Annie Foo

From my past work the three themes of better lives: sustainability, social responsibility and diversity have played a role in my creative process but haven’t always been at the forefront of my mind. However now having been further educated on these vital matters I will ensure that I incorporate them into my practice in the future.

One topic that has been something that I have gravitated towards is fast fashion. In my previous unit one of the things I chose to research was this subject matter, it fascinates me and I find it extremely relatable being a consumer of fast fashion myself. Only through the Better lives unit did I realize how it linked so closely to social responsibility and sustainability. The fast fashion model promotes a ‘throwaway’ culture, this was explained in the lecture on Society presented by Katelyn Toth- Fejel it also means that consumers have an increased access to cheap clothing. The environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry are overwhelmingly negative as due to the increase in resources needed this means there is more waste and pollution created, meaning it is not sustainable in the slightest. 

‘100 billion garments were produced in 2015 on a planet of only 7 billion people’

‘Worldwide, between 2000- 2014 clothing production doubled’

‘The average person buys 60% more clothing than 15 years ago and keeps them for half as long’

Source: Timeout for fast fashion, Report by Greenpeace, 2016- (From the Society lecture)

These statistics shocked me and made me feel guilty for being a contributor to this serious issue of wastefulness. I want to become more aware of what I am purchasing and if it is necessary. It has also become apparent to me that we need to work together to find sustainable solutions and that this is something that comes under the heading of social responsibility. We are all responsible for what we do as individuals but working together we can find solutions to create a more sustainable industry.

One of the themes that resonates with me personally is that of diversity. I am passionate about the fact that the fashion industry should be diverse in terms of representation of race and gender, but also people who have disabilities which became more apparent to me in the lecture by Laura Salisbury who spoke about Inclusion. This has made me think of how in my practice of hair and makeup that I need to be able to adapt to each individual and any specific needs and requirements they may have. I think it is important to be considerate and mindful of everyone and anything that means you need to adapt your practice. Fashion is a creative outlet that should be a space for all and as practitioners we need to be welcoming and always have that at the forefront of our minds. These three themes are now factors that I will consider in my work and encourage others to do the same as it is beneficial to everyone.

The most interesting lecture to me was by Jekaterina Rogaten which explores how fashion is linked to well- being. This lecture informed me of new information that I didn’t previously know which has influenced my thinking towards fashion and sustainability. I also like how this theme is prevalent in day to day life which helped me feel more engaged and able to relate to it personally. 

Rogaten explains that there are two theories of well- being, Hedonic and Eudaimonic. Hedonic well- being is subjective and suggests that positive emotions should outweigh negative emotions, meaning that we should have as many pleasures as possible. Being able to experience pleasant life is heritable but can be increased to 15%. Whereas Eudaimonic well- being is psychological, the good life is experienced in this theory which is pleasure vs flow, flow is a state that 95% of people can experience this is when you lose track of time and are fully absorbed in the activity that you are doing. It’s an extremely productive state, any emotions you have are experienced after as in flow you can’t feel anything. Per this theory to change one’s being they must self-actualize which is through using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At each stage, there are steps that must be achieved to go onto the next, it starts with basic physiological needs such as food and goes on to safety needs, love/ belonging, esteem and finally self-actualization.

Another thing that was discussed was consumption and how that was linked to a person’s well-being. Rogaten told us about the hedonic treadmill theory in fashion which suggests a person needs to consume more and more to maintain the same level of happiness. This theory was relatable to me as I think people have this type of mentality when purchasing clothes nowadays because of the fast fashion market. This is further exacerbated since we are fortunate enough to have so much choice or as Rogaten explained a ‘paradox of choice’, if we have maximized choice we have maximized freedom, however it also means maximized decision making which can be problematic as when faced with so many options we can experience a feeling of paralyses. Having too many choices makes it difficult to come to a decision. People can become less happy with the choice they have made as having more choices can make regret easier.Eudaimonic well- being is more sustainable as it is about building up to self-actualization and not immediate pleasure which is what hedonic well- being leads to as explained by the hedonic treadmill theory. This suggests that we need to try to self-actualize rather than aiming to have as much possible pleasure as in the long run this is more sustainable in terms of fashion.

Fashion can have a positive impact on a person’s well-being, “Fashion provides one of the most ready means through which individuals can make expressive visual statements about their identities” (Bennett, 2005). “For many people, happiness comes from creating new things and making discoveries. Enhancing one’s creativity may therefore also enhance well-being” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997, p.8). These quotes suggest that the creativity of fashion allows people to have a positive outlet which means they can express themselves freely. In Maslow’s theory, the final stage is self-actualization which includes creativity, fashion allows creativity which therefore could show a strong link to well-being. This is something that I hadn’t considered previously and now are more aware of how fashion could play a vital role in a person’s well-being.