Jesse Beardsworth

I have chosen to review Stefan-Adrian Cimpeanu’s Blog post 3 for my peer review. Stefan is a fellow member of the Fashion PR and Communications course, yet he chose to cover Contemporary Portrait Photography, whereas I chose Activism, therefore I wanted to see how someone from my course found a different Better Lives unit.

Stefan’s blog post concerned his project reflection & outcomes from Contemporary Portrait Photography, from both before and during COVID-19.

For me, it was hard to see how he had brought in the Better Lives themes during my first read-through, however, upon closer inspection, it was clear that they were all engaged with appropriately when necessary. Firstly, it is hard to convey any kind of meaningful opinion on sustainability in photography during a time of crisis, but I believe that Stefan touched on this theme when describing how he missed the wider world and immersing himself in local culture by being trapped at home – this emphasizes why we need to be more sustainable, as without an increased focus on sustainability we will no longer be able to experience these delights.

Secondly, the theme of diversity was tackled very well. Stefan stressed the importance of a diverse portfolio for photographers, be it in skillset, location, personnel, or conceptualization, and how hard he was finding university life without any of these variables in place. He discussed the benefits of setting “workplace parameters” and how these can often improve creativity, which allowed him to thrive in the opening weeks of self-isolation, focussing on a diverse range of topics, from music production and mixing, to simply spending time with his parents – therefore showing the importance of diversity in our lives once again.

Now, perhaps the most interesting aspect of Stefan’s reflection, for me, was how well he articulated the negative feelings encountered during these uncertain times. The lack of any clear schedule in our lives is taking its toll on all of us, and Stefan asked himself if “creating anything was a still worth it”. That is a thought that has crossed my mind also, as when hundreds of people are dying every day in your country, university work pales into insignificance. Stefan did persevere, however, and ended up photographing his parents’ dog, caged up in the house – normality in most cultures, as he rightly points out, but he also links this normality of being caged up to how we are currently feeling whilst in lockdown, which I thought was a neat way of linking themes of social responsibility into his work.

In conclusion, whilst overall I believe Stefan’s piece, and subsequent work, to be of a high standard, I did not agree with his closing point about why we go to university, as for me, the university is a place to learn, get qualifications, and then go out into the working world. That may seem a quite bleak overview, however, given the structure of LCF’s courses, it’s hard to see university any other way. That being said, the fact that Stefan views university life so differently once again stresses the importance of surrounding oneself with diverse opinions in everyday life.

References:

– Cimpeanu, S (2020) https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/09/blog-3-project-reflection-outcomes/ (accessed 10th May 2020)

I was studying Fashion Activism for Better Lives, and I feel that overall it has made me work better in a team, as well as being more conscious about the key issues of sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility. I was lucky to be part of a group in which all 4 members got on well, and wanted to impress, which undoubtedly helped when it came to dividing up work, presentations, and the like. I chose Activism because, as. PR and Communications student, it covered multiple aspects of life that will be integral to my study further down the line but looked at them through a more loose, creative manner.

Before COVID-19 impacted the course delivery, I was getting great enjoyment out of lectures every Monday – our lecturers were clearly passionate about the topics that were being discussed, and this wore off on most of the students, myself included. I wanted to work for the team, and for the lecturers. Learning about the history of the moving image was particularly interesting, as I had not studied it previously, at least not in the context of fashion. More specifically, learning how platforms such as SHOWstudio have revolutionized fashion video in the last few years. Blackboard collaborate lectures did not dampen our lecturers’ spirits, if anything, it made them strive to give us the best teaching possible, and the 2 weeks spent attending Better Lives online were just as informative and engaging as in person.

My group was assigned the charity Traid, and briefed to create a moving image project – this could be a GIF, a video, or a voiceover. We had planned to shoot in and around Traid Shepherd’s Bush, creating a narrative around vintage fashion, sustainability, and diversity, however, due to the pandemic, it was impossible to make this dream a reality.

Instead, we decided to take photos from our local area, and intersperse stock footage of landfills and clothing waste amongst them, in order to highlight the charity work Traid do, and focussing on our key message – in order to save the environment, the fashion industry needs to change now. I created a Voiceover for the moving images, which we felt rounded out the project, making the message both verbal as well as visual. It was received well amongst our fellow students, and reflecting upon the experience, I would maybe have strived to get some footage of London pre-lockdown, but given the circumstances, I felt our group gave it our all and did an admirable job of conveying the key messages of Better Lives within our project.

In terms of my personal development throughout Better Lives, I would say it has made me more aware of the ever-changing environment of fashion that surrounds me every day, that COVID has allowed the industry to look in the mirror, and accept that change is needed as soon as possible to create a sustainable future for the fashion industry going forward, as at present brands are not doing enough to address societal issues.

The 3 main better lives themes we have covered in Fashion Activism are Sustainability, Diversity, and Social Responsibility. I have greatly enjoyed learning more about these 3 key themes and going about incorporating them into my daily life. Being sustainable has been far easier in the wake of COVID-19, as I am no longer spending a lot of money on public transport, or fast-fashion. I have never really been one to purchase lots of clothing, to tell you the truth, but this crisis has made me reconsider how much clothing I need. Textiles account for 34.8% of global micro-plastic pollution, which is not a good look for the fashion industry. 

