Julia Bialy

The main idea behind the ‘Fashion Illustration’ unit was to create a series of fashion illustrations inspired by a broadly defined sustainable and diverse artistic practice. I have always enjoyed drawing and as a makeup student, I felt this course would help me understand the dynamics of the human body, both as a finished composition and a naked base, which is really important when designing a makeup look.

I found as a pleasant surprise the fact that apart from the apparent practical side of the unit, we had an opportunity to learn about many artists and organisations whose actions highlighted the Better Lives key terms. During this particular session we were meant to present briefly a chosen individual to the rest of the class. What really struck me was the feeling of power. I was oblivious to the fact how many people try to include such noble values in their artistic visions and seeing a huge scope of them during these three hours left me very motivated and consolidated in my beliefs.

I have chosen the abstract works by an activist and environmentalist John Sabraw which were created with self-made acrylic paints whose pigments are formed in the process of separating the metals oxidize from the waters of heavily polluted Ohio’s streams. Apart from the eye-catching and energetic compositions, I liked the sense of irony in them: that such lively images could exist because of toxicity – a factor that is meant to kill.

Another influential factor on the final project outcomes was of course the outbreak of the Covid-19. It partially deprived us of the material resources as well as an opportunity to draw from life or gain feedback from the tutor first-hand.

For me it meant I would not be able to fully follow my first vision of the project outcome. I was forced to use very specific media (certain colours of paint, crayons etc.) but ironically, due to the materials constraint, I felt more focused on using the whole potential of the artistic resources I had. I recycled some old packages (see the previous post) and the backs of some drawing pads and produced illustrations on them.

There is something very liberating in reusing items artistically as they are not as intimidating as a blank sheet of paper.  I found myself more careless about the splashes of colour or accidental lines what corresponded really well with the free-flowing style of the Sabraw’s artworks. I love an expressive style of drawing/painting and what sometimes prevents me from pursuing such style is this fear of doing something ‘wrong’, even though it is very hard to specify what may be considered ‘wrong’ in art. When using already exploited surfaces, I feel like I have nothing to lose.

I have never thought that employing sustainable practices will free me artistically in some way. It has been a very powerful experience and I just hope that such eco-friendly values as recycling or refraining from buying unnecessary products positively manifest in the other people’s lives as well.

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References:

• John Sabraw (2020) Art + Science. Available at:
  https://www.johnsabraw.com/ (Accessed: 1 May 2020).

The Better Lives unit offered a range of projects and lectures that allowed us to engage with sustainability, diversity and social responsibility through the artistic practice. I have decided to deepen my understanding of these ideas via Fashion Illustration course.

Over the weeks, we got to know various techniques of operating a line, colour and shape, including creating collages, drawing from templates and using materials that would be generally recognised as trash. The spirit of sustainability was also present during the online classes where we were encouraged to use cardboard, old newspapers and generally supplies we already had at home. Apart from undertaking such eco-friendly actions, I have also realised that learning Photoshop may turn out a very useful skill for me and will help reduce possible material waste in the future.

           Sustainability is a concept that has been influencing my life for some time now. To give some examples, I come from an artistic family and if the no more needed garments were not given to the charities, I would see my parents use them as artistic tools or to protect surfaces from paints. Now, before buying any clothes, mostly from the second hands, I always try to assess whether the contemplated piece of garment would match to the ones I already own. It prevents me from storing cloths I would not actively use. Fashion plays an important role in expressing my identity but I do not want my experience to come into existence via depriving other people of proper living conditions or damaging nature what at the same time seems unavoidable in the today’s world situation.

As a makeup artist, I am automatically most passionate about the makeup and skin care industry which is regrettably becoming increasingly focused on the overconsumption that is fuelling companies to produce more unrecyclable packaging and include harmful ingredients in their products. We are constantly encouraged to put more substances on our faces when actually it would be better for both the environment and us to follow the minimalistic approach and make our everyday beauty routines simple and pleasant, not tiring and stressful.
In this case, one of the most inspirational brands I have come across is KraveBeauty whose founder, Liah Yoo, shares her knowledge via a YouTube channel and it is literally everything I have been asking for lately.

