Ian Ya Tan

I refer to Raquel’s Blog 3 post on the detriment and neglect of the fashion industry towards raising awareness of mental health.

Before she elaborated on her creative proposal and outcome, she brought up the stigmatisation and stereotype of visual “disfiguration” as a flaw or a sin in mass media. This brings about the toxicity of social conventionality which unfortunately feeds in to general acceptance by society. The statement “if someone has mental illness then they are insane” is derogatory and highly insensitive and I am in full support that Raquel has decided to focus on this social problem to result a creative work to erase the misjudgements towards personal psychological health.

Her project utilises pseudo-science and semiotics of colours to represent a litmus-like matter for the character to be self aware of their own mental wellness. The fact that the colour transition and indication is only visible to the user/ character, made it a more of a safe space for self reflection and assessment. This idea is brilliantly rationalised for a performance platform but I do genuinely hope a future collaborative extension could be proposed to the faculties of science for such a wellness indicator to be formulated. As fictional as it may sound, this may just lead to the decline of suicide, self harm and hate-driven homicide. On the bright side, it could increase life expectancy, workplace welfare, community spirit and personal wellness. It may not be the cure but it could be a help, just like a listening ear and a supportive shoulder.

From learning of Raquel’s project delivery, I have realised that diversity also lies beneath the skin. We are each different in our personality, character and perspectives and this unravels differing attitudes and emotions. As society members, we have to reflect and retract on our casual exclusivity which comes with the subconscious conditionings of mass and social media programming. Empathising, as a social responsibility is always welcomed and encouraged to promote a kinder and respectful moral climate.

Da Silva, R. B (2020) Blog 3 Available at: https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/09/blog-3-22/ (Accessed: 9 May 2020)

Cultural diversity is a realism of society which very often is foreshadowed by the excessive portrayal of Eurocentric ideals being the central standard of beauty. This dated promotion in a now cosmopolitan and globalised demographic of audience communities, not only normalise one type of aesthetic, it encourages the labeling of exoticism as an understanding of other rich cultures. Hence, the “othering” behaviour which we once accepted needs to be constantly questioned in hindsight of tokenism and cultural appropriation.

I would approach it empathetically and strategically to retain authenticity of the concept, while translating it under a new cultural lens.

In this project, from the given narrative of Hansel and Gretel, I have decided to draw out learned factors of social, economical and spiritual climate from the time the text was penned, to adapt it as truthfully to my own cultural background and heritage, as a Singaporean of Chinese descent.

The setting I chose to base off the narrative is early 1960s Singapore, with the selected performance platform of a televised musical experience. The original text was published in the times when Germany was struck with a period of fame which accentuated the gap between the privileged and the poor. Morality was primarily governed by Christianity as a religion. Early 1960s Singapore was in a state of pre-industrialisation, where social statuses were clearly defined by huts and apartments, the number of meals a family was able to sustain and the degrees of desperation to earn a living. The main belief system was man-made but it garnered many followers. On that note, I have decided to introduce the Chinese zodiac belief to further represent the characters based on their personality types and also to amplify on the fantasy.

The character I chose to design a costume for is the old woman, also known as the witch.

In the beginning, I decided to track my mood-board with keyword mapping, from “wisdom” and “age” as the starters to “skin” and “organic” being the later development of my visualisation. Progressively, I proposed the zodiac sign of the snake to be the best animal for the representation of the old woman. The snake in the zodiac is described as being glamorous, intellectual and very passive aggressive. Souls born in this year are said to possess a sense of domineering affluence which many would be envious and that aligned well with how the old woman is portrayed in the texts. Collage studies were then created to visualise how the “organic” form of a snake could translate itself as a dress form.

Following that, the textural exploration exercise has led me to decide that the most visible sense of wisdom is language. One image captured was some notes written on a paper which inspired me to think of sustainable ways to turn used paper into fabric. The design of the print would be dependent on the existing inks that were used on the papers used to construct the fabric.

Going forth, I am seeing to continue to articulate the dynamism of diversity, with empathy and courage.

