Blog 1: Lecture reflection
Better Lives was introduced by multiple lectures throughout two weeks that reflect on three different themes. Diversity, Sustainability and Social Responsibility.Many of these lectures have impacted my mindset greatly and made me reflect on the issues they communicated and how I can, as an individual and one of the future generation of the fashion industry contribute with my creativity to raise awareness.
Many of these lectures have impacted my mindset greatly and made me reflect on the issues they communicated and how I can, as an individual and one of the future generation of the fashion industry contribute with my creativity to raise awareness.
I have enjoyed multiple lectures that have made a great impact on me some of them are: Nature by Kate Fletcher, Empathy by Lorraine Gamman and Representation by Teleica Kirkland.
However the one I have enjoyed the most has been Well-being by Jekaterina Rogaten.
I wanted to talk about this lecture because of then impact it has on my daily life and those whom I love
I deal with my well-being daily as many do, and it isn’t always a positive part of my life as I suffer with depression.
I had never consciously thought about well-being in the way that Rogaten suggested. Never making a clear connection between fashion and psychology, and how this two apparently seem so different but work hand in hand.
I learnt through this lecture the difference between Hedonic and Eudaimonic well-being. The first one correlating more to the fashion industry while the latest has more to do with oneself and self acceptance. It is possible to enhance both however Eudaimonic is more sustainable. As well as fashion consumption and production. How these sectors affect both costumers and employees creatively and their well-being, and how the fashion industry can be harmful sometimes for both. For example the representation of body shape and lack of diversity or sweatshops.
Clothes and fashion create an identity and it can be used as a creative process to increase personal well-being. However how do we draw the line between consumption and well-being as the increase of this will decrease the satisfaction you obtain ultimately becoming a vicious cycle. I have learnt to categorise the Eudaimonic well being needs on a pyramid and how clothes and fashion could be represented as well in this hierarchy of needs.
Rogaten explains how and only when you reach satisfaction you can care about ethics & environment.
I thought this statement is profoundly interesting as my other two favourite lectures fall in this categories: Empathy and Nature. After some thought I have to agree with Rogaten as it has become clear for me that without taking care of oneself you cant truly take care of others.
Fashion linked to psychology is a subjective judgement on what makes you happy, it being for humans created by humans and it becomes a way of looking at sustainability as a lease or filter in which you look at the fashion industry.
I believe that representation and acknowledgment of well-being in this industry is essential for consumers and employees. It is my duty as part of the future generation of the fashion industry to make sure it is always developing, and reinforce it with positive psychology through creativity to reinforce wellbeing as much as possible and raise awareness of its importance.
Rogaten, J. (2020) “Well-being” (Lecture). Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 19 February 2020