Learning journal

In reflection, I feel as though my constellation has had a big effect on my professional practice. I feel as though my fashion work has developed tremendously since my first year at university. Not only in my academic writing and practical, but also my critical thinking. I now have a much wider understanding of my practise in a much wider context.

Throughout my time at university, the concept of writing my dissertation has always been a daunting thought. I have never excelled in writing but thrive when it comes to practical work. Therefore, an Artefact suited me well. And suddenly I wasn’t as worried anymore. By splitting the chapters up, it no longer seemed like an impossible task. 

My journey was still difficult to begin with as I have always struggled with time management. And this year we’ve all been faced with a unique set of challenges due to the unusual circumstances of COVID-19. But I did end up making light of the situation. Due to the library having to impose some strict rules I had to access most of my academic studies through Met Search. Although I prefer having a physical book to read through, this process pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to finally get the hang of the online site I had been hesitant about since my first year. In the end, it was extremely useful to me. But the lockdown restrictions and scheduled online meetings made prioritise my times better and organise my time more effectively and I felt as though I had more time to complete the work. With this, I also pushed myself to meet with my tutor at every possible opportunity in order to stay on track.

It hasn’t been until this year, that I felt I have really started to use critical thinking academic research to influence and build on my practise. This essay, and my previous module, has driven me to delve deep into a history of fashion, and question a lot of things, that I otherwise would probably not have done. The process has educated me about a topic I was once confident I knew a lot about, but now I know there is so much more to learn. One of the most intriguing things I have learnt is how fashion is often mirrored in social and cultural circumstances at the time. And how much we can gather and learn just by looking back at the fashion trends alone. It made me appreciate my practise and the importance of fashion, even more so, and think about it in more depth. This further academic research made me even more passionate about my subject and the power fashion has on the world, fashion can have a real impact our lives and be used as a tool for change. And I love that I have now learnt that connection.

My constellation findings have directly influenced my final collection in my professional practice and caused me to rethink my creative decisions; I now consider and explore current problems in our society, and how I can possibly improve the issues or put emphasis on the problem through the medium of fashion. This has been a great inspiration for my most recent collection. I have brought in my essay by making my final collection androgynous, practical with a running theme of smart casual wear. Something I found from researching into the big issues facing today’s society. Similarly, to my dissertation, with my reasons why basing on what I know about society today and the needs of a modern-day buyer.

One of the main themes that runs throughout of my dissertation is gender. I have always been quite passionate about this subject, particularly in relation to fashion and how it is portrayed, so this is something that I really enjoyed writing about. From my research, I also know, that gender representations and stereotypes are a big issue we are still facing today. So, my collection, in both my dissertation and subject, refer to this idea and strip away any stereotypical gender connotations and aim to be available to all. The research I conducted in my essay allowed me to have a deeper understanding of where my influences originated. I love the idea that fashion shouldn’t restrict or confine people like it has done in the past, so I am eager to learn about how I can avoid this in the future. The research I conducted even made me question why I was doing a lot of things in my practice, even subconsciously, because my ideas had to have originated from somewhere.

Although, I feel as though I am now better equipped to deal with my ideas and designs. I also feel like I have a new excitement for fashion and so much more inspiration comes to mind when I am conjuring up ideas. Because of this study my work in fashion design has more depth as it allowed me to have more of a critical approach to my practice. I can now have research to back up my design decisions and I show I designed it in that way for a reason. It allowed me to think differently and I believe this will allow a wider audience and more people to be attracted to my collection and future collections I may make. Because of this process, my attitude towards essays has completely transformed and I feel more confident in myself and writing abilities. I’m so proud of what I have achieved and have noticed an improvement every time I write an essay.  I only hope for the future I can hope to develop these skills further. This experience has been an extremely valuable one. If I had more time, I would explore unisex clothing further, and find more academic studies that have explored it in depth. However, I will probably go on to do this anyway as I will be able to use the work towards my subject.