Blog 3 – Project Outcome
‘How the Better Lives themes have influenced your project outcome and your personal development’
Back in 2019, when we were asked to bid for the Better Lives projects, I jumped at the chance to undertake the styling unit, titled ‘In and outside of fashion: Sportswear Fashion language and sub-cultures’. I have always been interested in styling and production, my BTEC qualification was in theatre production so I have some experience involving set construction etc. and it was one of the UAL undergraduate courses that I was initially drawn to. Alongside my general interest in styling, the project brief was the clear stand out to me and I loved how the team wanted us to become the stylist, study the history of subcultures and sportswear and incorporate the Better Lives themes.
During the first two weeks the styling team delivered lectures informing us on how a stylist can make responsible choices, my favourite lecture was ‘How do stylists & producers shape lives through fashion?’ this was extremely insightful and discussed topics that I had not thought of before. It was beneficial for me and everyone else to learn about sustainable styling as we can use this knowledge in the future when working with stylists in the fashion industry.
Throughout the project we were encouraged to work in groups and speak to people we had not met before and this was important during the creative group tasks because each group member had a different background and skill set. The diversity in the group meant we could put all our creative ideas together and produce a dynamic final outcome, it was also a great opportunity to learn about different subcultures that perhaps weren’t as popular in the country that I grew up. Working in a group, in a physical space to make something creative is something that I will never take for granted again, I realise now how lucky we are at UAL to have these experiences.
During the Easter break, we went into lockdown and university studies were moved online, I was sceptical and intrigued to see how this would affect our project as it meant we could no longer work physically together. Luckily, the styling team (and the entirety of the university) adapted well and we were able to continue. One of the lectures during the first week back was about body positivity and diversity in styling, this was another engaging lecture that included a lot of student interaction. I really enjoyed watching this lecture and adding my opinions to the discussion.
Our final task was to create our own look with the resources we had at home that represented sport/ sportswear and a subculture of our choice, the brief was also updated slightly to reflect the current Covid-19 situation. I have inserted my submission for this task so you can see how I combined the punk subculture with ballet, please feel free to read my artist statement for more information.
I found the masterclass enjoyable and the Better Lives themes influenced my creative process and outcome. I can see that this project has enabled me to think more about the issues regarding diversity, social responsibility, and sustainability throughout the fashion industry and not only in the areas that I am most familiar with.