Blog 1 – Reflection on Diversity and Representation

 Following my viewing of the Better Lives lectures I feel that Shadhidha Bari’s lecture on Diversity and Teleica Kirkland’s lecture on Representation have influenced my thinking and reflection in relation to my creative practise the most. Their lectures opened my mind and expanded my appreciation  of diversity and understanding of cultural appropriation, how media representation of diverse groups of people can effect the individuals and how wonderful it can be when cultural appreciation is done correctly. During Teleica Kirkland’s lecture she presented a video from the brand Wafrica Kimona’s, which is a fusion of Japanese and West African culture, as an example of cultural appreciation. This video encapsulated the journey that was made to create these kimonos from native Cameroonian designer Serge Mouangue working with Japanese kimono designer Kururi. This video validated the message Teleica was making that ‘operating from a place of understanding instead of a place of personal gain is always the best position to start from’. Issues like cultural appropriation and not correctly representing diverse groups of people has always been a worry of mine which has lead to me avoiding such topics altogether for fear of getting it wrong. This lecture taught me that positive things come from having the conversation, understanding how to get it right instead and appreciating origins can be beneficial to all parties. The video about Wafrica’s Kimonos was so rich in culture and that understanding of the journey and meaning made the final product so much more beautiful. This was contrasted with the examples she presented of negative cultural appropriation such as Guccis ‘blackface’ balaclava jumper which is likely the product of outrage marketing, since it is clearly pervasive and receives such an uproar from social media.

Fashion is a visual medium that has a huge influence on our daily lives, including affecting how we see and feel about ourselves. This necessitates having a fashion industry that accurately represents human difference and gives a true world vision, as when a particular group is the only one represented there becomes a concept of ideal beauty that is simply unachievable universally. A good example of representation done correctly was doves 2008 ‘real beauty’ campaign, mentioned in Shahida Bari’s lecture. This campaign showed real diversity and was great for the portrayal of women, and was truly appreciated which was evidenced by the major increase in sales following the campaign. This shows how much we need this true world vision and to present to consumers that beauty comes in many forms, and that should be represented through our fashion industry and worked towards in our daily lives and work.