About Me
Hi, I'm Erin Kyle a Fashion Communication Graduate from Heriot-Watt.
I was initially inspired by different feats of working-class culture in Glasgow. I decided to take a mental-health angle to my project, looking at how aspects of Scottish culture, societal and political issues affect this.
Throughout my work sustainability of sourcing garments for styling has been a key importance for my project. I am passionate about condemning over consumption, especially via fast fashion and the promotion of second-hand, up-cycling and slow fashion.
INSPIRATION
My research starts from 1980, a year after Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister.
My initial research looked at the psychosocial aspect of "The Glasgow Effect" as I felt this was often overshadowed by the health factors that contribute to the lower life expectancy of Glaswegians in comparison to the rest of Europe. The poor mental-health, depression and suicide rates in Scotland are higher than those of the rest of the UK. I wanted to investigate why this is the case.
I furthered this idea of low self-esteem and ‘lack of hope’ quoted by previous Chief Medical Officer Harry Burns. I started my investigation from the early 1980’s when Scotland was hit hard by the deindustrialisation of many businesses and industries in Margaret Thatcher’s power. Inspired by the 80’s aesthetic, I studied football fanzines from this decade as references for the overall look of my publication. Football is a significant entity of Scottish culture and Glasgow is infamous for its derby
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
DETAIL
Nostalgia and the 80’s aesthetic is key to my project
It made sense that the themes presented throughout would work with a football and football fans influence. Events such as the 1988 Garden Festival and the 1990 City of Culture award provided a timestamp from when Glaswegians had pride and hope for the city and were united as one. I wanted to bring this into 2021 looking at why we should have pride and hope now too.I tried to create this nostalgic aura throughout my working by including archival imagery and ephemera from my family members. It was important that my project could resonate with Glaswegians and that relatability was key. This is very much a personal project, Glasgow is and always will be my favourite city and I wanted to portray that Glasgow and its working-class people deserve to feel hope and have happiness in their everyday lives.
Football is a significant entity of Scottish culture and Glasgow is infamous for its derby. It made sense that the themes presented throughout would work with a football and football fans influence.
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