Maja Bebber

About Maja Bebber

Posts by Maja Bebber:

BLOGPOST 1

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  • The Better Lives lectures have definitely influenced my thinking and most importantly, I learned more about Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Diversity.  The lecture that resonated with me the most was “Power”. It showed how “fashion was always a medium to visually communicate power.” But it also portrayed that fashion is not always a force for good. That there are a lot of facts that are ignored by consumers. For example that “the industry becomes wealthy by enslaving others” or that “in four days a CEO earns as much as a garment worker earns in a lifetime.” This really made me think and now I pay more attention to the way I consume. Because we as consumers have the power to change the fashion world for the better. We all have social responsibility. Therefore, I inform myself more about how my clothes are produced. I prefer to shop in charity shops and give clothes a second life instead of supporting fast fashion. Because a lot of effort has been put in its production. I buy second hand clothes online as well – because fashion does not have to cost the earth. Even  though if we do not change our consumer habits, it will indeed cost the earth. We should choose to re-love clothes instead of them ending up in landfill. The lecture pointed out that “decent work with a fair pay should be a fundamental human right.” Therefore it became more crucial to me to invest in more sustainable produced clothes where I know the workers are paid fairly – instead of buying too many clothes without wearing them. I either sell the clothes I do not wear or I donate them to charity shops. I also learned that “media and advertising is driving consumption of fashion products to a level that is not sustainable in the long run.” Social media has become incredibly powerful but in a world of “influencers” who advertise amounts of clothes, it becomes clear that it is not smart to give in to the temptation to buy more instead of making the most of less. The influence culture does not portray diversity because everyone wears the same clothes and everyone advertises the same products. Inclusivity is not portrayed either. It seems that a certain image has to be portrayed – an image of perfection that does not leave room for including those who are different. Although there has been an improvement of inclusivity in the past few years, a lot more effort has to be put in. The lecture underlined that “the pressure of presenting a perfect life is bad for our mental health and is the driving source for feelings of anxiety and insecurity.” I use social media as a source of inspiration and not for comparison. I follow artists and designers instead of influencers and models – because I have the power to choose if I want to be inspired or influenced. Thus: “We have power and can do something even though it seems overwhelming at times.”
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BLOGPOST 2

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  • Attending the Better Lives lectures has definitely influenced the way I will work as a fashion journalist in the future. The Better Lives themes are Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Diversity. I realised, that to create powerful and meaningful stories, these themes have to be reflected – as they are more important than ever. We are all responsible to create a better fashion industry. In my future encounters, I will particularly think of the Better Live themes and how I can include them in my work. My main inspiration to become a fashion journalist was always to inspire others with my words and stories. Words are incredibly powerful and they are present everywhere. My motivation is to give those a voice who are not able to present it. I want to look behind the scenes of the fashion industry and support those who do not get the attention they deserve. I want to be part of something better and I believe I am able to do this with living more sustainably and supporting diversity as well as being socially responsible. The fashion industry is incredibly diverse and it has changed a lot over the past few years. But there still has to be put in more effort when it comes to supporting diversity and it has to be portrayed in the long run and not as a trend only. I will portray diverse characters in my stories and I will give them room to express themselves. I will definitely support brands that produce sustainably and who are transparent about their productions and their intentions and I will distance myself from fast fashion brands. I will make sure to include those who stand out by being different and who might be imperfect in the eyes of others. After all there is no such thing as perfection – it is an illusion created by society. I want to be part of an industry that sees beauty in flaws and that supports imperfection. Unfortunately there is still a long way to go to achieve this but I hope I can be a part of the change. I want to write about topics that move people. Journalists have the power to create stories that inspire and influence society. I want to portray sustainability, social responsibility and diversity in my work. I want to support designers and creatives who have the right values, who live sustainably, who are diverse and support diversity and who are aware of their social responsibility. There are so many incredibly talented people in the industry who do not get enough recognition – especially when they are at the beginning of their career. I want to give them a voice and a safe space to express themselves. In my future course work, I will include the Better Lives themes way more now. Finally, I hope that I will have a meaningful career as a fashion journalist and that my name will be remembered as one who changed and influenced the fashion industry for the better.
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BLOGPOST 3

