Friday, 18 October 2013

Fashion and Status and Gender Identity (A Rant!)

Regarding a recent lecture at University:

This lecture made me really, oddly passionate. Due to my own personal beliefs, the subject of status and women is really interesting. After watching the advertisement videos and assessing them, it's quiet clear that the marketing of fashion really does escalate the feelings of status anxiety detailed by A. de Botton. I believe this phenomenon of social anxiety is used against women far too heavily in modern culture.
In previous years, status was achieved by marrying into a well-to-do family and almost entirely all status was handed down through the family to the men or given by your occupation. It is still like this to an extent and an example of this can be seen in how people respond to what degree you have chosen to study. For example, you are judged to be more intelligent and studious if you are doing a law degree than if you are studying a performing arts degree. Previously, this need for acceptance and status was barely noticeable but since the beginning of mass media and fast, efficient networking abilities, the pressure really is on both genders to be the happiest, fittest, healthiest and best dressed individual the world has ever seen.
In this instance, fashion and advertising is being used as a control mechanism, to force men and especially women into the right mental state of unhappiness and dissatisfaction to spend money they don’t have on things that they don’t need.

“We spend money that we do not have, on things we do not need, to impress people who do not care.” 
 
Will Smith
However, from the early Victorian era, fashion has been a way to express status and control people. The corset is a prime example of this. It was a way to show that a lady was the correct socially-acceptable shape and held the right qualities to be a woman worth marrying, but it was also a way to supress their sexuality and in some case even caused them proper physical harm. There are recorded cases of young women being forced into corsets by social convention and pressure, to then find that in their later years they are so disfigured due to prolonged restriction of their bodies whilst growing that they could never be without the corset again.
I think that all of this is ridiculous. Women should be allowed to be women, and judged not by how they look but by their own individual merit. I would much rather be remembered and respected not for the fact my hair looks perfect or I’ve somehow finally achieved the pore-less, flawless look that I’m bombarded with every day, but for my contribution to my field or who I am as a person.

In the presentation, I particularly liked the slide about cross-stich and swearing, as I have a very similarly themed tattoo. 

Saturday, 5 October 2013

First Week at Huddersfield Uni

Good evening you lot!

Ava's Apparel HQ has moved away to Huddersfield! As of last Monday, I'm officially studying for a degree in Fashion Design with Production and Marketing. So far, it's been a wonderful experience, I've met like-minded people regarding fashion but also a handful of my other interests. I've had to condense my studio down enough to fit into my uni room, but what with living alone now with no television the turn-around times on the ETSY store are significantly improved.

I've recently also upgraded all of my pattern drafting and cutting items in the studio, so I can explore further and be more adventurous with my designs. The extensive university library has books on how to improve the business, but also is choc full of historical patterns from which I can take drafts to produce my own versions (both straight from the originals or adjusted to my own design!)

Speaking of the business, not only are there new FEZ options in store available now, I'm currently on a 3 day turn around time AND if you use the code UNI25 at checkout, you get 25% off your order to celebrate my first week of university!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AshleighEllan