Research and Communication Skills has been extremely beneficial to me. This is because I have learnt how to research thoroughly, which I have now realised I was not doing before. On a variety of tasks I had the opportunity to properly research. I did this by firstly finding a source that my essay was going to be about, this would usually be a book and then I would find a second book to compare the different perceptions of the topic. If I were doing reflective writing, which was one of my tasks I would also say how my view differs from theirs. Then I usually expanded my research by finding an academic text online that is loosely connected to my topic, so I covered different aspects of the topic. The sources I used depended on the task at hand, but overall RCS taught me how to expand my research with different sources.

RCS has also taught me how to Harvard reference, which was also a new skill I learnt. Learning this so early on in the year is useful because it will help me throughout my University years, as well as in the future when I need to reference to prevent plagiarism. The visual research task taught me where designers get inspiration, and how many references they use. I found that, the designers that used a wide range of sources produced the most successful designs. This taught me to develop my research before designing a garment, which particularly helped me with my Fashion Design project. I researched extremely thoroughly, using a wide- range of resources, which gave me lots of ideas for designs. The RCS made my designs stronger and interesting because I was inspired by a combination of things.

The task I liked the most was the ‘Ethical Issues’ task. I had never even thought about the ethical issues in advertising a collection, and found the lesson and writing the task really interesting. It made me realise how wrong it was to promote your business in such a way and associate your brand with sexism, as well as other ethically wrong issues like sexualising children by modelling them in indecent clothing. In the task we looked at a variety of images that have been used to advertise a clothing company. Many of the images were of women modelling provocatively. The image I chose to annotate was about sexism and how the woman was seen as inferior to the man and is being dehumanised because she was seen as a sex object. This task not only taught me about ethical issues in the clothing industry, it also taught me how you have to be extra careful as a clothing company to not offend people and that your company can get a lot of bad publicity. This will help me in the future to bare this in mind, when I get a job in the clothing industry.

Duncan Quinn 2008 Ad

This is an aggressive and sexualising image of a woman sprawled out of a car in lingerie, with a tie wrapped round her neck and a man pulling it and it was being used as advertising for a clothing suit collection. I believe this image is ethically wrong because of many reasons; including it implies that women are submissive and men are in control. It implies this by the way that the man is leading her and has taken charge. This could be compared to a man leading a dog. Therefore, comparing women to dogs. The fact that the man is dominating the woman is sexist. It is ethically wrong because in this day and age, we have a wide knowledge about sexism in our society and it is wrong to promote it in advertising.

Another reason why the image is ethically wrong is because it is sexualising women. This is also sexist, especially because women have been seen as a sex object for decades. The English language itself is considered sexist. For example, the word ‘Tart’, in the “Collins dictionary says that this is a 19th-century contraction of “sweetheart”, a term of endearment, particularly to women. From 1887, however, it is attested as meaning “a female of immoral character; a prostitute”.” (David Shariatmadari, 2016). This is the same for many words. Words that are considered as a compliment in modern society are usually derived from words that describe women as sexual objects. The word ‘tart’, is also a food, which is insulting as well because it is comparing women to edible objects. The fact that the image is representing the woman as a sexual object, degrades the women and dehumanizes her.

There is a contrast in the way the man and woman are dressed. The man is almost fully dressed, wearing what looks like expensive clothing. In comparison, the woman only has underwear on. This portrays the sexes as unequal. His clothing style is also old fashioned, as well as the car the woman is lying on. This makes him look like he is not from our time. Women had less rights in the past, compared to what they do now. It is wrong to promote these times in this way. Feminists have tried for many years to change sexism, and over time we have managed to change perceptions. People are now ashamed of how we treated women as the second-class sex. This image is very ethically wrong because it is promoting what we should hate about those times.

Finally, I wanted to point out that the woman does not look like she is enjoying it, let alone has a say in what is happening. This is wrong because society pushes advertising about always giving consent to sex hugely in this decade. This links to the fact that this advertising looks like it was produced in another time as well, when women were seen as to do whatever a man asked, even if they were not okay with it.