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Chua, M (2017) What was Singapore like during the 1960s Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-was-Singapore-like-during-the-1960s (Accessed: 27 April 2020)

Wu, S (2005) Chinese Astrology: Exploring the Eastern Zodiac [PDF Book] Available at: https://epdf.pub/chinese-astrology-exploring-the-eastern-zodiac.html (Accessed: 27 April 2020)

Tan, I.Y (2020) Moodboard [Digital Image]

Tan, I.Y (2020) Collage Study_1 [Digital Image]

Tan, I.Y (2020) Collage Study_2 [Digital Image]

Tan, I.Y (2020) Texture Spread [Photography]

Tan, I.Y (2020) Character Visualisation [Digital Image]

Tan, I.Y (2020) Character Sketches [Photography of Drawings]

As per reflected as a summary point from my previous reflection post, I am seeing to explore the realism in diversity with empathy. This focus underpins many factors of socio-politics which needs to be attended and discussed through acts of creative direction.

A brief background of myself; I am previously schooled in the faculty of Fine Arts, which later transitioned to Fashion as a study subject at present. In this domain of practice, self, aesthetic, technical and historical contextualisations are principles to curate a body of work. Collective or personal, an artist’s work created derives its authenticity through first hand life experiences in their time of several overlapping social conditions, i.e. identity diasporas, spiritual structures, gender exclusivity, etc. This approach of “the medium as the message” (McLuhan, M, 1964) is open for relative appreciation and engagement. Art serves a conceptual function of a message. In essence, empathy is key.

Are all voices heard, considered and documented? Are spaces open for all persons to be themselves? Are we aware and in adjacent with our diversity?

Currently, Creative Direction for Fashion is my major of study. The course emphasises on the collaborative spirit of communicating and transcending ideas into products and services. Fashion as a subject, has allowed an artist like me to apply the idea of a “medium” onto an everyday readymade, clothing, to reveal and examine underlying the socio-political “messages”. “I want people to see the dress, but focus on the woman.” —Vera Wang. Indeed, the personality of style and form may be designed by the creator (technical), but it also is dependent on the wearer (self). Every clothing piece has a history and life- an intellectual property of trends and preference. Fashion serves a perceptible function of a message. Hence, representation is necessary.

Are we all for #effyourbeautystandards, #fortheculture, #whomadeyourclothes and #fastfashionrebellion?

Conceptual and/or perceptible, I will feed-forward a converging approach in my future creative process, to democratise exclusive spaces and voices for more collaborative avenues of conversation, participation and respect.

In my chosen Better Lives unit, Navigating through Clothing, the objective is to create a costume for one chosen character from the given text, Hansel and Gretel, written by Brothers Grimm. This narrative originated from Germany in 1812, with historical remnants of the early 1300s when severe famine conditions have led many civilians committing immoral deeds of greed out of desperation. Class structures and wealth privileges are the preface of the moral.

What if Hansel and Gretel is a narrative which could be adapted into a culture different from the original? How would the appreciation be developed such that cultural and conceptual authenticities are effectively achieved? Would there be a compromise or a celebration of cultures?

From this point on, I would assess the given project’s objectives with a keen interest to promote the landscape of cultural diversity by visually retelling a well-known fairy tale.

DeLassandro, A (2015) 11 Empowering Body Positive Hashtags That Inspire us to Love Our Bodies and Everyone Else’s Too Available at: https://www.bustle.com/articles/79764-11-empowering-body-positive-hashtags-that-inspire-us-to-love-our-bodies-and-everyone-elses-too (Accessed: 25 April 2020)

Kandola, S (2018) 5 Empowering Hashtags That Embraces Diversity Available at: https://medium.com/@simritkandola/5-empowering-hashtags-all-people-of-colour-need-to-see-26d831066f3f (Accessed: 26 April 2020)

Fashion Revolution (2020) IMadeYourClothes Available at: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/tag/imadeyourclothes/ (Accessed: 20 March 2020)

Beecham, A (2019) Is Ethical Influencing the Answer to both Our Environmental and Social Media Concerns Available at: https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/best-thrift-influencers (Accessed: 27 April 2020)

I refer to 3 lectures of focus; Empathy, Representation and Democracy & Activism.

