Blog 3

Reflections on how the better lives themes have influenced your project outcome and your personal development

After the better lives lectures I was put into sportswear fashion language and subcultures styling. As my work mostly already consist of self-styling and self-portraiture, I was curious about what more I could learn about this subject. We had one masterclass where we were asked to bring clothes that we didn’t really used anymore or that we could cut into. And then they asked us to style each other in groups and make interesting combinations of silhouettes, colors and styles. It made me think more about sustainability in a way of re-usage of items. How you can turn old items that might be nothing trendy in real life into something different and new. I like the idea of re-using the same clothes over and over in different ways and camouflaging them with styling and my photography. The styling  of a piece of clothing sets a whole new identity of situation and origin. Re-using the same items in various ways, gives you the opportunity to become more creative and innovative. It makes you think beyond the representation of brands and more about concept and the real art in photography and styling. Sometimes I think the fashion industry believes that the art only lies in the clothing and not the photography. They use it for the publicity of beautiful models and their newest season and the photography is only there to enhance that beauty. I want to make fashion photography more like art again. Therefore I am more interested in brands that create ideas of fashion that are sustainable and timeless. I want to photograph what I’ll be wearing tomorrow and in 10 years. And I want to show that re-usage is not something done out of being poor or boring, it is creative and fun and it is a good start for a more sustainable future in fashion.