I was given a reading by a tutor last year that has stayed with me and helped mould the type of designer I want to be. The reading was from a paper written by Kate Soper, a philosopher, who has researched intensively into a theory called Alternative Hedonism. It's about a sustainable future, a post-consumer future, where realising that materialistic things don't actually make you happy and spending quality time with family and friends is what you actually crave. This may sound like terrible news for designers and product developers, but I think it's just another challenge. Designers would have to be more creative in their products, and a higher need of identification with their product would have to be forged. I want to design for consumers who want pieces that are not good but great quality, I feel as though we have lost the good quality in all aspects of life. I remember my parents talking about how clothes were expensive 30 years ago, but you knew if you were going to buy anything it was going to last you a hell of a lot longer than one season. My parents still have many items, not just clothing, that have lasted the years of wear and tear and only look better with age. I want to know what happened to those designers and manufacturers, and create clothing that has this kind of honesty and genuine emotion connected to it.
Here are some websites that further explain Kate Soper's theory of Alternative Hedonsim:
- http://www.emmawaight.co.uk/website/?p=327- blog post, overview of Soper's philosophy of alternative hedonism.
- http://hw.libsyn.com/p/7/2/7/727dd71a0b8509b6/Kate_Soper_on_Alternative_Hedonism.mp3?sid=927b39b35209dda3f4d1c4967c3a9cab&l_sid=18828&l_eid=&l_mid=1730383&expiration=1337245763&hwt=e5de39ec6dbbf223c16539a187d5cf52- audio, interview with Kate Sopher by Philosophy Bites.
This is a programme I watch whenever I can, it has some amazing people who create new methods that are not only sustainable and 'green', but accessible and more efficient.
http://www.sundancechannel.com/big-ideas/
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