Research Tasks and Case Studies (Styling Identity)

For the Styling Identity, choosing i-D as my publication made the process of researching for this project quite easy since it is a magazine I am familiar with and would hopefully work with in the future. Their ethos and layout is what grabbed my attention. Compared to other publications i-D is one my generation can relate to the most.

Since sustainability in fashion was my topic researching for artists, brands, photographers and organisations was appealing to my knowledge. It helped me gain a wider understanding of the topic. My most favoured was looking at fashion brands who actually take the subject seriously. Brands such as Mother of Pearl and Kaan Amjad are amongst the brands I would like to collaborate in the future and recently I actually bought one of Kaan’s sample clothing via their depop and needless to say even as a sample fabric its finish is a perfect staple piece.

Because of my passion for the subject creating this photoshoot was much better than expected. I pushed myself to portray my work as educating to those new to the topic since it is one that should be tackled more in high end and fast fashion brand. My drive to stop these brands from polluting the already overworked planet fuels my passion for this project.

In terms of research since I had access to all of i-D’s issue at my university’s library it was easier for me to know what I wanted to have on my spreads. i-D also has an online website where I can access their previous issue, therefore, research for this unit was more relaxed.

With the beauty of internet, it is much easier to access information, however, the internet is only a place where anyone can dump information so every now and again it is better to use physical resources at the library.

Research Tasks & Case Studies (Image Making)

For the Image Making unit, as I further continue my understanding of my Filipino heritage, I particularly enjoyed learning the ‘Baybayin‘ and looking at the colourised images from the Philippine history because it opened my view on my self and what was the root of my culture.

With ‘Baybayin’ I thought it would’ve been difficult to learn it since they were written in characters instead of letters and the modern Filipino alphabet consists of letters. However, with perseverance and more research, learning Baybayin was as easy as learning the modern Filipino language. It dawned on me that we could be writing in this writing system if we weren’t colonised. Therefore, it was important for me to include this somewhere in my work to show and educate not only other races but most importantly Filipinos to appreciate their roots.

The page “Kinulayang Nakaraan” gave life to the B&W images found from history and a sense of nostalgia to these images. It opened a whole new perspective of what Philippines was like if I lived during those times. It allowed me to understand what my great grandparents’ lives were and understand our the root of our culture.

Moreover, looking at today’s Filipino artists’ works inspired my input on this project. My personal favourites BJ Pascual and James J. Robinson influenced the colours, lighting and composition in my work.

James’ and BJ’s use of colours truly inspired my input how I compose the lightings on my images, I tried to incorporate the same hues on some images then mix others hues together such as blue and yellow. However, I should have experimented with the light’s intensities. I did wanted to move the lights forwards and backwards but due to the limited space it was challenging.

Although I have researched enough to gain an understanding on how to achieve my desired lighting, I should have written or drew the lighting setups I found to give me a visual guide for future projects. Moreover, more test shoots could help myself to understand my surroundings in order to identify where to position each light or perhaps use a reflector where appropriate.