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Taste, Value & Consumption

The theme I've decided to go with for this brief is Taste, Value & Consumption, I found this subject easy to relate to and feel like I can include my personal ethos into the accessory and the written element. 

After todays 1 to 1 I feel like this theme is exactly what I want to discuss. I've already started making links between both parts of the module, for example I want to look at function over aesthetic and feel the dry bag concept fits this perfectly. I need to look at the theory behind this title to ensure I fully understand ands make relevant points. So far I feel really positive about this brief and once I've collected materials and books I can make steps forward with the accessory and writing. 

The question I've started looking at is ' How is value assigned to an object in contemporary society and why is aesthetic valued more highly than function?' I feel like this question does summarise what I want to talk about and what I've been interested in outside of uni. When I'm shopping I try to be conscious about purchasing and not just for the sake of it, before I became aware of this I'd either purchase just because it was on offer or because I bought into trends. Since looking at my own shopping habits I now buy into items I need rather than buying because its a new trend or the latest item on the high street. From this I started becoming aware of brands that pride themselves on this ethos of quality/use over trends and realised we do live in a society that mostly care about the appearance and the trend of that season, this wasteful and fast turn over of items isn't questioned but I want to look into this and why people feel the need to buy into trends and have something that has a certain aesthetic rather than it just been functional. 

Hussein Chalayan, Spring/Summer 2014

"Oh, and about those hats on sticks: In the breeze corridor, it's hard to stabilize your headgear."



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