Deborah Agbaje

Having watched or attended a few different lectures, the one that caught my attention was Lecture: 11 Teleica Kirkland, Representation. What stuck out to me and engaged me from the start was the fact that she discussed how she would talk about how diversity doesn’t only mean people of different races. It also means people of different ethnicities, cultures, those who are disabled and much more. I think this resonated with me as a black woman in this society as I feel as though the word diversity has been thrown to us with the token black girl in an advertisement or a campaign and we should be grateful for it. It does feel like it has been shoved down our throats and nothing extra is being done to include others.

“They have centred on one type of persons to the exclusion of all others”. What this does is it makes society thing that this one type of person is what we should all be and makes those who don’t look like that feel like an outsider. Teleica also spoke about how some people may want to change their appearance and some go as far as doing things to change themselves. I know society deems Eurocentric features as the most acceptable thus making some want to change their noses or their skin tone and even body shape. This interested me as I feel like what is deemed beautiful is constantly changing. I then researched this and came across a video that shows “Women’s Ideal Body Types Throughout History”. It was fascinating to see how the standard of beauty changes each year. Seeing this just reiterated that we should be happy in our skin as the standard of beauty changes constantly.

Another topic that caught my attention was the use of outrage marketing by using racially insensitive images for promotion. Outrage marketing is the act of marking a product with the use of insensitive imagery for public outrage. Companies do this and pretend they were unaware and didn’t understand the weight of what they were doing. This has been done by a lot of companies as it directs attention to the business and what they want to promote. Regardless of if an act like such can damage a business’s reputation some feel that it is worth it as bad publicity is also good publicity. As a fashion communication student, I understand wanting to do the best to get your brand or product out there, but I don’t believe that this is the best way to go.

Telecia also spoke about cultural appropriation. It was intriguing to hear someone else’s opinion on this topic as I believe that nowadays there is confusion on what is cultural appropriation or not. I guess in my opinion it’s all about intention. Some people take aspects of another person’s culture for a gain. Taking something and making money from it without acknowledging where its origin is. It is one thing to take inspiration from a culture and learn from the same culture than to see something you think is cool and fascinating and copying it without knowing the history behind it. 

The reason I chose to review Sihuan Peng’s blog of the Better Lives themes is because they showed a true understanding of the different themes. I was also interested in her blog post as they are a styling and production student which is the pathway I chose for this unit. This allowed me to see how I should be thinking with my approach to this unit and also allowed me to compare our thoughts on how the unit changed my thinking in comparison to hers as I am a Creative Direction student.

Sihuan writes about how the sustainability lecture shaped her mind and helped her realise her wrong way of thinking. They had detailed that they were assigned a project to create styled looks that showed the elements of sustainability. They bought items from fast fashion companies and then later realised the mistake they made upon starting the class. The thought of sustainability only mattered in the way the styled look came out instead of using clothing from places like charity stores, thrift stores or even items in your own home. I related to this as before the lecture, I didn’t really go into depth about what sustainability means but now I’m able to truly grasp the concept and it seems that Sihuan has done the same too. They were also able to realise that a lack of awareness has a negative impact on the industry and in the future plans to second hand clothing or vintage pieces.

Sihuan also mentions the lecture about diversity which I really enjoyed myself. They discuss how they know in the future while working in the fashion industry they will encounter people from so many different backgrounds. Models of different race, height and body shape. As well as that, they know that they will meet people with different religious beliefs. Knowing all of this when faced with diversity of any sort, they plan to have an open heart and mind and to be socially aware.

Overall, while reading this blog post It is easy to see that people will most definitely be taking away some practices to use in the future and the lectures will have an influence on the way they work moving forward which I think was the gaol of this unit.

As we’re nearing the end of the Better Lives unit, it is nice to look back on previous blog posts and see what I have learned and applied to the Styling pathway. As we’re in this lockdown period in the world, we have had to resort to finishing the rest of our classes online and to also work from home and to be inventive with what we have available.

Before this unit, I had very little knowledge of the styling industry and the approach to it. Now I can understand things a little bit differently and can apply them moving forward. Previously I have styled for my own shoots but have never truly gone into depth with It. With this I am able to research more about other subcultures that are out of my comfort zone that can allow me to expand my mind wider.

The lectures we had prior to the pandemic, we were taught about the roles of a stylist and the different types of stylist there is. I was not aware of many things that were discussed during the lectures in the first week, so this allowed the better lives theme that were fresh in my mind to incorporate the two together and change my way of thinking. In other lectures we were also informed about how fashion has changed throughout the decades and also how certain items of clothing can have a certain meaning. For example, Burberry in its early days was a sign of proud British heritage. Nowadays it has become a trend amongst the youth.

Since we were not able to have out second Styling Masterclass at university and I had missed the first one, I was very worried about how the second one would go. Our task was to use clothing that we have at hand and household items to style ourselves or someone else that reflects our experience during lockdown. Since I am the only one in my household, I decided to style my friend over FaceTime and do shoot over the phone. I chose to merge the hip hop 90’s culture and add elements of fitness in it. In the hip hop culture, oversized clothing is a major factor. Hoodies, sweaters, t-shirts, jeans etc were always a bigger size and became a staple at the time. This was because in the black culture, to save money, parents would buy clothing of a larger size. You would have to grow into your clothes. This is a good thing as it reinforces sustainability. I asked my model to find an old jumper that she never wears to add that element into my shoot. For the bottoms I decided to pair the jumper with some cycling shorts which has been around in fashion since the 80’s. It was very popular during the 90’s, even seen on Princess Diana. I planned to have a bandana or scarf around the head but had to use what was available and ended up using a Burberry scarf to wrap around her head. Bandana’s are very popular in the hip hop culture in America and I wanted to add that to highlight my ideas.

After watching the 3 lectures about the themes Social Responsibility, Diversity, and Sustainability, it has opened my mind to things I’ve never thought about before. At the beginning of the unit I was very confused and lost as to what the aim of it was. At this point in the unit I think I still am but as each day goes by, I’m beginning to understand more. I have not been able to think about how I can change the way approach things to do with these themes,  which I think is the gaol to this project. These lectures have impacted me in way I never imagined which will influence the way I move in this industry going forward.

Before choosing the Styling pathway, I never thought about how these themes could impact the industry the way I have learned they can. Stylists have a job of communicating through garments and props a story. Being young in the industry allows us to see and be a part of the current changed occurring to date. With my BA course being Creative Direction for Fashion, it has made me think differently moving forward. Since watching these lectures, I know moving forward I will be more cautious of the message I’m trying to send as a fashion communicator in this industry.

Social Responsibility – As a Creative Direction student we have a job to communicate messages through imagery. As a young fashion student, it is my responsibility to make sure what I produce always has a purpose and good intentions. After watching this lecture, I think I will have to consciously remember to be responsible as it is easy to get lost in the industry and lose your values to get to where you want to be and be successful.

Sustainability – After watching the brief about this topic I realised I am aware of how important sustainability is but had never given it a second thought. I do shop at charity shops, thrift stores and sites such as Depop but since watching the brief I realised that it is not something I consciously do and have now decided to be more serious about it. I still buy from fast fashion websites which contradicts that I buy second hand also. In future I plan to be kinder to the earth and world as this has a direct effect on the industry and the world we live in today.

Diversity – Being a black woman in the fashion industry, I am used to not being included in everything no matter how big or small. The Diversity lecture has made me aware of including every type of person there is in what I do moving forward, especially as a fashion communicator. Having seen what brands like Savage x Fenty are doing to be inclusive I can see that there is no excuse anymore to make anyone feel unrepresented. I plan to be more sensitive to others moving forward in my work.