My initial ideas and concepts for the Digital Concept and Strategy Unit involve the future of beauty. I became very interested in the feminine ideal projected through contemporary media and technology throughout the last unit and would like to explore these themes further. The digital transformation of society is something I touched upon in my last unit, in particular the rise of the internet and other digital innovations in the 1990s. I am interested not only in how this revolutionised the way people thought, communicated, worked and socialised, but how the growth of technology continues to impact society. I would like to identify shifts in society as a reaction to the rise of the internet and digital currencies, particularly with regards to beauty ideals and trends. I spoke about how key societal trends are emerging in the aesthetics and beauty industries (the powerful feminine – as projected in popular digital filters) and how sustainability is becoming a mainstream concern for consumers (as a reaction to the climate crisis). I am still very interested in the work of Lucy McRae, I discovered her towards the end of the research aspect of the last unit and now I would like to examine her work further and the themes she explores.
The recent Corona Virus outbreak and the reaction society and the media have had to it has caused me to muse over the idea of Health and Wellness which is a booming industry within the beauty sector. There is an argument that ‘natural beauty’ is returning to fashion; freckles, highlight and blusher are taking over from heavy contour and concealer, indicating another change within the feminine ideal. It is also being claimed that we are embracing the ‘ugly’ in fashion, certainly diversity is on the rise and it is true that we are slightly deviating away from mannequin type women seen in recent fashion media. However, I would argue that this is a time where we are questioning what constitutes as beauty. Society’s obsession with youth and fear of old age and death is ever prominent (reference fashions relationship with death as explored by Caroline Evans), particularly in the beauty and fashion industry. I want to explore this further as well as society’s growing obsession with health and how soon the beauty ideal will be a representation of our physical health. Another trend I have been exploring for a while is the concept of reality, this is something I plan to explore at an academic level and apply it to the other themes I want to investigate.
