Tajah Wilson

BPeer review

Response to Selena Denvir-Jones

Finding a blog post to review was very tough for me to choose as they’re all extremely interesting and with a different point of view. After careful considering, I stumbled across Selena Denvir-Jones blog posts and I felt very connected to the things she touched upon. I believe that she successfully reflected on the better lives themes by looking into the concept of well-being and “the importance of well-being in fashion”. She touched upon Ethical issues within the fashion industry and how it effects the world. She does a lot of unpacking and self-reflection when it comes to looking at the ways that the hierarchy of needs in life is also present in her own. Selena brought up very interesting points that were very close to home for me and made me also reflect on my ways of life. 

 It was very interesting to find that I am not the only person that has been upcycling fabrics, especially during this time. That gave a great sense of comfort, knowing that my peers are also engaging in different ways to create new garments and promote sustainability. She was very homiest in her approach, we as a nation do find it hard to stay consistent with our values, it has been especially difficult during the pandemic as people are more concerned about their mental states and making themselves happy instead of thinking about the greater good. She demonstrated that one alone is not enough, we can all benefit from a wider base of motivation when it comes to putting the better lives themes into practise.

I learnt that many people now have the time to come up with such wonderful ideas of how to avoid fast fashion. Being stripped of work/university has helped society to be more grateful for the little things, including innovative ways to showcase fashion. Selena touched upon social responsibility and sustainability, However, she did not necessarily touch upon diversity as a whole. She has clearly expressed her own person frustrations and illnesses. I am well connected with her peer responses because I too felt like a had the virus. Despite self diagnosing, onlin shopping for clothes and sorting through which has will go to charity definitely paves the way for a better way of lives.

She incorporated psychological standpoints into her reasonings and turn her thoughts and ideas into actions. Her posts are great because She outlines all the benefits of sustainability. Her posts could’ve been better if she was more open to the idea of challenging representation within the fashion world and her diversity can contribute to a better world. Selena openly expresses the way she feels about fashion waste by pushing her idea of reselling her own cloths.

Ultimately, I learnt that other stylists also feel deeply about the disadvantages that come along with keeping up with trends and using fashion as a way of fulfilling happiness. There is a fine line between retail therapy and being fashionable in an unhealthy way. She constantly refers back to how societal expectations and events can have positive/negative effect on the direction and progression of the better lives’ themes in the real world. She does not sugar coat and she is raw in her approach to giving awareness, that is what I loved about her posts the most.

Project outcomes and personal development

My moving image is all about my experiences during quarantine. It is a very short sequence of events from different parts of my isolation experience. I’ve decided to create a short clip as the shortness gives a real sense of how we a society haven’t been able to do much. My concept Is “being still” as you will see what life has been like for me the past 2 months, my balcony and being bare foot on the balcony has become my definition of outside. Walks to the shops/ park have become my daily runway. I’ve tried to incorporate some of the better lives’ themes into my day to day life by re-wearing garments/ ordering clothes online to model in for Instagram and returning them once done with them. The culture of “borrowing clothes” has been an advantage as it allows me to temporarily enjoy trends whilst not having to spend money trying to keep up. 

Fashion styling during this time has become a way of expression as woman are getting dressed indoors, this gives a sense of being rebellious and it also shows that fashion activism during quarantine is being used as a means of social change. People are at ends wits with the current pandemic and are expressing it through fashion which is very inspiring for me.

My initial idea was inspired by Ade Hassan who is the founder of the brand Nubian Skin. A UK underwear brand that focuses on diversity by redefining the term “nude”. I loved the idea of interpretation and birthing art out of frustration. I decided that I would create a sequence of random events from my quarantined life when I’m feeling the most frustrated. Although some may interpret the moving image as peaceful, I want my audience to connect with me and my sense of feeling trapped indoors. 

Nubian skin is inspired by personal struggles and low representation. A brand dedicated to all women worldwide by offering a wide range of nude/ skin tone hosiery. “Empowering women, embracing our colour”. A world where black woman are included in the skin tone choices. Little things like finding the correct shade of foundation, lingerie, Etc…  gives a feel of familiarity. It Is no secret that common retail beauty supply stores have a bigger supply of tones for Fairer skin women. However, Brands like Nubian skin helps to kick start the revolution. No one should have to go through the frustrations of feeling excluded in the fashion community.

I personally can relate to the brands values. She is a positive advocate for the word “nude” establishing a brand-new meaning. Deflecting from the sexual meaning of the word and focusing on the many different tones of nudes that the nations create. A very clever concept. An undergarment can make or break a lot. It can create a silhouette and help blend in garments seamlessly.

The Aesthetics of the brand is very thorough, clear and unapologetically black. A very classy and soft feel. A breakthrough in the fashion industry. Engaging with the audience and listening to the needs/demands within fashion. “Relevant, variety & luxury”.

I’ve heavily reflected on how my fashion footprint effects my mental state and how it could also uplift others and give a sense of hope.

