Author: Abbey Patz (Page 1 of 2)

BRAIN/Storm Activity

Fashion is one of my greatest interests and I would consider it an art form. I wrote about this in the hive document but I am no designer. I love the fabric and the story some designers like to paint and all the creativity that goes into each piece a designer puts out. I am fascinated with designers using different materials other than fabric for pieces. One of my favorite designers, Iris van Herpen, uses 3D printing to achieve the look of her pieces. Tom Ford also took the challenge of using a different medium and molded metal to create a breastplate for one of his pieces. I feel that I have a good deal of knowledge about spotting a designer’s signature design aspect. I think it is very interesting to watch things like award shows and be able to pick out what fashion house designed what pieces. For example Comme des Garçons is easy to spot because of their obtuse designs for silhouettes and fabric combinations. I also like to see how that signature will slightly change with creative directors. Moschino before creative director Jeremy Scott had loud patterns and a focus on texture. After Jeremy Scott, there is more labeling and the brand has now become primarily camp instead of day to day wear. Another part of fashion that interests me is the push to make the industry more sustainable. Prioritizing the environment is very important to me as well as the humanitarian crisis the fashion industry causes. Hemp is one example of a sustainable fabric and it is personally one of my favorites. I love the texture of the fabric and how it will hold shape but it would not be a great option for every piece. Being knowledgeable about how these fabrics flow and hold shape is very important to me when talking about sustainability because the old fabrics need to be replaced by something. 

I was actually not aware of how controversial using hemp fabric is. Hemp fabric is such a superior option when compared to cotton that it’s almost difficult to think why there would be problems using it. Hemp fabric is lightweight, three times stronger than cotton, and has the texture of linen but less expensive. Hemp fabric’s downfall and source of controversy is the fact that it is made of fiber that comes from cannabis plants. Because of the fabric’s association with cannabis causes many consumers to assume that it has psychoactive properties not realizing that the fabric does not work like that. Aside from consumers being ill informed, it is hard to grow these hemp fibers in the U.S. because cannabis laws are not the same in every state and because of how legally grown cannabis plants are regulated. Before this I had never known how difficult it is to create hemp fabric in the states. I think legalization in all 50 states would help this problem, but educating consumers after years and years of misinformation about cannabis in general might be even more difficult than that. My ending question has to be, how do we reverse these thoughts towards hemp fabric and towards sustainable fabric in general to save our environment?

Filter Bubble Response_AbigailPatz

This video was more informative than I expected it would be. The first part did not grab my attention because I have heard this information elsewhere but, when I learned that even when signing out, my search results are tailored to fit me I was much more engaged because I have never heard that before. I have known about websites giving you search results based on your activity on other websites and your interests but I originally thought that by signing out, the algorithm would not know my preferences and would just give me the standard search results. I think this video applies to me because the content I get in my “filter bubble” are things that I like and take interest in. Since I like the content I am being shown I do not venture out to find other media. I agree that as someone who consumes media, I need to be informed about the algorithms these websites use and to see content that can make me uncomfortable. 

Name Names_Abigail Patz

I have a laundry list of people in my life who have taught me lessons. The first person that comes to mind is my mother, Christine, who taught me everything I know now. One example of this is before I started kindergarten, I would get jealous because she could read and I couldn’t so she would sit with me every night before I went to sleep and taught me sight words. Eventually I could read a little bit on my own. Instead of her reading to me every night she had me read to her and would help me with words I still didn’t know. Christine taught me a lot more as well. She taught me how to be confident and that being opinionated is not a bad thing. She would take me to work with her so I could observe how she would yell at the men in her building to not talk over her. Another woman in my family who taught me a lot is my aunt, Erin. She was the first person in my family I felt I could really be at ease with. I would come to her with typical friend drama but she always taught me to consider everyone’s feelings and point of views. This helped me be a better problem solver for my friends and how to mediate calmly if conflict arises. She also taught me that how others see me, good or bad, is not a true reflection of me, just how they feel about me. 

Later in my first year of highschool I had an English teacher named Gina Peat who helped me through a really hard time in my life. I was struggling with who I was and she would take time out of her free periods to talk to me. She taught me to not take myself so seriously and the only way to get over embarrassment is to decide not to be. After I spent so much time with her, I realized I needed actual help and started seeing a therapist. Her name is Ildie and she has taught me so much. She taught me how to take care of myself and different ways to cope with everyday life. I am so thankful that I was able to see her because she truly changed my life. She taught me what mindfulness, meditation, and empathy for myself is. She helped me see that I do not have to cater to everyone constantly and to cater to myself first. The most important lessons I have learned in my life were not school subjects, they were very personal.

« Older posts