Emilia Jablonska

While working on the Makeup Breakdown project the themes that I’ve chosen to focus on were sustainability and social responsibility. Partially, because in the past I don’t think I had put enough emphasis on them and equally because sustainability has been somewhat imposed on the vast majority of creatives  (including myself) due to the current events. If ‘the bad workman always blames his tools’ then the time of self-isolation is bound to verify how imaginative one actually is having access to very limited resources.

As intended for my final makeup look I used environmentally friendly beauty products: whether they were cruelty-free, vegan or their packaging was made from recycled materials, etc. As the key element of the look I used natural flowers which are undoubtedly a sustainable material. Along the experimentation process I incorporated other objects found at home to create a bold creation on my face. Making do with limited makeup products and using decorations and paint found at home was both challenging, stressful even but fun, too. In the current times, that was a brilliant exercise in pushing boundaries of my creativity. In my understanding, ‘sustainability’ now does not only indicate being respectful in regard of cultural contexts and environmental concerns, but also being creatively efficient within the means available. This unit has been fantastic for building my confidence and exploring resourcefulness within my fashion practice.

Engaging in the makeup course has certainly left me with a deeper consideration for the HMUA’s work. As a stylist or an artistic director of the shoot I’ll be able to more precisely communicate my vision in terms of what I expect from the artist. Moreover, now I also understand far better that makeup looks require time, experimentation and testing just as clothing does. I’ve gained much more respect for makeup practitioners knowing how challenging it might be to work spontaneously and effectively under the pressure of time. And, lastly the project also encouraged me tremendously to be more bold and experimental in my own makeup looks.

When thinking on diversity, I genuinely enjoyed the workshop which taught us how to (with using colour theory) recognize and assort the right foundation shade as well as colours of other products. I was surprised to find out that the depth of skin colour had nothing to do with the undertones determining the cold or warm complexion. With that knowledge I feel quite confident not only to choose my own foundation correctly but also for the model on the shoot, should I had to act as an emergency makeup artist in case of cancellation (which happened to me before).

“Better lives” has not only provided me with theoretical knowledge and profound understanding of the major issues and concerns relevant to the contemporary fashion world or encouraged to be less indifferent, but alert and conscious. It also equipped me with fantastic practical skills and pushed me to experiment and be more attentive and thoughtful while meditating on and realizing my concepts.

Social responsibility is the notion that, I used to consider as somewhat daunting. The magnitude of the problem of the detrimental impact fashion industry has on the environment as well as societal concerns may seem so overwhelming that consequently can become ignored due to the feeling of powerlessness. What I thoroughly enjoy about ‘Better Lives’ is that it unpacks numerous socio-economic issues within fashion industry in order to provide us with most in depth understanding, but also strongly encourages to take action in our own creative process. A great example of that merge between fashion and politics as Carbone points out were slogan t-shirts designed by Katharine Hamnett (1975: 67) which bore the simple yet effective political message therefore becoming a form of activism. In her brilliant lecture ‘Society’ Katelyn Toth-Fejel proposed a fantastic variety of the tangible socially-conscious responses towards the implement of a greater change. Even though it may seem like a small input, I wish for my final look for the Make-up Break Down project to be informed by those values by using ethically manufactured products or homemade supplies as well as found natural objects.

As discussed in the earlier post I have gained a far greater consideration for the notion of sustainability thanks to ‘Better Lives’. Now, it does not only mean for me being environmentally aware, but also, within that, being extremely attentive to the great importance of the cultural aspect of it, too. Consequently, I deem both of those understandings of sustainability as inextricable and essential in my future work by not only paying careful attention to the sources of clothing to be used in photoshoots, but also in addressing further consideration of cultural contexts that I will be referencing.

As a stylist I believe that I acknowledge diversity in my casting quite subconsciously without any prior meditation. Although I may believe and practice certain values it does not mean however that racism in today’s media ceased to exist, unfortunately it just took different form. In his essay, Hall (2003) argues that despite of various attempts towards representation, people of colour keep being misrepresented in media due to the pre-existing clichés drawn from sources such as the early cinema. I strongly believe that fashion can have an impact on confounding those, hence from now on I will aim for my future projects rather than just to ‘fit within a frame’, to actively make a statement promoting this and previously mentioned values by not only seeking the diversity within casting but also my future collaborators.

Carbone, C. (1975) ‘Support a Cause, Wear a T-shirt’, in Busch, O. (ed.) Just Fashion: critical cases on social justice in fashion. New York: Selfpassage, pp. 67-71.

Hall, S. (2003) ‘The Whites of Their Eyes’ in Dines, G., Humez, Jean M. (ed.) Gender, race, and class in media : a text-reader. Thousand Oaks, California : Sage, pp. 90-92.

Toth-Fejel, K. (2020) ‘Society’ [Lecture]. Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 19 February.

Out of the lectures that I have virtually attended so far, ‘Cultural sustainability’ (2020) presented by John Lau was undoubtedly the one that resonated with and challenged me the most. That is mainly because it touched upon the notion of sustainability within the often overlooked cultural context. My preconception regarding the word ‘sustainable’ was that it is always bound to address environmental connotations and although the title intrigued me, I was expecting another disquisition on the alarming impact of fast fashion on the natural environment and world economy. However, the lecture proved to be all about situating the practice of sustainable approach in regard to considerations concerning different aspects of culture. There were a few significant issues raised such as profoundly political dimension of fashion, delicate problem of cultural appropriation and the great importance of cultural competence, all of which I had thought of at some point before, but never in such depth and from that viewpoint.

Even though I was to some extent aware of the certain, rather obvious tendencies in the way of dressing themselves performed by political figures or the phenomenon of ‘power dressing’, I had not realised how far back in history those connotations originate from and how even the miniscule detail becomes of great importance when worn by a prominent politician. How fashion can not only reflect current affairs, but thoroughly affect them, especially when challenging the subjective culture consisting of values and attitudes. Hence, from now on, in my stylist’s practice I will endeavour for my looks to present a more conscious and intentional political undertones.

When it comes to cultural appropriation I deem it an extremely relevant problem in the contemporary, globalised world full of the cross-cultural references. Yet the concept proposed by Mr Lau that especially struck me was that belonging to certain culture or ethnicity does not imply the understanding of it and its origins. The idea of misinterpretation of one’s own background and (in)voluntarily ‘corrupting’ it with borrowings was definitely something that I had not considered before. Importantly, consulting was advised as the adequate way of avoiding appropriation on which I will aim to put a greater emphasis in my future projects.

The importance of diversity understood within the frames of cultural competence had also been stressed as essential for the sustainable approach. An example of which could be a comprehensive inquiry of a visual reference to determine whether the apparent depiction actually communicates the original meaning. That deeply investigative approach is something I wish to incorporate in my output.

The general conclusion I want to come away with from this lecture, common for all of the examined aspects is simple yet paramount – conducting one’s research in a very profound and inquisitive manner allows one to successfully navigate through a variety of  cultural nuances, in order to not only avoid misunderstandings but to effectively promote their ideas and hence actively contribute to sustaining of the culture.

Lau, J. (2020) ‘Cultural Sustainability’ [Lecture]. Better Lives. London College of Fashion. 18 February.