• ANNOUNCEMENTS (INCLUDES QUOTE OF THE WEEK AND NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK)
  • THE EASY (COLOUR-CODED) GUIDE TO HOW TO REFERENCE A BOOK OR AN INTERNET SITE
  • COURSE INFORMATION
    • COURSE INFORMATION - ACADEMIC SUPPORT
    • COURSE INFORMATION - LEARNING OUTCOMES
    • COURSE INFORMATION - BLOOM'S TAXONOMY OF KNOWLEDGE
    • COURSE INFORMATION - BA1 HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL STUDIES
    • COURSE INFORMATION - BA2 HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL STUDIES
    • COURSE INFORMATION - BA3 HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL STUDIES
  • PROJECT BRIEFS, INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DATES
    • BA2 PROJECT BRIEFS AND SUBMISSION DATES
    • BA3 PROJECT BRIEFS AND SUBMISSION DATES
    • PROJECT BRIEF - RESEARCH FILE
    • PROJECT BRIEF - CRITICAL RESEARCH REPORT
    • PROJECT INFORMATION - CRITICAL RESEARCH REPORT STRUCTURE GUIDELINES
    • PROJECT BRIEF - REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
    • PROJECT BRIEF - ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY - NON-ASSESSED
    • PROJECT BRIEF - RESEARCH PROPOSAL needs doing...
    • PROJECT BRIEF - LITERATURE REVIEW - NON-ASSESSED
    • PROJECT BRIEF - GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION AND RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS 1, 2 AND 3 >
      • PROJECT BRIEF - GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION - NON-ASSESSED
      • PROJECT BRIEF - RESEARCH PRESENTATION 1 - ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESEARCH PROPOSAL needs visuals
      • PROJECT BRIEF - RESEARCH PRESENTATION 2 - INTRODUCTION, LITERATURE REVIEW, METHODOLOGY
      • PROJECT BRIEF - RESEARCH PRESENTATION 3 - DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION
  • REFERENCING - HARVARD PLEASE!
    • REFERENCING - WHAT IS REFERENCING?
    • REFERENCING (HARVARD) - USING CITATIONS AND QUOTATIONS
    • REFERENCING (HARVARD) - REFERENCE LIST/BIBLIOGRAPHY
    • REFERENCING (HARVARD) - HOW TO REFERENCE ANYTHING
  • BA1 CLASS READINGS AND VISUALS
    • BA1 CLASS READINGS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS >
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION (THE REGULATION OF FASHION) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION (THE HISTORICAL ONE)
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - CONSUMER CULTURE (BEAU BRUMMELL) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION (THE PERSONAL ONE)
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - TRICKLE-DOWN/BUBBLE-(TRICKLE)-UP (JEANS) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION (THE EASY ONE)
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - GENDER AND SEXUALITY (STILETTOS) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION (THE SEXY ONE)
      • BA1 CLASS READING INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - SEMIOTICS (TIES) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION (THE DIFFICULT ONE)
    • BA1 CLASS VISUALS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY >
      • BA1 CLASS VISUALS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION (THE REGULATION OF FASHION)
      • BA1 CLASS VISUALS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - CONSUMER CULTURE (BEAU BRUMMELL)
      • BA1 CLASS VISUALS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - TRICKLE-DOWN/BUBBLE-(TRICKLE)-UP (JEANS)
      • BA1 CLASS VISUALS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - SEMIOTICS (STILETTOS)
      • BA1 CLASS VISUALS - INTRODUCTION TO FASHION THEORY - SEMIOTICS (TIES)
    • BA1 CLASS READINGS - INTRODUCTION TO TEXTILES AND CULTURE GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS >
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO TEXTILES AND CULTURE - THE FABRIC OF EXISTENCE (TEXTILES IN HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO TEXTILES AND CULTURE - THE TIES THAT BIND (SOCIAL MEANINGS) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO TEXTILES AND CULTURE - CLOTH AND TEMPORAL POWER (MONEY, TRADE, STATUS AND CONTROL) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO TEXTILES AND CULTURE - CLOTH AS COMMUNICATION (MEANING, MESSAGES AND BEAUTY) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA1 CLASS READING - INTRODUCTION TO TEXTILES AND CULTURE - TEXTILES AND THE SPIRIT (SACRED, SPIRITUAL AND HEALING SIGNIFICANCE) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
  • BA2 CLASS READINGS AND VISUALS
    • BA2 CLASS READINGS - FASHION IN SOCIETY GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS >
      • BA2 CLASS READING - FASHION IN SOCIETY - VEILING GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - FASHION IN SOCIETY - THE SECOND HAND MARKET GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - FASHION IN SOCIETY - FEMINISM AND FASHION GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - FASHION IN SOCIETY - HOMOSEXUAL FASHION GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - FASHION IN SOCIETY - JAPANESE STREET FASHION GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - FASHION IN SOCIETY - FASHION IN INDIA GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
    • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - FASHION IN SOCIETY >
      • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - FASHION IN SOCIETY - THE SECONDHAND MARKET
      • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - FASHION IN SOCIETY - JAPANESE STREET FASHION
      • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - FASHION IN SOCIETY - INDIAN FASHION
    • BA2 CLASS READINGS - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS >
      • BA2 CLASS READING - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - WEAVING AS POLITICAL SYMBOL (YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS ONE) GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - THE SUBVERSIVE STITCH GROUP SEMNAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - GANDHI AND KHADI CLOTH GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - THE FEMALE TRADITION OF TEXTILES GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
      • BA2 CLASS READING - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - KNITTING AS ART GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION
    • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY >
      • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - WEAVING AS POLITICAL SYMBOL
      • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - THE FEMALE TRADITION OF TEXTILES
      • BA2 CLASS VISUALS - TEXTILES IN SOCIETY - THE SUBVERSIVE STITCH
  • BA3 CLASS READINGS
    • BA3 CLASS READING - THE FIVE STAGES OF REFLECTIVE WRITING
  • THEORY READINGS AND VISUALS (GENERAL REFERENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR RESEARCH)
    • THEORY READING - WHY STUDY FASHION?
    • THEORY READING - WHAT IS A THEORY?
    • THEORY READING - INTRODUCTION TO BA1 FASHION THEORY
    • THEORY READING - FASHION CYCLES (CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION, TRICKLE-DOWN/UP/ACROSS)
    • THEORY READING CLASS VISUALS - FASHION CYCYES (CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION, TRICKLE-DOWN/UP/ACROSS)
    • THEORY READING - KEY TERMS IN FASHION THEORY
    • THEORY READING - TEXTILE METAPHORS
  • FICTION READINGS (FOR WHEN YOU ARE BORED)
    • FICTION READING - ELIZABETH JANE HOWARD'S 'THE BEAUTIFUL VISIT'
    • FICTION READING - ANITA BROOKNER'S 'PROVIDENCE'
    • FICTION READING - RUMER GODDEN'S 'BLACK NARCISSUS'
    • FICTION READING - THE BROTHERS GRIMMS' 'HOW SOME CHILDREN PLAYED AT SLAUGHTERING'
    • FICTION READING - THOMAS HARDY'S 'JUDE THE OBSCURE' - THE PIG SLAUGHTERING (NOT FOR VEGETARIANS OR THE FAINTHEARTED)
    • FICTION READING - THE BROTHERS GRIMMS' 'RUMPELSTILTSKIN'
    • FICTION READING - GREEK MYTHOLOGY'S 'THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR'
    • FICTION READING - GREEK MYTHOLOGY'S 'PROKNE AND PHILOMELA'
    • FICTION READING - DAWN FRENCH'S 'A TINY BIT MARVELLOUS'
  • MATHS READINGS (FOR WHEN YOU ARE REALLY BORED)
    • MATHS READING - PI (FOR GEEKS)
    • MATHS READING - ON LABOUR'S PROPOSAL TO MAKE MATHS COMPULSORY POST-16 (HE'S GOT A POINT)
    • MATHS READING - WHY WE NEED PYTHAGORAS (WHAT DOES LILY ALLEN KNOW?) ​
    • MATHS READING - FORMULA FOR WORKING OUT AGATHA CHRISTIE WHODUNNIT (I THOUGHT THIS WAS AN APRIL FOOL)
    • MATHS READING - ORDER AND PATTERN AS THE BASIS OF EVERYTHING (ARTY) ​
    • MATHS READING - WRITER SHIRLEY CONRAN'S MATHS EBOOK FOR GIRLS (I FAILED MATHS TWICE)
    • MATHS READING - RELATIVITY VERSUS QUANTUM MECHANICS (I ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD SOME OF THIS)
    • MATHS READING - WHY WE SHOULD ALL LEARN COMPUTER CODING (VERY LONG... IF YOU MANAGE TO GET TO THE END OF IT I WILL BUY YOU A DRINK)
    • MATHS READING - DO WE REALLY NEED MATHS? (SAYS IT ALL)
    • MATHS READING - THE 'BEAUTY' OF EINSTEIN (I LOST THE WILL TO LIVE)
  • MY RESEARCH BLOGS AND RESEARCH PINTEREST
  • MY REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
  • DYSLEXIA (INCLUDES THE BRITISH DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION ADULT CHECKLIST)
  • ARE YOU STRESSED?
    • ARE YOU STRESSED? - WRITERS' BLOCK
    • ARE YOU STRESSED? - MANAGING STRESS
    • ARE YOU STRESSED? - PINTEREST FOR STRESS
  • TO DO
  • REFERENCES
  • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES PROGRAMME - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES PROJECT BRIEF - GLOBAL FASHION AND TEXTILE MANUFACTURING REPORT 2014-15
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL - INTRODUCTION TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS - THE ALTERNATIVE PROJECT BRIEF
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL - PEST AND CSR
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL - ETHICS AND DISSERTATION
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS READING - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL - GLOBALIZATION ​
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS READING - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL - ENVIRONMENTAL
    • BA2 BUSINESS STUDIES CLASS READING - GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL - ETHICAL
  • THE REFERENCING TEST
  BCOT BA Textiles for Fashion
Historical and Theoretical Studies theory classes and readings.

