Blog 2 – Themes Reflection
Throughout the duration of the Better Lives unit, it is certainly obvious that sustainability, diversity and social responsibility are tightly linked with each other. This unit provided me with an opportunity to explore fashion practice and that it is heavily influenced by those themes. I participated in the project where I experienced and understood how fashion can change lives. It allowed me to be creative and experimental. The Better Lives unit has once again emphasised the importance of the above topics, recalling how much they influence the formation and development of the fashion industry. As creative individuals, we must learn how to prioritise correctly while thinking not only about our achievements but also about the planet. For the last three or so months, I was able to work with students from different courses by engaging in the Fashion Activism project. Therefore, there has been a constant encouragement from my fellow peers and other students to start practising responsible habits.
Fashion Activism has laid different aspects of the fashion industry and how it works. As a fashion photography student, I thought it would be vital to reconsider my work and the people I work with. I decided that I further try and be open for suggestions that offer and promote more sustainable fashion and with brands who share my beliefs and resonate with my own aesthetic. Moreover, after considering what these themes have taught me, I will continue to work with different groups and will exercise equality and empathy for minority groups. Consequently, as an intentional student, I enjoy sharing my knowledge and cultural background with others.
I am open to work with clients from whom I can gain inspiration and understanding of other cultures and ethnicities. The lack of diversity is definitely something that has been around for a while in the industry and I am keen to change it. Supporting diversity and social responsibility is something of a priority for me because everyone deserves to be recognised and to communicate their beliefs and ideas with others. However, already now when preparing to work on a new project or when it comes to researching a brand, I look into the brand’s morality and to what extent it is sustainable, diverse and socially responsible.
Currently, the society and the fashion industry are experiencing these anxious times due to Coronavirus outbreak, yet the situation makes us appreciate the things that we pretended were almost invisible to us. The crisis had a huge impact on the industry and there must be a positive side to it because once in a while fast fashion has slowed down and we finally got to rethink our actions and impacts on ourselves and the planet.