Blog Post 3 – Project Outcomes and Personal Development Reflection.

I was studying Fashion Activism for Better Lives, and I feel that overall it has made me work better in a team, as well as being more conscious about the key issues of sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility. I was lucky to be part of a group in which all 4 members got on well, and wanted to impress, which undoubtedly helped when it came to dividing up work, presentations, and the like. I chose Activism because, as. PR and Communications student, it covered multiple aspects of life that will be integral to my study further down the line but looked at them through a more loose, creative manner.

Before COVID-19 impacted the course delivery, I was getting great enjoyment out of lectures every Monday – our lecturers were clearly passionate about the topics that were being discussed, and this wore off on most of the students, myself included. I wanted to work for the team, and for the lecturers. Learning about the history of the moving image was particularly interesting, as I had not studied it previously, at least not in the context of fashion. More specifically, learning how platforms such as SHOWstudio have revolutionized fashion video in the last few years. Blackboard collaborate lectures did not dampen our lecturers’ spirits, if anything, it made them strive to give us the best teaching possible, and the 2 weeks spent attending Better Lives online were just as informative and engaging as in person.

My group was assigned the charity Traid, and briefed to create a moving image project – this could be a GIF, a video, or a voiceover. We had planned to shoot in and around Traid Shepherd’s Bush, creating a narrative around vintage fashion, sustainability, and diversity, however, due to the pandemic, it was impossible to make this dream a reality.

Instead, we decided to take photos from our local area, and intersperse stock footage of landfills and clothing waste amongst them, in order to highlight the charity work Traid do, and focussing on our key message – in order to save the environment, the fashion industry needs to change now. I created a Voiceover for the moving images, which we felt rounded out the project, making the message both verbal as well as visual. It was received well amongst our fellow students, and reflecting upon the experience, I would maybe have strived to get some footage of London pre-lockdown, but given the circumstances, I felt our group gave it our all and did an admirable job of conveying the key messages of Better Lives within our project.

In terms of my personal development throughout Better Lives, I would say it has made me more aware of the ever-changing environment of fashion that surrounds me every day, that COVID has allowed the industry to look in the mirror, and accept that change is needed as soon as possible to create a sustainable future for the fashion industry going forward, as at present brands are not doing enough to address societal issues.