In class, we have looked at representation. in the lesson we had to look at three images of three different people and decide what their situation is purely by looking at them.
My Opinion- From the image, I immediately thought ‘homeless.’ This is because he has an overgrown beard- something which is generally associated with people who live on the street. The other thing I noticed was his hat which is also associated with homeless people because they are generally used to keep warm- something which would be very important if you were living and sleeping on the streets at night. He also has patches on his trousers, suggesting that he has ripped his trousers and can’t afford to buy a new pair and so has had to fix his old pair. He is wearing a cardigan over a shirt and also has a scarf. This suggests that he has done this for warmth because when you sleep on the streets, it tends to be really cold and it is important to keep warm. The street he is standing on, to me, appears to be where he is sleeping. He stands out amongst the rest of the people as they all look very busy rushing past him and not looking at him. They are probably trying to avoid eye contact with him because they feel guilty for not trying to help him like most people do when they pass a tramp on the street. He looks very dishevelled.
However, it turns out that this man is not homeless. His name is Doug Bihlmaier and he actually works for Ralph Lauren- one of the most famous fashion brands in the world. He is one of the oldest, longest working Ralph Lauren employees, starting work in the 1980’s. He is one of the original stylists for the brand developing looks for Ralph Lauren ad campaigns, stores and showrooms. After three decades he currently holds the title of ‘Head of Ralph Lauren Vintage’ showing his importance in the fashion industry. Looking at the picture now, I can see how clean all of his clothes actually are- the opposite of the kind of clothing worn by homeless people. The turn ups on his trousers are really neat which suggest they have been done purely for fashion purposes. His shoes are Red Wing which are very expensive (about £200.) Also, the patches on his trousers are very neat showing that they have been done purposely. The cardigan and shirt are very fashionable which shows that he is very stylish. He is standing on Madison Avenue in New York outside of the Ralph Lauren store where he has been working showing that prejudgements can be very wrong.
Representation 2- The Other Man
This man is actually a serial killer. His name is Ted Bundy and he went around several states in America in the 1980s and killed between 30 and 36 women, however the number could be more. He was executed by electric chair in 1989. He was very clever (like I thought) as he was studying politics and law. He was clever enough to represent himself in court; however he lost his trial (unsurprisingly) and ended up being executed. In the image, the papers he is looking through are legal documents when he was in court. Apparently, his good looks were what lured his victims into his car before he murdered them. This proves that everyone prejudges and they are often wrong.
My Opinion: This woman looks like a witch. Her overly made up face, she looks like she is trying very hard to look nice but is actually looking a bit like a drag queen. She looks like she is trying too hard. The outfit she has chosen doesn’t really go together; it is a clash of colours and patterns and there is a lot going on. She is very eccentric (the hat is very unusual) and she has a unique look. Her try-hard look suggests that she has a fair amount of money and a lot of clothes and is desperate to try to wear them all at the same time. The skirt suggests that she is quite old because the style and pattern of the skirt are quite old fashioned and the shoes she is wearing are the kind of shoes that old ladies would wear, however the fur coat she is wearing looks a real fur coat which suggests that she has ‘vintage’ style, and so has an interest in fashion. The fur also shows that she has money because real fur coats are very expensive. From where she is standing, it looks like she lives in an urban city, such as London, trying to stand out from everyone else by wearing crazy outfits.
It turns out that this lady is Anna Piaggi, a fashion writer who (before she died) did double page spreads for Vogue Magazine, a very high end, and expensive fashion magazine. Originally from Italy, she moved and lived in New York where she lived and breathed fashion. Looking at her now, I can tell that the hat she is wearing is handmade and would be very expensive and I’m guessing that her coat is real fur. Apparently she never wore the same outfit more than once when out in public and was given clothes to wear by designers such as Vivienne Westwood who she was close friends with. I didn’t guess that she worked in fashion, I though she looked like she wore clothes from a charity shop, not designer frocks. I did think that she was eccentric, which was correct, as she is said to have had an eclectic fashion sense and owned over 2,500 dresses, however I would never have thought she was a well known fashion writer.
No comments:
Post a Comment