BA3 - INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH WORKSHOPS (AWAY, STUDENTS TO LOOK AT THIS ONLINE)

17/10/2013

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
http://quoteoftheweekblog.tumblr.com

NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK
http://newsstoryoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


AIMS


  1. To introduce the research workshops.
  2. To emphasize the importance of having a question/idea to writing.

1. RESEARCH WORKSHOPS

The research workshops are small group tutorials where students can share there experiences and work so far with each other.

Students will be asked to present their RESEARCH FILE, REFLECTIVE JOURNAL and CRITICAL RESEARCH REPORT DRAFT as work so far achieved...

24/10/13 = Aysha, Sujana, Sumneema.

7/11/13 = Claire, May, Sophie.

14/11/13 = Jess, Katy, Natalie.

There will be time at the end of each workshop for any student to speak to me individually.

CRITICAL RESEARCH REPORT DRAFTS DUE 28/11/13.


2. HAVING A QUESTION/IDEA IN WRITING


This week's QUOTE OF THE WEEK was selected thinking about BA1 starting on their reflective journals.


However see also the other quotes which I recorded on the QUOTE OF THE WEEK BLOG:


http://quoteoftheweekblog.tumblr.com/post/64032081446/quotations-margaret-atwood-the-year-of-the-flood


All of these quotes are relevant to art, design and education in various ways. I could have picked any of them in order to emphasize a particular point of learning.

See also with particular reference to BA3 and learning:


As with all knowledge, once you knew it, you couldn't imagine how it was that you hadn't known it before. (Atwood, 2010, p.224).

But Science is merely one way of describing the world. (Atwood, 2010, p.430).




Gaining knowledge is about moving forward.


There are more than one type of knowledge (and no right answers).


Think about your quotations from research in order to identify how you want to angle your writing.

CONCLUSION

If you are fed up with academic research here is another quote from this week's QUOTE OF THE WEEK book:

Toby took up macrame, hoping it would cure her of her daydreaming and fruitless desires, and increase her focus on the moment. (Atwood, 2010, p.229).


Watch: 


http://www.pinterest.com/pcourtenay1/needlework-crafts/


WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?


WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?


The benefits of our work being online is that I still have to be organised and have this ready, even though I am not seeing you today...


REFERENCES


Atwood, M. (2010) The year of the flood. London: Virago.

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BA2 - INTRODUCTION TO GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS (AWAY, STUDENTS TO LOOK AT THIS ONLINE)

17/10/2013

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
http://quoteoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK
http://newsstoryoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


AIMS

  1. To introduce the group seminar presentations.
  2. To encourage debate with the  news articles you chose from the past week from MY RESEARCH BLOG.
  3. To consider the role of group work.

1. GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS

See the PROJECT BRIEF - GROUP SEMINAR PRESENTATION PAGE

Group seminar presentations are not assessed but are intended to encourage learning through debate.



QUOTE OF THE WEEK suggests the need for privacy in writing.

(REFLECTIVE JOURNALS need to be online but you can always use the privacy settings to make them private.)

See also the following two quotes from this week's book:

They told us to depend on memory, because nothing written down could be relied on. The Spirit travels from mouth to mouth, not from thing to thing: books could be burnt, paper crumble away, computers could be destroyed. (Atwood, 2010, p.7).

By this time I had a diary - all the girls at school had them, it was a retro craze: people could hack your computer, but they couldn't hack a paper book. I wrote all of this down in my diary. It was like talking to someone. (Atwood, 2010, p.263).



What differing views do they express?

2. NEWS ARTICLES FROM MY RESEARCH BLOG

What did you choose?

This is what I chose:


Picture
Slut walk

Last week I got asked to speak at an event called Slut Night, at a new venture called The Other Club in central London. Organised by some bright young feminists, Slut Night sold out surprisingly fast, as it offered various female writers and performers talking explicitly about the joys of sluttishness. The fanny jokes ran as freely as the wine; it was a right laugh. But when I first heard the name of the event, my immediate reaction was, ugh. That word. Slut. No.

