Blog Post 1 – Lecture Reflection : Representation and Perspectives
I found the lectures series as a whole very informative, as I was introduced to themes I wouldn’t have researched myself such as inclusivity in fashion, empathy and well-being. Two lectures I particularly resonated with however were Cher Potter’s “ Perspectives” and Teleica Kirkland’s “Representation” which both explored aspects of the theme of Diversity.
“Perspectives” was enlightening as it looked at design outside of a western perspective, not only going into depth with African design and fashion movements but discussing how UAL as an institution can decolonise its curriculum and look further than the west. Not only this but I found it really relevant to my practise, through learning of the South African Sartists use of social media to link current fashion trends (such as streetwear) to historical cultural motifs in South Africa (Iziquaza earplugs) it made me really question how fashion photography can be used not only to promote a socially positive message, but also encourage protest and change.
One project from them that particularly stood out to me in the lecture was their Historical Reenactments series (2012). While hunting for second – hand designer clothes, the Sartists started to discover old postcards and photographs that weren’t in the history books of South Africa and in the process discovered little fragments of untold history. They began reenacting these fragments through photography. Their practise was described by lecturer Cher Potter as “a protest against forgetting” presenting how a group with little resources managed to revive part of their history.
Another really interesting aspect was a look into cultural appreciation in the “Representation” lecture, which is often given less attention than cultural appropriation or sometimes confused with it. In particular I enjoyed seeing a project from the collective Wafrica, which involved a collaboration of African and Japanese artists coming together to design a Kimono with African prints, as it showed how two diverse cultures can come together and benefit each other introducing an exciting new borderless yet culturally rich addition to the fashion industry.
Overall these lectures really got me thinking about more unique ways of promoting diversity in fashion, rather than just a range of skin tones but also cultural diversity, heritage which bring along new ways of thinking. Having not only the people represented in fashion being diverse but also the actual content of the representation being global, as well as people working behind the scenes to create fashion content such as photographers, stylists, make-up artists being diverse can only benefit fashion.