Blog post 2
At the beginning of the ‘Better Lives’ unit, I found myself unsure of what to expect yet as this unit has progressed I have become progressively educated on the three main important aspects of the unit: Diversity, Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Before this unit, I felt my focus would stray away from these important topics (although not completely) and focus mainly on my inspiration, creativity and output of work. However, now these issues have been addressed to me, I believe a large part of the creative process I tend to will unquestionably involve consciously addressing how my work aligns with the correct morale.
As a Fashion Styling student with a deeper interest in styling alongside photography, I decided it would be of interest to look into an area of work which I was intrigued by but did not have particular skill in, this being Make Up Breakdown. As well as this, I wanted to understand how make up artists perceive their work to allow better communication in our future collaborative practice as well as extensively understanding how their work can be applied to these 3 concepts. Through the masterclasses that I attended, I found it most beneficial learning about ‘Make Up Imperfections’. I felt it reinforced the ideas I learnt in a lecture about Representation, that beauty standards are falsified and further allowed me to ponder upon the ideas of inclusivity within the fashion industry and how I go about my practice.
I have learnt that within my practice as a stylist, it is now more important than ever to make a more conscious effort to source garments in the most sustainable way as possible rather than using fast fashion corporates like H&M, Asos and Zara. This means using second hand clothing or sustainable brands as well as borrowing pieces off friends and family as well as trying to keep the whole production as sustainable as possible. Although these personal efforts seem insignificant, as a collective of UAL students with access to this information, we can prioritise these efforts allowing change to happen. A quote that stuck by me referenced from the ‘Power’ lecture given to us by Julia Crew; “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” which was stated by Margaret Mead an anthropologist.
As a stylist, it is my main priority to create a grasping narrative through garments and accessories and this must be done with social responsibility. I must take part in my creative process without offense or ignorance and be able to identify whether other collaborators are doing so too. The connotations of my work and those around me must represent only forms of Cultural Appreciation done with extensive research and completely evade practices for example, Cultural Appropriation. Within the planning stages of my work, I will make it my duty to be more inclusive of different beauty standards, abilities and ethnicities as fashion should be accessible by all and embracing of our differences.
10th May 2020 @ 5:44 pm
Having the opportunity to read other people’s blogs on the ‘Better Lives’ themes has been a real eye-opener for me. I have gained a wider knowledge of how other people have perceived these themes and expressed their views on it.
Jodie Haworths second blog, in particular, really grabbed my attention. I think she has demonstrated a wide understanding and a thoughtful reflection about the ‘Better Lives’ themes. For example, she talks about the importance of learning about social responsibility, diversity and sustainability in her practise and how she might further develop and include these into the Styling and Makeup Breakdown courses.
Jodie starts her blog by clearly stating why she chose to partake in Makeup Breakdown and how she is interested in learning how makeup artists make a conscious effort to apply their creative work to the running themes of ‘Better Lives’. I like how she then goes on to make a link between a previous lecture she had on ‘Representations’ and a master class she had in Makeup Breakdown on ‘Makeup Imperfections’. She recognised how it made her re-assess ideas regarding how beauty standards are falsified, leading her to wonder if there can be such a thing as ‘inclusivity’ if it’s based on lies?.
Jodie then goes on to consider her own practise and the ‘Better Lives’ theme of sustainability and how, in the future, she will consciously be aware of where the clothes she is sourcing come from, reducing dependency on fast fashion corporates like H&M, Asos and Zara. As well as showing awareness of the issues involving sustainability and fast fashion, she provides a variety of ways this issue might be reduced. Again she references a previous lecture and uses a thought-provoking quote to back up her points.
I admire how Jodie then goes on to reflect and analyse social responsibility. She is aware that some creative practices might be offensive to some and she undertakes to make an effort to address her own ignorance. She refers to identifying these issues amongst collaborators, however I think she could have explained in her blog how she would do this and perhaps consider how collaborators might react. She finishes off highlighting and addressing issues in diversity, suggesting there is a fine line between cultural appreciation and appropriation, and that this line can often be misjudged.
Overall, I believe Joide has demonstrated a clear understanding of the Better Lives themes and has reflected well on how these themes can influence her future development. I have Thoroughly enjoyed reading Jodie’s blog and have found her views on the Better Lives themes to be refreshing. I liked how Jodie promoted diversity, stating that different beauty standards, abilities and ethnicities should all be included in our work – it is all about embracing our differences!
11th May 2020 @ 12:09 pm
Reading through your reflections about how you thought that you would stray away from the main themes made me wonder about how the Better Lives themes are present in styling as well. Styling can often be thought of as a superficial field, where what simply looks good is prioritized over everything else. It was interesting to read how you applied the contents of the lectures to yourself and your own responsibility as a stylist and I interpreted it as you understanding that change has to come from within the styling craft and not from outside pressure for it to matter.
You brought up good examples of how diversity could be applied by being considerate about imperfections and how it is important for stylists to think sustainably when picking out garments and planning looks. However, I did not really see how the theme of social responsibility could be applied to styling. Perhaps you could try and find something you learned about your own responsibility as a stylist that applies to all the themes, since they all share a common theme of seeing problems that exists outside of your own perspective and applying them to your work.