Zainab Sardar

Working as part of a group to produce a campaign for Traid has been very stimulating overall as I am a regular costumer of the brand. Unfortunately, I encountered few technical problems along the line. Firstly because of personal reasons I couldn’t always attend most of the group project sessions, so I happened to not have a group to work with until the lockdown started after the Easter break. When I joined the group, the girls already had a clear idea of what they were planning to create, and I was also very excited about it as I was completely on board with their choice.

Given the unique circumstances under which we had to create content as a group we had to adapt our production and decided that the concept for the campaign was a few minutes long tiktok challenge. Encouraging people to reuse and restyle clothes that they already have access to instead of buying new clothes, the timing was especially beneficial because since the lockdown started a lot more people have been active on tiktok or somehow engaging with the app and its content. All the girls filmed short sequences on their phone of them receiving a piece of clothing and styling it like the #dontrushchallenge, which consists in people filming their glam glow up mainly on tiktok. Eventually we shared the files on our whats app group so that I could get the files to edit them on Premiere Pro. All of the girls didn’t have much experience with editing and fortunately I did, so I put all the clips together and added some audio and video effects. We made it to present on time despite the difficulties we encountered along the way, and we were all very proud of the outcome. I think that this experience, and the circumstances under which we had to complete this group project were exceptionally unique. Everyone due to the pandemic and lockdown had to adapt to a less conventional way of interacting, working and studying and that made me feel less anxious about the process.

The important thing when working as a group in my opinion is communication, talking to each other and understanding each group member’s strengths is key when working as a team. We managed to do it last minute unfortunately as I joined later than expected, but we handled the situation very well and created a very good piece despite the technical difficulties. Personally, having had problems with attending the lectures and ultimately having to join a consolidated group last minute has been stressful but also immensely rewarding simultaneously. The gratification that I felt when the project was completed was great and I was glad that despite the precarious circumstances we managed to actualize the concept. The rewarding feeling after all overshadowed the anxiousness, making the experience overall very positive.

When working in the fashion industry, especially as a pr it will be crucial to actively apply the better lives themes to my practice. The three themes examined during the lectures diversity, social responsibility and sustainability go far beyond fashion and if we all do our share to make whatever industry we work in and our day to day life a little more adapt to these subjects we will reach a turning point. I think being personally part of a minority and having always been identified as part of a minority my whole life I cannot ignore the importance of diversity and representation. It is essential for such an influential industry like the fashion industry to be genuinely diverse and inclusive. Whatever projects or jobs I will be involved in I will always try to celebrate minorities and shed light on marginalised communities or individuals because creativity and self-expression always find their way through anything. I believe that being faithful to ethic standpoints and encouraging brands and people to do that will strengthen transparency. I will always keep in mind how felt growing up with minor representation in the media and also in my day to day life. It is fundamental for a kid especially to feel represented. Seeing someone that looks like you in a position that you admire and knowing that with work and dedication you CAN get there is something that a lot of people take for granted, but I can say from personal experience is not. 

‘Woke consumers’ are already embracing a more socially responsible behaviour and making more informed choices, therefore demanding more transparency. The goal ultimately would be for every aspect of the industry to be more socially and environmentally responsible and conscious. Learning about how much the fashion industry is accountable for the environmental crisis that we’re currently experiencing made me personally feel a stronger sense of responsibility, to try to do more than what I am doing already. We all have a voice and power within our practices, especially working in a very influential environment like fashion pr and communications there is so much potential to make things better. Throughout my fashion activism group project experience I  had the opportunity to work on a campaign for Traid, which gave me a chance to put the theory in practice by creating a campaign that supports recycling and upcycling.

Another ambition of mine would be to educate people on inclusivity and diversity, and to initiate a dialogue, educating people on what REALLY matters, making priorities clear when it comes to my practice. Especially during these times, we are reconsidering or questioning things, morals and choices a lot more, people are constantly ready to point fingers. Implementing dialogue and openness would prevent many accidents and misunderstanding.

I want to carry on being as introspective as I have been in the last month for the rest of my career, and I am sure I will make the right choices. Questioning the ethical and social impact of every decision within any context is what everybody should probably do, so we could all have better lives.

The lecture ‘Representation’ by Teleila Kirkland has massively impacted my thinking and my approach towards the themes covered throughout the lecture. My attention was particularly drawn to the lecture when the topic of representation was brought up. Representation is astonishingly misunderstood and misinterpreted at this time being. Diversity and representation are discussed a lot by brand’s PR and advertising departments because they are legitimately having a big momentum within the fashion industry. 

Teleila made it clear many times during the lecture that there is one big obstacle between communities and that is ignorance, we should all communicate and educate ourselves on different communities and their ways, and most important of all if in doubt ask questions! Another point made in the lecture was the ‘incidents’ that continue to happen within the fashion industry. Now, this is a hot point that’s been greatly examined in the past few years. Mostly referred as ‘calling out culture’ online, it has been a soaring phenomenon among the internet community. One slip from a brand or a celebrity and the twitter call outs are exploding within hours, these people would be calling out those so-called incidents. Outrage marketing is sometimes product of this calling out, there are some speculations regarding this strategy that would supposedly take advantage of controversy, attention and coverage to generate revenue.

Cultural appropriation, a very disputed accident that unfortunately still occurs regularly, fits in this ‘incidents’ category. How to avoid it? Communicating, learning and acknowledging. Giving the right recognition and credit content when designing to who deserves it. This problem is eradicated and deepens down to power and privilege and the consequent lack of acknowledgment of both. Sometimes it can happen by mistake, someone can unconsciously make a mistake, but other times there are malicious intentions behind it. I have thought about these matters and these problems in the past, given my ethnically mixed background it has been inevitable to feel somehow called in cause or feel obliged to do or say something in relation to them. When it comes to a domain like the fashion industry and especially by being involved with it as a student for now and hopefully professionally in the future I feel as though it is my duty to normalise a mutual benefit for both cultures involved when it comes culture-merging rather than culture appropriating.

This lecture made hyperaware of my standing point and the approach I should be taking in terms of representation; it is easier to just complain and be mad about misrepresentation and appropriation. I aim to take this with me and spread positivity and hope for a more conscious, kind and mutually respectful future for the industry.