Reflection: Week 6

   For this blog post, I would just want to personally thank God again for putting me in the right course hehe. I've done this several times after I've spent time attending my major subjects and working on the course requirements. This week, I realized another sign that showed me why Clothing Technology was the right program for me. It's kind of a shallow reason actually. It's the fact that our subjects require us to have our individual croquis books. Croquis is a French word for sketch. Basically, this notebook should be treated like our portable scratch paper, where we could jot down, draw, paint or record our ideas and inspirations. I saw this as a sign because that is how I work as a person. I've always seen myself as creative and I've trained myself to generate several ideas and never limit myself when it comes to brainstorming. I've been collecting notebooks for as long as I could remember, and probably it's because of the fact that I like recording/documenting my experiences and ideas and that nostalgic feeling you get when you open a notebook you haven't touched in years. I've always had that one notebook I would carry anywhere in case I get bored or a source of inspiration would pop-up but I never knew it could be called a croquis book. Our prof also told us that in fashion schools abroad, they really value the designer's croquis book because it is there wherein you'll see the authenticity and the development of the design. 
   
   At first, I wasn't as comfortable in freely writing things on my croquis maybe because most of the stuff we'd put in it were required by our profs and would also be checked by our profs. When I nosily looked into everyone else's croquis, I got a bit jealous of how they were filled with doodles drawn during boring classes or just documenting what inspired them. Then I decided to treat my croquis just as how I've treated my treasured notebooks. 

   I've discovered that I'm the kind of person who takes note of every detail possible and who respects even the smallest ideas. The croquis caters to the way I work as a designer and a creative mind. For all of you out there who believe they have great ideas or are just inspired to do a lot of things, I recommend get a croquis of your own :-)

Reflection: Week 5

   A question was raised up this week that really struck me. We were shown a video (The Problem with Jeggings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPJz850ibII) that depicted how different trends were emerging by combining different articles of clothing (jeggings = jeans + leggings, nirt = not a shirt) and also how as the years go by, so do the fabric in the clothes we wear (less coverage, more skin). Then our professor showed us a painting (the title of which, I forgot) and asked us to relate it to the video. I inferred that both the painting and the video showed how different people have different perspectives on what is acceptable or decent; how normal is really something subjective. Then she flashed the question: What is normal?

   The question of what sets the difference between normal and abnormal has come across my mind plenty of times in my life. I'm the kind of person who really spends time to think and reflect not just about my personal life but even the external factors that affect it. During those times, I've questioned what is normal for the society we live in today. Because if you look at it, the standards of normal have changed through out the years. Take for example, in the 1800s, women and men wear layers and layers of clothing, complete suits and afternoon and evening dresses; but if you're out wearing those today, people will think that you're trying too hard to look good or that you're wearing some sort of costume. Another is that years ago, men found women more attractive if they were curvy and voluptuous contrasting to how the standard for women today is slim and athletic. I've thought that maybe the notion of normal is something psychological. Imagine teaching your child that saying "yes" means no and saying "no" means yes and he'd grow up believing what you've taught him and for him that'll probably be normal. Things we consider normal nowadays are things that have undergone the approval of the general society and have lived through the first degree of questioning and scrutinizing. 

   I've read a book back in grade school entitled "Frindle" by Andrew Clements and if I remember correctly, it was about how a boy was so persistent in renaming the ballpen into the word frindle and at the end he succeeded and the word was even recognized in the dictionary. I often think that normality could be analogous to that; like if I would want something to be socially acceptable, all I'd have to do is convince a number of people to believe in it as well. Just like how we've gotten accustomed to more revealing outfits as daily/casual wear as opposed to how they used to be frowned upon by society. 

   This gets me thinking, what else would be considered normal in the future; and in following the logic, would there be more good normal or bad normal? 

