Sadikchaya Gurung

Out of all the lecture that I’ve attended, I would say Julia Crew lecture on Power was the most eye-opening and informative one I’ve attended, which I was not expecting because I was assuming this lecture was just going be about the relationship between fashion and power but instead I got the whole package of new knowledge. Julia talks about the relationship between Power and Fashion, Money, Media, Consumer, Protest and Us. Out of all the section Julia talked about, I found the most interesting was the relationship between Power and Media and Power and Consumer.

As a consumer, we forgot that we hold over 50% of the power in any sort of business however we are so used to the action of the transaction that we don’t realise whom we are actually giving our money to and the effects it has on the environment and the workers creating the items. In Julia’s lecture, she reminded me that we’re blinded by the Price and trends in fashion. Nevertheless, it’s just a moment that we’re going through- it’s not something that we need, it’s something that we want and those wants leads landfill mess and unethical ways of shopping. I don’t know a lot about sustainability nonetheless I do think it’s very important and each of should at least does our part to help clean the mess that we have created. Don’t get wrong, I’m 100% guilty of contributing to the landfill mess, I have the most dangerous type of shopping habit which is if I’m in the mood or having a moment, I buy everything. But now there are so many different ways to shop ethically which can still satisfy the shopping craving. Such as Depop, thrift stores, Love Not Landfill, TRAID etc… If we started spending our money in places like these and less in fast fashion brand, we are reshaping our style of consuming products and brand and business will notice and will listen and change their ways as well. 

The topic on Relationship between Power and Media is the most current topic in this lecture and the most relevant as everyone have seen it first-hand. The 21st century is known for the evolution of technology and media and my generation is known for being in the centre of all of it. Social media is one of the most significant, influential and accessible platforms, there are approximately 3.797 billion social media users which means almost 50% of people worldwide use social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Naver, Snapchat, Weibo etc… About 200 million users follow at least one fashion account, this essentially means it’s one of the easiest, quickest and cheapest ways for brands to advertise their collection to a wide group of audiences. However, this may be a positive thing for the brands but not so much for us, I’ve always known there’s a dark side to social media and how it affects our Mental Health but in the lecture, Julia highlighted that it also the effect the way we shop which I never realised until now. Currently, there is a huge problem of Over consumptions and the unsustainable side effect of it. We buy 400% more clothing than we did just 20 years ago, 100 billion garments that are produced annually and 75% of those will end up in landfill or be incinerated. After hearing this, it made me recognise that this is more severe than I thought, and it is getting out of hand.

Overall, after attending this lecture I understood that at the end of the day all the power is in our hand, it’s our responsibility to take the first step to change the system so the brands can follow in our footsteps because Brands needs us for them to survive and As a fashion student, I’m reminded and taught about sustainability and issues around it, however, I believe that the general public doesn’t know the level of seriousness of it.  

After receiving the Better Life unites brief and attending numerous lectures thought out the course of the 2 weeks. I understand why the Tutors decided to choose these key themes which are Diversity, Social Responsibility and Sustainability as our main focus for the Better Life, as it is more current than ever and is factors that everyone should pay attention to in our practices. Looking thought out each of the lecture’s summaries, I found myself always being attracted towards lectures which features Diversity as their main focus. This is because, as I’m able to relate on a personal level and share my thought and experiences on what it’s like to be a minority. However, this does mean that I think Social Responsibility and Sustainability is not just as important as Diversity.

One of the most, memorable lectures I attended was about Representation by Teleica Kirkland. Throughout the lecture, she touched on topics such as why Diversity and Representation are necessary and Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation. I’ve always been interested in these two topics because as someone who doesn’t fit into the general stereotypical Asian women, I’ve always interested in how to introduce and bordered people knowledge of different cultures and people in Asia through my work.

Kirkland mentioned Dr Diana Yeh, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Culture and the Creative Industries in the University of London, researched Model minority in British East and South-East Asian. After hearing a bit of her research in the lecture, I did further research on her studies and I agree with Doctor Yay because many people might not notice but there has anyways a Hierarchy in Asia and who is the most desirable Caste and whom people trends to gravitate towards. We can see an example of this in every practise not just fashion. I’ve seen numerous collections and editorial where only a certain type of Asian are being used- the stereotypical Oriental look and never the South or South-East Asian which makes me wonder do the creator think that people won’t be able to tell the difference or are they just choosing what looks normal in the eyes of the world or are they just using them to use the word “Diversity”.

Teleica Kirkland definition of Cultural Appropriation shares the same values and understanding of my point of view as well. “It is about who has the power and who has the privilege to be able to use that power and whatever they want from any culture at any time without recompense or acknowledgement” I believe that is fine to take inspiration from other cultures but as long as you understand and acknowledge the history and value behind it. There are hundreds of brands who forget this value wrong seasons after season. For instances, Marc Jacobs, Loewe, Prada, Gucci, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Chanel etc… You would think a respected high-profile brand as they are, would know the differences between Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation. 

Diversity and Representation are fundamental and essential now than ever as boundaries between cultures and races are becoming burry and soon enough that boundaries will become invisible. Which only makes sense to start featuring and showcasing the real look of realty.