Blog Post 2. Themes reflection
Themes of sustainability, inclusivity, and diversity are vital for our society and humanity more than ever. I think the key approach for each person is to take small steps that are available for each of us and implement them in life. What I’m considering in terms of my own work and my approach to tackle this issue is from both creative experience as a creative director and more personal day-to-day practice.
After starting Better Lives unit I realized I had very small knowledge about sustainability and with the beginning of pandemic and development of online courses so I started Fashion and Sustainability course from CSF and Kering Group so that I can learn in-depth about each aspect of sustainability including 4 different agendas. What I’m thinking is always what I can do as a creative director and social person and to me, I feel like my most power would be to focus on cultural agenda and promote the idea of huge unnecessary consumption. I created a manifesto within the online course and I can see it in developing as something further. I talked to my friends, my parents (people coming from different generations obviously), and I realized that many people think of this problem as overestimation and not something which actually needs to be solved. I feel like a lot of people, especially in my country, in Russia don’t realize the importance of acting now and it is my power to make a change here and now by speaking mind in hope that it will open someone else’s mind. I want to use my social platform to reach out to people and explain my point of view of how serious the issue is. I believe through my creative practice I can not only learn more for myself but also learn from the bigger communities and see how they approach current problems.
When I’m thinking of something I can do in the physical sense I’m thinking about using as less plastic as I can, using cruelty-free makeup for my looks as well as to implement more sustainable brands for my shoots. I also acknowledge that I can be more resourceful from something I already have instead of going and getting new products/ clothes/ etc. Practice more of conscious consumption when making decisions about buying something, really thinking whether the product comes from and what kind of consequences my purchase will make, and not only for my work and creative production but as well for personal use.