Shyanne Mclawrence

When reading my peer’s blogs I came across a particular one that caught my eye more than the others. That I could even relate to, this blog was written by Violette Allard. She begins by saying how she was not sure how Contemporary Photography would and could be shown in an art gallery because she wasn’t too sure how a photo could speak to people and make them really think about life. She continued onto saying how she thought that taking a picture wasn’t really your own work and it was merely just observing which anyone could do. When I was reading this I didn’t agree because I thought it was a bout capturing a moment in time that can not be made again, so I kept on reading and she then continued on to saying after a while that Photography can convey a message, and shows things that are hidden.

Going on she then linked it to diversity and sustainability when  she continued on saying that that photography has a potential to impact the world and on the people that take the pictures and the people that see those pictures, Violette mentioned that photography can analyse fashion and then I thought, yes, it can through the movement of models wearing the garments on the catwalk or just in everyday life on the streets it captures a specific thing int in that moment that can be  repeated, it also can analyse people and an analyse the system we live in and this is where diversity and sustainability and social responsibility comes in, violet also says that photography can also analyse  ethnicities, genders, sexuality, peoples ethics, sustainability and more. When she mentioned diversity in photography she could have expanded a bit more on ethnicities and she could have mentioned cultures and how contemporary photography captures the essence of clothing from different cultures in fashion maybe like a kimono in japan and hijabs and oriental clothing that has a special meaning behind them. And how people wear their hair and how they do their makeup in tribes and so on. And for sustainability she could have mentioned a bit about designers that use recyclable materials they put on their models on the catwalk and how taking pictures of this at that moment sends a very big message to the world because e it can then be added into many magazines that designers look at and might have a similar idea and so they will try something  like that and so on, its like a chain reaction something happens and then other things follow after maybe good or maybe bad, and this was caused by some contemporary photography. In my opinion she could have added a little nit more about social responsibility as well and how to be able to print out these pictures, we need to cut down trees in order to make paper and so on and  how we could change that by printing on other materials that wouldn’t be so bad for the economy and the environment.

https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/06/better-lives-blog-3-project-outcomes-and-personal-reflection/

The Project I had chosen was Navigating through Clothing, during this project I had learned how to  get into the role of a costume designer for performances no matter what type, for example I learnt how to do a character analysis in detail and how to properly look into my character, whether it be how my character will look like clothes wise or what my characters personality could be like and doing this helped me a lot, because I know now how to mix an match and things that I wouldn’t have thought I could to my characters self by doing this research which had helped to feed into my character development and design ideas, I also learnt how to analyse a piece of narrative text and seeing this from a first second and third person view, and doing this helped me more when it came down to creating my final piece and recreating what was already set in stone into my own styles and having my own say on this. 

Through my project I have definitely learnt more about diversity, especially when I had to pick a country and performance to go with my design, as I chose to look into China in Asia so I got  a better insight into what that country is like and how diverse they are compared to many other countries around the globe, I got to look at what the traditional oriental clothing was like in Asia as it is completely different to clothing here in England, I got to learn Moe about the culture their through my research and visiting the British Museum, and in doing so  it helped me a lot more for when it came down to completing my final design and of course with my design developments after being shown how to do a character design board and how I could then translate this into an actual 2-D design.

Due to the virus that has caused us into lock down, still continuing on with the project I had managed to link sustainability into my project, by finding many materials around my house that I could include into my project that I didn’t even think to do whilst it was safe to go out. When we was introduced to an artist that had shown us many of his illustrations, he kept on mentioning that he did not have a very big budget when it came to getting clothes for the performers so he had to make do with the materials he had around him and he explained in his drawings what he had used from old clothes to sponges and even just pieces of paper rather than that going out of his way to get a designer to sew his work and make it come to life. So seeing this it had helped with what I wanted to do when it came to my final design even though I wont be able to make it.

