blog 3
In the Better Lives unit, we were to create a project in a team on the subject we chose/were allocated to.
In all honestly, somehow I missed the moment when we had to choose what we want to work on specifically, so I was allocated to the Messaging Fashion.
Nevertheless, I was very happy with where I was allocated to because I thought that it was something I would choose myself. So I could say that I am one of the lucky ones who were randomly allocated somewhere where they would be happy/chose to be.
In Messaging Fashion, we were divided into smaller groups and each of them got a brand to work on and create a campaign for the brand to support a good cause/charity. I got into the Duro Olowu goup (there were 2 Duro groups).
I have not met my team mates for quite a while as nobody was appearing on our smaller group sessions. Therefore, I was allocated to the other Duro Olowu group where we made our final project by the unit leader, Sophia, when we all already were in quarantine, back in our countries. I met everybody from my new group online and I was afraid at first how I am going to fit in as everybody has met each other and started working back in London, in one classroom.
However, my team mates were very welcoming and we started to work together as one straightaway.
Initially, we planned to do a campaign to support feminism but later on we figured out with the advise of our tutors that we don’t have enough proof that our brand would be the best match for such cause. Therefore, we decided to create one that would support children in arts education.
We found it challenging at first to find the best charity/foundation that would match our target audience but eventually we figured out everything together.
As a fashion photography student, creating non-photographic campaigns was very foreign to me but I am very glad I had the chance to dive deeper into another very different field in the industry of fashion that I never thought I would see myself in before. Better Lives is one of the best units that I’ve had in LCF so far because I found it extremely insightful and eye-opening.
Later in my photographic career, when I will work with a brand/foundation/charity etc I will be aware of what is going on in the process of creating a campaign. I believe that I would therefore be able to create a better content for my client.
It was a great experience to work in a team online. I even think that possibly having this unit online is more efficient as me and my team mates could easily find the time and organise a group call to talk everything through and make some essential changes in our campaign.
I have never had such experience of working closely in a team before and I really loved how responsible everyone was. We each had to contribute: for example, I chose the foundation to work with, someone else did the target audience, another person dealt with how and where we would promote our campaign etc.
Creating a campaign in a group for a brand in Messaging Fashion was a mind changing experience that made me learn more about the industry as well as how to effectively work in a team.
8th May 2020 @ 6:55 pm
Blog 4 Peer Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Maria’s blog post. It was well structured and had a natural flow to it. Her honesty and eloquence were reflected throughout. Her experiences varied from mine strongly. She did not actively choose the Messaging Fashion project but ended up academically profiting from it. I had the pleasure of listening to her presentation and really liked the way her group presented their content. I learned how Duro Olowu is a British fashion designer with Nigerian roots and how he expresses his identity through his patterns and textiles.
The fear of being an outsider within a group setting is something I have experienced myself. I attended every class. However, because of lack of communication I never fully integrated into the group. It must have been anxiety-inducing when Maria started working with her team mates remotely for the first time. Working online takes away the possibility of reading expressions and body language and navigating common space.
Another point on which I agree with Maria is her impression of our tutors. Sophia and Leigh have been helpful throughout the entire project in how they have guided us. Their advice was never imposing but more like guidance pointing us into the right direction. The conversations with them have been very insightful in terms of understanding the DNA of PR and how to think if we were to approach the brands with our concepts. I think it was a good idea to change the campaign from ‘feminism’ to a more specific topic like ‘children in arts education’.
This blog made me reflect on my creative process as a future Fashion Journalist because Maria discussed how she as a fashion photography student hadn’t worked on a non-photographic campaign. Even though the PR and Fashion Journalism course have a lot in common, such as the fact that some of our lectures like ‘Fashion Cultural and Historical Studies’ are delivered together, there are still differences. I had not thought about how to approach a brand before and what exact role Public Relations takes up in the Fashion Communication process.
Maria’s group is also an example of good teamwork. Contributing work fairly and organising a group call to talk through everything wasn’t replicated in my group. I would have appreciated more elaboration on the group dynamic to get an understanding for the collaborative psych. In contrast the online delivery made our group ties more loosely while also resulting in a change of our campaign.
Reading the blog made me understand how other students’ experiences can vary from mine and how they might have found this unit helpful in developing an understanding of a different aspect of the fashion industry and the importance of teamwork. In the future I will reflect on how to incorporate my ideas in group settings and work on my communication skills.