The final theme, social responsibility, has made me think about issues I feel comfortable covering in my practice. I enjoy creating work that is bold, colourful, and fun. In my work so far, I have not looked at many themes of social responsibility, however, connecting my style to relevant social topics could enable viewers of my work to understand the social topic in a light-hearted fashion. Social responsibility is very important and something I must consider when creating work, especially in this covid-19 time period.
Looking at all three themes, Better Lives has helped me think about how to develop my styling practice in the time of now. Sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility are hot topics in fashion. Knowledge of these issues will enable my work to develop in a positive manner, able to touch on subjects important to myself and society in a way that is sustainable.
1st May 2020 @ 6:37 pm
Peer Review:
I instantly really liked how you mentioned that you are sustainable in everyday life by sourcing clothing items through second hand means. This would mean that you already have an understanding of the importance of being resourceful and not wasteful especially in today’s age. Seeing how you also source said clothing items for your styling practice in a sustainable manner is really inspirational as I think there can sometimes be a misconception that when it comes to styling we need to use designer items fresh out the store but that shouldn’t be the case. I also liked how you defined the theme sustainability within a fashion context as not letting fast fashion take over. This is so significant especially with the likes of brands such as Boohoo or Pretty Little Thing who are so influential across social media platforms when it comes to promoting cheap clothes that have not been made ethically. This is inspiring as it makes people want to be different and source elsewhere.
Mentioning how you plan on actively looking to change who you cast to be a model for your styling shoots shows the want to be open minded which would make many happy as they have a chance to have the light shun on them if that has never been an option. Working in a team where everyone is different is also inspiring as it again shows open mindedness and should be a reflection of how all our generation aim to work as too in order to be the change that is needed in not only the fashion industry but the media and others too.
It was gripping to read about how you planned to engage more with social issues in order to fulfill the theme of social responsibility. This in the context of the world and its situations is bright as it means people facing said issues feel protected and looked after as someone out there cares and wants to bring their situation and those of others to light in order to encourage change. This is an angle I had not considered when reflecting on the themes in my own blog as I mainly focused on how it would be my social responsibility to shed light on ethnic minorities and those who are discriminated against as opposed to relevant social topics. This definitely opened my eyes too.
Overall, I felt you had a great understanding of the themes and their importance.
Melody Biebeda Mijero
5th May 2020 @ 10:26 am
When searching for a blog post to peer review I wanted to further my personal understanding by choosing a post written by an individual who works in the same field as myself. This is because I was interested to find out if we truly shared at least some of the same thoughts on the Lecture Themes. I wanted to compare how we intended to involve these themes within our own practice in the future. Matilda is currently on the BA Fashion Styling and Production course at LCF. What I had really enjoyed reading about was Matilda’s expressed her experience within the Better Lives Unit and how the themes are already incorporated and have influenced her professional practices for the future.
To further an enjoyable read Matilda goes onto reflect on sustainability and expresses the importance of this being incorporated with our work. We spoke about similar ideas in the Fashion and Sustainability Lecture with Nina Stevenson and it is invigorating to see that this has been reflected on in full. stating her beliefs on the fashion industry explaining that the Better Lives Theme – Diversity – has encouraged the active awareness during the development of Matilda’s styling career to work as an advocate of inclusivity in the industry. This furthers my understanding that she has also reflected on the lecture about ‘Diversity’ from Shahidah Barialisah
Thoughts and Idea’s about social responsibility have inspired me to really work confirm and stick to working with extraordinary, different faces and creative teams.
To conclude, I believe Matilda has shown a full understanding and has reflected on the themes she has learned about during the lectures. This is translated through expression on how she would use them in her future work. It was really insightful to read about how a Fashion Stylist would incorporate such themes into their own work. I believe we share similar thought’s and ideas. Matilda has evoked my further thought for new ideas that can be applied to my personal practice.