Dolce & Gabanna (a pecha kucha)

Greetings! By now, after already posting two of them, I hope you already know and  understand what a pecha kucha is. Here's another one that I mentioned in my previous entry. The pecha kucha is a presentation on a chosen designer (in my case, designers) and their design philosophy. I suggest you read the previous post for you to better understand the presentation. Enjoy! :-)

Reflection: Week 4

Our class discussion this week tackled different kinds of fashion designers and their respective design philosophies. As I have mentioned before, I still have not found a designer whom I could call a personal favorite, but for this activity (which also required us to dress-up) I chose the classic Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabanna.  As a child, Dolce & Gabanna was one of the luxury brands I knew that was a must-have for any fashion-conscious adult may it be a male or female. This is probably because the brand caters to both genders through the clothes and perfumes they design. Taking from that, I began to appreciate the designers knowing that they have created what I have always dreamed to have, an entire fashion empire. D&G (as you would see in the pecha kucha I will post after this entry) has most likely tackled every aspect of the clothing industry: clothes (for different markets), shoes, fragrances, hair products, beauty products, nail lacquer, and lately even gadgets.

The design philosophy I found that they go by is a mix of feminism and the idea of being different but preserving the balance of things. This design philosophy, I realized, is something that I would want to take after (but of course use it as an inspiration in forming my own). I’ve always been such a strong believer of feminism and how a woman’s body is a glorious creation of God and should be treated as such. One could also see in my personal style that I like standing-out and making a statement or expressing myself with whatever I wear; but I also believe that in dressing well, one must know how and when to dress accordingly/appropriately. After really researching about these two designers and getting to know more about themselves and their design aesthetic, I realized that they are officially part of my list (yes I know it’ll be a list) of favorite designers. Dolce and Gabanna have inspired me and reaffirmed me that no dream is too big for a creative mind and a passionate heart.

How and Why People Wear Clothes (a pecha kucha)

Hello I am back with another pecha kucha! This time, it's just half a pecha kucha (10 slides but 20 secs each) and it'll be presenting how and why I think people of the twenty-first century dress in such a way. This was based on the book full of photographs by Hans Eijkelboom entitled "People of the Twnty-First Century"

Reflection: Week 3

   This week all of the groups were assigned to read an article of and report it to the class. Our group was assigned to “The Burqa in Vogue: Fashioning Afghanistan” by Ellen McLarney (a long but really good read). The other articles tackled global fashion issues. Basically one thing I learned was that fashion and clothing plays a huge role in cultural diffusion. It was evident in the articles that either different cultures tried to influence or be influenced by others or refused to let anything in or out of their culture. Other cultures took up trends and clothing from others and vice versa. Clothing could serve as a tool to lead or follow, to be dominant or inferior. 
   What I've already learned only stands as proof that the fashion world/industry is vast in itself. That's something that most people don't see that's why they always tend to belittle people of our industry. They think that it's hard to earn money in such a field but more than the money (which you could definitely earn loads of) they fail to see its cultural and societal relevance. That it's inevitably part of the system of our world and can meaningfully contribute to it. It's articles and issues like these that push me to make an effort in educating the rest of the world about what we do and the importance of it. 

Reflection: Week 2

   This week we had a long discussion and really chewed into the topic of clothing motivations. If you were able to watch my short pecha kucha about my personal clothing motivations, you'd notice that one of the things that affects the my choice of clothing is the fact that I belong to a Catholic Charismatic community. Belonging to a religious community also means that you have to conform to its way of life. I have nothing against the our way of life, in fact I embrace it and really appreciate it. What I have been struggling with though is the compromise between being modest and being able to express myself through the clothes I wear. I do understand that there are parts of the body one should cover, that showing flesh could "provoke" the opposite sex, that keeping your body to yourself could be "more attractive", and that you should also honor your body. What still baffles me is that they believe tht if you got it, it's better not to flaunt it. I mean, showing a little skin is how I could feel beautiful in, I personally feel honored when I look good in what I am wearing whether I'm covered up entirely or exposing my parts of my legs, arms, and back. I want to be able to dress modestly and please others by it, but sometimes, it's myself that I don't get to please anymore (which forgive me but I think is more important). 

   I'm the kind of person who believes that the only ones I have to please are God, my parents and myself. My dad also has a keen sense of style and is also very open-minded. He doesn't mind it if I wear clothes that reveal a little skin as long as it isn't over-the-top. I am also very responsible when it comes to dressing in a way that my parents want me to, so I know what's a yes and what's a no when it comes to their opinion. It just saddens me that I have to limit my clothing preferences because people from community might correct me. 

   I really want to talk more about this dilemma of mine in the future so stay tuned haha. But again as of now, I still think that the line between modesty and immodesty is quite blurred and I am bound by it. The issue between the balance of modesty and still looking and feeling beautiful is something I would like to resolve as I go through my years in CT.