Eva Finiw

For my final blog, I chose to peer review Elanka Jiang’s second blog on her reflection of the Better Lives themes titled “Blog 2: Diversity During a Pandemic”. I specifically chose Elanka’s because she wrote some interesting and well thought of points, as well as this, I also thought of a few things she could improve on for a more balanced peer review.

At the beginning of her blog Elanka talks about the current global crisis we are facing and mentions how this is a time where people should be uniting however there are still many differences in the world today that tear us apart as a society. I like the idea that she is relating to what is currently happening in the world and using it to tell the reader that the world still requires many changes.

Elanka then begins to mention that the better Lives theme that relates the most to her is diversity and starts to talk about her background which I think is an excellent approach when beginning to talk about this topic. She writes about how she has never been ashamed of her ethnicity being a Canadian-Chinese student however realises that although fashion media is making vast improvements to broaden their diversity within the industry, there are still unnecessary underlying attitudes towards Asian minorities in the western world. She gives a few examples from her recent times in London, expressing that she receives subtle racist comments to getting strange looks which I think is appalling.

Elanka asks “So what can I do about all of this” and asking a rhetorical question like this really engages with the reader making them think about the current topic she is talking about. Throughout her third paragraph a few certain words stood out to me that high lights the situation we are facing in the world today, “uncertainty”, “insignificance” and “confusion”.

Finally, looking at Elanka Jiang’s final paragraph, she talks about her future practice as a fashion illustrator. Whilst reading through this paragraph I could sense a lot of passion and emotion that went through Elanka’s writing. I think her drive to make the fashion industry a much more diverse and inclusive place is admirable; it’s truly needed everywhere. Although Elanka has written about diversity extremely well, I think she could have included some points and had spoken about the other two themes of the Better Lives unit (sustainability and social responsibility) within her blog. However, overall Elanka has written a well thought through second blog and I very much enjoyed reading it.

As a student studying within fashion media and somebody who does a lot of photography in my spare time, I decided to choose the project ‘Contemporary Portrait photography’ to deepen my existing understanding of photography and to further understand this industry. It is undeniable that the Better Lives themes have influenced my way of thinking for my future practice and joining the contemporary portrait photography project has also furthered my personal development throughout my course.

Throughout the contemporary portrait photography project, we were introduced to more intimate works by project practitioner Danny Treacy. For example, a collection of images titled ‘Them’ where Treacy disfigured his own body by hiding the face to tell a story. Moreover, we were also introduced to many different guest lecturers that gave inspiring talks about their work as a photographer. All showed us that the most important aspect when shooting on set is connecting with your subject. Nonetheless other fundamental factors to think about when on set is having good lighting, mood boards and keeping organised.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the unit had to be moved online and during an online lecture Danny Treacy was giving, he spoke about the work of Cindy Sherman, a 1970’s photographer and whilst looking at her work, I noticed she included a lot of diversity within her photographs. She included people of different genders, ages and ethnicities. Her self-portraiture was also very eye-catching and beautiful. This made me question how ‘diverse’ the fashion industry actually is. There are still many problematic elements within fashion in which they haven’t taken diversity or inclusivity into account. I already know in my future practice I never want to exclude any kind of minority groups and always making sure that diversity and inclusivity is invariably present.

One of the activities during the unit was to go out into Shepherds Bush market and capture anything that inspired us. For me, it was the atmosphere and hustle and bustle of the market, just normal, ordinary people living their daily lives. I thought that this ‘scene’ captured a reality that nobody sees in magazines but really should be featured a lot more often. I agree that the fashion industry is progressing in terms of diversity, inclusivity, environmental impact etc but there is still a very long way to go.

Throughout the Better Lives unit, the recurring themes have made an impact on my way of thinking towards a more sustainable and diverse future for the fashion industry. Not only will I be applying these themes of sustainability, diversity and social responsibility into my future practice but throughout every aspect of my life. I have thoroughly enjoyed my journey throughout the Better Lives unit, and I hope more students will take action and apply to the themes.

