PLP WEEKS 1-4 by Mary Staiano

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-08 16:42:18 UTC

For the first part of the semester, I’m really proud of what I have achieved, even though it didn’t start as expected and included a bad experience due to a late submission caused by various factors and circumstances. I worked through that and managed to do better in the following assessments.

Time management was a major issue, but more than that, having a scattered schedule made things harder. Assigning specific tasks to specific days turned out to be very important.

For the final part of the semester, I plan to continue building on the progress I’ve already made, especially in time management and maintaining a clear, organized, and compact day-to-day schedule.

Looking ahead, I want to become more creative and generate more original ideas. To help with that, I’m planning to take more online courses on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

Sporty and Rich controversy

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-08 21:36:15 UTC

I discovered Sporty & Rich a few years ago through its collaboration with Adidas. Initially, I was surprised since Adidas typically presents itself as inclusive and socially aware, so seeing “Sporty & Rich” on its products felt unexpected. Once I realised it was a collaboration, it made more sense, they were introducing an emerging brand. However, after looking deeper into Sporty & Rich, I began to question its messaging. The brand promotes a narrow version of wellness that links health with wealth, fashion and exclusivity. This became especially clear when founder Emily Oberg, was criticised for claiming that healthy eating is accessible to everyone, ignoring systemic issues like food deserts and economic inequality (Perry, 2020). While the aesthetic is clean and aspirational, it risks reinforcing ideals under the disguise of wellness to younger generations. Perhaps, could they just change the name of the brand?

Reference :

Perry, D. (2020) Inside the out-of-touch comments about health from influencer Emily Oberg. The Diamondback. Available at: https://dbknews.com/2020/05/28/emily-oberg-healthy-eating-comments-privilege-instagram/ (Accessed: 8 April 2025).

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-08 21:44:07 UTC

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-08 22:10:44 UTC

In some parts of Africa, Latin America, and South/Southeast Asia, child labour still exists. According to International Labour Organization estimates, over 160 million children are engaged in it, with nearly half involved in hazardous work. Our slogans aimed to scream this truth—not only verbally, but also visually. We bent our hands in red and covered the cardboard with red handprints to represent this injustice children face. Sadly, in regions where governments are weak, poverty is widespread, and education is limited, these problems continue to occur. Our message was meant to reflect the urgency and human cost of child labour, which is still a reality for far too many, and which many still don’t understand.

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-08 22:14:41 UTC

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-09 11:15:11 UTC

If we think about fashion activism, the most important events that shaped fashion history are:

-The Sans-Culottes: Late 18th Century France

-Women's suffrage movements in U.S. and Britain: early 1900s

-Second-wave feminist movement: 1960s

-The Black Panthers movement: 1960s-70s

-Anti-Vietnam War movement and hippies: 1970s

-Environmental social movement and the protest logo T-shirt: 1980s

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-09 11:23:26 UTC

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-09 11:23:39 UTC

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-09 11:25:35 UTC

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-09 11:26:00 UTC

Successful and/or unsuccessful brand collaborations(My point of view)

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-09 11:38:52 UTC

Succesful ones:

-Miumiu x New Balance

-Uniqlo x Kaws

-Louis vuitton x Murakami

Unsuccessful ones:

-Crocs x Balenciaga

-Forever 21 x Atkins

mariastaiano20 — 2025-04-11 13:06:00 UTC

Week 4 was a collective effort. We were a group of 10, and we wanted to focus on something artistic. We came up with the idea of a collaboration between Balenciaga and Maurizio Cattelan which is very unexpected, but not surprising, considering Balenciaga is known for its unconventional and often bizarre collaborations. Recently, the brand has been leaning more into the weird and unusual.

Our concept was to create a giant banana purse, with design details inspired by Balenciaga—like silver accents, abnormal proportions, and, of course, a bag—because Balenciaga loves a bag. The banana itself is inspired by Maurizio Cattelan’s famous banana taped to a wall in a museum, which is now worth millions.

This collaboration is meant to spark buzz and raise awareness, especially among younger audiences. It would be showcased in a museum, attracting people curious to see the latest artistic creation from Balenciaga.