Blog 2 – Themes Reflection
Before starting Better Lives, I already had a brief idea of each of the themes; sustainability, diversity and social responsibility. I would like to think that I considered these in some way in my previous works. However, better lives opened my mind to the source of these issues. It taught me that these themes cannot be bettered by one person, let alone someone just starting out in the fashion industry. But instead can be improved many individuals making changes to what they do.
The sustainability theme led me to think about where I have sourced garments within my creative practice. Usually, I will source second hand and sustainable when shopping for myself. However, this may not be the case in my practice. I would typically go for the cheapest/easiest to source, which is almost always fast fashion brands. In my future work I should take more time for myself to source sustainable items. Thinking about how land, water, air and animal is affected if I were to buy or use a product. A point made within the theme was that cultural practises are lost in fast fashion. In the future I will consider the cultural symbolism and construction the items have, and how they would be perceived from a viewer’s perspective. This leads nicely onto the diversity theme.
For generations, the fashion industry has upheld a racist perspective, with a white beauty ideal. In some ways, I think it is strange to be writing about how diversity, everyone is the same regardless of what we look like, or where we are from. Nevertheless, generations previous to me did not have the same mindset. It is up to us to continue to change the racist perspective that has been portrayed in fashion. In order to do this, I think I have to understand that fashion should truly represent human difference, whilst respecting its differentiation. It should not just be a token statement of diversity, but a climate where all types of people feel comfortable within a workspace.
Before the better lives project, I think I underestimated the power of social responsibility within fashion. The whole of the human race bonds through fashion. It connects and influences everybody in different ways. Fashion can make positive changes within communities. I didn’t expect fashion to have the power to do that, before the better lives project. When in reality it is actually quite simple. By working in a creative field, I have the power to influence a positive change within communities. Being able to use fashion for change is a picture I want to paint within my future work. When creating in the future I will consider where my responsibility lies, who I can help with my work and what influence I am having.