Liv Carlsson

Throughout the Better Lives unit, I have been exploring the new emerging technologies in the fashion industry with Nick Almond. Technology has never been something that has interested me except for the latest iPhone or macbook, that is why when choosing a topic for the unit, Emerging Technologies in the Fashion Industry sounded very interesting and something I was eager to learn more about.

When starting the project, I thought that the topic was going to be about different fabric technologies or 3D printing, however, it turned out to be about blockchain technology, augmented reality and Artificial Intelligence. This in a way made me more interested in the topic because for me, this was completely new. 

Engaging in the project and coming up together as a group with a pitch for a blockchain start-up made us explore the actual impact blockchain has on the fashion industry and how much positive, but also negative factors it can bring to the future. It was also interesting to work with new people from different courses whom I had never worked with or seen before, also from different parts of the world. This gave me an insight on how technology is seen depending where you come from, for example the students from China in my group used VPNs and different apps then what I do. 

As the final project outcome, we chose to work with the topic vintage trends and researched about creating a fashion start up using vintage. As a group we all contributed with ideas and thoughts and put it all together to make a pitch. The start-up Retrograde, an app which you can use to analyse vintage trendology came to ‘life’ by the Emerging Technology team. In the app, you would be able to see trend and anti-trend forecasting which would empower diversity and creativity by exploring these globally. Also, launching an online trend platform for everyone and not putting an expensive dollar sign on the technology , which is the case for most trend research databases today.

I really enjoyed the outcome and learning from Nick Almond. Exploring different technologies and what impact they will have on our future was very eye opening. Diversity, social responsibility and sustainability needs to be included in all of the fashion industry sectors because of its size and impact on the global economy and morals. Having Better Lives as one of my first units will be something I take with me far into my future. Learning about this and having a better understanding in the beginning of my education will open my eyes more for the following projects, at university but also outside of LCF.

The fashion industry is an industry that touches everyone’s lives every day. There is no person that is not in contact with fashion on a daily basis, whether it is in the form of wearing clothes or looking at clothes. Therefore, it is important that it is an industry that demonstrates good morals with respect. Learning about sustainability, diversity and social responsibility in the fashion industry is beneficial for us students to know about and have a relationship with for the future. 

Being a PR & Communications student, my role is to relay information from companies to the public, and at this unprecedented time that we are living right now, the Better Lives themes will definitely have an impact on my future career and thinking. 

Living through a time like this when a virus has managed to clean up the earth in three months whilst people have been demonstrating and fighting for a cleaner climate for decades, it is amazing to see how the world is healing so fast. When this is all over, most of us will surely think twice about polluting or being sustainably irresponsible. However, if people’s finances and businesses are in shambles, they are likely to come out of this crisis more concerned with fighting to survive and building a life again than worrying about the survival and health of the earth. Therefore, it will be more vital than ever to communicate the importance of climate change, as well as environmental and social sustainability. Learning more about sustainability, diversity and social responsibility in the fashion industry will definitely have an impact on how I value and relate to these themes in the near future.

PR and Communication teams around the world will now be helping governments, and not only companies, to spread awareness of their strategies on how they are going to rebuild the economy, workforce and societies, which includes the fashion industry. Until now, the fashion industry has accounted for more pollution than any other industry, and governments should therefore set aside a significant part of the funds towards the effects of the virus for the fashion industry in order to encourage the practice of sustainable buisness. Our task will be to encourage the politicians and authorities to spread the awareness of these three different topics in the aftermath of this crisis. 

Sustainability, diversity and social responsibility will always be three fundamental topics in every business and it will be my job to make sure that the company’s relationship to the public is as positive as possible. That is why I will be able to take the Better Lives lectures with me in the future.

Lorraine Gamman’s briefing about empathy and fashion described how we as human beings empathize with different people and why, but also how empathy can be used in the fashion industry. With a PHD in shoplifting, Gamman has worked with analyzing how people empathize with ‘bad people’ and others. She described how our empathy is often partial and that we empathize with people we can relate to and look like. The people I mostly empathize with are people that I know or people I can relate to because of my own experiences.  

In fashion, empathy can be used in telling stories through design. Alexander Mcqueen’s Highland Rape collection back in 1995, shows his empathy and emotions to Scotland at the time, showing that through his designs. There are several hundreds of examples of designers using their creative space to show their empathy. 

But not only in fashion can empathy be used as a tool for helping. Gamman conducted a test at Central Saint Martins where she built a mock-up prison cell for the students, where they were able to feel how it was like to be a prisoner. The students would then empathize more with prisoners because they now could relate to what they were experiencing inside of prison. With the feedback she was given from the students and actual prisoners, Gamman could help the prisoners make their lives easier in their cells by making the furniture comfier and safer, which would prevent prisoners using them as weapons in fights. 

In my opinion, using empathy in fashion broadens the horizons for a lot of problems needed to be shown or raised awareness of. Empathy is mostly used in a better way when it comes to fashion but can also be used for the worse, by trying to make someone relate to something bad. However, there are always going to be people who empathize with bad people or things but using empathy in a better way can create better lives. Empathy shows problems and raises awareness about things that should be solved and discussed. In fashion, designers can use their platforms and power to show these problems, such as Mcqueen’s Highland Rape show and through that, help create better lives for the people suffering.