1. Introduction
Building heritage and storytelling have become essential parts of fashion nowadays. We can see that high-end brands are trying to archive their history and build the story of their collection in different forms or media outside of the catwalk shows. Consumers are also changing to looking into their product’s story, and now they are buying stories, not the product. And these movements of building narrative and storytelling in digital space have become essential, and not only moving images but also 3d, virtual worlds, and the use of AI are embedding into the world of fashion.
In the first week, when I heard about Fashion4Freedom from Victoria, I was really interested in their garments and the heritage that the tribe has, and the potential for it to go further into the global world. Also, I could really see the deep understanding and engagement between the tribe and Fashion4Freedom, which intrigued me to choose this brief for this unit.
When our team first met and shared our ideas around the brief, we all felt strongly that the storytelling-based communication output would be useful and needed for the tribe. So, we decided to work on producing an archive for them that they can build on in the future. As our team comprised individuals from diverse backgrounds, we believed that combining various media to convey our story would be our core strength, enabling us to produce the best work. We decided to conduct a photoshoot that showcases the spirit of the tribe’s weaving, appealing to young and Western audiences, with accompanying write-ups that provide insight into the history of the weaving, offering more than just aesthetic appeal.
2. Methodology
Our team had a clear role distribution that made the most of our strengths. Cathy did the photography, Sam did copywriting, Miku did editorial design, and I did the videos and 3d parts. But also at the same time, we helped each other through the whole process and exchanged a lot of feedback and iterations together.
Also, for the research, Sam and Miku focused on researching materials provided and taking the information from Fashion4Freedom, the website, and videos that are related to the Ta Oi tribe. Cathy did the research for the aesthetic of the photoshoot, and about how we can possess the power of their clothes in the archive in the best way. Based on that, I took the lead in conducting the interview with Victoria, which was based on the questions about the background of Fashion4Freedom and the tribe, especially the social and economic environment, and the effects of weaving on them. All this research consolidated our archive’s position and provided a better understanding of the tribe’s culture and background, which helped us to create a design that we built to be the most effective communication for Fashion4Freedom.
We employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods, conducting an interview with Victoria, who has been working with Fashion4Freedom for a long time, and administering a post-
evaluation survey to evaluate people's engagement with our archive and their thoughts on the content.
evaluation survey to evaluate people's engagement with our archive and their thoughts on the content.
When constructing the questionnaires for the interview and survey, we tried to include many questions regarding the understanding of the tribe and their culture, and the impact of weaving practices in their lives. Through the interview, we sought to gain a deeper understanding and gather more information about the tribe and how their weaving culture is integrated into their lives. On the survey, we included questions about how the audience engaged with the tribe’s culture and their heritage through the archive, and if it was delivered accordingly.
3. Project Development
What was most interesting for me in the research phase was that the Ta Oi tribe’s weaving culture was closely linked with their agriculture.
“So they do it, the textiles are woven, and they're sold, and they'll be sold within the region, and also through tourism. And this is traditionally done so they can buy the seeds for their farming. So it's really linked to their farming. It's not entirely two separate things.”
-Quote from the interview with Victoria
How the weaving has influenced their lifestyle and also their economy, and the depth of the weaving culture and their art practices had in their society was way deeper than I thought, and this made me realize that their weaving works are not only the clothes, but represent the Ta Oi tribe’s society and history. Also, we got to learn that through the weaving, women in that society were playing an important role in their economy, as well as getting fair compensation for their practice and skills.
The feminist ideology that Ta Oi weaving; maternal craft of weaving and female socialization and monetary creation/independence, a ‘culture of resilience’(Williams, 2018). During the interview, we discussed the benefits that women derive from their practice in weaving and how they receive fair compensation.
Also, our team decided to put a disclaimer about our content, as it can be easily shown as the representation of their culture or the tribe. As mentioned by Mirza(2024), we should be mindful of power signifiers and assert our dominance over the artisans. So, I wrote a disclaimer based on this research and feedback on the work-in-progress presentation to clarify the independence of the Ta Oi tribe’s culture and show appreciation.
“The content was created based on information provided by researchers who worked closely with the tribe. We made every effort to respect their culture. However, this content does not represent the tribe or speak on their behalf.”
I believe this disclaimer is crucial, especially because none of our team members are from Vietnam or the tribe, although 3 of us are from East Asia. Even if we are located in close geographic proximity, cultures are distinctive, and there could be unintended manipulation that happens very easily because we can never fully understand their tradition and cultures.
