Annabel Jones

For the final blog, we were asked to review one of our peer blogs and how they interpreted the better live themes. After reading different posts I’ve realised people have different understanding and ideas behind the Better Lives themes. The blogs I’ve chosen to reflect on for my fourth blog is by Sam Carins. I chose to reflect on her third blog post in particular in which she explained her outcome in the disciplinary makeup. This blog stood out to me because it had an interesting insight into the theme and it also showed that she had learned a lot in her Better Lives course.

I found it particularly interesting how Sam decided to utilize natural products easily found at home to create a makeup look. She also considered trends when creating her makeup look. I especially liked her reflection and reasoning behind putting the coffee beans on her face as a look, as she explained the significance of coffee during COVID 19. Like Sam, I also drink at least two a day and especially with this global pandemic as I have not been able to sleep as well as dealing with the stress of all of this. Her reflection shows how makeup can be an expressive way of representing different issues whether it be personal or global. It is a more creative way of expression. 

I thought it was particularly interesting to hear how other people in her group used this as an opportunity to create statements about the fashion industry. One of the students created a look called quarantine queen in which she utilized cleaning products. I thought like Sam, this was an effective way to represent and showcase the global pandemic. 

I think looking at Sam’s blogs and reflecting on it Sam has taken what she learned in Better Lives to create a unique final project. I particularly like that Sam reflected on the global pandemic as it is something that is affecting all of us at the moment. It would have been interesting to see how Sam could have progressed this makeup look given the chance. I am looking forward to seeing how Sam engages with Better Lives in her creative practice later on. I enjoyed reading her blog post.

In blog post three I will be reflecting upon my work in Fashion Activism my chosen area for the better lives unit. Fashion Activism came under the course creative direction. Creative direction has always been an area i have been interested in working in and learning more about. The subject allows you to work in more than one creative area with a team. It’s a perfect area to learn how to collaborate and work with others with different skill sets.  

Our group was given the task of creating a film and giving creative direction for the brand Triad. Triad is a second-hand store that can be found across London. They have a focus on sustainability and educating people on the benefits of buying second hand. Triad as a brand identifies with a lot of the same ideas that we have been learning about through better lives such as the importance of sustainability and reusing clothing. Their current branding is trying to be trendy and cool but comes across slightly tacky. Our original plan was to try to make a Triad fashion film with models on the catwalk in nature to emphasize this idea of saving the planet by reusing and wearing other people’s clothes. This was also a way to create a new direction for the brand of being very fashionable as mentioned before we felt their original branding was tacky.  

However, due to COVID 19, we were no longer able to meet up and film this. This made it hard for our group to come up with a new concept as we already planned out on the storyboard our plan for a fashion catwalk. In the end, we decided to recreate a Tik Tok as these are especially popular with triad target consumers, the millennials and gen z. They are short so they keep your attention and the use of popular music and hashtags can make them trend on the for you page.

 We used a popular song, and all wore items of clothing from our parents or siblings to show this idea of wearing old clothes. We also used effective hashtags to promote it such as #traidquarantine. The film turned out great and we even won awards for best casting. This project showed me despite not being together it is still possible to collaborate and produce a creative project. It also showed me the power of teamwork and how a short video such as a Tik Tok can be just as impactful to an hour-long fashion film. 

  Overall, Fashion Activism (creative direction) taught me a lot about how to work with others and how to use each other’s strength to produce creative content.  I also learned more about creative direction and what the role of a creative director entails. I hope to bring this creativity and thinking forward to new projects while engaging with the Better Lives theme.  See the link below to watch our group creative film for the brand Triad.

The Link for our film

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/a04bc328-d043-47a9-b086-374112bb07c7?channelId=490f8d2f-85d4-4daa-9b6d-cdc70dfe01c6

In blog post 2 we are asked to reflect on the Better Lives themes and how it will change how we work in the future. The three Better Lives themes are Sustainability, Diversity, and Social Responsibility. These themes have grown in popularity and importance over the years and not just in the fashion industry. As a Fashion PR and Communications student, I need to be mindful and consider these themes when working in the industry. London College of Fashion and Better Lives has given me an important insight into why it’s so important that the fashion industry needs to be more ethical.  

