Blog 4 – Peer Review
Over the past months, I’ve found it very interesting to read other people’s perspectives and different experiences during their time with Better Lives. One person that particularly stood out to me was my fellow 3D effects student Sofia Lira and her blog on the subject of power and how it has impacted her and the way she views the fashion industry. I related to her sense of enthusiasm and interest when discovering a new topic and thinking about things in a different way.
At the start of her blog, Sofia speaks of how it’s enhanced her knowledge of the fashion industry and the power the Better Lives themes have had when explored through the different lectures their importance. She first speaks about maneuvering her way through the Better Lives unit and what to expect when listening to the series of different lectures. Her beginning is powerful and confident and clear in what she’s trying to say to the audience, whereas I found other blogs too clinical in their language. Sofia’s language is clear and precise (which is great because I’m dyslexic!).
With regards to the Better Lives themes of Diversity Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Sofia indicates the importance that Sustainability has on the fashion industry and how the natural world reproduces wonderful products for us to use and how they can be used in a sustainable way. Her clear knowledge of the Better Lives themes is come across very well here as she’s clearly stated what she thinks of the topic, her knowledge, and definitions of the topic and how she chooses to explore them.
Her use of small paragraphs makes it easier for me to read and not get tired of reading big paragraphs. Her third paragraph talks about the lecture on Power and how Power distribution within the fashion industry may not be as even as people think. Her language here is sophisticated and looks as if she has grasped a firm understanding of the concept of power and how it links to the fashion industry. I find it interesting to listen to her perspective on who actually has the power within the industry. She goes on to question, is it the Designers? is it the brands? is it the consumers or even the government? I had never really thought about the fashion industry in this way before but it’s fascinating how it all goes around in a cycle, so it could be argued that the consumers are actually in control and have the power due to the changing demand a d conspicuous consumption.
I agree with Sophia that clothing has powerful connotations in itself of how it explores our identity. I like how she analyses and explores the concept of Royal dress and how these garments can be seen as political or to signify wealth.
Her clear conclusion finishes the blog post off very nicely as she ends with the quote ‘Power in fashion boils down to economic power’ which makes the audience question the concept of Power further.