Themes reflection

The better lives project has really opened me up to the different ways that themes might change how I work in the future. Social responsibility, diversity and sustainability are all aspects that play important roles in the world of fashion. I am most certainly reflecting on how I can experiment with these themes. Social stability is all about “the range of life structure and reliable routine that is protective against further situational hazards” I engage with social stability by being more careful with my retail therapy, being more environmentally friendly with my choice of materials. Investing in higher quality clothes so that the life span of my clothes will be longer. Avoiding trends is also a great way of being socially responsible, by consistently conforming to the expectations of society and fashion can save unnecessary waste and not to mention money. 

As I reflect on my own styling, it’s always a great to try and get multiple wears out of outfits. There are at least 5 ways that a top can be transformed into, it’s all about unlocking your inner creations. In the current society, there is pressure to be the next best thing. There is a culture of posting on Instagram and not being able to wear the outfit again because repeating clothes is very frowned upon. There are ways to turn knowledge of the better lives’ themes into creative practice. In terms of sustainability, opening my friends up to the idea of sharing clothes every month is a great way of recycling. There are online websites such as Depop that enable people from all over the world to sell clothe that they’ve worn once, never worn before or that have lost their value. Not to mention that shopping and giving clothes away to charity shops is always an act of goodwill. Second-hand clothes /vintage shops “assists in keeping the recycling system in place as people who can otherwise not afford these garments are able to wear them”. 

Rihanna has recently turned into a very inspirational fashionista who advocates for diversity in the world of styling. Her campaigns always consist of woman from all over the world, different shapes, sizes and ethnicities. ’Savage x Fenty’ is a brand that celebrates the beauty in what is seen ‘uncommon’. For a long time, the face of fashion was very cliché. Rihanna has helped me rethink my choice of casting when looking for models for a project. Diversity is an important way of showing different social economical backgrounds of people through styling.

Even through a world-wide pandemic there are still ways that stylists try to engage with themes that change how they work. For example, a brand called ADKN advocates for animal free / eco- friendly designs. They’ve also recently invested in reusable fabric masks that are made from bamboo masks. It makes me rethink about whether using disposable masks are sustainable, by using washable material it allows us to flatten the curve in a more environmentally friendly way. To conclude, the better lives themes have definitely provoked thoughts of how I can change my work practically.

References

2011 Dec 1st
Social Stability and Health: Exploring Multidimensional Social Disadvantage
Danielle german & Carl A. Latkin

2018 Jul 2nd
What are the environment benefits of buying pre-owned clothes?
Dheril Dsouza

ADKN
https://adkn.co.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAjwk6P2BRAIEiwAfVJ0rGo2wBUNb7wXlsKOs4or7Yedm7uAC2STSfwqXy2aRPafiSv7xnsaGBoC4TwQAvD_BwE

Lecture reflection 

By Julia Crew 

Power

The reason why Julia’s lecture on power stood out to me amongst the rest is because I am new to the world of fashion styling and I felt like the best way to gain a deeper understanding about the roots of fashion and styling Is to understand the culture, power  and real impact that it has on the world. Throughout the lecture, Julia looked at the topic of power from a number of perspectives. This ignited loads of thoughts from the question of “who holds the power in fashion”. I was drawn to her lecture because she acknowledged the positive sides alongside the dark sides of fashion. Julia challenged many ideologies by using examples to back up her points. For example, how royalty hold the power in fashion, the military and symbolism, hierarchy and leadership.

I think the most fundamental way the lecture has influenced my thinking is that power can also be seen in a more systemic point of view. The power in fashion not only boils down to politics, it can boil down to economic power. Statistically, there has always been a huge divide between those at the top in comparison to those at the bottom in terms of inequality and that also plays an important role in fashion. who holds the power in fashion? Provokes thoughts and challenges the hierarchy of fashion. Is it the consumer? The media? Cultures? society?One important thing I learned is the representations within the fashion industry and media have a huge influence on advertising.  The new culture of Instagram fashion accounts now known as ‘influencer marketing’ proves that anyone can have a voice in fashion. People are able to follow along with people that represent who they are whether its body shape or skin colour. Resulting in people being most likely to purchase an outfit even if they’re not familiar with the person. That in itself is enough to kick start thoughts on how I plan to approach how fashion shapes the industry.  

I believe that the power in fashion starts with us, being sustainable has been an ongoing battle of mine. In a world of overconsumption and fast fashion, it can be very challenging. We recognise that if people do not truly understand the power of fashion, the global footprint and its over influence especially in fast fashion could be very unsustainable in the long run. 

Fashion can create better lives with the notion of us all coming together and creating a sustainable future. For example, sharing clothes amongst clothes/ investing in second-hand materials/clothes. These thoughts of mine have definitely been shaped by the impacts of some of these lectures. As much as waste is a global issue, by recognising that we all hold the power in fashion, we can begin to take responsibility for some of the effects just by being more aware.

References

Von Busch & cuba. 2014

Vestoj, issue 4: ‘On Power’

Orsola de Castro, fashion revolution

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25.1