Blog 2: Themes Reflection ‘Sustainability.’ ‘Diversity.’ ‘Social Responsibility.’
Understanding the themes early on and how they would link to my new practice was important as it would allow me to stay open minded. Prior to starting the Better Lives topic my understanding of the themes was without detail. Sustainability in my house meant reusing long life plastic bags in order to not waste the extra 10p on a new one in the supermarket. We had always recycled but simply because it was a habit to do so. You would think that recycling would make you start to buy things without plastic packaging but that wasn’t the case, I doubt it is the case for many people as it is just something we’re taught without great explanation. Starting University has opened up new ways to be sustainable for me not only through this topic but also how in general we learn the repercussions of waste in most lectures. The constant mention of the term has made me want to be less ignorant with my actions when it comes to my fashion spending habits. Fast fashion is an irresistible guilty pleasure and always has been but I am beginning to see how shopping through second hand means such as the likes of Depop or thrift shops allows me to appreciate my items more and look after them. Wanting to be sustainable in my habits has also made me start investing in good quality pieces that can be used for different occasions rather than buying an £18 dress to go clubbing in that won’t see the light of day again.
Diversity is a term I was familiar with as representation as a whole especially within the media and businesses etc is something very close to my heart. Being Black has only fueled my want to see people of my race on magazine covers, presenting or even as amazing CEOs. Growing up I this was not something I paid attention too at all but with the likes of social media and my increasing desire to want to study the media in school, I soon realised how much of an issue misrepresentation was. It was a struggle finding Black models, presenters or business owners that were not slandered. The same goes for other ethnic minorities. I began to understand the importance of seeing someone look like you on TV not only as someone to look up to but also to feel beautiful in your skin. Exploring this theme in my new practice (styling) means I will be advocating that much more to have a person of colour as the model regardless of who said look was worn by.
When it comes to social responsibility, I simply see this theme as a chance for us in our new practices to simply understand the significance of thinking of the other themes and putting them in place. What it would mean in the greater world, who it would make happy and how it shows change in comparison to the ignorant past. This is something I look forward to exploring.