PHOTO PROJECT: BODY IMAGE

Body Image

This photo is a critique of the impact which the fashion industry and its images have on women, their self-perceptions, and body image.

PHOTO PROJECT: SPENT

Spent

People let fashion consume them, as well as their wallets. Spending can become a large aspect of peoples' lives.

LINK: BODY DRAMA

Body Drama: Real Answers for Real Girls' Issues

Body Drama is a book written by the 2004 winner of the Miss America pageant. It is interesting because she kind of turns around the image of beauty, with people typically thinking that a pageant winner cannot be academically motivated. However, she is a graduate from the Women's Studies program at Harvard University and through her book, intelligently discusses womens' body issues.

PHOTO PROJECT: TAKING A STAND

Taking a Stand

Represented here is a stand against the values and fake imagery and promises of fashion. It is a literal stand against the projected glamour present in the images of fashion.

PHOTO PROJECT: "CLOSET MONSTER"

"Closet Monster"

This image represents the lure of fashion and how people are pulled to consume more and more because of the glamour of pretty fabrics and jewelery.

PHOTO PROJECT: OVERCONSUMPTION

Overconsumption

Overconsumption is incredibly prevalent in this society, with people constantly purchasing or holding onto things we don't need. This image speaks to the over-consumption of things that are not necessities as well as the many products women consume in order to alter themselves to fit a certain image of beauty

FOUND MEDIA: TYPOLOGIES OF NOWHERE

Typologies of Nowhere

Susan Dobson's "Retail" exhibit at The Department back in May for Toronto's Contact festival showcased her photos of various big-box stores such as Wal-Mart with empty parking lots. These were then altered by masking the structures in a grey concrete tone thereby drawing the message of these retail landscapes having the ability to be in any suburbia. It is a critique of what consumer culture has become and what people have grown accustomed to - people have seen these retail landscapes at a variety of places across North America. In a way, it also calls to the message of society being consumed by the notion of consumption.

LINK: ELLIOT MAGAZINE

Elliot Magazine

This is just a bit of shameless self-promotion. Over this past summer my friend and I decided to launch a small online magazine with a focus on fashion, art, and culture. It is relevant to consumer culture because it is a magazine with fashion-related content, but also because it is a reaction. As consumers of magazines and print media, my friend and I decided we weren't quite satisfied with what was out there and wanted to make something for ourselves, that we could love.

FOUND MEDIA: MCDONALDS GOES MCFANCY

McDonalds Goes McFancy: Your Favorite Fast Foods Get A High Fashion Makeover!

This article is interesting because it discusses a project by Access Agency (founded by The Cool Hunter, a notorious street style connoisseur) in which the large food chain McDonalds undergoes a "fashion makeover" where they are rebranded via different fashion houses such as Hermes and Burberry. This is not so simple as fun branding, but from a more critical perspective, it points to the importance of "image" and projected perceptions in marketing.

LINK: ADBUSTERS

Adbusters

Adbusters. The epitome of anti-consumerism. And also, the first magazine I fell in love with design-wise...but that's irrelevant.

Adbusters uses "culture jamming" to inform others of how corporations wield power and the way meaning is produced in society. Essentially, they look at and expose the impact and implications of branding. Their "Buy Nothing Day" campaign is an example of this effort, with people coming together to take a stand against consumer culture. Interestingly enough, this usually takes place on the "Black Friday", the day following the American Thanksgiving during which companies hold crazy sales and there is typically a chaotic shopping rush.

LINK: MISS BUGS

Miss Bugs

Although not much information can be found on the website of "Miss Bugs", she seems to be an artist who reclaims images from fashion as well as from popular culture, to make something new out of them. This in turn changes its impact and message.

FOUND MEDIA: KILLING US SOFTLY 3

Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising's Image of Women

Jean Kilbourne is renowned for her work challenging media and spreading media education. In the Killing us Softly series, she criticizes media for it's projection and perception of body image and societal values.

FOUND MEDIA: BARBARA KRUGER

Barbara Kruger

In her work, Barbara Kruger uses her design background as art director for Conde Nast publications to question the messages projected by the media in advertising and in publications. She connects the issue of consumerism with feminism and the media's projected image of women, as well as with classicism and desire using images from the magazines that sell the very ideals that she is disputing.

LINK: DAVID LACHAPELLE

David LaChapelle

LaChapelle's work has a very distinctive, recognizable style and is inspired by everything from art history to street culture, creating both a record and mirror of all facets of popular culture today. His work has transcended the fashion or celebrity magazine context it was made for, and purposefully or not, seems to take a tongue-in-cheek look at media, advertising and consumer culture.

ARTIST STATEMENT

It is said that it is human nature to never be satisfied with what we have, but in society today, this need is being amplified through marketing and branding. My name is Maegan Fidelino, and I am a shopaholic. I will be the first to admit that I have fallen for the myths of branding especially in the realm of fashion - from glamourous images, to colours, and sometimes even the not-so-real promises. But admission is the first step to recovery, right?

Throughout this term and within this blog, I hope to exploe the the theme of fashion, but to also delve a little deeper and investigate fashion as an industry and an image thus taking a more critical look at the ideals of consumer culture and how it impacts society today.