My immediate reaction should probably have been more specifically – ugh, slut is a grubby little insult and I want no part of it. Ugh, slut is used to pass judgment on women's desires, their social life, the tightness of fabric around their bum, and I'm not interested in trying to reclaim that degree of damage because language reclamation is a pseudo-alchemy and no abusive thing ever turned into a good thing because you sucked the poison out of the sting yourself. Also, ugh, sluttishness – if sexual promiscuity is as emancipatory as I used to think it was, then how come it could only ever emancipate me in cahoots with tequila, kebabs and a really uncomfortable feeling when anyone used highly stressful words such as "commitment" or "love"?

But no, my immediate reaction was: ugh, no to sluts – I'd much rather be a slag. You know where you are with the word slag. You are, in my mind, in the closing scene of the greatest film ever made, Rita, Sue and Bob Too, written by the brilliant Andrea Dunbar and filmed in 1980s Bradford.

This is a spoiler, so look away now if you haven't yet seen the greatest film ever made. It closes with the two teenagers, Rita and Sue, lying in Bob's bed. His wife has left him because he's been sneaking off and shagging these schoolgirls in his car. The girls' home lives have fallen apart, too, so one after the other, they've moved in with him. Yes, this is all very creepy, and nobody's saying it's a film that depicts a utopian model of living to which we should all aspire. It's grim. Still, after everything has gone really, horribly wrong, there is a moment of sheer joy when Bob finds them both in his bed and dives right into it. They all beam with happiness. The film ends there – on that dive – a moment of joy that we know can't and won't last. The pure joy of being a slag – as the other characters in the film have already labelled them – Bob, of course, being the biggest slag of them all.

Why I like slag so much is not because I want to cast aspersions on people's sexual shenanigans, but because it has now become a great all-round handy insult. If you're not convinced, look how skilfully the actor Danny Dyer once deployed the term to discuss terrorism. "Can't believe it's been nearly 11 years since them slags smashed into the twin towers," he tweeted on 11 September 2012. "It still freaks my nut out to this day."

Still, I should admit here that my fondness for the word slag doesn't always end well for me. I still shudder with guilt when I think of the time I tweeted a friend and told her to bring another friend, "that slag", with her to my house. As a joke. It's a word we use between ourselves, fondly. Only, when I tagged the slag friend, I got her Twitter name slightly wrong and accidentally directed the message to a total stranger with a similar name – who turned out to be a 15-year-old girl in a coma. Whose Twitter account was being run by her loving dad to raise awareness of his daughter's condition. All he could see was that London journalists were insulting his sick child – it took quite a lot of explanation to dig my way out of that one and apologise. Possibly not helped by my friend tweeting him and saying: "No, you don't understand, it was definitely meant for me and not your daughter, because I really am a massive, massive slag."

I recently met a media studies lecturer who told me he uses #slaggate as an example for his students of how not to use Twitter. Oh God.

Still, slut feels like a very American word – even if British grandmothers did use it to describe a messy woman who left things on her bedroom floor, not a woman who left her knickers on other people's bedroom floors. Slut is now a word for online porn ads, popping up all over your screen saying that horny sluts with breasts like balloons and buttocks like boiled eggs would like to live-chat with you now.

Indeed, it turned out that the Slut Night I went to was not about praising the word at all. As the organiser Amelia Abraham explained: "The goal isn't to reclaim the word 'slut'; it's to completely undermine it."

Slutwalks, organised in cities across the world in defence of women dressing how they want without fear of assault, received criticism from some feminists who felt the word was wrong. I realise they were named after the exact words of a Canadian policeman, but still – I'd probably have gone if they were called slagwalks instead. Let's not put the word slag on the linguistic slagheap. (Heawood, 2013).



Would you rather be called a slag or a slut?

3. ROLE OF GROUP WORK


Why?

Students often report that they learn more from working on a project with other people than they do from individual assignments. (Hartley and Dawson, 2012, p.3-4).
But

Many problems faced by groups are a result of poor (or complete lack of) communication ...

Often groups run into difficulties because they have not organised sufficiently to have a grip on who is supposed to be doing what and by when. (Hartley and Dawson, 2012, p.10).



Therefore see Belbin's team roles:

Belbin’s team roles


Implementer = gets things done and focuses on practical issues

  • Coordinator = orgnises the task and other group members

  • Shaper = inspires and leads the group

  • Plant = generates ideas and being creative

  • Resource investigator =  identifies useful resources

  • Monitor/evaluator =  evaluates ideas and proposals and identifies problems

  • Team worker = gets team members to cooperate

  • Completer/finisher = works to deadlines and gets jobs done

  • Specialist = provides specialist technical expertise (Hartley and Dawson, 2012, p.53-54).

