Wayne Thomas-Rhoden

Blog 3 – Reflections

In thinking about how the Better Lives themes influenced my project outcome, I focused on the theme of society. This was unpacked in Better Lives lecture 12, delivered by Katelyn Toth-Fejel. In order to define what is meant by the term ‘society’, Katelyn quoted Michael Hughes, who said:

“Each of us is a social being. We are born into a social environment; we fully develop into human beings in a social environment; and we live our lives in a social environment. What we think, how we feel, and what we say and do are all shaped by our interactions with other people”. Hughes. 2008. P.(?)

If anyone is seeking to alter society then it is important to understand how it works (Babbie, 2011).   This was my takeaway when I went onto consider my Critical Design workshop project within the Better Lives unit. The workshop explained that, in order to challenge the urgent issues of, say, an ecological crisis, political instability, or economic inequity, designers, thinkers and artists are increasingly using critical design approaches to challenge the narrow assumptions, preconceptions and givens about the role products, systems and services play in everyday life and engage with the uncertainties of the future. Against this backdrop, we were asked to critically engage with a ‘wicked problem’ and create a response using design. A wicked problem was defined by Tim Curtis as ‘a social problem in which the various stakeholders can barely agree on what the definition of the problem should be, let alone what the solution is.’ For example, climate change, sexual harassment, political instability, economic unfairness or social inequality. We were asked to create a small critical design outcome that examines the potential implications of an emerging social, technological or environmental development by offering a vision of what our near future might look and feel like. Further, we had to consider and challenge hidden assumptions about our chosen issue, its impacts and influences. The outcome would take the form of a short trailer and presentation and the vision could be utopian, dystopian or somewhere in between. The main thing was that it had to show evidence of critical engagement. Something that makes you want more/leaves you hanging. Something that asks questions but doesn’t answer them. Something that communicates an atmosphere, engages, or teases.

My wicked problem was black-on-black knife crime and I used the theme of society to help me research the social aspects underpinning this phenomenon, such as racism, broken family structures, surrogate family structures, peer pressure, emulation, drugs and the influence of music. I also wanted to highlight how the social structures of the Windrush generation (who are the grandparents/great grandparents of these black men) differed significantly from what we are seeing today. This contrast was explored in my trailer to make the viewer consider why this very wicked problem ever should have come into existence in the first place. The link to my trailer is attached.

BABBIE, E. (2011) The Basics of Social Research. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth.

HUGHES, M and KROEHLER, J. (2008) Sociology: The Core. 8^th Ed. Boston: University Press.

In thinking about how the Better Lives themes might alter how I would work in the future, I believe I will be drawn to organisations/brands that embrace these themes in a genuine and non-tokenistic way. Take the theme of diversity, for example. When Edward Enninful was confirmed as editor-in-chief of British Vogue in April 2017, I felt that the magazine would become a safe space for diversity to thrive and flourish in earnest. So much so that I wrote to him and congratulated him on his appointment in addition to submitting my CV and enquiring about the possibility of work experience. My prediction about how the publication would change proved to be true, as Enninful promptly appointed Naomi Campbell and Steve McQueen as contributing editors among others. Indeed, Campbell slammed former editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman, who was accused of racism after suggesting that black cover models don’t sell issues, which was why, in her 25 years at the magazine, she only put 12 black models and celebrities on its cover.  Although nothing came of my work experience enquiry, I feel encouraged nonetheless because opportunities may present themselves in the future where my craft as a stylist from the BAME community could be spotted, supported or even nurtured by a magazine with a black man at its helm. Just the thought of that inspires me and encourages me to look at British Vogue through a new, aspirational lens where anything is possible. The sky is truly the limit within the four walls of 1 Hanover House now, in my opinion.

As regards the theme of sustainability, I totally accept that it will be impossible for me to work in the fashion industry without having an opinion on fashion’s relationship with nature and humanity. My personal red line is on the issue is animal welfare.  As a stylist, I would never work with fur, for example. I have a personal affinity to rabbits, as I keep them as pets (guinea pigs and French bulldogs too). During my fashion foundation course, I did some research on the appalling way that angora rabbits are abused for their fur. If I was ever asked to work with such a garment, I would refuse point blank without question. I feel so strongly about this. I remember sitting on a bus recently opposite a lady who was wearing a coat that I suspected to be made of rabbit. I accosted her and asked what it was made of. She replied “mink”. My next comment was that I didn’t approve of animals being used for their fur and she agreed, but proceeded to explain that she was from Siberia and that the winters were so cold there that people couldn’t survive without wearing this type of fur. I also spoke to a girl on my course who was wearing rabbit one day and expressed my disapproval. I just feel so impassioned about this subject and hope that the practice will be eradicated in the future.

I attended the lecture 9 ‘Well Being’ talk delivered by Jekaterina Rogaten and it made me appreciate how much the acquisition and wearing of my clothes has contributed to my sense of well-being. For example, the ‘feel-good factor’ I derive from wearing a particular label or material against my skin has not being something that I have been able to articulate in terms of well-being before this lecture. For me, it was just a buzz, which led me seek out the fix of buying more clothes again and again. Now I realise that this buzz I was experiencing had a positive impact on my mental health. Conversely, I certainly register more feelings of anxiety since I haven’t been in the financial position to buy clothes on a regular basis because I am a student. However, this lecture has also taught me that well-being through owning/wearing fashion is not only or primarily achieved via the act of purchasing; it can also be achieved through observing fashion; be it in magazines or on people in the flesh (i.e. where I compliment a person on their look). Wearing something nice, even though I have owned the piece for many years, can generate the same feeling as when I go out on a shopping spree.  As a stylist, this encourages me to produce fashion images for motives other than purely to sell clothes. I can make people feel good by just looking at fashion in the same way someone might feel good about looking at art, for example. Why should fashion be all about wanting to buy something? Most people can’t afford an original Picasso, but they would still relish an opportunity to see one, right? When we a retrospective on punk, say, at the Met, or look at the work of a designer like McQueen at the V&A, we’re not standing there thinking, ‘My God, I wish I could own that piece’. But this is what I believe most people think when they see a fashion image that they like in a magazine. There needs to be more opportunities to see fashion as a form of art outside the traditional museum context as well as more understating of the well-being producing power of fashion in the same way as art. André Leon Talley once famously said in a documentary about Christie Turlington that fashion is not art, but I disagree. I see the body as a blank canvas that can be adorned in a way that is beautiful or is not beautiful, depending on the skills of the person putting the look together. Someone with a strong eye and an appreciation for texture, colour combinations, layering, silhouette and a sensitivity for what works on a particular body shape or skin colour can create magic in the same way as an artist. Indeed, that person is an artist in my opinion and their work should not necessarily have consumption at its core. I’m not denying that consumption is important. Of course people need to get paid from designer to seamstress to stylist, but I just think that the well-being producing effects of just appreciating fashion should not be downplayed to the degree that is currently is.