Sydney Paige Vaughan

Throughout my time in the Contemporary Portrait Photography unit, I drastically expanded the way I view portraiture and its limits. As a creative direction student, I am no stranger to photography, however I quickly learned that it reaches depths I had never explored prior to Better Lives. I had always disliked the term “portrait photography” due to connotations of school photos and outdated family paintings. The last thing I expected was to end up exploring its ties with performance art, and creating my own version of performance photography.

As a loyal fan of Cindy Sherman, I was immediately drawn to the ways in which she uses herself as a sort of mannequin to build upon. I have always shied away from using myself in my work, however the current situation pushed me to consider how I might adopt a method similar to Sherman’s to create my final outcome. Her current work is mostly apart of her Instagram feed, comprising of excessively Facetuned and Photoshopped self portraits. As an apparent form of commentary on one’s self constructed identity on social media, I felt that her message aligned with Better Lives and its push to create more awareness between ourselves and our impact with the people and things around us. Because of this, I felt that a self portrait would be the right form of portraiture to work with as a way to emphasize and encourage my own self reflection following the Better Lives lecture series.

When shooting, I almost always use an analog medium. However, I felt that digital mediums would allow me the most flexibility when editing. I photographed myself in several different poses, and in post production, cut out my head and pieced my limbs together in a mismatched position. I then liquified the edges to create a whimsical and unnatural silhouette. I was isolating and shaping my limbs one by one and putting myself back together in the way I felt created the most impact. The editing process was perhaps the time where I reflected the most. I realized how intimate even the most unconventional self portraits could be. Looking back, I am proud of leaving my comfort zone and creating an unexpected but thoughtful self portrait that I felt gave me time for careful self consideration. In the future, I hope to gain some aspect of reflection from every piece of work I create, and to encourage myself to continue analyzing and improving the ways in which I tailor myself to positively impact my surroundings. 

Portraiture is such a strong and versatile way to represent oneself or those around them. Visualizing my own self portrait alongside those of my classmates during the online critique, I saw firsthand how deeply our images captured our diversity. Though all of us seemed to be in an almost identical situation, quarantined with few human interactions and limited spaces, each of us were able to engage introspectively in order to create unique reflective work.

The main themes of Better Lives could not be more relevant to the climate of today’s fashion industry. Social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and diversity are all topics that must be addressed if we expect fashion as we know it to survive in the future. I appreciate how several of the lectures I watched both concisely informed and encouraged us to take action in ways pertaining to the previously mentioned pillars. This call to action is echoed outside of Better Lives, and is spreading rapidly throughout the entire industry. We at LCF are privileged to have the resources needed to educate ourselves about these issues, and to be surrounded by staff that are passionate about incorporating them into our curriculum. Since attending LCF for foundation last year, I have made many changes to the way I live and work, and the choices I make within my practice. Making positive change begins with taking the initiative to study the problems we are facing, as well as considering the ways in which we will personally take part in that change.

The topic of sustainability is one in particular that really captures my attention. I have learned so much about the importance of continuously supporting vintage and secondhand businesses, as well as smaller designers operating on a made-to-order basis or with recycled materials; all to minimize the overwhelming amount of pollution caused by fashion. However, a surplus of waste is only a fraction of the issues at hand. Unethical working environments are almost standard for the industry’s mainstream retailers, and projects like the Made for Change ethical manufacturing initiative mentioned in Claire Swift’s lecture are the type of creative solutions necessary in combatting some of the damage. Moving forward with my own project within my Better Lives portrait photography class, I am determined to carefully consider the clothing I promote in my outcome. I also aim to possibly collaborate with a local, ethically conscious brand. 

Diversity is another hurdle that the fashion world is struggling to overcome. Unfortunately, many fashion brands fail to properly consider cultural diversity in their work. Whether it be in the design itself or in ad campaigns, we still see misrepresentation time after time. In Cher Potter’s lecture on perspectives in design, she discussed a positive example of how brands can dig deeper to correctly pay tribute to non-Eurocentric cultures. This example was of The Sartists, an African collective of artists using their own creative ideas to propose streetwear collaborations on social media that reflect the identity of their fading culture (Potter 2020). The collective’s creativity led to collaborations with top brands such as Adidas and Stussy, exemplifying how social media can be used as a tool to learn about and discover new cultures straight from the source. Having access to global input and ideas from a diverse group is a valuable resource that needs to be capitalized on. In my work thus far in the Better Lives portrait photography class, I have been able to work with classmates from a variety of backgrounds, both in and out of the classroom. This collaboration has reinforced the idea that exposure to varied cultures and backgrounds can lead to some of the most informed and creative outcomes.

Potter, Cher. (2020) “Perspectives” [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 14 February.

Each of the lectures that I watched from the Better Lives series was successful in covering social responsibility, diversity, and sustainability through relevant examples centered around fashion and culture. These lectures allowed me to see past my personal work and assignments, and led me to consider how I could use my skills in ways that might impact more than just myself. 

Claire Swift’s lecture on social responsibility was the presentation that I resonated with the most. She focused on the many ways fashion is able to connect us, and discussed her own philanthropic work that she conducted alongside LCF students. I was absolutely blown away by the number of projects Swift was involved in. I immediately grew interested in her work with incarcerated women. Swift discussed several projects that she worked on in local British prisons. They each addressed outstanding issues within the fashion industry, while remaining centered around enriching tasks for the women to partake in. As mentioned in her lecture, only 9% of women leave prison having secured employment, while that statistic jumps to 25% for male inmates. Seeing this as an opportunity to use fashion as a solution, Swift started the project Making for Change in collaboration with design students at LCF. The students taught women in UK prisons sewing skills, quality control, and other important skillsets. This led to smaller fashion brands and designers employing these workshops to ethically manufacture their products. What I admired most about the Making for Change project is that it not only exemplifies taking social responsibility, but it also promotes sustainability through its ethical production means, while also finding a way to benefit a diverse and commonly overlooked demographic.

Swift stressed the importance of understanding that our practice as artists extends beyond ourselves, and can be used for something much bigger. At LCF we are given the knowledge and skills needed to create change, however it is up to us to take that initiative. This lecture was a huge eye-opener for me. I am beginning to wonder what more I can be doing at this level in my practice, and how I can begin incorporating social responsibility into every new project I take on. Learning how Swift was able to benefit many troubled areas in the fashion industry through one project was inspiring to say the least. It can be quite easy to be overwhelmed by all of the issues that the world of fashion has both created and perpetuated, and to begin underestimating our ability to correct it. Though taking action one project at a time is a slow process, it is a necessary one. I am grateful to Swift for all of the positive change she has helped make, and for reminding me that even as a student, there are so many chances to use fashion as a tool for change through every opportunity I am faced with, big or small.

Swift, C. (2020) “Social Responsibility” [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 14 February.