Violet Wood

For my project in ‘Mask Making and Politics’, we were challenged to create an original mask centred around a social and political theme. Having never made a mask before and having not been previously involved on a creative course, I was slightly concerned about partaking in this project. However, it proved to be an amazing opportunity to explore the themes presented in Better Lives in a more creative way, which I would not otherwise have had the opportunity to do.

For the theme of my political mask, I chose to focus on the ideas that Kate Fletcher explored in her lecture about nature in fashion, specifically focusing on biodiversity loss (1). At first, I found it difficult to come up with ideas for my mask and how it would relate to my chosen political theme. I felt it was an important cause to discuss within the project. Fletcher’s lecture was definitely the one that most resonated with me and I realised that biodiversity loss is something that maybe we, as fashion students living in a large city, may not notice the rate at which this is happening and the way in which it is affecting our planet. Of course, there are many other aspects of climate change that require an equal amount of attention, but I found this to be the most interesting and applicable to my project.

Researching and sculpting our masks allowed me to explore this theme in a very in-depth way, as we were told to not only research our chosen political theme but also the history of masks themselves. I discovered that historically masks have been used to specifically explore political powers and themes, for example in Ancient Greece through the means of theatre. I found it very useful discussing political themes through a more creative outlet.

The influences for my final piece included Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice and Jean- Michel Basquiat’s paintings of dogs. I wanted my mask to reflect a sense of discomfort and distortion, which can definitely be seen in my influences. The almost nightmarish aspect of both of these influences greatly inspired me, as I felt that it largely reflected what I wanted to portray in my project. I chose to depict a dog-like animal in my project, in order to highlight my chosen political theme of biodiversity loss.

In class, we discussed the impact and effect of anonymity in masks and how this is often used in riots and protest. One student in class looked into the animal rights riots for Lush, in which many protesters used full face animal masks. The impact of so many people wearing masks and the anonymity of the protesters was very impressive. Due to this, I decided to create a full-face mask as I believe that it fitted quite well with my chosen theme. Throughout the Better Lives module, I have found that I have focused greatly on activism, particularly climate and animal rights activism, and mask making has allowed me to explore in this is a creative way which I would otherwise not have been able to do.

References:

1. Fletcher, K. (2020) ‘Nature’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 12 February.

On reflection, the themes within the Better Lives unit allowed me to consider the many ways in which the fashion industry must change in order to remain relevant in the future. As I write this, we are in the midst of a global pandemic. As many of us are astutely aware, fashion is not the only industry struggling to maintain its relevance during global panic. Many well-known designers and brands are contributing to this crisis by donating to healthcare systems or aiding in the high demand of personal protective equipment.

The future of fashion is extremely uncertain at the moment, as is the future of many industries and our general way of life. Reflecting the Better Lives has allowed me to see that there are many decisions that need to be taken by both designers and us as consumers in order to ensure the future of the industry.

As Julia Crew discussed in her lecture “Power”, there are many aspects of power and control within the fashion industry (1). She referenced the fact that we buy 400% more fashion products than we did 20 years ago. That incredible increase clearly reflects our rising consumerist values. Simply put, our demand is becoming almost impossible to maintain.

Of course, there has been a very distinct change in these values in recent weeks, as many countries face strict lockdown rules. This has impacted our level of consumerism as high street stores are closed and one is only allowed to shop for essential items.

Crew looked at the ways in which power relates to the fashion industry, for example the way in which “fashion has helped define those who are poor and those who are rich” (1). Again, this is an idea which has been challenged in recent events as people stop buying vast amounts of high street and high-end fashion.

Reflecting on these themes presented within Better Lives, particularly during these unstable and widely uncertain times, has made me very conscious of how the fashion industry is going to have change once its consumers begin buying again. One would hope that designers and brands begin to become more aware of their environmental impact, of their levels of diversity and inclusivity as well as creating a far more socially responsible industry.

However, as Crew discussed in her lecture, consumers do hold a vast amount of the power. In the recent weeks, I have become very aware of this as an idea, as globally we have seen the impact of supply and demand and how this balance is dictated by consumers. We have seen this with anything from hand sanitiser to food to personal protective equipment. One would hope that in the future, as consumers we become more aware of supply and demand in the fashion industry, realising the impact our excessive buying has on our planet and on other aspects of our lives.

References:

1. Crew, J. (2020) ‘Power’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 10 February.

Discussing fashion in the context of bettering the world around us presents many challenges.  As one of the top polluters, the fashion industry demands significant improvement in regard to sustainability. One lecture that I felt really explored this in detail was ‘Nature in Fashion’ with Kate Fletcher. Quoting Oscar Wilde, as nature being “a place where birds fly uncooked”, Fletcher presented a clear link between the problem with sustainability in the fashion industry and how both creators and consumers alike have become detached from the natural world surrounding us. Fletcher discussed this in the scientific context of the Anthropocene or “the epoch of human destruction” (1). Undoubtedly this idea of human destruction is intrinsically linked with the industry that we all strive to become a part of. Like with many of the Better Lives lectures, the focus is on how we as students can better ourselves and the understanding, we have of the problems the industry faces in order to become responsible future players in fashion. Sustainability is a topic much discussed in fashion, but I believe Kate Fletcher explored this in the context of science and history, emphasising on our lack of connection with the natural world.

One key idea that this lecture explored was the idea of balance. As we all learn very early on, energy can neither be created nor destroyed and a certain balance must be maintained. The same, as Fletcher discussed, goes for what we create and consume on our planet. A fine balance of natural resource and human intervention must be maintained. Fletcher referred to the idea of planetary boundaries, in which there are 9 of these boundaries that must not be surpassed on order to maintain a workable balance on our planet. As it stands now, 3 of these have already been surpassed: human intervention in nitrogen levels, the rate of climate change and the rate of biodiversity loss. Studying and living in London, one may not notice how quickly or how impactful these surpassed boundaries are as biodiversity and climate change are not that noticeable in city life. But as future players in the fashion industry, it is something we simply cannot ignore. I believe that the way in which Fletcher personalised the argument for sustainability allowed it to become much more understandable, while the scientific aspects of the discussion really allowed me to understand the real nature of the impact we are having.

Fletcher also briefly discussed an interesting concept which was the Legacy of Descartes (2), and the idea of the head being ‘superior’ to the body. In the lecture, this translated to the idea of humans being ‘above’ ecology. I found this concept extremely interesting, as it can easily be recognised in many industries and particularly in fashion as a popular belief. However, Fletcher encouraged us to see that this is not the case and that we have a responsibility to disperse this consumerist belief in order to assure the future of our planet.

References:

1. Fletcher, K. (2020) ‘Nature’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 12 February.
2. Wozniak, R.H. (2002) Mind and Body: René Descartes to William James. Available at: http://www.blutner.de/philom/mindbody/mindbody.pdf (Accessed: 15/04/2020).