Blog Post 4
I chose Ayza Alavi’s blog post to review because I felt it had a strong connection to the Better Lives themes and discussed her development effectively. Furthermore, I was interested to find out how a project brief is completed through Fashion Illustration, a discipline foreign to me.
I thought her choice of brand was interesting as she decided to go for a niche eco-focused brand, Tropic of C, rather than a more established fashion house. In my previous blog posts, I have discussed how consumers are using social media to discover and support brands whose ethos is defined by sustainability and social responsibility. So, it’s inspiring to see future creatives developing their practice through these brands.
The consideration of material in Alavi’s work is very effective in communicating the Better Lives themes. As she noted ‘I did all of the illustrations for my project on cardboard, as I acknowledge that sketchbook paper is not very sustainable’ (Alavi, A. 2020). This demonstrated that Alavi has engaged with the themes to the point that she considerers small details like paper type, which in turn makes her work unique and stronger. Her choice against digital illustration is interesting and I believe this gives the illustrations a raw look, which works well with this brand as they promote being natural in their campaigns. Furthermore, it’s intriguing to see how she has worked around limitations caused by the lockdown, which prevented her from experimenting with paints.
In the first drawing, her consideration for the brands values while composing her illustrations is very effective, as it reflects their aim to conserve the rainforest. Her second illustration focuses on different body types, an area which her chosen brand doesn’t discuss. Clearly, she has engaged with Shahidha Bari’s lecture Diversity which introduced the importance of promoting realistic body standards. I think her choice to illustrate this theme, although it isn’t reflected by the brand, exhibits how her future work may consider the Better Lives themes and thus make fashion more inclusive.
To conclude, I think Ayza’s work effectively demonstrates her engagement with the themes of diversity, social responsibility and sustainability. They have influenced her choice of brand and creative decisions when creating her work. Furthermore, she isn’t afraid to build upon a brands ethos by incorporating her own values, such as the need for diverse body types.
Bibliography:
Alavi, A. (2020) Blog Reflection 3. Better Lives SMC Blog. 29 April [online] Available at: https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/04/29/blog-reflection-3/ Accessed: 30 April 2020