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  • My project group in the Better Lives unit was Fashion Activism. Our project included a collaboration between the British fashion brand “Lazy Oaf” and the mental health campaign “Time To Change”.  “Lazy Oaf’s clothes are inspired by youth nostalgia, 90s fashion, rebellion and a sense of not conforming to the norm.” They feature bold colours and graphic prints and pay attention to sustainable production and packaging.We created a connection between the brand and the campaign and included the Better Lives themes which are Sustainability, Diversity and Social Responsibility. We decided on creating five GIFS, so moving images and put them together as a video. We decided to take three frames, so three portraits of ourselves in three different angles. We set the focus on the bold colours of the fashion brand and the slogan of the campaign. We used their name “Time To Change” as inspiration and created more slogans that started with “Time to” – time to think, time to act, time to talk and time to listen. We agreed on a colourful background and everyone choose their own colour. We used photoshop to add the colourful background and the website GIPHY to put the pictures together to create a GIF. We added graphics expressing our personalities to make it more personal and underline the theme diversity. We communicated through a group chat and video calls where we discussed ideas and concepts. It was great to work with individuals from other courses including Fashion Photography, Fashion Styling and Production, Fashion PR and Communication and Fashion Journalism. It made it possible to combine different opinions and creative aspects. The group dynamic was good – we contributed our ideas and thoughts and agreed on an outcome everyone was happy with. We are all diverse because we are from different countries – Germany, Poland, Austria and England. The project and theme of our project was very personal as I struggle with mental health myself. Fashion and mental health is connected because wearing an outfit that makes you feel good, automatically stimulates your mind. In a world of constant comparison, trends and fast fashion, we all want to express our personality and style. But it can affect our mental health negatively and can make us feel insecure. This is why it is so important to be confident. For me, fashion is a shield against the world, an uniform that makes me feel good – even on my worst days. The aesthetic of “Lazy Oaf” and “Time To Change” are similar as both use bold colours to portray positivity and bravery. The project outcome turned out very well and we were all satisfied with it. I improved my ability to work with creative softwares and got an insight into the practice of Fashion Activism. I was positively influenced by my peers and the project and I was made aware of the fact that I am socially responsible and how important it is to celebrate diversity, to support sustainability and to engage in the conversation about mental health.
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BLOGPOST 1 | REFLECTION ON POWER

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  • The Better Lives lectures have definitely influenced my thinking and widened my horizon. The lecture that resonated with me the most was “Power”. It showed how fashion was always a medium to visually communicate power for centuries. But it also portrayed that fashion isn’t always a force for for good. That theres a lot of things happening behind the scenes that mostly stay hidden or are ignored by consumers. For example that the industry becomes wealthy by enslaving others or that in four days a CEO earns as much as a garment worker earns in a lifetime. This thought really made me think a lot I pay way more attention to the way I consume now and to what I buy. Because we as consumers have the power to change the fashion world. We have to know who makes our clothes. Now, I inform myself way more about where my clothes come from and how they are produced. I’d rather shop in charity shops and give clothes a second life instead of supporting fast fashion. Because there is a story behind every piece of clothing and a lot of effort and detail has been put in its production. I also browse through online platforms to buy second hand items – because fashion doesn’t have to cost the earth. Even though if we don’t change our consumer habits, it will indeed cost the earth. We should choose to re-love the clothes instead of them ending up in landfill. The lecture also pointed out that decent work with a fair pay should be a fundamental human right. Therefore it became more crucial to me, to invest in more expensive pieces where I know they are produced sustainable and the workers are paid fairly instead of buying and and supporting fast fashion and having too many clothes without wearing them. I also learned that media and advertising is driving consumption is driving consumption of fashion products to a level that is not sustainable in the long run. In a world of influencers who advertise amounts of fast fashion and the newest trends, it becomes clear that it isn’t smart to support this behaviour and to give in to the temptation to always buy more instead of making the most of less. Social media has become incredibly powerful but the lecture also underlined that the pressure of presenting a perfect life is bad for our mental health and is the driving source for feelings of anxiety and insecurity. That’s why I use social media mainly as a source for inspiration and not for comparison. I follow artists and designers instead of influencers and models. I have the power to choose if I want to be inspired or influenced. Because as in the lecture was mentioned “We have power and can do something even though it seems overwhelming at times.” Power is often perceived as a negative force but it can also be positive. And as Nelson Mandela said: “It’s always impossible until it’s done.”
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  1. Ellie Short: https://1920betterlivessmc.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2020/05/07/blogpost-1-reflection-on-power/ Maja Bebber’s reflection on power clearly showed that the lecture influenced her thinking and her future behaviours when it…