Blog Post 4 – Peer Review
Once, we had completed our course specific lectures and lessons, we were encouraged to read, analyse and peer review a blog post from the unit, that we thought displayed a distinct understanding and reflection of the better lives themes. After reading several blogs, I chose to peer review Ella Jones third blog post, which outlined the outcomes of her better lives styling project.
Within the blog, Ella starts by reviewing how well her group worked as a team, and also highlights her initial reservations of the task. Efficiently, she evaluated how by working within a smaller and more concise group, opposed to the larger group she was originally assigned, effectively allowed for a more refined and conceptual outcome. Conclusively, she examines the group’s styling outcome extensively, highlighting their strategies and influences. Firstly, she starts by explaining how the outcomes were created on the basis of wanting to take a more conceptual and non-literal approach to sportwear, and, how capturing “sporty movement” through the models’ posture helped to convey the brief. In addition to this, Ella goes on to illustrate what her own personal inspirations were for the masterclass and how she combined them into the group task. Clearly, Ella expressed how she was most captivated by the theme of social responsibility, and how she was inspired by the reading of “Solidarity Shawls: Strategic dress by the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo” which also mirrored the better lives themes. Moreover, Ella goes on to highlight how these influences encouraged a focus on portraying non-violent action. As well as this, she explains how as a group, they incorporated these influences by redefining the ‘white shawl’, by using reflective materials to obscure the face, to therefore, signify a sporty aesthetic and contemporary feel. Additionally, she illuminates how this shawl also exhibits a gender fluid narrative as the model’s identity is withdrawn, which therefore reflects diversity and social responsibility as the styling is representative of all identities. Lastly, she evaluates the project on how successful her group were in meeting the brief and in exploring social responsibility, as well as, what improvements they could collectively make to achieve an even more successful outcome.
To conclude, I think Ella’s reflection on her masterclass and better lives project clearly integrates the themes of better lives, most specifically social responsibility and diversity, due to her consideration of the themes when producing her project outcomes. Overall, I really enjoyed Ella’s blog and styling outcomes as her photographed ideas were inventive, powerful and inclusive of the better lives concept.
References:
Ella Jones Blog: https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/06/can-conquer-all-styling-masterclass-deconstructing-sportswear/#respond