References:

Shariatmadari, D (2016) Eight Words To Reveal The Sexism At The Heart Of The English Language. The Guardian, 27 January

Duncan Quin (2014) About. Available from:  http://duncanquinn.com/about/ [Accessed 1 December 2017]

The first chapter of the book ‘Fashion Media, past and present’, is called ‘Taste, Fashion And The French Fashion Magazine’. It consists of a few topics, revolving mainly around attitudes of fashion during different periods and role of fashion magazines. One topic is about the emergence of a critic and how the concept of taste came about. The concept of taste was created by British Empinicist Philosophers. They believed that beauty should not be in the eye of the beholder and that actually there should be a standard. Another interesting topic is whether fashion is considered as art. For centuries fashion was not seen as equal to art. In 1912, Henry Bidou considered fashion worthy of the painter’s attention, however did not see it as equal. Another topic was whether, and how much fashion reflects politics, society, economy and culture of the time. According to this book the fashion magazines during the 17^th and 18^th century in France captured the revolution in the clothing and how the clothing changed due to the change in politics, society, economy and culture of the time.

One point I want to discuss is whether fashion reflects politics, society, economy and culture of the time. The ‘Fashion Media’ book believes it does massively. The book in particularly claims that the fashion magazine ‘Le Journal Des Dames et des Modes’ “captures an important moment in the turbulent history of France” (Sanda Miller, 2013). The magazine apparently captured the gruesome events that influenced the fashion. The book ‘Fashion, Culture, And Identity’ agrees with this point, as it says fashion “sources in culture and social structure” (Fred Davis, 1992). I also agree with these points. A good way to prove this is how fashion has changed over time, paticularly because of culture. ‘Fashion Media’ describes how the French magazines used to represent the outfits of aristocratic circles and captured the difference between clothes of different classes. This means that clothes represented social structure at that time, however in the other book, which is based on modern times, it claims that fashion masked “status anxiety”. This means that fashion in modern times does not represent status like it did in France in the 18^th century. This shows how fashion reflects culture.

Another point that interested me was whether or not fashion is art. In the book, Le Brun Tossa claimed that fashion and taste were connected and if fashion and taste were connected and art and taste were connected, fashion could be seen as a form of art. Before Le Brun Tossa introduced this concept, fashion was not equated with art. In 1912, Henry Bidou considered fashion worthy of the painter’s attention, however he still did not see it as equal to art. I believe fashion is equal to art, due to its similar purpose of expression. In the book ‘Fashion, Culture, And Identity’, the author has written about the meanings behind fashion and whether it is a ‘visual language’. Art is also considered as a visual language. In the book, Gans stated that fashion meanings are “more differentiated than in other expressive realms” (Gans, 1974). This is fundamentally stating that art is not equal to fashion. I do not believe this, however I find it interesting because fashion should be apreciated.

References:

Davis, F (1992) Fashion, Culture, And, Identity, Chicago: University of Chicago

Miller, S (2013) Fashion Media: Past and Present, New York: Bloomsbury

Valentino Haute Couture F/W 2015,

Photo by Fabrizio Ferri, for Vogue Italia, September 2015

This image is for advertising purposes, due to it being published in Vogue Italia, September 2015. This image’s subject is deliberately off central. Ferri has done this so the viewer acknowledges the background, which makes up the image. The way the models have been positioned is also interesting. I believe Ferri was trying to capture something mysterious. The models are huddled, as if part of a clan, protecting each other. The image feels mystical and bewitched.

The style of the image fits with the inspiration behind the Valentino collection. Valentino wanted to capture Italy’s routes and this photo also succeeds in doing this. The collection captures many aspects of Rome, including the marble tiles off of the cathedrals, the arches off of the coliseum walls, as well as Ancient Rome. The collection shows a reference to gladiator armour, golden wreathes associated with Julius Caesar’s reign and Roman emperor and empresses clothing. The mood of the image, combined with the dark clothing could also symbolise the darkness during the middle ages. Piccioli himself said, “Rome is just a little bit noir, a little sinister”. The dress at the front appears to be some sort of black bird, this links to the symbol of the Holy Roman Empire that existed in the Middle Ages. The photographer adds to this effect with dark tones and using a backdrop with arches very similar to the coliseum.

This is nothing like what Ferri has done before. He is known for taking portraits of beautiful famous women. He rarely photographs collections, or group photos. He is known for having an Italian style and creating endearing photos, which is why I think he was perfect for capturing an Italian brand. This image is also different to the brand’s usual style. Valentino is known for its ‘glitterati chic’ and usually consists of a very feminine colour pallet, due to the brand being recognised by its femininity. Although the materials used are still intricate and delicate, there is less embroidery and the frequent use of black goes completely against the normal colour pallet.

