Katie Daykin - Jones

Reflecting on my finished group project I was really pleased with the end product, especially due to current circumstances and the fact that we had members of the group located around the world. Our Brand was Lazy Oaf and our theme was focused around mental health. We kept our video incredibly short and snappy as in the current society everything is so fast paced and videos are becoming shorter and shorter that people aren’t willing to watch something that is more lengthy for the most part. The aesthetic of the video was very minimal, colour wise it was all black and white which gave a more gloomy appearance to the video which linked to the darker side of mental health as well as giving it a more dated feel which I think worked nicely due to Lazy Oaf having a retro aspect to their style. Every member from the group contributed and read the words ‘Its ok not to be ok.’ This was because obviously we wanted everyone to take part but also be a visual representation that mental health can affect anyone and that you aren’t as alone as you may feel. We printed the words we spoke in order to give a graphic element and to the video and so it was clear on the message we were giving as we did distort the sound and speed it up to make it feel frantic and unsettling, similarly how you may feel when suffering from bad mental health. The pixilated blocky type was inspired by similar typo’s that Lazy Oaf use across their website and advertising as we wanted to bring aspects of the brand in as much as possible. The only thing that I feel would’ve been nice to incorporate would’ve been at least one male to make it even more diverse as that is something we all felt strongly about. Furthermore to acknowledge all the males out there that due suffer from mental health but again with current circumstances some of our original plans did have to change but I do feel as though having males as well as females would’ve been a nice touch. Again due to current circumstances we couldn’t visit any physical stores for content for our video which was frustrating as this did make it incredibly challenging to involve the brand as much as we originally hoped. None the less, I am really happy with the outcome and am so grateful to of worked with such lovely and creative people who made the process through challenging times enjoyable and easier. I feel as though the video worked well at showing our concept and brand. As mentioned originally there were more ideas in terms for content of the actual brand but I still believe the video does well at capturing certain elements of the brands aesthetic.

For my blog post I have decided to reference the fourth lecture by Claire discussing the topic of ‘Collaboration’. I decided to choose this lecture above all to transgress how I see fashion creating better lives is because so many things she touched on and explored did shape my view and allow me to see advantages and opportunities fashion can bring to people and their lives. Firstly not only does collaborative work allow individuals to grow their knowledge, viewpoint, cooperative skills but also as a person which enables people to create amazing, strong peices of work as a collective. Team work creates an inclusive working environment for people to join, allowing them to feel a part of something much bigger which I feel is so valuable in life. It lets people to feel part of something and have their ideas and contributions heard and accepted. These are all aspects that help people progress and gain self confidence to go on and create.

There were several examples shown on big fashion brands such as Dolce&Gabbana and supreme doing very diverse collaborations in order to voice a message or belief. Personally, I found the collaboration between supreme and Anne golding to be most insightful as it showed how there is so much more depth to fashion and what is allows people to do and feel. Through this collab Golding was able to use this as a huge platform to represent her ideas of transgender culture in the U.S. what this tells me is how fashion gives people the power they need to explore and show their views and beliefs on a much larger scale. Not only that, but fashion encourages people to be proud of their views through self expression by wearing pieces that represent these much more serious, deeper matters.

Claire also spoke about a project named ‘Rethinking Rehabilitation’ which she herself was a part of alongside MA Menswear students and designer Bethany Williams. This project involved working with a rehabilitation unit in Italy as well as women in prison to create the final pieces for this project. Women were tasked to create the accessories and the individuals in Italy contributed to the used sources to create the materials. Key themes for this project were: protest, survival and migration. I found this project above all most eye opening really into the opportunities and platforms fashion really does give to people. Through this project a diverse group of individuals were able to come together as one. As part of something. In order to create some beautiful pieces which represented a much larger and deeper meaning then just ‘clothes.’ Less fortunate people or people in difficult situations were able to join in something positive and creative allowing their efforts and creativity to be seen and enjoyed by many. This is something both empowering and beautiful all sourced by people coming together through fashion.