Passanichsa Adulthanasiri

A post by Xiaoqing Zhou on Fashion Activism project with a strong focus on diversity caught my interest quickly as I skimmed through countless blogposts by my peers.

What attracted me to it is the presentation of “different beauties”, a concept that demolishes the idea of beauty standard and body/racial stereotypes propelled by the globalisation of pop culture with visualisation through colour and image. It gives a sense of privacy to our depiction of what is beautiful without outside influence.

I believe it is our responsibility, as part of the society that instilled the popularised view of beauty, to be the one who disintegrate it and usher in a more open and accepting outlook towards something as subjective and personal as the the topic of beauty and confidence in one’s appearance regardless of what is perceived as conventionally attractive.

Finally, I conclude that the idea of social responsibility and diversity has been well explored by this project outcome.

Link: https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/07/blog-3-project-outcome-personal-development-reflections/

This is where I am faced with an obstacle. Due to personal situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to attend the sessions and none of them are available for playback. But from reviewing the project’s progress on Microsoft Teams, I was even further surprised and excited by the works everybody that could, had put in. The project was truly marvellous in its conception. A trend forecasting application made possible by referring to past trends that would ultimately promoting a more conscious consumption of fashion. Although I was unable to participate in person, this in turn, inspired me to research more into the possibilities of technology in fashion and hopefully I would come up with a solution that won’t fail to inspire as well.

The current situation we’re all living in is the closest to a Hollywood’s description of an apocalypse that one (hopefully) would ever get to be in a lifetime. This period of voluntary solitude beckons the rise of virtual activities where society can still connect and communicate without having to be in close proximity. The idea was actually popularised by the introduction of social media, online collaborating working space or even cloud storage in recent years.

Sustainability, social responsibility and diversity are the three main themes to be considered within the scope of Better Lives unit. That is why participating in the Emerging Technologies in Fashion project can lend a better understanding to the contemporary time which would prove to be a pivotal key into creating a more well-rounded fashion industry that provides transparency and fairness, eliminating creative restrictions across the board in the near future.

By including technology into a creative working process, I could see a broader pool of possibilities and innovations as a result. A smoother and more sustainable workflow where all areas can be micromanaged without sacrificing the overall aesthetic ie; less waste in creating a prototype with 3D rendering, etc. It would enable us to see everything in a different light without physical limitations. This could mean equal opportunities for everyone with the right skillset and ideas regardless of socio-economic or racial backgrounds.

Amongst the different topics presented under the Better Lives’s unit lectures, Emerging Technologies in Fashion stood out to me due to the idea of affordances in technology, introduced early on into the lecture.

“What technology can afford us to do,” is an interesting way to paved a new interest, especially in the area less explored. The idea that a single object can provide different purposes varies from one person to another promotes objectivity and criticality in approaching new subjects that could surely be developed further upon as emerging technologies.

Given the description of disruptive technology because it tends to displaced conventional wisdom and understanding, emerging technology unsettles to improve and replace at the price of familiarity. The discussion suggested some novel uses of these toolsets. A powerful political statement, rise of the new cycle of ethicality in fashion ie; the possibility of blockchain technology lending transparency and encourage peer-to-peer movement in the art and fashion industry to future method of trend forecasting.

Even with the rise of automation and utilisation of artificial intelligence, there’s still a limitation to this computation of patterns and probabilities; statistics based upon data of previous likeliness without putting ethics and morals into consideration, ultimately lacking in social intelligence unlike the human counterpart.

And this is where new wave of emerging technologies can enter the scene, in my opinion. That gap between the infinite possibilities offered by technology and a more refined approach by us. The seamless transition that instigates excitement rather than threatens is the ultimate goal of adapting emerging technology for a wider use in the fashion industry.