Driving Question: How might we produce a product or concept that contributes to a more sustainable fashion future?

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

My goals for this module were to learn more about the circular economy in Estonia’s fashion industry and create a sustainable sneaker design using existing solutions. I achieved my goals by doing research and then creating a small presentation and designing a shoe using Photoshop. I gained inspiration from various sneaker companies. My presentation is down below, but you can also access it HERE on Canva, in case you’d like to check out the links and citations.

What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?

In this module, we focused on all the necessary and unavoidable future developments in the fashion industry, which will hopefully happen during the next few decades. As climate change is slowly starting to emerge from all the other problems under the sun, companies are trying to keep up with the demand for sustainable garments. A good illustration of how serious climate change is would be comparing it to our body temperature – if one’s below 37 degrees Celsius, it’s alright. However, only 2 degrees make a big difference in one’s well-being. For example, when I had a high fever, I felt extremely lethargic – now, imagine the Earth not functioning properly. Exactly – it would be a mess, especially happening at a rapid speed!

It was encouraging to learn how other countries have inspired the Estonian Ministry of the Environment to participate in improving their circular economy systems and how studies conducted have found that, although there’s still a lot of improvement to be done, the environmental awareness index had increased from 37,5/100 in 2014 to 47/100 in 2020. This module made me notice a lot of things I haven’t before, and before buying anything, I’d advise everyone to not rely heavily on surmise, but rather think twice before letting a new clothing item into your life.

My summative consisted of making a brief summary about sustainability in the Estonian fashion industry. Additionally, I also designed an illustrative sneaker that could contribute to the importance of sustainability. I learned that it’s very challenging to learn how to use Photoshop, even more so to master the art of designing a sneaker (which I think I still need to practice in case I want to continue exploring this area of fashion). I didn’t know a lot about materials and where they’re sourced from in Estonia, nor did I know how much of an impact we could have on garment factory workers’ health and well-being. It wasn’t a big surprise for me to discover that making a sneaker using entirely Estonian-sourced goods would most likely result in more CO2 emissions than just buying it in bulk from Finland, where they, in turn, get it from India or Turkey.

What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?

I wanted to reflect people’s thoughts on Covid-19 by including various world events, situations, and feelings I’ve heard of or experienced myself. Whenever I feel a strong emotion, I like listening to songs with the same vibe, and I hope others feel the same way. My second goal was to grow my creative confidence. I achieved both of my goals by writing a song – and presenting it on this website.

What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?

I learned that it’s effortless for me to start the creative process, but difficult to finish. I also like to write many songs at a time, and that slowed the process of “perfecting” one song. That’s why I’m open to any feedback on the song – to me, it still sounds unfinished. From the resources we were provided by the educators, I learned that judging someone’s skills vs. them is an entirely different thing – a person whose skills are being judged shouldn’t take it personally. And although it’s crucial to receive some type of feedback in songwriting (as it should be creative, but not too alienated), one should still be comfortable showing their artistic style and not make every little change people are telling them to. It’s good to finish a song with a similar tune you used in the song, as it will make people come back again and again. For example, The Weekend’s “Can’t Feel My Face.” I still have a lot to learn about songwriting, producing, singing – all of that. I’m definitely going to continue writing songs and receiving feedback. If I do write some release-worthy songs in the future, I’ll let all of you know!

The Lyrics

Verse:

Yeah, sometimes I don’t talk to people for a reason

It’s never a good place to begin with

When I’m laying on the bed with my headphones on

And imagining every possible scenario

Of people coming and going, leaving and staying

And when the only thing we thought about was playing

And praying for the people we have lost in the chaos

of the world bringing hatred towards different people

Yeah, looking at the news, I guess that’s what I’m best at

During those times of social distancing acts

On the front page, furious (yeah), they think I am hilarious (yeah)

“Let’s get you a bible”, the situation seems precarious

And honestly, I must say that they’re making me mad

Before you didn’t even care, but now all you do is so fad

“Can we go outside?” I hear a voice while keeping distance

“Sure, my love”, and I hope what she says I didn’t just listen

I still can’t hold my head down, oh no,

I just want to let the truth out and scare them with all

The things happening in front of their noses

I’m straightforward, but sweet and you

Want to hear me whisper all this nothingness I see

Chorus:

Everything’s gonna be okay

We’re gonna see a brighter day

And it goes ay, ay, ay

Thank you to the doctors and the nurses

Thank you for being so diverse, yeah

Now all we gotta do is observe

Let’s not hope for the worse

Verse:

You can do what you want or whatever you’re best at

Obeying the rules isn’t the best, huh?

For achieving herd immunity please stay at home

A vaccine will come out, “at least let’s all hope so”

And if not, then what will going outside give you?

Covid-19, so please maintain some hygiene

Flattening the curve might take some time

But washing those hands might help achieve it faster

“I will do it all for the people, not for the fame”

Well, finally, someone’s got some common sense

All those celebrities go viral singing Lennon’s “Imagine”

As if we’re all dreaming of winning and survival

They’re kind of right though, aren’t they?

Because “hey dude, real people are dying!”

“Okay-okay, I’mma head outside for some fresh air”

Look ahead, man, there’s nothing to flair

The economy is failing from the left to the right

They wouldn’t care much, would they?

Unless they couldn’t take another flight

And fight because “there’s no food at sight”

“I guess that’s not a problem for us, eh?”

Chorus:

Everything’s gonna be okay

We’re gonna see a brighter day

And it goes ay, ay, ay

Thank you to the doctors and the nurses

Thank you for being so diverse, yeah

Now all we gotta do is observe

Let’s not hope for the worse

Verse:

I promise I won’t leave, I won’t leave you behind

I will fight every time for our human rights

But if we’d all die, (laugh) no, not just once or twice

Wouldn’t it be nice to say that at least we tried?

If you’re told what you’re doing is wrong,

Why keep doing it?

You only have one body and mind, one life to live

Keep living it, and hope for the best

Oh, you’re stressed and not impressed

By the words I’m rapping as you cannot digest

So you just guess and participate in a protest?

That’s weird, man…

But in 1920, things worked like that…

Yeah, we can learn from it, but let’s not forget the fact

That tomorrow’s not yesterday, we can’t dive that deep

Today’s medicine, techonology aren’t the same

We should all reflect on what the experts say

I know you have a brain, and you seem pretty smart (small voice: intelligent)

(drums fade away)

So please, play your part