CONCLUSION

If that was too much reading here is some more from this week's QUOTE OF THE WEEK book:


Toby took up macrame, hoping it would cure her of her daydreaming and fruitless desires, and increase her focus on the moment. (Atwood, 2010, p.229).


Watch: 

http://www.pinterest.com/pcourtenay1/needlework-crafts/




WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?


WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?


The benefits of our work being online is that I still have to be organised and have this ready, even though I am not seeing you today...

REFERENCES

Atwood, M. (2010) The year of the flood. London: Virago.



Hartley, P. and Dawson, M. (2010) Success in groupwork. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Heawood, S. (2013) 'I'd much rather be a slag than a slut', Guardian 6 October [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/06/rather-be-slag-than-slut (Accessed 7 October 2013).


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BA1 - PAUL POIRET AND ORIENTALISM (AWAY, STUDENTS TO LOOK AT THIS ONLINE)

17/10/2013

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
http://quoteoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK
http://newsstoryoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


AIMS


  1. To develop the reflective journal.
  2. To introduce Paul Poiret and Orientalism.
  3. To introduce fashion as a cultural experience.



I AM NOT IN TODAY SO YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO INSERT THE PICTURES. LOOK AT THE QUOTATIONS BELOW TAKEN FROM THIS WEEK'S CLASS READING AND THEN SEE MY PINTEREST BOARD:


http://www.pinterest.com/pcourtenay1/ba1-theory-paul-poiret-and-orientalism/

1. REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

QUOTE OF THE WEEK suggests the need for privacy in writing.

REFLECTIVE JOURNALS need to be online but you can always use the privacy settings to make them private.

See also from this week's book:


By this time I had a diary - all the girls at school had them, it was a retro craze: people could hack your computer, but they couldn't hack a paper book. I wrote all of this down in my diary. It was like talking to someone. (Atwood, 2010, p.263).

What does this suggest about the role of diaries and journals?

2. PAUL POIRET AND ORIENTALISM


Orientalism

In its broadest sense, Orientalism is the fanciful depiction and adoption, in the West, of styles from the imagined Near, Middle and Far East. (MacKenzie, 2009, p.70).



Theatrical influence


the catalyst that transformed this trend into a craze was the 1910 production of 'Scherezade' by Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. The sets and costumes designed by Leon Bakst transformed traditional ballet into a theatrical explosion which utilised dazzling colour within the revolutionary stage sets and extraordinary costumes. ... (Mackenzie, 2009, p.70).


Poiret


The Parisian couturier Paul Poiret was at the centre of this, ... He designed harem pantaloons; models wore jewel-coloured turbans decorated with exotic plumes and heavy ornamentation; and rich fabrics were imported from the East. Poiret revived the use of luxurious Byzantine textiles and commissioned the Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy to design prints for him. (Mackenzie, 2009, p.71).


3. FASHION AS A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

fashion became theatre in the auditoriums and theatrettes of major department stores. Often these venues seated between 100 and 1,500 people. This was particularly prevalent in America, where ... couture garments fashioned for the American market were promoted as part of a public cultural experience. (English, 2013, p.23).


CONCLUSION


We now talk about 'globalism'.

The world is a smaller place.



See:

http://bcottextilesforfashion.weebly.com/2/post/2013/09/fashion-scrapbook-african-textiles-on-the-catwalk.html


Plus this week's NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?


WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?


Pinterest is fantastic. I could have got all the images I needed for Paul Poiret from:


http://www.pinterest.com/wistairechan/designers-paul-poiret-18791944/

REFERENCES


Atwood, M. (2010) The year of the flood. London: Virago.


English, B. (2013) A cultural history of fashion in the 20th and 21st centuries. 2nd edn. London: Bloomsbury.

Mackenzie, M. (2009) …Isms understanding fashion. New York: Universe. 

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BA1 - CHARLES WORTH AND HAUTE COUTURE

9/10/2013

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
http://quoteoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK
http://newsstoryoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


AIMS

  1. To reflect on the reflective journal.
  2. To introduce the french Haute Couture system.
  3. To introduce fashion and celebrity.
  4. To introduce fashion theory (conspicuous consumption).

1. REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

GIBB'S REFLECTIVE CYCLE

Description - record significant learning situations and events.

Feelings - record your reactions to these situations and events.

Evaluation - consider the positive and negative aspects of the experience.

Analysis - consider how the learning processes within academic research compare to the learning processes within studio practice. 

Conclusion - summarise what you have learned and how you might respond in future. (McMillan and Weyers, 2013, pp.33-34).

See STUDY SKILLS REFLECTIVE THINKING AND WRITING PAGE for more information.