In preparation for this blog post, I began thinking about the Better Lives themes whilst watching each lecture. Overall, each lecture made me think about one particular issue and that is how bad the circumstances and the world around us truly is. That you think perhaps situations could be getting better but in reality, very little is actually improving. Looking at the Better Lives themes more intensely will hopefully inspire me to act and change the way I work in the future. The fundamental themes that I have studied are sustainability, diversity and social responsibility.

Beginning to look at sustainability, it is indisputable that it has become a large trend throughout the fashion industry and a lot of independent sustainable brands are beginning to emerge into the industry. However, as always, fast fashion is still a huge problem the industry (and world) faces and personally I think large brands that contribute to fast fashion in a huge way such as Zara, Misguided, Topshop and many others should at least start to recognise the damage they are causing. Also, I believe that the idea of “retail therapy” (“the practice of shopping in order to make oneself feel more cheerful”) is another issue and a way that people aren’t being sustainable with how they consume.

Looking at diversity and doing enough research into the topic, I’ve realised there really isn’t enough diversity throughout the fashion industry. Personally, I believe that diversity should be essential in any workplace and definitely should be executed more often. The fashion industry in particular is still failing to show diversity and inclusivity within advertisements and runways albeit it is getting better however there is a very long way for the industry to be deemed as “diverse”.  

After acknowledging the previous two themes, you can then apply them into an act of social responsibility. Without being sustainable or using diversity in your work, you simply cannot be socially responsible for whatever you do in society. This is why social responsibility is so important because it shows what and how our actions can affect the beautiful world, we live in.

These three themes of the Better Lives unit have in fact somewhat changed my idea and view on how I’d like to work in my future practice in whatever job I get. Sustainability, diversity and social responsibility are all developing throughout the fashion industry and there is hope that perhaps one day that same industry, that has had many problematic encounters, will in fact change for the better. I know my future practice within this ever-changing industry will.  

For a while, I was rather confused about the Better Lives unit and what to expect. I was unsure how to approach it however Katelyn-Toth Fejel’s thought-provoking lecture on society in relation to fashion and sustainability has had an influencing effect on my way of thinking towards this subject. I chose the society lecture because the way fashion connects with society and the social issues faced within the industry, that Fejel discusses, has really opened my eyes and exposed me to the different ways and aspects society can affect fashion. She begins her lecture by asking “what do you think when you hear social and fashion together” and personally I think of social media, political change, rights and equality within the fashion industry that are considered as social issues and should be explored more often. Fejel then goes on and asks, “who do you think has influenced the way you dress the most”, “are there any specific celebrities and designers you follow that influence your style?”

Throughout this lecture I was very interested at how fashion interacts with us on a daily basis and how we are influenced by the smallest things in everyday life.

Fejel explains that how we dress is based on experiences and histories and describes how we identify ourselves to the world. How the small act of dressing everyday can impact and shape our day and even lives. It is our way of communicating to each other such as communicating your own aesthetic, beauty, sex appeal, wealth and status or religion. However, as Fejel explains, there are various social issues related to fashion which include fair and living wages, safe working environments, access to education and equal opportunities.

Nevertheless, the most problematic social issue that not only affects humans but also the environment is fast fashion. Being a strong advocate towards shopping second hand myself, I have always been appalled by how garment workers are treated within this industry. During this part of the lecture, Fejel tells some astonishing facts such as only 7% of large brands know about their supply chain. Also, this lecture made me think that a lot of people are aware of fast fashion and how demeaning it is for garment workers however continue to buy from these brands. Having already known quite a lot about fast fashion, this lecture did open my eyes even wider to the harmful industry that is fast fashion and how destructive it is for basic human rights.

Fejel’s inspiring lecture has made me think about how I would like to change society in relation to fashion and sustainability therefore I believe that by changing the way we consume fashion and clothes to a lot less and asking yourself more frequently, “who made my clothes” perhaps more people will choose to be more ethical with the way they consume. As well as this, rather than throwing away unused garments, different ways of recycling clothing can improve creative ways of showing your identity and how you communicate yourself to the world.