Lea Zoller

After reading through some posts on the Better Lives Blog, I chose to write my peer review on Sadikchaya Gurungs’s post on how the unit lectures might change her work in the future. As a student who is more familiar with the issues of sustainability it was inspiring for me to read a post of someone laying her focus on diversity. Besides, I was really interested in a peer’s point of view who does not study the same nor chose the same Better Lives topic as I did.

In her first paragraph, the part when she mentions how diversity “is one of the most essential factors in fashion” inspired me the most. Sadikchaya explains how it does not make sense to her that a lack of representation in terms of different body types, skin colour or sexuality is still reality.

I fully agree with her on this point. Growing up in a small village in Germany, diversity was only a slight part of my life. Everyone looked the same where ever I went. Therefore, I decided to move to London.

Another surprising aspect was that “Aaron Philip, the first black, trans, disabled model” was “signed to Elite Model Management 2 years” ago. This is definitely a step in the right direction, but being black, trans or disabled is not an invention of the last five years. I like how she supports her statement with interesting facts to underline the necessity of diversity.

In her second paragraph, she talks about the negative stigma of people buying “dirty clothes” in charity shops when she was younger. Therefore, she never thought of shopping second hand, because she was scared of other people’s opinions. It’s sad how prejudices prevent people from shopping sustainable or having a positive impact on their environment in general. 

Better Lives and the Fashion Styling and Production lectures changed her mind towards sustainability, she writes. By using sustainable fabric or collaborating with a sustainable brand or designer her creative outcome can remain the same in terms of diversity, but in a more environmentally conscious approach. 

In my opinion it’s exciting to see how future creative directors will shape the fashion industry in a socially responsible and sustainable way.

In conclusion, I definitely agree with Sadikchaya Gurungs’s blogpost. From my perspective, she has explained her position very well. By mentioning interesting facts, she supports her statement and underlines the value of her message. For me it was very appealing to read a post from someone with a completely different state of mind.

Sadikchaya Gurungs’s post:

My project for Contemporary Portrait photography was badly influenced by the covid-19 pandemic since we were not able to collaborate in teams nor had any professional equipment to work with. Therefore, the brief has been adjusted to the current situation. We had to create home quarantine portraits of a family member, a person who cannot be present or a self-portrait using our smart phone or any other available device. At first, I was really disappointed by all the negative circumstances, but then I saw it as a creative challenge being limited in my resources. 

As the lockdown continued I was really inspired by some photographers shooting online through Facetime. In one of the lectures we looked at the work of Heather Glazzard who used Facetime to produce her work. 

I decided to portrait a friend living in another city through my laptop screen whilst she was doing her make-up even if she had nowhere to go. Creating different kind of layers through the screens I tried to build a feeling of proximity despite a long distance. Furthermore, I wanted to underline the necessity of social distancing and its importance towards the society. 

Among other things, I chose a photograph I shot during a trip through Europe as desktop background to build a connection with my friend’s make-up in terms of colour and to reminisce about the days before the pandemic when travelling was still possible.

By highlighting the privileges we still had three month ago I wanted to create an awareness of not taking them for granted. Better Lives has inspired me especially in terms of appreciating the opportunities and personal freedom given by health, political stability and social responsibility.

My main focus has been on social responsibility, because it has never been more important in recent years than it is now. Even if we cannot see many of our loved ones in person it is important to have deep conversations and listen to how people feel during quarantine. 

At this time, we are all limited in recourses, social contacts or feel unmotivated and uncreative. Nevertheless, we should see this as a chance to rethink our values and principles and change them to build a more positive environment. 

Project outcome:

Diversity, social responsibility and sustainability are probably not the primary aspects I think of starting a new project. For example, as a fashion journalism student it is not an obvious part of my work to operate in a sustainable way, because mainly all I do is write words on a document. 

After a couple of weeks, I revised some of the lectures and realized working sustainable, socially responsible and diverse is definitely possible for me, but maybe not at first sight. I do not need to change the process of working, but I can push my outcome in a more socially relevant direction. Throughout my writings and projects, I can try to raise awareness of the Better Lives core values.

As Better Lives project I chose Contemporary Portrait Photography considering that journalism and photography are closely connected. The first lesson changed my mind the most.

One of our practical tasks was to shoot some portraits of the market sellers at Shepherd’s Bush market. That project already inspired me in a huge way based on the fact that different cultures and ethnicities merged to a place where locals go for grocery shopping or just to have a chat with one of the market stand owners. 

In my future projects, I will definitely try to include this type of cultural rawness found at “unglamorous” places like Shepherd’s Bush market. However, they are doubtlessly crucial and vital for a flourishing community. Instead of trying to have the craziest and most aesthetic outcome in the project it is more important for me to bring the person and their history in focus. 

Especially during this crisis, I learned and experienced how important it is to look after one another and how necessary it is for the community you live in to support the local shops and people around you. Only by including all three values

Now, my first aim with my creative outcome is to influence my surrounding in a positive way. Instead of putting the focus for instance on someone already successful I will try to portrait local, unknown and talented people with different backgrounds and origin. 

The lecture which stayed in my mind the most incisive was “Society” by Katelyn Toth-Fejel. She mentioned a lot of interesting aspects and facts about society and its connection to fashion. How we are all shaped by culture, religion family and geological circumstances. According to this, it influences how we express ourselves especially the way we dress. Fashion influences people, people influence society, society influences fashion.

Toth-Fejel mentioned an example of a sewing shop in Dalston where people can buy essentials to fix clothes like buttons or yarn. For her research she asked locals whether they would fix their clothes if the store wasn’t there. Obviously, the answer was no, because ordering online would be too much effort to just fix a button.

I was pretty surprised by that throw-away mentality just because something takes more effort or is a little bit inconvenient. I wondered whether I could throw away a meaningful piece, like an old leather jacket I found hunting through charity shops, with which I lived through so many meaningful nights just because the zipper broke? I’d definitely say no.

In my opinion it’s not only the most convenient opportunity you must have to repair something. It’s more like what kind of relationship you have towards your clothes. If you are always looking for the newest trend piece and never develop an emotional connection with the ones in your closet, fixing something will never be a choice for you.

Some other aspects associated with this issue is sustainability and money. Fixing something will always include less money than purchasing new clothes. Not to mention the environmental harm you can prevent. Not only your purse will say thank you, with shopping local you can contribute to live in a more flourishing area. Local stores are crucial for a good community. There, conversations can be held, stories can be told and culture has a way to remain.

For example, the village I live in only has a few shops left, including a bakery and a tailor’s shop. By supporting those shops instead of buying online or at big supermarkets nearby I can help supporting the community I live in. I can profit from that as well by learning the history of different craftsmanship and handmade products. 

What I bear in mind now is that the shape of our environment influences how we live and express ourselves in a huge way. Sustainability and community can grow when we try to fix things instead of keeping our current throw-away mentality.