Bibliography:

• Neves J (2017) A History Of The Life Of Valentino Garavani,

Available from: www.farfetch.com/style-guide/icons-influencers/a-history-of-the-life-of-fashion-icon-valentino-garavani/

[Accessed 1^st Nov 2017]

• Phelps N (2015) Fall 2015 Couture Valentino,

Available from: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2015-couture/valentino

[Accessed 1^st Nov 2017]

• Felner J (date unknown) Valentino Haute Couture Fall 2015,

Available from: jeffybruce.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/valentino-haute-couture-fall-2015

[Accessed 1^st Nov 2017]

Pavitt, J (2008) Fear and Fashion In The Cold War, London, V&A Publishing

I chose this book because I enjoy learning about the history of fashion. This book is interesting because it shows how much events at the time can influence fashion. The book examines “how the image of the body was shaped by cold war concerns”. Fashion changed a great deal in the cold war due to changing attitudes about fashion, advances in technology and because designers expressed the fear and anxiety in their designs. The cold war also inspired art, films and literature as well.

BBC (2014) Cold War. Available from:

www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/ [Accessed 25^th October 2017]

I furthered my research on fashion in the cold war by learning about the cold war. I did this to understand why there was fear and anxiety in this time. I chose this website so I could have a variety of references and sources. This website is from the BBC and is therefore reliable, factual information.

Brown, C (1948) How Close Are We To War With Russia? SEE Magazine, 25^th October 2017, 1-8

After researching a website about the cold war, I wanted to further my research by learning about opinions of those living in that time. Reading a newspaper from that time helped me do this. It helped me understand how anxious people actually were, as well as see what people living in this time were reading. Its no wonder there was great fear, the press seemed to heighten concerns by publishing articles on how close they are to war.

The Colour of Fashion, 1992, Stewart, Tabori & Chang

Photograph of Japanese models challenging tradition, produced date unknown, photographed by Kaoru Ijima, Tokyo

This image derives from the view that Japanese fashion traditions should change. Japanese fashion had avoided mature, sexy images that showed flesh. This hiding of the body originated from the kimono tradition. I picked out this image due to its meaning behind the photograph. The photographer is clearly challenging the tradition of covering up the body, as well as symbolising the women’s desires to express their fashion. Connecting the bras is away of showing how their identity is being held back. The colour of the bras is also interesting. White symbolises purity and regarded as a highly spiritual colour. It is really fashionable in japan as well, to wear as underwear. I believe this fashion has derived from the association of white being pure. The fact that the image is of the women breaking out of the white bras, suggests they want to break out of tradition and dress freely without associations. I found the tradition behind colour extremely interesting and wanted to research more into why people wear certain colours on certain occasions.

Photograph of a bride called Lady Forrest, 1876, Victorian styled dress, photographer unknown

Image taken from: www.marryjim.com/en/page/show/id/30/template/history

I then researched into the history of wearing the colour white on your wedding day. Before 1840, a bride would wear any colour the liked on their wedding day. It mainly depended on the fashion of that time and how wealthy their family were. Rich brides in the middle ages commonly wore bold colours with silk, velvet and fur. White dresses only really became fashionable after Queen Victoria’s wedding in 1840. She was not the first monarch to wear white, however the event was photographed and widely published. The colour at the time also didn’t have any symbolism and it was later on given connotations of virginity. Before this blue was meant to represent purity.

Screenshot taken from:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/here-come-brides/queen-victoria-and-the-white-wedding-dress

I then looked at the V&A website to broaden my understanding of wearing the colour white on your wedding day and where it derived from. In my task 2, I learnt that Queen Victoria had started the tradition in 1840 and I wanted to learn about this more in depth. The website states that not only did Queen Victoria create the white wedding dress tradition, she was the first in British history to entirely wear white on her wedding day. The monarchies before her, like Philippa Of England in 1406, wore some white garments on her wedding day, but not entirely white. She made the white wedding dress fashionable for many reasons. One reason was because of the press and how well her wedding photographs were published. The other reason was because of how romantic their wedding appeared to be. She wrote her vows as Albert’s future wife, not as the monarch. She also bordered her train with orange blossom and not crimson, velvet robe of state. This was a romantic gesture to show how devoted she was to have her wedding day about just them. This seemed to touch the hearts of the nation.

Overall, I have developed a firm understanding of colour in fashion and traditions and know how to research my topic in depth, with reliable sources.