Fashion and Politics meets feminism

After the degree show, I wanted to get into contact with some of the students that impressed me the most! All their hard work deserved some positive comments! Saffron Peacock was the first student I contacted. Feminism is always a topic that gets my heart rate pulsing! I admire anyone that stands up for what they believe is right and as a girls girl, Saffron got my vote!! After the degree show, I came home and wanted to see more work from Saffron, I was intrigued by her project Lost in Translation so contacted her to find out more:

So, tell us a little bit about your background before university?

I come from an artistic background and have always really enjoyed art, film, culture and fashion. At sixth form, I studied Photography, Art and English and decided FCP would be the perfect course and something I'd enjoy! 

When looking through your work, Lost in Translation caught my attention, tell us about this project?

Lost in translation is an exploration into the enduring narration of fashion and politics, tapping into the timely nature of the 4th wave of feminism. Lost in Translation looks into postmodern culture’s impact on feminism, revealing a loss of conviction and how it can be addressed in regards to fashion branding and communication.

What/who are the biggest inspirations behind your work?

The inspiration was basically just the timely nature of feminism in our culture. When I originally started the project I looked into activism but this swiftly moved into feminism as it is the most prominent form of activism in our culture today. I looked at feminist theorists like Pamela Gibson but waded my way through different theories to come to a conclusion of my own definition of feminism, as I found the fourth wave can be very conflicting.

Have you always been a feminist? If not, when did it become your passion?

When I was at school I never really considered myself a feminist because I didn't fully understand it and associated it with old women and suffragettes, but as I matured and when I learnt more, obviously I completely changed my mind! I think all women are feminists if you want equality.

What does feminism mean to you?

Feminism to me is equality of both sexes, the ability to thrive regardless of your gender. 

What advice would you give to people entering their third year at university?

My advice would be to start early! I'm usually bad for leaving things last minute but you can't in third year! I used a year wall planner to help plan out my project which was really helpful in staying on top and organised. It seems like you have a long time but it goes so quickly! I'd also say although it can be stressful try to enjoy it, throw yourself into your project and remember to relax!

What do you plan to do now that university is over?

Now that uni is over, I'm having a bit of a well earned break but I'm always on the lookout for work and opportunities in London for later this year.

To browse more of Saffron's work, visit: http://www.saffronpeacock.co.uk

Instagram: @saffronpeacock

Photo Credit - Saffron Peacock

NTU Degree Show 2016

To end our amazing first year of university, myself and a couple of other FCP girls went to look at the degree shows around NTU. We were intrigued to see what third years from our course had produced so we headed straight over to the FCP degree show. I was astounded to see how professional each project was! It was refreshing to see such varied content and it got us all very excited to see what's to come for us in a couple of years!

I also loved the FLIP idea - you could collect as many postcards that you wanted and create your own flip book full of student's work and their contact details. Some of the postcards were beautifully illustrated, others were graphically designed and then there were some quotations! Everyone loves an inspirational quote!

We then moved on to the Graphic Design degree show. I had no idea what to expect from this display, however it was very inspiring, it was clear to see that everyone had found their strengths and had their own way of displaying their creativity. My favourite by far was the middle image on the first row - the cards were really cute and made me laugh! Here are some of the quotes on them:

"A true friend is like a good bra..."

"Just wing it..."

"I like big buns and I cannot lie"

"I've got 99 Bobby Pins but I can't find one"

Any girl can relate to any of these sayings!

 The next stop was the Fashion Design degree show! This is always my favourite stand to visit because when I was younger I wanted to do Fashion Design, however, I realised that FCP was best suited to me. Each stand was so professional and when looking closely at the collections, each garment was finished with perfection! As a previous textiles student, I know how hard it is to perfect a garment. 

Lastly, we looked around the rest of the degree show and found some homewear/product design stands. Again, the talent was outstanding. If you didn't have the chance to visit the degree show this year, make sure you add it to your diary for 2017!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand

Ryan Hawaii aka DJ CATFORD

For those of you who don't know Ryan Hawaii - where have you been hiding!!

Born and raised in Catford, South East London, Ryan Williams is a talented creative whose passion is overwhelming. Growing up, Ryan and I used to always go for play dates with our parents and he always had an eye for fashion - he noticed everything! Moving to UAL: Camberwell and doing a Foundation in Graphic Design confirmed his thoughts about starting up his own brand. With the help of friends and family, Ryan Hawaii and the Neverland Clan was born. Here are a couple of my favourite shots from Ryan's previous press: (the middle shot was featured in ID Magazine... Yes Ry!!)

Photo Credit - Ryan Hawaii

Anyway onto the exciting news.. Ryan has just launched his first vintage site: djcatford.com 

This website aims to provide his followers with unique, quirky clothing at a cheap price. All items are under £50 so grab your bargain quickly!! As well as vintage specials, the website will soon be selling printed tee's designed by Ryan. 

Visit http://www.ryanhawaii.co.uk to see some more of his designs!

Like what you see?

Twitter - @RYAN_HAWAII

Snapchat - ryanxhawaii

Instagram - @ryanhawaii

Dot 2 Dot Street Style

Dot 2 Dot was full of quirky, stylish individuals! Here are a few of my favourite street style shots;

Dot 2 Dot Festival x Fred Perry Subculture

Over the summer, our course has given us a live brief. We got to choose between Fred Perry or Dance 4, I choses the Fred Perry brief because i'm interested in subcultures. From that, the lecturers selected a few of us to help out at the Dot 2 Dot festival. So last weekend I was given the amazing opportunity to work for Fred Perry Subculture at the festival in Nottingham. Throughout the day, myself and the other girls had to interview bands and festival goers as well as photographing anyone that we thought fit into the "subculture" category... and of course, we got to watch the amazing performers!!

We also had to photograph and video the bands performing. We were each given a stage to be on so that we got equal coverage of all the acts. On my stage we had the headline act Temper Trap and I was very excited to see Dua Lipa (if you haven't heard of her already, give her a listen!). It was such a fun day and I would love to help out again next year!

FCP Girls: Photo Credit - James

Stayed tuned to see some of my favourite street style images from the day!