Jelena Pavlenko

My choice of Better Lives project choice is Fashion Illustration with Sue Dray. I decided that this subject will help me to broaden my creativity and improve my drawing skills. We explored different artists and designers that are environmentalists and activist that are sending messages to people through fashion designs and illustrations. Our tutor showed us a variety of products and techniques on how to create a fashion illustration. On our first lesson we did practice of 6 drawings using continuous line, geometrical figures, dots and letters. Second practical lesson was to create an illustration out of magazine cuts. And third session was to create a presentation about sustainability, diversity or social responsibility in fashion industry that inspires you. I found these 3 lessons very inspiring, it demonstrated diverse aspects about fashion and fashion industry itself.

Throughout the first two lessons I discovered that there are enough ways to produce an illustration out of old newspaper or magazine, tissue paper, fingers, bubble wrap and chopped sponges. We were given variety of body templates, Sue Dray demonstrated how to copy a drawing of the figure onto the paper so that we can draw on top of that silhouette. My favourite part out of all sessions was the one where you use magazine cut outs. We used mismatched body parts like arms, legs, head, torso and positioning it in abnormal way. I have a thing about slogans and words, I found couple of them in magazines that are addressed to feminism such as “ How to wear your women power”, “Beautiful, Strong, Confident” as well as “women on the verge of a nervous breakdown” idea was to make it look fierce and powerful. Sue asked us to scan this image to our computer and try to do a digital version of it. However I do prefer pencil and paper. I also enjoyed the third session of this project on researching designers and artists who use fashion to show diversity, social responsibility and sustainability. My choice was about the smart fabric for deaf people who can experience the music through this garment. I did mention this project in my last blog, I was very moved by Inclusion Lecture and design of smart fabric. There were different subjects that some students found interesting and inspiring, like Gal – Dems magazine- an online and print publication committed to sharing perspective from women and non-binary people of colour. Overall, it made me want to discover more about artists and performers and activists who are trying to make difference in the world. It is very inspiring  and makes you want to follow that way and spread the word on how to make a world a better place, to be responsible for your actions and make an example on how to treat each other with respect and educate about each other’s culture as well as how to care about our planet Earth and produce sustainable and diverse fashion in the future

Better Lives unit lectures that I have seen so far in some way made me think a lot about little and big things that are happening and has happened in the world. I decided to watch them all, they all unique and interesting in its own way. I think there were more than few lectures that affected my thinking and my feelings.

Here are two that made me think and made me feel.

Fashion Sustainability and Culture lecture by Anna Fitzpatrick made it clear how deep we felt into over consumption and pollution. She made a point about that these days generation can make changes in today’s fashion. Sustainability is not something that is necessary good for the world we live in only because the number of natural sources that are need for more sustainable fabric and products are sometimes twice as much as to make a synthetic fabric. Nowadays fast fashion industry makes us buy more things then before. In my opinion it is due to people being on social media too much and living in that world till it becomes your reality. Because there is nothing out there that makes you happy these days, it is mostly work-home-work lifestyle. People also feel that they are underpaid and underappreciated so that they reward themselves with new things as compensation. I am one of them individuals that does a non-individual thing by buying things that I might not ever use. Recently I started a new way of shopping, I remind myself that I had this specific cup in a past or I used to have something like this cup and where it ended up in the end. Do I need a new one but different colour to make me feel complete? The answer to that is – No! So I put that cup back and carry on with my life knowing that my cupboard has enough of those cups.

 I like the fact that Better Lives unit encourages us to make a diverse, sustainable and socially responsible fashion. I do try to donate most of my unwanted clothes to charities or giving it away to my friends. Talking about clothing, I was fascinated about Inclusion lecture by Laura Salisbury. She works with real people who are stroke survivors. Her Smart Fabric facilitates the recovery of the upper limb function, which is an absolute brilliant and amazing thing to do for people with that condition. In her lecture there was a video of deaf people not being able to experience an orchestra music. The piece of garment that is in the video is The Sound Shirt that helps deaf person to experience music through touch sensations of all the musical instruments that are used in that specific orchestra piece. While I was watching the video it made me cry, it is amazing that there are people who care about others with disabilities, that make fashion inclusive and inspire others to create garments like this. It is truly fascinating. Overall Better Lives unit tells you that fashion is not just a catwalk and weird designs made by crazy people it is a way of sending the message/making a statement through the work of art by creating and trying to show the world what is happening  behind the curtains what lies beneath it. Things that you wouldn’t usually pay attention to or dare to ask. Unless you are a curious one