Read this FASHION FICTION QUOTE POST from RESEARCH BLOG:

http://bcottextilesforfashion.weebly.com/2/post/2013/06/book-quote-dressmaking.html

Discuss and reflect on your reading/learning experience in pairs.

Reflective journal from You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxtKMTNPWZY


Keeping a Journal. W. Cleon Skousen, 1996


Study skills Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/pcourtenay1/study-skills-plus-videos/

2. HAUTE COUTURE

What do you remember from this week's CLASS READING - CHARLES WORTH AND HAUTE COUTURE?

Historical and technical (easy)?
Social and theoretical (difficult)?



Watch this as a reminder:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOe6Nsf-KGA

The Work Song from Cinderella

Charles Frederick Worth is credited with founding and formalising the modern Haute-Couture industry, crystallising the role of the designer as an arbiter of style and raising the status of dressmaking from anonymous trade to artistic endeavour. ...


From his outset he cultivated an exclusive image. In contrast to existing dressmakers he elevated his own status to that of an artist to whose judgement his customers were forced to defer. Coupled with his unparalleled dressmaking skills, this earned his creations the nomenclature 'Haute Couture' - literally, high dressmaking. (Mackenzie, 2009, p.44).

The Worth style:

Worth's designs were characterised by his use of lavish materials, and his early gowns were distinguished by the use of the crinoline. Historical references are also evident in his designs and were likely influenced by time spent perusing the art galleries of London and Paris. 'Leg o' mutton' sleeves, his last great contribution to the fashion of the 19th century, were based on those worn in the Elizabethan era. (Mackenzie, 2009, p.47).

Picture
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Worth_Dress_view_2.jpg

Court presentation dress


Picture
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6300000/newsid_6305400/6305491.stm


Cinderella dress


Picture
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/corsets-and-crinolines-in-victorian-fashion/

Crinoline cage c.1860

Pinterest underwear:

http://www.pinterest.com/pcourtenay1/underwear/



Picture
https://thepragmaticcostumer.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/



Worth wedding dress with leg of mutton sleeves, c.1896


Picture








http://tudorhistory.org/elizabeth/gallery.html

The Darnley portrait of Elizabeth I, unknown artist c. 1575

Elizabethan leg of mutton sleeves



3. FASHION AND CELEBRITY

Worth's reputation and success were cemented when Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, admired one of his creations and instructed him to supply her with gowns. So impressed was she that by 1864 Worth had become responsible for all her state and evening wear. Considering that state balls were frequent, no gown could be worn twice and with most ladies wishing to emulate the princess, Worth could easily be asked to supply in excess of a thousand different gowns for a single event. (Mackenzie, 2009, p.44).


Picture
http://www.napoleon.org/en/essential_napoleon/key_painting/files/winterhalter_eugenie_ladies.asp


The Empress Eugenie surrounded by her ladies in waiting, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1855



Picture
http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/kate-middletons-wedding-dress/#1

Kate Middleton and her sister Pippa, 2011

See also Kate leaving hospital FASHION SCRAPBOOK POST from RESEARCH BLOG:



http://bcottextilesforfashion.weebly.com/2/post/2013/07/july-24th-2013.html


4. CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

For centuries, royal courts used fashion as a means of publicising their superiority, strength and influence across Europe. Louis XIV, for example, demanded that his courtiers pay scrupulous attention to their grooming, and insisted on the conspicuous display of finery at all palace events.

In 'The Theory of the Leisure Class', originally published in 1899, he (Thornstein Veblen)
maintains - making reference to Victorian female trappings - that 'the hindrances of women's dress .. is evidence of her economic dependence on a man, and is reflective of male pecuniary strength in society' (Veblen 1965). (English, 2013, pp.5-6).


Picture
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_XIV_of_France.jpg



Louis XIV , Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701


French court as conspicuous consumption


Picture
http://www.tate.org.uk/search/tissot

'The gallery of HMS Calcutta (Portsmouth), James Tissot, 1876



Picture
http://www.tate.org.uk/search/tissot

The ball on shipboard, James Tissot, 1874


Victorian dress as conspicuous consumption


Picture
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/sep/24/milan-fashion-week-10-point-guide

Dolce and Gabbana Centurion coin dress, spring 2014

Literal conspicuous consumption from Milan fashion week


CONCLUSION

Remember the Anita Brookner reading. 

This was the Quote of the Week from it:

http://quoteoftheweekblog.tumblr.com/post/53759407365/quote-of-the-week-24-6-13-anita-brookner-yet

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?


I am still doing this at 6am...

REFERENCES

Brookner, A. (1983) Providence. London: Triad Grafton.



