Assignment Remit
You are required to produce a visual presentation that explores the development of an aesthetic trend within hair and make-up of your choice, this presentation will be supported by a scripted narrative of the audio included within your presentation and should be fully referenced as appropriate.
You should select a trend that is of particular interest to you and examine how this trend has evolved and developed throughout history taking into consideration the cultural aspects that have influenced its development to current day. It is expected that you will examine how these cultural beliefs have influenced its use and any symbolism in relation to cultures and / or subcultures should be analysed to demonstrate what the trend has / does represent.
To support your findings you must build your presentation around the theoretical models that are most appropriate to identify how the trend became significant within society and how it expanded and developed within the cultural / sub cultures it is associated with. These may include the following :
- Trickle down / Bubble up Theory
- Cultural ideologies
- Social Identity models
- Consumption / consumerism theory
Consider what the trend is, how it developed, what were the influencing forces behind it development and the impact it made in the hair and make-up industry. You should consider using a PESTLE analysis to aid you with your research and to present your findings.
Assignment Guidance
Fashion, whether it be clothes, hair, make-up or other methods of adorning and decorating the body has long been associated with social and cultural factors, assumptions and beliefs. These fashions or trends change and evolve over time. To help you meet your learning outcomes you will need to consider any influencing factors and developmental changes you believe were instrumental in the ongoing evolution of your chosen trend. As you have a limit of 15 minutes you should choose your trend with care and select one that you are firstly interested in and secondly has enough information to support your research. You may need to look at historical documents, portraits, photographs, product data and retail statistics as well as traditional sources.
You will need to demonstrate the development of hair and make-up trends over a period of time, this can be done using a timeline method, and should make links to either a cultural area or show how a trend has taken influence from one or more cultural factors?
You will need to consider a PESTLE analysis, what Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal or Environmental developments have influenced your chosen trend.
For example current day technological advancements may include photographic, media, HD TV, digital manipulation, social media, product development, surgical/medical developments, consider how have these advancements affected the cosmetics we use today and how we have changed the way we wear them over time, the development of HD TV and the quality of the image we see mean cosmetic products such as primers, foundation and concealers have also developed. These may also link to other areas of the PESTLE analysis, and can be used to strengthen your analysis, green and environmental issues and legal policies will have had an effect on companies procedures, consider global policies, are they different in different countries, how does this affect global brands and the purchasing and consumption ( public use ) of their products? Do different global cultures have different trends and how do the marketers react to these?
These examples are a guide only and by no means an exhaustive list, consider the area you are looking at, which PESTLE points are most relevant to you? Ask yourself what were the developments and more importantly, why did they occur, in other words what was the driving force behind the change in trend and how did it move the fashion forward?
You may need to look at the key players in the field you are investigating, who was important and why? Was it the media, historical players ie. important figures taking a political stance, don’t just think politicians think about people who became celebrities that took a social cause to the public and of course think about Hollywood or Bollywood stars, music idols or hair and make-up designers, again this will depend on your area of focus but look at where the inspiration for the change came from. Do they link with other industries or areas? Why do you believe they were the key drivers, do you believe they move fashion forward alone or did they link with others?
Depending on your topic choice you may also consider the demographics of society that change was geared towards, and possible celebrity endorsement, the impact of globalisation, marketing techniques and promotional strategies or cultural, sub cultural or religious beliefs that were used to bring it to the forefront and push it forward as a must have fashion product.
There are no limits on the amount of theories you should include, however you should make sure they link clearly and can back up your research and prove your point. For instance “trickle down” theory could discuss how an original design for the rich and famous of today or top of the social chain in historical periods, helped the look filter into the mainstream, or how sub cultural groups who had a particular identity found there look being copied and onto high fashion catwalks, you must clearly link and apply the theory. You may find that celebrity status has had a great deal to do with how a trend is worn, “social identity” and “celebrity worship” theories may help you explain the development.
Your work should be in a slideshow format, showing images relating to the narrative or your voice over the top of them. There are no limits to the amount of slides but make sure that as you are speaking your slide is relevant to your topic, but as general guidance between 15 & 30 slides should give you enough scope to cover your topic.
A slide showing your references at the end of the slide show should be included.
You should submit your word processed narrative or script as well as your slide show. This can be written in bullet points, or in a table format or as a free flowing piece of writing, this is your personal choice but each paragraph should be clear as to which slide it is referring to, and should be referenced correctly throughout, with a full referencing page at the end.