Therefore it’s my responsibility as an LCF student to always consider these themes in my careers and creative work. It’s important we consistently question how the system works in fashion. Questioning how ethical it is and how it can be improved. For example, consumers need to be more aware of how their clothes are being made and how sustainable the materials are. We need to communicate these to them instead of hiding the truth.

There needs to be more diversity within the industry whether that be casting or the CEO of companies there needs to be more of a range than just white males. There should be a representation for all types of people whether that be someone with a disability or different skin color. It is important consumers can see themselves. As a communication student in the future, I want to consider whether the brand or designer I’m working for is diverse and if everyone is represented. I have the choice to choose who I want to work with. It’s important to work with people that share these similar values that we are taught at LCF.  

These three themes have allowed me to reflect on the positive and negatives of the industry. It has brought awareness to me which brands care about the world and those who just care about creating revenue. I think what’s an important aspect to take from this unit is how important it is to educate and spread the word about these issues. Its important people have awareness instead of being ignorant. Especially with global warming and global devastation it’s important we constantly strive to reverse the damage before it’s too late. Also, as a consumer, these themes question my shopping habits. In the future, I’m going to try to only support brands I feel show promise of social responsibility.  

In conclusion, as a communication student, I want to make sure that fashion brands are consistently being ethical and transparent to their consumers and the media. I want to work toward a better future where everyone feels represented. As the name suggests Better Lives is all about improving life whether that be saving nature or giving people opportunities it’s important, we work together on these themes.  

In the first two weeks of the Better Lives unit, I listened to a variety of different lectures dealing with the better lives themes of diversity, sustainability and social responsibility. I have chosen to blog about is the Empathy lecture. The lecturer began by breaking down the definition of what empathy is. According to the lecturer, Empathy can be broken down into two components: “one being emotion, the other comes from our ability to understand other human beings’ emotions and perspectives that we may have not experienced ourselves.” By breaking down the definitions of empathy it helped me understand why it is an important tool in arts and culture. It made me realise how powerful it is to give people the opportunity to experience and understand different perspectives.

 Artists and designers can create creative projects to help people understand how it feels to be deprived, vulnerable or at a disadvantage to someone who may have not experienced this. Big companies need to understand empathy to make sure they cater to all types of people. Designers are given unique opportunities to help people out. For example, many companies have created features to help people who are blind with their daily tasks. For example, Amazon Alexa can identify groceries for blind people. I think all companies need to consider this when coming out with new products and make sure they have catered and created features for all types of people. 

 Another topic discussed in the lecture was the link between empathy and fashion. As much as fashion is criticized in today’s media it can also be an opportunity for design to help people out or create a strong message. An example of this is an empathy belly which simulates a pregnant woman which can help fashion designers create clothes for them that helps them out during this time.

 In conclusion, empathy is important to understand to be inclusive. By having empathy, you can think and understand how things affect all types of people. This lecture has made me realize how much more I should reflect on what other people are feeling/experiencing before creating. Overall, the Better Lives lectures have given me a lot of interesting information that I will continue to use in this unit and my future career.

References

Lorraine Gamman (2020) ‘ Empathy [Lecture]. Better Lives, London College of Fashion, 12 February.

JSTOR Daily. 2020. Can Art Help People Develop Empathy? | JSTOR Daily. [online] Available at: <https://daily.jstor.org/can-art-help-people-develop-empathy/> [Accessed 11 Febraury 2020].

Web.microsoftstream.com. 2020. Working…. [online] Available at: <https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/a04bc328-d043-47a9-b086-374112bb07c7?channelId=490f8d2f-85d4-4daa-9b6d-cdc70dfe01c6> [Accessed 11 February 2020].