Nowadays, another responsibility of the artists is to create inclusive culture, where diversity is rather a rule than an exception. From my personal experience, seeing my peers’ illustrations during classes was very inspirational and gave me a wider context of how different each of our minds works and how many unique possibilities the ‘diversity’ aspect offers me as a creative thinker. As Lorraine Gamman said in her lecture Empathy:

A designer needs to be able to put themselves in somebody’s else shoes.

These are the words I would like to implement permanently in my work ethos. Fortunately, the aspect of social empathy is becoming strongly celebrated among the creative industries, especially when looking at brands and organisations embracing inclusivity, such as the Dazed&Confused magazine, Daily Paper or gal-dem to name a few.

In my future career I am certain I will strive to include diverse symbols of cultural otherness and sustainability related ideas in my projects because creating a positive social impact is inextricably aligned with my values. Better Lives experience has confirmed my conviction that empathy towards other people and environment is my social responsibility and, eventually, indicates what kind of person I am.

• Gamman, L. (2020) Empathy [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion (Accessed: 25 February 2020).

• Krave Beauty (2020) #PressReset. Feed Your Skin What It Craves. Available at: https://kravebeauty.com/ (Accessed: 02 May 2020).

           Fashion is one of the most expansive and materials absorbing industries in the world. Its intensity was heavily discussed in the series of the Better Lives talks which all portrayed how fashion can affect the quality of the natural environment and living standards of millions of people. In the era of great extremes, within designers hands lies power to shape and change the future of fashion.

            While most of the lectures were inspirational and portrayed close links between three key words of the unit, one of the most attracting attention issues to me was the subject of cultural appropriation that interlinked such topics as social minorities, diversity, empathy and social responsibility. Spreading knowledge and awereness about cultural misrepresentations may be crucial for creating an empathetic designers’ generation to which I would love to belong. What appeared quite intense and memorable to me was the way that Teleica Kirkland gave her speech about the cultural representations and appropriations in the today’s fashion world. Her lecture could be complemented by the previous presentation by John Lau, Social Sustainability whose words on the cultural competence established a clear introduction to the wide subject of misundestandings between various ethnical backgrounds and the fashion world.

 I think that most people (including me before listetning to the lectures) are unconciously aware of the phenomenon of cultural appropriation but only few are able to freely have a conversations about it and as Kirkland mentioned, it is essential to create a dialogue between different communities in order to understand history, legacy and usually emotions of other people whose cultural backgrounds sometimes may represent a huge part of their identity. Every person deserves respect, all the more no one has capability of choosing their place of birth. Acknowledging the cultures’ symbols, genres or traditions is a part of being socially responsibile and empathetic and allows to not exclude any society from the global market which at times may appear very monocultural by promoting only narrowed down ideas of beauty. I think that here lies the problem, that people appropriate the visuals without acknowledging theirs origins because they look aesthetically pleasing. Instances may be the cases of Gucci, Prada, Moncler or Katy Perry who all created so called lazy fashion designs, relating clearly to the blackface imagery.

What I definitely carried out of these lectures was the great feeling that as a young designer, I have to make every effort to create more socially empathetic projects and educate consumers about their complicity in creating new trends in fashion. As a creator I have to consider what cultural convictions or even stereotypes my designs can propagate among certain communities and what results it may bring. Origins of the visual symbols are always worth researching, even more when there is always a possibility to create a socially aware merge of different cultural influences, resulting in the phenomenon of cultural appreciation which I will definitely try to include in my own ideas.

References:

Kirkland, T. (2020) Representation, Better Lives Unit, London College of Fashion (accessed on: 19 February 2020).

Lau, J. (2020) Cultural Sustainability, Better Lives Unit, London College of Fashion (accessed on: 18 February 2020).