Vedika Sharma

For our final better lives blog, we were asked to do a a peer review, we were asked to book at another students writing and analyse what we have understood from it, taken away and connected with. I decided to review Yui Eto’s second blog on how the better lives themes will change how one works in the future.

To begin with she mentions the aspects and lines of discipline required in her course of “styling and production”, she introduces us to the importance of collaboration with other students. She quotes Walter Lippmann “When we all think alike, then no one is thinking”, she explains the the issue in the transparency of a collaboration and the idea of having two different working styles of angles when two individuals are brought together to create and idea or concept. 

Yui Eto, then further dives into the issue of transparency within a collaboration and explains the idea of how important it is to be independent and individualistic during this process, the emphasis on the importance of communication. What I can understand from her blog is that she believes that collaboration is an incredibly important aspect of generating an idea in the fashion industry, to create an outcome with which one is happy it is important to join hands with other creative individuals, be it “photographers, models, designers, singers”. And during so “trust os the most important” because without that communication and independence is unachievable. 

Yui then talks about the importance of networking in the future, and that through collaborating this opens future possibilities for creative individuals to meet with experts from their field, You ends her blog  by writing about and ending her argument on trust, communication and collaboration and how all these aspects are critical in the future of fashion. 

Overall I enjoyed analysing You Eto’s blog, I felt as though she had some strong arguments to back up her premise, and the ability to explain each theory in depth. She has questioned the readers, giving them something to think about, which is an interesting way of putting forward her ideas. I feel as though she could have developed the importance of collaboration further more and given some more examples. I think she could have highlighted and talked about the better lives themes in more depth, relating each of her theories back to what has been learnt in the classroom setting, or through the lectures and seminars. Having said so, she has been able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the themes and how she has the ability to understand the importance of them in the future and how they might chance from current day situations.

Better Lives Blog 3- Project outcome

For my better lives class I chose Makeup breakdown. I was excited to dive into this subject as I have always had an interest in the subject and wanted to explore it in a more creative sense. I throughly enjoyed the lectures and practical sessions during course, especially being in a studio, I found it exciting and something new for me. 

However I never expected my project outcome to be as it is due to the current situation, Having been stuck at home, I have a lack of resources and materials to work from. Nonetheless this quarantine has also given up the opportunity to be creative from home and make do with what we have. 

During our classes we were introduced to several themes and ideas. For out project we were asked to create 5 slides based on the themes we were introduced to, these included color theory, fashion mistake and imperfection. One lecture I connected with was by Kate Fletcher on “Nature”, I wanted my final outcome to be based on that theme as it was something I had close access to in Singapore. Being able to go out at the start, before the lockdown was implemented I had done a photoshoot for a friend of mine, in one of the nature parks of the city. I decided that for my final project I would use those images and creatively implement the theme. During the shoot my friend has asked me to use flora as a means of makeup, I used natural flower dye as a lip tint and used the flowers as “makeup” on my face to represent nature. 

For the final look I was photographed in the park and used my ideas of natural flower die as makeup. I decided to furthermore experiment with the image and look and photoshop the outcome. I then on photoshop played with the brightness and contrast to create a more 3D and pop up effect of my look. I went over the flowers that were placed on my face and layered them to crate a 3D outcome. The base of my makeup was very light as I used light flowers to create the “makeup”.

Personally I was happy with the outcome, however when I look back I wish I created deeper colour dyes so that when photographed the makeup could stand out more in the images. 

The better lives theme has definitely encouraged me to approach looks in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way. This will also influence me in the products I buy in the future as well as any make tools I decide to use. 

Work in the future

During the different better lives lectures, we were introduced to many topics related to sustainability, social responsibility and culture. I was made more informed about areas of fashion which I did not have much knowledge on previously. Many of these lectures touch on working cultures, salaries in the industry, well-being and fashion conditions in the workplace. These lectures have been detailed and instructive, providing us with in-depth information on the industry and its link to current problems that many people face.  

Collaboration is one area which I think is extremely important in the fashion industry. Being a student at UAL we have the opportunity to collaborate with many talented students from all the schools of UAL. However it can be pressurising to go out there and ask someone for help, or to come together to bring individuals ideas to create a more experimental and interesting collaboration. However this is the future of fashion. Collaborating with experienced and educated individuals in their own personal field which one might not have much knowledge on gives us students to dive deeper into our art, it allows us to leave the professionals to what they do best so that we can focus on our areas of expertise and therefore create an outcome which we have wished for. Collaborations help bring an idea to life. Being put into groups to work allows us to come together and create exciting outcomes. During many of our classes we are asked to either pair up or go to a group which allows us to understand the other students and their personal talents, as well as take away from them experiences, knowledge and skills, to help better ourselves as well. This is something which I wish to implement in my work in the future, collaborate and share with one another in the fashion industry. Other lectures have also helped me in understanding what changes of what I would like to implement in my future work. These include, well-being, diversity and also being more sustainably aware. I would like to reduce on items of clothing or materials which harm the environment, I would like to help improve working conditions in order to improve well-being and I would like to collaborate with talented individuals from all walks of life to bring creative ideas into practice and life.

Vedika Sharma

During my first two weeks of being able to watch the lectures, I was able to understand the better lives unit in further detail and gain vast knowledge from them. The themes that we were given for this unit included: sustainability, diversity and social responsibility. During these lectures I was introduced to many aspects of fashion, which I previously did not have much information or knowledge on. These lectures gave me the chance to go more in depth when understanding the role of fashion in different aspects socially as well as through culture and many other sub-topics. 

Having watched the lectures, many of them connected with me, however the one that I connected to the most was on well-being. This lecture was conducted by Jekaterina Rogaten. She emphasized the importance of well being in our daily lives, and how this topic and its meaning is incredibly personal and subjective to each individual. For example my definition of well being might differ tremendously to my peers, this could be due to our upbringing, our culture or even our personal beliefs and ethics. 

During this talk, Jekaterina asked us to think in a more psychological way, we were asked if our personal wellbeing and happiness is directly linked to external factors such as the people and physical objects we are attached to, or if true happiness for us comes from within. 

Personally speaking I would link my personal happiness to both those factors, however I believe that if an individual isn’t intrinsically happy from within, then exterior factors might not affect them as much. Overall I believe that one should be happy themselves in order to gain happiness from the outside as well. 

In terms of fashion and well being, I believe that working environments can be improved on, in order to improve well being for individuals. Having worked and interned for several fashion organizations, I have witnessed as well as experienced the lack of good environments and motivation for individuals. I have seen that many fashion organizations work on a hierarchy basis, so if you are higher up in the organization you will be given more respect, opposed to being an intern or a newcomer. This lecture introduced me to several different theories of well-being, which introduced me to the basis of happiness and how is it either negatively or positively impacted. 

This lecture helped me understand the hierarchy of needs more and how it is present in fashion and the relationship to our well-being, sustainability and social responsibility.