With Diversity It includes a bit of everything from different cultures to gender neutral, but when It comes to fashion it can have everything to do with campaigns, magazine covers and anyone or any type clothing on the runway, through diversity I get to learn many things that will benefit me in the future such as how a culture dresses and their sense of style. I explore this through fashion when they put these clothes on the runway we get a sense of their ethnic background when it comes to patterns and how you wear a certain clothing piece, fashion and diversity mix well together because if we weren’t so diverse in the fashion industry we wouldn’t have a broader insight and better perspectives on clothing that women and men of course would like to wear, this also goes for when it comes to illustrators and stylists and journalists and so on, and this also helps when understanding what a client may want and different fashion aesthetics.

Sustainability has gone up on the fashion agenda over the past recent years, because a few brands and retailers are under pressure from all sides in fashion from consumers to reduce their impact on the environment. Fashion has everything to do with sustainability from the materials and fabrics they use to the makeup products they put on their face when it gets down to being on the runway. For the future when sustainability comes to mind I will most definitely look to see what products and fabrics I use and how this effects economy and the world we live in, such as how even the smallest things we have every day like water that helps us in growing cotton to make our jumpers and trousers and how they get to that step so in the future I will be sure to look out for this because due to this going on for years its affecting the ecosystem.

Lots of brands work hard to make sure their image looks good and is positive so Social responsibility shouldn’t really be new, Fashion brands have become involved in promoting their social responsibility campaigns through various media platforms so much more often , the consumers and shareholders do expect brands to be socially responsible when it comes to the environment and the economy, and this I think is how it should be because products are being made 24/7 all over the world so of course it would be important to be socially responsible, especially when it damages the world we live in and the animals we have because of an animal print someone might wear once every other year, from end brands, and this also goes for fast fashion industries and labouring. Clothing produced by high street brands is not meant to last for years, but until the next trend comes about, and because of that reason, many items are mass produced for a low cost, and thrown out once they’re no longer trendy. In the future for me I know that I would definitely look out for this when it comes to a branded company I would want to work for.

The first blog that I watched was Culture and sustainability By Anna Fitzpatrick It overall gave me a better insight into what culture actually is as well as how sustainability links in with culture  and how it can potentially change our lives / how it betters our lives when it comes to the fashion industry and how I see fashion, this blog went over many things that I wouldn’t have really considered such as how sustainability has an insight in culture having material and non – material attributes to it, culture is something that over time we grow accustom to, we inherit different aspects from it such as the ideas behind it/ the teachings and the stories as well as changing your life style and identity for it, This lecture helped me to realize again that fashion is made from nature from everyday things we use and from plants, animals water and more, so when anything is thrown out clothing shoes , your also wasting the products that were needed to make these.

The second blog that I watched was Nature by Kate Fletcher It helped give me a better awareness  into how nature is linked to fashion more than I thought and how it betters our lives when it comes to the fashion industry and how I most importantly see fashion, this blog went over many points that I wouldn’t have took notice to such as how human society is failing to see the future consequences of ‘exploiting our own resources’ And how this causes climate change and decreases the number of insects in our world which in fact could cause a collapse in nature, meaning deforestation, and even climate change, there is also where we get our sources of materials, especially animal prints. Overall this taught me a lot about what fashion is potentially doing to our earth and it made me think of ways in which I could help prevent that.

The third blog that I watched was the Collaboration Lecture by Claire Swift. It overall gave me a better insight into collaborating with other artists and how it affects our lives / how it betters our lives when it comes to the fashion industry and how I see fashion because of this, the lecture went over many things that I wouldn’t have thought of such as when collaborating I gain more knowledge from the other party whilst working with them, and getting a better understanding of how someone else’s mind works through the ideas they come up with during the collaboration, and by participating in this for further projects and collaborations I can be more confident when working with others. Also with ‘Shared vision’ you get a break through when it comes to finding new ideas and putting them together, being able to collaborate in fashion will help in the future  and with this you get a sense of achievement for all the effort that gets put in by you and your peers.