Without trying to come across as ‘preachy’, sustainability seems to be the latest buzzword within the fashion industry. No brand is truly sustainable, no matter how believable their marketing may seem. Brands that fall under H&M group ownership, such as COS or Arket, focus a lot of their marketing on being ‘sustainable’ and ‘cruelty-free’. Having previously worked at Arket, their ‘chrome-free tanned leather’ and ‘recycling guarantees’ fall by the wayside once you realise the sheer volume of plastic and cardboard waste from daily orders and the fact that no one really contributes to the recycling bin by the tills. A real shame, but no surprise, as that is, unfortunately, the way of high-street chains nowadays (This is not a blight on Arket or COS, I frequent both shops regularly, but trying to sell products based on a half-truth doesn’t sit right with me).

In order to further discuss the themes of Sustainability and Social responsibility, I must first introduce you to my favourite brand, Noah. Noah is a streetwear/prep brand founded in 2015, By Brendon Babenzien, former creative director of Supreme. I’ve always been eco-conscious, so to hear of a startup that was tackling environmental issues around sustainability head-on was like a breath of fresh air. Noah continues to support those in need, raising funds through special edition tees, where all profit was donated to charities. (E.G Australia in the wake of the 2020 bushfires, or the USA after Hurricane Irma in 2017). Noah gained wider recognition in 2018 when they launched a campaign titled “We are not a sustainable brand” – holding the mirror up to the false pretenses of ‘sustainability’ in fashion. The tone of the message was just right – Babenzien and Noah weren’t trying to hold the rest of the industry to account, they were looking at the environmental issues facing fashion in a fair and ethical manner – hell, they even admitted to being culprits themselves.

“Fashion has become one of the most resource-intensive (both natural and human) industries on earth, and its complex, global supply chain has far-reaching effects that are almost impossible to quantify. It produces stupefying amounts of waste on both sides of the producer/consumer divide.”

Quotes such as the above really resonate with me – we need to start thinking about what we consume, and how we consume it, to make meaningful change. Better Lives has taught me to not just read about these key issues, but start adapting my lifestyle towards one more sustainable, diverse, and socially responsible.

References:

– https://noahny.com/blogs/news/we-are-not-a-sustainable-company

In this blog post, I will be focussing on Anna Fitzpatrick’s Better Lives lecture ‘Culture’. I chose this particular lecture as I felt it had a wide scope, and discussed issues that I feel strongly about, ranging from sustainability to consumerism. Culture concerns the meaning and practices of everyday life, including ideas, customs, and beliefs. Culture will obviously differ from area to area; however, culture will always be split up into 2 types: material, or non-material. Fashion is an expression of both types of culture, as it concerns identity, emotion, and relationships. Fashion sustainability is also concerned with material and non-material forms of culture, as it is an issue that is relevant to both the physical manifestation of fashion, from textile sourcing to the actual garments themselves, and also mental, in the sense that the wearer is concerned with how on-trend they may look, or to put it simply, whether they like what they are wearing. 

Kawamura argued in 2005 that fashion and clothing are two distinct concepts; fashion is immaterial whereas clothing is material. Whilst I can see where Kawamura is coming from – clothing is simply material, and fashion concerns the mindset, I am inclined to disagree for the most part, as fashion and clothing are far too intrinsically linked to ever be called distinct from one another. Fashion is made from nature, dependent on Land, Air, Water, and Animals to function. Without clothing, fashion would not exist in the way we know it today, if at all. In recent years there has been a much larger uptake and interest in the idea of ‘digital fashion’, with brands such as Christopher Raeburn and Fabricant gaining significant press coverage for their innovative, AI-based collections, as well as the recent pop-up ‘HOT:SECOND’, which was featured in Vogue and Business of Fashion, focussing on digital fashion, and the idea that clothing as we now know it was becoming obsolete. This is a sustainable option for the future of fashion, linking back to the lecture’s themes. 

Fletcher states in the 2008 book ‘Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys’ that the challenge facing sustainability is that we must overhaul what is seen as normality in today’s society, stating “Business as usual, or more to the point fashion as usual, is not an option”. The current consumer culture of spend, spend, spend needs to stop. A single kilogram of cotton takes an average of 10,000 to 20,000 litres of water to create. This is not the answer. Digital fashion is maybe a solution to the issues of sustainability, but as previously discussed, it is not fully formed just yet. In the wake of COVID-19, people must reassess whether they really need the products they are purchasing, as change needs to happen soon. In my opinion, the short-term solution is to create an ethos around buying clothing infrequently, but with a focus on quality. Whilst fast fashion is an affordable option for most people, the frequency at which people consume clothing needs to lessen. We need to work on being more sustainable or the issues of climate change, inequality, and social justice will continue to affect us all. 

In conclusion, I greatly enjoyed this lecture and felt that it was an informative look at the issues surrounding the culture of fashion today.

References:

• Fitzpatrick, A (2020) ‘Culture’ [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, (accessed 16th February)

• Fletcher, K (2008) ‘Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys’

• Kawamura, Y (2005) ‘Fashion-ology’