Cartner-Morley, J. (2013b) 'Kate gets the Lindo Steps Look spot on', Guardian 23 July [Online]. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/2013/jul/23/kate-duchess-cambridge-jenny-packham-dress (Accessed 24 July 2013).

English, B. (2013) A cultural history of fashion in the 20th and 21st centuries. 2nd edn. London: Bloomsbury.

Mackenzie, M. (2009) …Isms understanding fashion. New York: Universe. 

McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2013) How to improve your critical thinking and reflective skills. Harlow: Pearson.

Murdoch, I. (1979) The sandcastle. London: Triad/Panther.

Moore, S. (2013d) 'David Bowie's top-100 reading list is virtually poetry in itself', Guardian 2 October [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/02/david-bowie-top-100-reading-list (Accessed 4 October 2013).


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BA1, 2 and 3 - LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROJECT BRIEFS/STUDY SKILLS

2/10/2013

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
http://quoteoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


NEWS STORY OF THE WEEK
http://newsstoryoftheweekblog.tumblr.com


AIMS


  1. To introduce course outcomes.
  2. To follow up last week's introduction to fashion and critical debate.
  3. To introduce the project briefs/study skills.


1. COURSE OUTCOMES

See COURSE INFORMATION - LEARNING OUTCOMES PAGE.


Learning outcomes the same for each year except:

BA1 To show analysis of research. 

BA2 To show analysis and synthesis of research.  

BA3 To show analysis, synthesis and evaluation of research. 



This heirarchy of knowledge relates to Bloom's Taxonomy.


See COURSE INFORMATION - BLOOM'S TAXONOMY PAGE.

This course has been re-validated and the learning outcomes have been rewritten. 

This is a previous learning outcome which has been omitted:


Have demonstrated knowledge of and engagement with the environmental and ethical issues surrounding all stages of the development and production of fashion and textiles.

It has been omitted because we are assuming that we all now know to be aware of environmental and ethical issues.



Picture


However Psycho ward costume controversy from last week's Guardian:

The costume had the word "Committed" printed on the back, while the accompanying description on the website exhorted people: "Dress up as the most thrilling psycho killer character of all time in this Psycho Ward costume, consisting of a bright orange, long-sleeved boiler suit  with zip fastener to front, 'Psycho Ward' printed on the chest. The same words [are] printed on the back in larger letters with a prominent 'Committed' stamp just below."

In a statement, Tesco said: "We are really sorry for any offence this has caused and we are removing this product from sale."
(Smithers and Jones, 2013).



Those defending these costumes say they are a bit of fun and we should lighten up. They are not a bit of fun. They are offensive. They commercialise prejudice and stereotype and they reinforce stigma. (Campbell, 2013).


2. FOLLOW UP TO LAST WEEK'S DISCUSSION ON MUSLIM VEIL


More imagery of veil from news stories not to do with veiling.


How positive or negative (ethical) are these stories and this imagery?



Picture
Economic development of women


Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries for laws that limit women's economic potential (Reuters, 2013a).

Picture


Muslim child abuse

This month a new voice was added to the ongoing debate on child sexual exploitation: Asian and Muslim young women who have endured months and sometimes years of sexual violence and who have not been afforded the protection or attention that their treatment warranted. The cases outlined in the report Unheard Voices, published by the Muslim Women's Network UK, paint a damning picture of the sexual abuse of children. (Firmin, 2013).

Picture
Saudi Arabia and women drivers


In an interview published on Friday on the website sabq.org, Sheikh Saleh bin Saad al-Lohaidan, a judicial adviser to an association of Gulf psychologists, said women aiming to overturn the ban on driving should put "reason ahead of their hearts, emotions and passions".

Lohaidan's strong endorsement of the ban demonstrates how entrenched the opposition is to women driving among some conservative Saudis. (Reuters, 2013b).



3. PROJECT BRIEFS/STUDY SKILLS

BA1

Independent research is an important part of Historical and Theoretical Studies assessment.

For this week you were asked to look at the Quote of the Week and News Story of the Week blog and also to read a Vogue article from my Weebly research blog.

These are my ongoing research blogs.

They are time-consuming but always useful for these classes and have already been used today.

See PROJECT BRIEF - RESEARCH FILE and PROJECT BRIEF - REFLECTIVE JOURNAL PAGE.



RESEARCH FILE = paper, but can also include a blog and/or Pinterest.


REFLECTIVE JOURNAL = online blog.

See BA1 CLASS READING FOR 3/10/13 - HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT TO WEAR?


Dad fashion from this week's Guardian: 

The older you get, the more important fashion gets because it is the only thing that will stop you looking like a total wreck. You cannot afford bad clothes any more. You can only afford good clothes. (Lott, 2013).


