Ayza Alavi

The Better Lives themes had a large impact on my personal development during these past few weeks as I worked on my individual project. Fashion Illustration: View from the Catwalk gave me the freedom to choose a designer or fashion brand which shared the same message as the Better Lives themes, and to base three illustrations around them, all whilst incorporating our artwork with the message of sustainability, diversity and social responsibility.

The brand which I decided to focus my illustrations on was Tropic of C, which is an eco-friendly swimwear brand by Candice Swanepoel. What makes Tropic of C resonate with the Better Lives themes is the fact that firstly, it is sustainable. It prioritises recycled materials (such as fishing nets, fabric scraps and industrial plastic) in the manufacturing of its swimwear. It also focuses on methods of production which reduce the use of water and energy. The swimwear designs take artistic influence from the rich history of South Africa, which Swanepoel is native to. By using Tropic of C in my project, I wanted to explore how I could further highlight the better lives themes in my artwork with a brand which already embodies them, whilst utilising the ideas and research which had been covered in the Fashion Illustration workshops and online drawing classes.

Firstly, I did all of the illustrations for my project on cardboard, as I acknowledge that sketchbook paper is not very sustainable. The workshops as well as the lockdown due to Coronavirus outbreak helped me to understand that one can use household items to create art, therefore I used old cardboard as a base for my drawings. My first drawing took inspiration from Tropic of C’s “Mama Africa” collection, and I tried to incorporate nature and the environment into my illustration, which can be seen in the image below. One of Tropic of C’s mission statements is to help save the rainforests, so I thought this illustration was a good reflection of that.

For my second illustration, I wanted to experiment with different body types, as although Tropic of C is very sustainable, its campaigns and photoshoots primarily feature only one body type. I used chalk and colouring pencils in the image below in order to create a more realistic figure looking figure.

For my third illustration, I tried out the technique introduced in one of the online master classes; of dividing a human face mathematically in order to draw it more accurately. I attempted to draw a model which looks different from whichever angle you look at it. I played around with shadows, highlights and hairstyles using black and white chalk, and the image can be seen below.

Overall, my Better Lives project was a fulfilling experience which mainly taught me that everyday household items can be used to make artwork. I would have liked to have had more resources which were used in the online classes such as paint, but working with what I had made the project more challenging and gratifying.

Sustainability, Diversity and Social Responsibility are not just themes being examined in the Better Lives unit, but also ways of life which are being adapted globally by every sector of both business and art. Which is why it is so essential for me, as a fashion student, to understand and apply these themes in my work as I move forward.

Fashion as a topic is so vast, with divisions of creativity, business and politics all within it, which is why, as a fashion student, it is so easy to employ all three of the Better Lives themes to my practice. For example, my Better Lives project of Fashion Illustration gives me the creative freedom to influence a blank canvas with my own thoughts and beliefs through illustration. Where before I’d only focus on how ‘aesthetic’ or ‘trendy’ my illustrations looked, Better Lives has influenced me to refer to other designers who’s work reflects sustainability, diversity and social responsibility as well as utilise these themes in my own art work. Creating a fashion illustration which contains an important message about the environment or human rights feels a lot more gratifying than one which only serves aesthetic purposes.

During COVID-19, the Better Lives themes are extremely relevant and applicable, especially for me personally. Utilising the extra time that quarantine has given me, I have expanded on the research I had previously conducted in Better Lives workshops. This includes examining other sustainable brands and the messages they seek to convey, including Tropic of C, an eco-friendly swimwear line by model Candice Swanepoel, who’s artwork has had a massive influence on my own. Furthermore, visual research for Better Lives also led me to different sustainability campaigns by various designers, including “There She Grows” by Stella McCartney, a campaign promoting cruelty free clothing in support of Amazon rainforests. This had a lasting impact on me as it made me think that, as a Fashion Journalism student, in the future I too can use different journalistic platforms such as videos, writing and podcasts in order to practice and convey important messages of sustainability and social responsibility. I have the license to allow my future work to reflect the themes introduced to me by the Better Lives unit, which is an empowering feeling.

In terms of diversity, this can also be incorporated into my writing as a journalist in many ways. As a writer, having the choice to focus on a marginalised or ignored community or person and give them a platform through my writing is something I aim to do. Bing able to influence readers with ideas of diversity through my words is extremely important in shaping the future I want to work in.

In conclusion, sustainability, social responsibility and diversity will definitely play a large role in my work in the future, changing how I approach certain topics and what I write about as the fashion industry, and the world in general, moves towards a future which adapts these themes in their work and lifestyle.

In a digitally driven, extremely fast paced educational environment, Kate Fletcher’s lecture on Nature seemed to have a profound and lasting impact on me. And it led me to question; has the idea to just sit back, observe, reconnect and ground yourself really become so foreign? The lecture on Nature seemed to be an exploration around that very question.

In the first few moments of the lecture, Kate commanded everyone to “free write about nature” for one minute. And after ten seconds of breaking free of any inhibitions and self-consciousness, a natural stream of words began to flow. And the words were raw, and real because they were connected to me, without any barriers created by cultural norms. In my opinion, the definition of nature was, in an almost literal sense, within this exercise. Nature is a space free of societal critiques and censors – nature is one’s freedom to express their thoughts without interruption. Perhaps this is not exactly what the exercise aimed to do, but in those sixty seconds this is what it invoked within my mind.

Another component of the lecture on Nature which piqued my interest was the story of the stone statues on Easter Island. The statues were beautifully crafted on a remote island without any form of technology to help the process. But the trees cut down in order to facilitate these statues negatively impacted the quality of the soil, which in turn led to the downfall of the entire island and its population. This can be used as a euphemism for society today, a sign that society as a whole need to slow down, that impressive technology could be advancing, but it is at the expense of nature.

I found myself applying this to the fast-paced industry of fashion, where sustainability is a campaign tag-line and nature is all but forgotten in the midst of high production fashion weeks and glamourous fashion shows. In my opinion this lecture was reminding us that although it’s easy to get lost in the beauty of freshly appliqued garments and ground-breaking technology, it is nature which keeps us grounded and connected with reality.

Conclusively, I feel like in the midst of lockdown during COVID-19, the lecture on nature feels extremely relevant, both personally for me as well as on a global scale. During these unfortunate times, I’ve found myself noticing the way the birds chirp and how the grass smells and it has grounded me and taught me to slow down. The fashion industry itself has also begun to show signs of reflecting this idea, with industry giant YSL being the first high fashion heavyweight to take itself off the fashion week calendar in order to ‘take control of its pace.’ And this is what I think we all need to do – stop, breath, connect and take control of our pace. I believe it will give us the same feeling of uninhibited freedom as the one-minute writing exercise right at the beginning of the Nature lecture did.