Blog Post 2 – Theme Reflection
The three key themes that the Better Lives unit is based on are diversity, social responsibility, and sustainability. Learning about all three themes and picturing it within reality, the concept of Better Lives alongside diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility will help or might change in how I work in the future.
Sustainability is one of the most important themes in my eyes as it is extremely impactful to the world and how we live, it is a theme that I am conscious of. It has been the centre of all discussions in the fashion industry for the past few years. It is both something that I try to keep in my mind when shopping and when creating.
With the ongoing issue that is pollution and climate change, there needs to be a change and the fashion industry could make a huge impact on the cause. I think that moving into the future, fashion brands will start to look at producing more sustainable clothing collections and in general being more eco-conscious due to consumers trying to shop eco-friendlier. There are many new and upcoming brands that have changed the game when it comes to being sustainable. Whether that’s changing their packaging when shipping orders that have been bought online or having their factories based local areas to stop as much transportation. a brand that comes to mind is Tala, it is a sustainable clothing brand which offers eco-friendly sportswear, the items are produced ethically. The pieces themselves are made from recycled materials such as plastic bottles and the clothing tags are made with seeds in so that you can grow them yourself. Each aspect of the brand has been thought through so that everything is sustainable. Not only is Tala sustainable but they are very diverse which I think a lot of fashion brands need to develop with. Their models are diverse and include all genders, sizes, and ethnicities. From this I have learned to shop with smaller businesses who have local factories or who make the clothing pieces themselves. It’s easy to get caught up in the online fast-fashion world but I am trying to cut out this habit.
As a fashion illustrator you can draw anything, it is a sustainable way to show fashion and it is something that I try to do in my practice. The fashion community has massively grown and moved forwards when it comes to diversity. Models from brands such as Vitoria Secret, have only one silhouette, only including one body shape. They have not grown from old views and do not show a range to include everyone. Moving forward I want to include more diverse models when drawing people as I think it is important to showcase every type of person.
Moving forward, I want to progress and be more socially aware of the climates that we are in and also make sure I am more socially responsible in my day to day life, making small changes in my day to day life. It’s vital for us as individuals to reflect on our actions and be conscious of our behaviour and work towards bettering the future.