Picture
http://chicquero.com/2011/08/14/fathers-day-in-brazil/


Cool Dads


BA2

Independent research is an important part of Historical and Theoretical Studies assessment.

See STUDY SKILLS - WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL and STUDY SKILLS - ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGES.


See BA2 CLASS READING FOR 3/10/13 - CHRISOPHER KANE'S FLOWERS

This collection was about flowers. "But when I say flowers – I'm not going to do, you know, roses, done to death, blah blah blah." Instead, it was "the sexual undertones of flowers", of anatomy and deflowering, which formed the starting point for the clothes. A visit to his Scottish high school brought back memories of art classes spent dissecting, examining and drawing buttercups and carnations. "I started thinking about how much we take flowers for granted, and how incredible they are, and how the female sexual organs have so much in common with the internal structure of a flower. When I was growing up, my mum always used 'flower' as her word for vagina – it's a Scottish thing. I prefer sex to be an undertone in my clothes, rather than too obvious, so I was interested in how flowers are graphic but concealed and suggestive at the same time." . (Cartner-Morley, 2013).

It is all about sex...

Shunga from this week's Guardian:


Although shunga, meaning "spring picture" or "pillow picture", was a mainstream artistic genre for several centuries, enjoyed by ordinary townspeople as well as aristocrats, it was suppressed in the 20th century when Japan opened up to the west and the country went through an accelerated "modernisation".

At that point, instead of being regarded as a part of the texture of everyday life, presented to brides upon their marriages for instruction, arousal or amusement, shunga "was treated like pornography",
 (Higgins, 2013).


Picture
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shunga_-_Vulvae.jpg

Japanese vulva prints. 



BA3


See STUDY SKILLS - 7 STRUCTURAL MODELS FOR WRITING and STUDY SKILLS - ORIGINAL RESEARCH REPORT STRUCTURE PAGES.

Remember the importance of referencing:

Lohaidan's strong endorsement of the ban demonstrates how entrenched the opposition is to women driving among some conservative Saudis.

"If a woman drives a car, not out of pure necessity, that could have negative physiological impacts as functional and physiological medical studies show that it automatically affects the ovaries and pushes the pelvis upwards," he told Sabq. "That is why we find those who regularly drive have children with clinical problems of varying degrees."


He did not cite specific medical studies to support his arguments.
(Reuters, 2013b).


Remember the importance of developing your own ideas.

David Bowie booklist from this week's Guardian:

As the Guardian's Alexis Petridis pointed out at the time, the Bowie story is so well-known that "unless it's content to retell a very hackneyed story indeed, David Bowie Is has to find a way of casting new light on some of the most over-analysed and discussed music in rock history." (Bury, 2013).

CONCLUSION

Quote of the Week

He often found, when he concentrated really hard on what someone was saying, that nothing much went in. (Hollinghurst, 2011, p.263).

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?



I would rather be in Venice. 


Bon voyage BA2.

REFERENCES


Bury, L. (2013b) 'David Bowie's must-read books revealed', Guardian 1 October [Online] http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/01/david-bowie-books-kerouac-milligan (Accessed 2 October 2013).

Cartner-Morley, J. (2013) 'Christopher Kane revels in the "sexual undertones of flowers" for fashion week', Guardian 17 September [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/sep/16/christopher-kane-london-fashion-week-flowers (Accessed 17 September).



Campbell, A. (2013) ' "Mental patient" fancy dress shows how deeply offensive stereotypes go in society', Guardian 26 September [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/26/mental-patient-fancy-dress-mental-health-stigma (Accessed 27 September 2013).

Firmin, C. (2013) 'Myths about victims of sexual abuse can deny young people a voice', Guardian 24 September [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/24/myths-victims-sexual-abuse-deny-voice (Accessed 25 September 2013).



Higgins, C. (2013) 'British Museum dares to bare with adults-only art display', Guardian 1 October [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/01/british-museum-shunga-explicit (Accessed 2 October 2013).



Hollinghurst, A. (2011) The stranger’s child. London: Picador.


Lott, T. (2013c) 'Dad fashion and why it matters', Guardian 28 September [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/27/dad-fashion-matters-tim-lott (Accessed 1 October 2013).

Reuters (2013a) 'Women have come a long way, but still have far to go, says report', Guardian 24 September [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/24/womens-rights-progress-world-bank-report (Accessed 25 September 2013).


Reuters (2013b) 'Saudi Arabian cleric says female drivers risk damaging ovaries', Guardian 29 September [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/29/saudi-arabia-women-drivers-ovaries (Accessed 1 October 2013).

Smithers, R. and Jones, S. (2013) 'Tesco removes "Psycho Ward" boiler suit costume after consumer anger',Guardian 26 September [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/26/tesco-withdraws-psycho-ward-costume-complaints (Accessed 27 September 2013).

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