Lydia Clear

The Better Lives themes covered diversity, social responsibility and sustainability, all of which had an influence upon my project outcome and personal development. We explored these themes in class using many different methods such as engaging in group discussions, creating mind-maps, researching historical references, watching documentary clips and further on – all with the addition of our independent research.

The Better Lives themes appear to be increasingly more important given the pandemic our world is currently facing; this global crisis is encouraging us to look at the bigger picture, by opening our eyes to see the failures within our societal structures and thus pushing us to strive for a change that would benefit the world as whole (rather than just those at the top). For example, we witnessed a rapid decrease in CO2 emissions as a result of nations in quarantine. This extraordinary occurrence forced us to acknowledge humanity’s impact upon climate change, by proving that we have the power to reverse the damage we’ve caused if we collectively prioritise shifting towards more sustainable and considerate lifestyles. Therefore, In response to the theme of sustainability and social responsibility, I ensured to create my second look using mostly second-hand garments. Second-hand / vintage clothing are perfect examples of how we can reuse garments that once belonged to someone else, in order to reduce the waste created by the production of new clothing, by contributing less towards the demand for these new goods.

My final outcome of the second masterclass had been inspired by a combination of the 90s rave and grunge subcultures, which was a concept my group had discussed previously in class that i wanted to expand on myself. Some popular trends in the 90s rave style that i had referenced in this look included fishnet, super cropped tops, chunky trainers and bright colours. On the other hand, the inspiration taken from 90s grunge trends included pleated skirts and the shade of black. As well as this, the look also incorporated references to sportswear, particularly inspired by the traditional tennis-player kit worn by female players; these references included the pleated tennis skirt, high knee socks, button up vest and trainers. 

The theme surrounding diversity had also influenced my decision making throughout this project, in regards to both my development and final outcome. The first masterclass consisted of us engaging in a group task, in which we had to style looks relating to our research on sportswear and youth subcultures. The concept of diversity held great importance within this styling task, as we strived to ensure that our looks were considerate towards various body types, in order to demonstrate the representation of different people in every shape and size. For example, we had created some looks which accentuated the models curves while others were suited to frame a more rectangular figure.

The better lives project consisted of 3 core themes which were diversity, social responsibility and sustainability; all of which have impacted my thinking and changed the way I aim to work in the future.

Firstly, the theme of diversity has encouraged me to take on an active approach towards ensuring my casting includes a diverse range of models, expanding across different groups within society. Diversity within casting is incredibly important as it contributes towards the representation and inclusivity of different people, which can often correlate directly to the self-esteem and mental well-being of those who are often left under-represented in fashion and media. For example, presenting disabled models in my fashion photography may help others who are disabled to feel more secure about their position in the fashion world, as they become more represented in the context of beauty and fashion. Furthermore, diverse casting enables the audience to feel more accepted, as it helps to deconstruct the linear beauty standards that (still) exist within the fashion world today, which suggest that the ideal beauty type is thin, white, fully-abled, and tall.

Secondly, the theme of social responsibility has taught me to use my work as a platform which drives change and encourage others to be more socially aware themselves. The concept of social responsibility suggests that us an individuals are responsible for our actions are therefore obliged to perform roles in which benefit society as a whole. These actions include the other two themes mentioned, which are diversity and sustainability. If each of us promoted and demonstrated more diverse and sustainable actions, then both our society and culture would be a better off – whether this be globally or nationally.

Lastly, the theme of sustainability has (further) encouraged me to ensure that my work follows a sustainable pathway, by considering the great impact that fashion has upon our environment and finite resources. One piece evidence supporting my reasoning for promoting suitably fashion is that “1kg of cotton is created using and average of 10,000-20,000 litres of water” and “800,000 tonnes of wasted produced by UK clothing”. These statistics alone demonstrate just how unsustainable the fashion industry is currently, without even touching on the global scale of impact. Therefore, we should ultimately be moving towards sustainable alternatives in order to reduce this impact that fashion and consumerism has on the planet. Due to this, I shall now be striving to avoid any inclusion of fast-fashion products in my work as much as possible. As a result, I shall be advocating for alternatives such as vintage garments and other sustainably made or high-fashion. In turn, this should hopefully encourage my audience to follow a similar path by choosing sustainable options over the other unethical alternatives.

One of the lectures throughout the better lives project that had influenced my thinking was by Julia Crew, discussing the topic of power. This lecture had brought up topics relating to the concept of power in the fashion industry and their relation and influence upon inequalities caused by power, including themes such as money, media, consumer choice and protest.

The first theme discussed the influence of money and its relation to power in the fashion industry; within this section of the lecture, Crew had expressed how the fashion industry currently relies on the exploitation and enslavement of others in order to maximise their wealth by creating larger profit margins. This concept affects the most vulnerable societal groups in particular, such as those from lower class and minority backgrounds, making this a matter of discrimination and inequality. For example, one piece of evidence supporting this claim, as mentioned in the lecture, is that the legal minimum wage in many countries typically hangs below the suggested living wage. This means that the legal requirements enforced within numerous countries enable employers (particularly large corporations) to exploit their workers by underpaying them, whilst leaving them with few alternatives to find better paying jobs, due to many employers engaging in the same exploitative practice. This topic of discussion had influenced my thinking by encouraging me to consider the laws and regulations put in place by forces external to the fashion industry, which in turn allow the industry to continue its unethical practices. As a result, I believe that we (as  collective force) should prioritise questioning the wider issues within our global and national economic structures, as well as those existing strictly within the fashion industry. For example, if the minimum wage in each country had been increased to match or exceed the suggested living wage, then employers would be legally obliged to pay their workers substantially, enabling each worker to live a higher standard of living and consequently not feel trapped in an unethical workplace. 

The second theme surrounded the power of media in fashion and its influence upon consumption. Within this lecture we learnt that although the majority of advertising is often ignored, those that are recognised by consumers have a great impact upon their consumption. This argument introduced us to the screening process, which is a concept that suggests consumers will ignore irrelevant advertisements, unless they’re surrounding something we are interested in. As a result of this process, brands and advertisers have began using algorithmic systems which detect consumer’s interests, in attempt to project relevant ads onto their screens as to reach a relevant audience (of whom will pay attention to what they’re selling.) Considering this knowledge, this section of the lecture had influenced my thinking in regards to the ways in which I as a consumer should be attempting to limit my exposure to ads in order to prevent the influence encouraging over-consumption of irrelevant and necessary products and services.