Ellie Short

I’m currently on the hair, make-up and prosthetics pathway, when I was deciding on which better lives project to choose I was focused on which project I felt would assist my personal development in my chosen pathway the most and help me get a better understanding of the industry I am going into which is why I chose make-up for fashion. It is my understanding that the more well-rounded I am as a make-up artist, the more opportunities I will have in the future and the more knowledge I will be able to take into the industry with me. I have previously done a level three course in male-up artistry and a foundation degree, but I think sometimes the more advanced things get you start to forget the basics, which is one thing I felt this module helped me with. Lessons on skills such as contouring and smokey eyes really helped me develop my make-up technique and let me experiment on concepts I haven’t for a while, as well as theory including facial anatomy and colour theory.

Our project outcome was focused on imperfection and fashion mistake, which connected really well with the better lives themes that I found most influential, representation and diversity, which allowed me to explore these on a deeper level and see how my creative practise can contribute to these themes. The lectures I watched talked about how when the fashion industry is inclusive and represents true world vision, we change the worlds perspective on human difference. One of my peers did their final design on imperfection inspired by Vitiligo, she used colours in the formation similar to that seen in Vitiligo to represent the beauty and power within it, taking inspiration as well from model Winnie Harlow. This is such a beautiful example of how by representing the beauty in what others may see as imperfection can affect how the world perceives it and how individuals feel about themselves. This really made me see the bigger picture of what I can change and achieve in my industry by showing diversity, being inclusive and thoughtful of how I represent minorities. 

I’ve done a little bit of work on fashion make-up in previous courses but not really got very into it and struggled a lot with conceptual designs, I work a lot better on literal concepts and character designs but I feel like this module aided my understanding of the process behind conceptual designs and where to get inspiration from a lot. We had to do a 5 slide powerpoint about the process behind our final projects, and I don’t feel like mine was great however I gained a lot personally from watching my peers present theirs and it gave me an insight into their thought processes which also then inspired mine. I’m happy I chose this project and really feel it aided my personal development both through my chosen pathway, my thought processes and understanding of impact of diversity and representation in the fashion industry. 

The better lives themes have provided me with a lot to reflect on with regards to my future working practise. As a Make-up Artist, diversity in portfolios is key to show you can work with a wide range of individuals, as no two face is exactly the same, which is crucial to understand in the designing of hair and make-up looks. I think previous to watching the better lives lectures (specifically Shadhidha Bari on Diversity and Teleica Kirkland on Representation) I was ignorant to the true definition of diversity and how it applied to my creative practise, I considered diversity to mainly regard race and being able to show a range of skills that allowed me to work on different ethnicities, however I now understand that diversity is also about age, gender, disability, religion and beliefs as well as ethnicities. I am also more aware of the consequences of diversity not being represented and how that can affect the individuals. Teleica Kirkland talked about how misrepresentation and a lack of representation can lead to global stereotypes and an unachievable concept of ideal beauty that is stemmed from mainly models with Eurocentric features and this is not something I want to support but be part of changing. This also means ensuring that my make-up kit is inclusive, not only having products with a variety of shades such as using palettes over individual products, but also experimenting and researching products better for particular age groups and skin concerns. I also will do more research and experimentation around techniques for older adults as this is an area commonly overlooked by new make-up artists.

Another point that was made in lectures was about how when designing clothes, there is a standard diagram that is used which involves a model far taller than most people are and skinnier too, it was talked about how this is one of the things that shows we are not yet working properly with diversity. This made me consider how often I have used the standard face charts similar to the ones used in Mac and how that does not actually emulate a real face and is contributing to the unrealistic standard of beauty. My tutor often mentions that we should be either working on images of real faces or consider life drawing for designing looks which I now understand the reasoning behind this and how it will also assist my future work. 

 Following my viewing of the Better Lives lectures I feel that Shadhidha Bari’s lecture on Diversity and Teleica Kirkland’s lecture on Representation have influenced my thinking and reflection in relation to my creative practise the most. Their lectures opened my mind and expanded my appreciation  of diversity and understanding of cultural appropriation, how media representation of diverse groups of people can effect the individuals and how wonderful it can be when cultural appreciation is done correctly. During Teleica Kirkland’s lecture she presented a video from the brand Wafrica Kimona’s, which is a fusion of Japanese and West African culture, as an example of cultural appreciation. This video encapsulated the journey that was made to create these kimonos from native Cameroonian designer Serge Mouangue working with Japanese kimono designer Kururi. This video validated the message Teleica was making that ‘operating from a place of understanding instead of a place of personal gain is always the best position to start from’. Issues like cultural appropriation and not correctly representing diverse groups of people has always been a worry of mine which has lead to me avoiding such topics altogether for fear of getting it wrong. This lecture taught me that positive things come from having the conversation, understanding how to get it right instead and appreciating origins can be beneficial to all parties. The video about Wafrica’s Kimonos was so rich in culture and that understanding of the journey and meaning made the final product so much more beautiful. This was contrasted with the examples she presented of negative cultural appropriation such as Guccis ‘blackface’ balaclava jumper which is likely the product of outrage marketing, since it is clearly pervasive and receives such an uproar from social media.

Fashion is a visual medium that has a huge influence on our daily lives, including affecting how we see and feel about ourselves. This necessitates having a fashion industry that accurately represents human difference and gives a true world vision, as when a particular group is the only one represented there becomes a concept of ideal beauty that is simply unachievable universally. A good example of representation done correctly was doves 2008 ‘real beauty’ campaign, mentioned in Shahida Bari’s lecture. This campaign showed real diversity and was great for the portrayal of women, and was truly appreciated which was evidenced by the major increase in sales following the campaign. This shows how much we need this true world vision and to present to consumers that beauty comes in many forms, and that should be represented through our fashion industry and worked towards in our daily lives and work.