Different methods to create engagement
Outline
- Introduction
- The thrill of a fashion show
- Sharing the know-how in a sewing workshop
- A showcase of local talent
Introduction
As you know from the last post, the crucial part of my sustainable fashion project is the encouragement to make the right steps. It is very important to me that the project does not shame any mindless, wasteful, or toxic behavior. We are all trying to cope with life with whatever means we have at hand. But I want to highlight how easy it might be to change our relationship with our clothes and the tremendous positive impact it can have on the local economy and the whole planet, including us as individuals.
I have had several ideas to reach this goal and I will walk you through the main ones as they logically developed.
The thrill of a fashion show
Fashion shows were historically always the place where people found inspiration, connections, and decided on their purchases. Typically, back when fashion had four seasons instead of 24, customers placed orders directly at the fashion shows, so that brands would always make only as many as was needed. Logically, organizing a fashion show seemed to me like the perfect opportunity that would attract attention from students and maybe even non-students that were interested in sustainable fashion options. It could be a perfect platform to exchange contacts and make valuable connections between customers and businesses but also between businesses themselves and strengthen the links in a small but growing industry. But as I started planning the event, I had to think back on the assignment and on the limits of my abilities.
The sound of the fashion show was so promising. Yet, I needed to make myself realize that especially during the global pandemic, an outreach project would be better designed for people to go through in their own time, on their own terms, not to marginalize any people who prefer to, or need to, stay safe at home. There were other drawbacks such as getting models and businesses to come in person and also creating a resource that would have a lasting impact. I realized that there is a pattern for me to go headless into projects and only think about the details along the way, when it may be a little too late. A fashion show was definitely one of those projects. It helped me to talk about it with my supervisors (over my friends, who were similarly enchanted), to become more grounded, and think about the boxes I need to check for the assignment.
Overcoming the heart over head element will be challenging for me because it is a thread that runs throughout all my projects, assignments, and personal life. It helps me to be excited and motivated about what I do and gives me the energy to commit and create. But I can find a way to come back to the roots of why am I making this project and who is it for to guide me to a solution that not only I enjoy, but that shares my joy and engages other people as well. Later, inspiration came not far from my choice of topic: in my sewing projects, I had to learn patience and modesty to produce clothes that I am proud of. It took a lot of wasted projects to learn that success comes when I am patient and make logical decisions. In other words, it does not take away my creativity to focus on the boring parts of the process!
Sharing the know-how in a sewing workshop
It felt heartbreaking to abandon my initial idea, but I got over it quickly. I was now determined to give back to the community that allowed me to flourish in the past 4 years and make sure I pass on my skills and knowledge in sustainable fashion. A sewing workshop felt like a natural choice. To me, a workshop is worth a thousand lessons, because I learn with my hands and can explain and guide through practical processes better than I do with words. It would be a great opportunity to bring sewing, altering, and upcycling just that bit closer to our normal, and put fast fashion in a positive conversation of transformation.
However, I questioned the level of skill I can share with the world and the level of authority I would have over a group of people. Looking back, I know that I have doubted myself because there can be a teacher for any level of skill. This might have been because I have always had a strong sense of authority to my teachers and adults in my life and haven’t yet come to a place where I feel like I have the knowledge to share. But, if nothing else, sewing and sustainable fashion is the one area where I can give and not take. And besides, the workshop should be a safe space to share skills across any boundaries of our own thinking, no matter our knowledge or skill level. On my life journey, I need to start realizing that I have a right to be just as active and valuable as anyone else in the shaping of our society.
There are other reasons not to organize a sewing workshop. As I outlined above, I want to make sure the event is safe for all and accessible to as many people as possible. A workshop can be done online, but because people rarely have sewing machines, we would be very limited with what I can teach practically and even more so with the material. But after writing these lines, I truly feel a lot more comfortable taking on the next challenge with teaching and engaging more directly with the community.
A showcase of local talent
After abandoning all my previous ideas, I resorted to another project that I felt very excited about, but that was more applicable to Geoscience Outreach and the structure of the course. I first planned to make a physical exhibition of all the small businesses in and around Edinburgh that focus on reimagining waste and inspiring visitors by making better choices more accessible. To go with the mindset I kept throughout my ideation, I then moved the exhibition from physical space to digital, to create a lasting resource accessible to everyone. And, after reviewing an insane amount of tools to make a digital exhibition, I decided that an immersive website will be the best option to appeal to and inspire.
This option is quite similar to my first idea – the fashion show – but allows me to show more stories and information about small businesses. It excites me that there is a lot of flexibility with the website, to create something beautiful but functional. Moreover, it is lovely to reimagine how exhibitions work and what new functions I can bring to the experience. Although most platforms to create visually engaging websites require paid memberships, after a lot of research I found Carrd, which offers a one-page website for only a small yearly fee. With a bit of luck, my website will:
- offer an immersive experience to the visitor, with functions to click on and learn more
- display a count-down before I launch the exhibition
- simulate a tour guide experience with a chat room
- run the exhibition in 1-3 sessions and then become a permanent website
These functions will allow me to engage with the visitors but also provide a resource that they can come back to. It will not be easy to craft a beautiful immersive website, but today I find it necessary to engage people visually to capture their attention and keep them interested in the topic. I am hopeful I can include everything that I initially sketched out but I am ready to be flexible and patient to get a different but adapted result.
Thank you for reading up to here! Next time I will tell you how I found a client and how we negotiated.
