Blog post 2

As a Fashion Media and Communications student, the work I would like to create in the future needs to circle around these themes of social responsibility, sustainability and diversity. Our practice in the fashion industry needs to be more ethical and transparent. It is my responsibility to use my platform or creative pursuits to consider these themes from all perspectives. We need to make consumers aware of the production process behind the clothes that they buy, showing insight into the harsh reality of many garment labourers and the effects that fast fashion is having on the environment. There needs to be transparency in the supply chain to encourage systematic change. We need to advocate the consumption of preloved clothes and eliminate this need of buying into fast fashion trends, often promoted by social media. Quality over quantity should be a rule we all live by, demonstrating that you don’t need to constantly buy into trends to be fashionable but instead show how one could be just as trendy with what they already own. I believe that whichever form of communication I choose to commence my career in, whether it be article writing, fashion photography and film or social media, I will make sure I promote ideas of challenge for the fashion industry. I would like to think I will support local and small designers; whose supply chain is transparent, and whose labourers work in ethical and safe conditions. It’s also important to ask questions, engage with your audience and work collaboratively in order to gain further insight into positively advancing the industry. I would like my work to tackle questions such as, “How do we continue allowing the fashion industry to be a place of creativity and expression but not exploit it?” or “How do we increase the percentage of people who financially benefit from the industry?”. I would like to collaborate with designers and creatives who can drive people to repurpose clothing and decrease the amount that accumulate in landfill. I believe the fashion industry is slowly acting upon their negative impact on a global level, for example big brands such as Urban Outfitters introducing their “Renewal” collection, but it is simply not enough. When I attended the ‘Power’ lecture given by Julia Crew, we were shown pictures of people such as Bernard Arnault (Chief Executive of LVMH) who is worth around $66 million. Just like Arnault, the majority of these stakeholders are European, white, old men. There is no diversity at the top of the fashion pyramid and it is something that needs to be confronted. In the future I will ensure my work advocates the empowerment of a mixed and diverse group of people, holding various skills and talents to have such control over the industry. We need to create noise and gain attention and I hope that in the future, my job will allow me to do so because as part of the next generation in fashion, I take it upon myself and peers to drive effective change.