During our production phase, our team planned a photoshoot to serve as the content of the archive. We decided to create both 2D and 3D photos, allowing this digital archive to engage more effectively with the audience than a paper archive. As the clothes featured butterfly accessories and flower-like patches, we decided to use orchids as the main theme and used them as a prop. Additionally, we decided to include a model who grew up in Vietnam for almost her entire life, which effectively establishes a cultural connection. This allowed the model to immerse herself in the culture, as evident in the photo outcomes. Also, by using two different models, we could make some more interesting harmony between cultures and their heritage, as well as engaging more with the Western culture audience, making them more accessible to the cloth that has a mixture of traditional elements and contemporary elements. We believe that this harmonization shown on the photos will allow future customers to have less burden in trying out the new style of clothes, as well as feel closer and friendlier with the tribe’s weaving practices.
Behind the Shooting
Production Process
Also, 3D archiving allows people to fully feel the clothing itself, as well as showing 360 degrees of clothing, which enables one to remember every detail that is included in the clothing. These 3D Photogrammetry shots are available with phones nowadays, which would be interesting for the organization to maintain and carry on with their future archive.
After the production, we felt that our team really shared a strong bond and feeling during the shooting and production process, so we decided to leave a reflection video of our own experience that we had during the project. Through the reflection video, I felt that it really showed the mindsets that all the teammates participated in were cohesive, as well as how we learned a lot and felt the cultural heritage and its power during the process.
On the process of creating a digital archive based on the image-based content that we created, there were a lot of considerations of cultural appropriation, as well as discussions among our team. Our team wanted to show the cultural diversity and integration in the digital archive, as there are traditional and contemporary elements combined beautifully in the garments, and our production process was also very multicultural, and we wanted to target a wider audience around the world. So, in the first production phase, we used the term ‘East and West’, combining in our archive, but it led to a consideration and discussion on whether it is an appropriate term to use in this context. Although Eastern cultures share certain elements among countries, there are also distinctive differences between them, as well as within countries by region. Additionally, the Ta Oi tribe has its own independent culture and heritage that has been passed down for hundreds of years. It felt like it was too generalizing the culture in one phase of context. Also, the clothing was very modern and contemporary, but didn’t necessarily contain Western culture in it, so it might not be the best term to be used to represent the tribe and archive their heritage.
During the post-evaluation process, we added a question regarding this phrase, and the responses were half positive, half neutral or negative. Our team had some discussion about this matter, and we decided to soften the phrase itself to “Thread Between Worlds”. This phrase might seem a weaker statement than before, but we thought that this statement suits our archive’s identity and purpose better, as well as representing the meaning of threads and weaving culture of the Ta Oi tribe well.
4. Conclusion
For our post-evaluation survey, we got 14 answers in total. Taking some parts from it, the answers that people gave about the most resonant element were a lot about colours, interesting photos, history, and the tribe’s story. As the responder’s age was mainly between 18 and 34 years old, I could see that people actually respond very well to strong and interesting images most of the time. After this, came the storytelling and the content behind it, which made me think that mixing these two methods, but also presenting appealing photos and images, is crucial in catching the young generation’s eyes and engaging with them.
Part of the post-evaluation survey result
Fashion is a medium that can represent minority communities and a tool to bring diverse social issues to the forefront. Additionally, it serves as a means to preserve and perpetuate cultural heritage and history. The Ta Oi tribe is continuing their practices and building up a very precious and outstanding culture of beautiful and sophisticated weaving techniques. In this era where unique and diverse styles of fashion coexist, showcasing their artworks and sharing the stories behind them allows people to learn about and enjoy the tribe’s history, spreading their clothing around the world and enabling more people to appreciate the tribe’s beautiful practices. Additionally, this allows them to maintain their practices for a longer period, preserving their history, while also providing opportunities to further expand them.
I wish our digital archive, which we produced for the tribe and Fashion4Freedom, becomes a reference for them in the future, allowing them to build a legacy and create their own digital archive version 2, 3, and so on. Throughout my research and practices, I have come to think more critically and thoughtfully about the relationship between society and fashion. Additionally, collaborating with people from diverse specialties taught me how effective and advanced work we can produce in such a short time. This experience was particularly valuable in my own fashion practices, as I always aim to produce work that proposes a better society through creative communication. I wish to continue this journey of investigating the culture, technology, and artwork in one space, and the time with this project made me research more inclusively, ethically, and appreciatively.
References
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