Meet Jessica Anderson, a graduate from Sheffield Hallam University. Jessica’s graduate project is called Lesson 1: Buy the ticket- Take the ride’ and explores the life of anti-heroes and outcasts. Inspired by the down-trodden characters in films like Train Spotting and Fear and Loathing, her message is simple: don’t quit. Read more below.
What is the most valuable thing you have learnt at university?
The most valuable thing I have learnt in university is to be confident within yourself. I had trouble believing in my work and my abilities as I felt that what I had to offer was not up to the standard as everyone else. During my time at Sheffield Hallam I learnt that not everyone is the same, we all hold different capabilities, and everyone is brilliant in their own way. Once I started to believe in myself, my work started to flow, and it was evident you could feel the emotion within it. I feel like it so easy to be harsh on yourself, gaining this confidence allows me to advance in situations I never thought I could do.
Tell us about your current projects and work, what have you been working on?
The current project I have been working on is my graduate project, which I named ‘Lesson 1: Buy the ticket- Take the ride’. This project was very personal to me as growing up I always felt like the outcast, as I never really fit in with a certain crowd. Within my school there was not a huge mixture of cultures, so I experienced a lot of judgment. I was always compared to another, so I did end up feeling left out and wanting to change myself to be like everyone else. I wanted to base this project for the anti-heroes of the world, the ones that face troubling issues but still get up everyday smiling. I feel like every person has felt this certain way, not being able to fit in and decided to make their own rules.
In my pass time I enjoy watching troubling films as I feel like I can relate in some way. My father was very into a film called Train Spotting. Seeing the characters go through so much, you start to realise there are so many horrible things happening to people and there is no help for them. I felt inspires by how each character got up the next day and did not quit. That is the message I wanted to give people do not quit. The name came from the film Fear and Loathing. this film is a personal favourite of mine and I felt this was appropriate for my project. Our lives are one big journey and I wanted people to experience the life of the anti-heroes. I call these people anti-heroes because society has dishonoured these people for being ‘different’, and that they made their own rules to live by. Many do not see them in a good way, however, to most they have become an idol to the ones who also can not fit in.
What form does your work take?
The silhouettes I wanted to portray was a juxtapose of structure and casual. This was to show the struggle of the individual being stuck in a certain parameter or stereotype. I wanted the casual pieces to be fun and outgoing, this was to show the personality of the individual. I got the crazy prints from Hunter S Thompson. He has such a brilliant mind and a crazy personality. The structure pieces I wanted them to be very boxed shapes to cause drama. For this I was inspired by military clothing. I felt like military was a very interesting route to show my feeling, this was because I felt like the characters and even myself had to battle a certain ‘war’ to allow us to be ourselves.
This may be within our own heads or people opinions of oneself. Having this a theme also allowed me to incorporate a lot of detail into my pieces. This also allowed me to learn new techniques and build my knowledge on the types of fabrics used in military clothing. For my portfolio I wanted it to feel like the reader was looking through a comic book. I decide to create an editorial portfolio as I wanted to create a story for the viewer, I really wanted them to feel like they are on the ride of the anti-hero. I wanted this effect as I wanted it to feel like action heroes taking over the world. To do this I created my line up to look like a justice group for explain like the ‘Justice League’. I was inspired by the comic GI JOE and the DC comics as growing up I loved how these characters took on missions to help people live their lives.
How have you evolved as a young creative while studying / working?
I have evolved so much as a young designer while studying. I have developed my knowledge in a deeper way which has allowed me to tackle a project in a different creative way. I am now confident to approach more complicated problems with a positive attitude. Within my work I now never want to settle I want to go and do better than the standard mark. Having grown my confidence I am also approaching opportunities with a positive thought; I do not down sell myself no more which is such a huge achievement. By doing this I have had a lot more opportunities which I never knew could happen.
My dream was to one day to work with the designer Iris Van Herpen, I always thought I was never going to happen but while studying, my peers and tutors helped me realise I was capable of anything if I just believed in myself. With this I ended up being offered a placement with Iris Van Herpen and gained another achievement of living abroad by myself for six months. While working I was able to meet new people from across the world and make valuable connections. Being aloud to work in such a creative individual helped me evolve on how I think about approaching projects.
Before going to Sheffield Hallam, I was very scared to go out by myself, I had little knowledge on how to construct a garment and no experience with Adobe software’s. After 4 years, I have gained knowledge about construction and information about the fashion industry. I have worked under an admin of a high-end couture brand and have the confidence to move to any country.
What are the messages and themes behind your project that you want people to take away? Do explore any topics like diversity, sustainability or politics in your work?
The theme behind my project is politics, I wanted to create a discussion about the issues which are going on in the world. There are recent events that are happening within the world recently and I want my work to reflect on peoples troubles they must go through. With my project the message behind this was to show that social media tries to portray a certain image of us all. I wanted to investigate the concept of the antihero in the fashion industry.
Anti-heroes can be defined in various media texts; they feature vastly within comic books and television. “In our literature and films, the term anti-hero has come to mean a fictional character with characteristics that are antithetical to those of the traditional hero” (B.A. Kinnaird 2013). An anti-hero is seen in many ways, and in the common media text an anti-hero is a character who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes such as idealism and courage. The American Heritage Dictionary (2011) defined an anti-hero as “a character in a narrative work with heroic qualities”
In fashion they can be heroes and villains just like any scenario and designers have been either praised or criticised for raising cultural and ethical issues within their collections. Creating drama or a shock to the audiences brings publicity, whether this is good or bad publicity, it draws media attention to the designers. Through being known to the audience as a ‘rebel’ or ‘the anti-hero in fashion,’ makes people more excited as they will be expecting more controversial decisions. This also allows the designer to stand out from the competition.
What’s an aspect of the fashion industry that you’re passionate about fixing or having a positive impact on?
The aspects of the fashion industry that I am passionate about is creating a change, I feel like it is so hard to have our voices heard especial without a big platform. I wanted to at least use my work to help be the voice of the people who do not feel as confident to say their thoughts. I feel that society aspects of people need changing as many feels like they must be a certain way to fit in.
I want to use my platform to help educate people on current situations in a positive way. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement I want to educate peoples minds on what this protest really means. As you can see online this movement has gained a lot of bad publicity and I feel like the actual message is gone. With the work I have produced I have tried to tell a story/ message in each project, I feel like it is so easy to ignore issues that are happening as it seams inconvenient.
What is your plan for the future?
The list of plans that I have for the future are never ending, I do not want to settle at one thing. I would like to try everything out and soon once day land my dream job with my favourite brand. I want to have the chance to travel more for certain jobs and meet interesting new people. I also wanted to expand my skills with new programs, I want to learn 3D moulding to helps excel on projects, I also feel like this is a new upcoming technique, and learning this will break me from the pack. The main plan for the future is to keep on creating and thinking of new projects to tackle, I want to keep learn and producing work.