All factors and themes discussed in the lectures are beyond concepts. They are, in fact, opinions.

I will address the 3 focus themes in a learning model; assuming empathy to understand the current climate of representation in fashion, then initiating real conversations about diversity.   

Representation comes in different identities; colour, bodies, expression etc. With the emerging social hashtags, like #fatfashionweek and #whomademyclothes, the urgency has opened itself to the community for their awareness and involvement for change. All of these modes of reach demands an explanation and education to the state of deliberate unawareness fashion brands and houses are taking with their personal exposure and promotion, whether commercial or preferential. Colour/ shape inclusivity, creative integrity, understanding privileges and the need for cultural conversation, as discussed quite broadly by Teleica Kirkland, are the few of the many necessary questions which need to be in the groundwork to assess our consumer’s support. Moreover, a support is equivalent to a vote. Diversity is so real and apparent around us so why is so difficult to paint a realism in fashion? Critical moderate curators of this representation-lack situation like Fashion Spot, Diversity Coalition and the infamous @diet_prada are perhaps the result of this problem.

Picking up on the lecture on Empathy, the need for observation, immersion and empowerment might be the appropriate approach to deconstruct the current bias and introduce human-ness into the corporate equation. Referencing a case study, A mile in my shoes (2015); A project which allows individuals to listen to another’s personal story and feel firsthand the passage of their experiences. What if the fashion we are constantly being enticed to consume and follow becomes “empathetic things”? That means, conscious clothing which respect diversity, fair wage, trade and climate sustainability. Would we as consumers and them, as the producers, be more compassionate and partial with our choices and vote?

Collectively, we as young fashion creatives, should be appreciative of the time we are in, where voices are sounding clearer and taken more seriously- paraphrased from the response given by Lucy Orta on a question about the small number of activist fashion till date and her future hopes. Her first touch-point on the slim line of difference between the Artist-Designer mannerisms to be vocal about socio-politics intrigued me. As a fine-arts creative myself, now transitioning to becoming more of a fashion creative, it has enlightened me on how the message of a work has to go beyond concepts to be constructive in its function. It requires the involvement and interaction from the community or communities, to forge a shared dialogue and advocacy. That is the core of social activism; the power of the people.

Moving on, I would take the course of this unit to explore the realism in diversity with empathy.

Buff, C. (2018) This Hashtag is Putting plus size Women at the Forefront of NYFW Available at: https://www.revelist.com/body-positive/kellie-brown-fashion-week/13458/brown-of-and-i-get-dressedhad-a-revelation-during-a-nyfw-event-hosted-by-11-honor-a-plussize-luxury-retailer/1 (Accessed: 30 March 2020)

Fashion Revolution (2020) IMadeYourClothes Available at: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/tag/imadeyourclothes/ (Accessed: 20 March 2020)

Marinelli, G (2019) 9 Powerful Stories of Representation at Fashion Week Available at: https://www.glamour.com/gallery/fashion-week-runway-inclusivity-stories (Accessed: 20 March 2020)

Bates, K.G (2017) On Fashion Runways, Inclusion Is About More Than Colour Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/03/21/520589244/on-fashion-runways-inclusion-is-about-more-than-color?t=1588197450431 (Accessed: 21 March 2020)

The Space (2020) A Mile in My Shoes Available at: https://www.thespace.org/artwork/mile-my-shoes (Accessed: 20 March 2020)

Gamman, L (2020) Lecture 8: Empathy [Lecture Presentation] Better Lives, London College of Fashion (Accessed: 15 March 2020)

Orta, L (2020) Lecture 13: Democracy & Activism [Lecture Presentation] Better Lives, London College of Fashion (Accessed: 17 March 2020)

Kirkland, T (2020) Lecture 11: Representation [Lecture Presentation] Better Lives, London College of Fashion (Accessed: 19 March 2020)