Fashion Communication is mostly obtained from Ryerson University situated in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada. Fashion communication is described as one of the fields of “mass
communication”. It is a mode of mass communication to promote fashion with such
methods as social media, exactly what we have been learning through the BAPP
course. Other methods used are video, advertisement, films, etc. Ryerson
University describes Fashion Communication as, “Business-related courses in
areas such as marketing, business, communication, fashion in international
markets, fashion and society are combined with professional studies in
communication design, illustration, typography, curation and exhibition,
photography, video production and fashion journalism to produce a graduate who
can work in all areas of fashion communication.” (Ryerson Faculty of
Communication and Design website, http://www.ryerson.ca/calendar/2010-2011/PDF/Comm_Design-FT-1011.pdf.)
The reason I have chosen Fashion Communication as a suitable title is because the description of what exactly it is ties into a lot of what I do. Not only am I involved in the modeling process of the fashion industry but I have been involved in the production, design, marketing, business and communication side as well. Social media such as my Facebook fan page, Twitter and my SIG blog which has become more popular than I expected are great examples of my work in communication. These outlets have also helped in the business and marketing side of my career, helping to promote the business which is myself.
I have been observing those around me in the fashion industry and I ask questions that have been
transformed into my inquiry questions. I have also begun to take steps in
approving my design skills such as signing up for jewelry design courses at a
nearby college called George Brown. I
have also been observing and learning from my friend, mentor and employer Andy
Jones on aspects of sewing and clothing design. Andy Jones is a designer fresh
out of college who has already started to make a name for himself. He is one
person who has definitely helped me in different ways in the fashion industry.
Answering the question in Reader 4, “What knowledge and skills do you think you
will need for the future?” I have already lightly touched that. Fashion
Communication involves not only the knowledge of communication, marketing and
business but aspects of design, illustration and basically the general
production side of the fashion industry. Fashion communication is the back bone
of the fashion industry and one must have a broad knowledge and extensive
amount of talent in order to be successful. As I said before, I am taking these
steps by attending classes, observing my peers, being involved in the
production of shoot and shows behind the scenes as well as in front. There will
be skills though that I know for sure I will need, for example, photography and
graphic design. Once I have mastered the clothing/jewelry design and
illustration part I will begin to look into these fields as well.
One important aspect of my Critical Reflection
that I would like to bring up is my work in jewelry design. The jewelry
design was all part of observation, trial and error and asking questions from
peers. My jewelry would not be at the level it is at now if it wasn’t for trial
and error especially. After much experimenting and help from Andy Jones, my
designs now have a very definite look and skill added to them. Taking Andy’s
advice and reading from such books as “Drawing Jewels for Fashion” by Carol
Woolton, I am currently creating jewelry that has a “story”, a certain look and
have used my knowledge and own life experiences to make jewelry that identifies
me as a designer. Before I would just create anything that popped into my head
that I thought would be aesthetically pleasing without a plan or a background
story to it. Reading about the successful and international jewellery designers
in “Drawing Jewels for Fashion” I learned they all were inspired by something,
whether it was nature, an ancient civilisation or even their own life story. That’s
how I’ve come to the conclusion to incorporate my dance training and my love
for the ballet into my jewels. I am also very particular about material that I
use now. For example, lately I created my “Swan Lake” earrings and matching
necklace and took particular close attention to what materials I was using and
if they were appropriate to the theme. I used very light and feminine
materials, or at least what I consider light and feminine, such as white gold,
fresh water pearls which were the colour of baby pink, Swarovski jewels which
were either black or white to represent the two swans and black glass beads cut
to look like feathers representing the black swan (which you can see examples
of in the above pictures). My design is still through trial and error but I
definitely think it has improved the last couple of months.
I think if I keep persueing the different skills needed for Fashion Communication my inquiry can be a success especially if I continue to ask the right questions from the right people and continue observations.
As for ethics I will review what I have posted here and there through my blogs in the past altogether in this summary. What I have learned about the ethics of the fashion industry is to make a brand for yourself, whether it is design or marketing. Whatever you are doing must not be an idea concocted from thin air, there must be an explanation and/or a story behind. Research and paying close attention to detail is extremely important. Many people coming into the fashion industry think this business is just about making something or someone look pretty. There is so much time, research and thought put into the work that if you're not willing to do all three then you will not be successful. Most importantly it is who you know. Networking and connections are what get you by in this industry so paying close attention to asking the right questions to the right people is vital. Sometimes though this has no effect and someone could simply not like you for whatever reason. This business is very finicky and you could tread on someone's toes without even realising what you said or had done. It is very hard to know what the ethics are in the fashion industry but from a survey I did in my SIG blog I learned at the end of the day it is who you know.
I think if I keep persueing the different skills needed for Fashion Communication my inquiry can be a success especially if I continue to ask the right questions from the right people and continue observations.
As for ethics I will review what I have posted here and there through my blogs in the past altogether in this summary. What I have learned about the ethics of the fashion industry is to make a brand for yourself, whether it is design or marketing. Whatever you are doing must not be an idea concocted from thin air, there must be an explanation and/or a story behind. Research and paying close attention to detail is extremely important. Many people coming into the fashion industry think this business is just about making something or someone look pretty. There is so much time, research and thought put into the work that if you're not willing to do all three then you will not be successful. Most importantly it is who you know. Networking and connections are what get you by in this industry so paying close attention to asking the right questions to the right people is vital. Sometimes though this has no effect and someone could simply not like you for whatever reason. This business is very finicky and you could tread on someone's toes without even realising what you said or had done. It is very hard to know what the ethics are in the fashion industry but from a survey I did in my SIG blog I learned at the end of the day it is who you know.
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