We've arrived to the ending of chapter five, 'Human Movement'. Like I did before in previous chapters, I'm going to analyse my blogposts and place them in the Quality of life model of Felce and Perry. The model knows 5 domains of wellbeing; social, physical, emotional, material and development + activity.


The Worlds First Holographic Protest
Last month thousands of people marched past a Spanish parliament building in Madrid to protest for a new law. It wasn't an ordinary protest: none of them were actually there! It was the worlds first holographic protest. This protest can be linked with emotional wellbeing, since the lack of emotional wellbeing (people getting mad because of the new law) is the reason they did this protest in the first place. But the action itself can be linked to development and activity, because it was an innovative action and a technological experiment. The joining of this protest is an activity and can be linked to personal development.  

The Kitchen Of The Future
The kitchen of the future is about an IKEA project called 'A Table for Living'. It's a high-tech table disguised as a normal dinner table. A camera observes what happens on the table and relevant graphics are projected on the surface. It can be linked to different domains of te Felce and Perry model. For starters it's material wellbeing since it is an object you use in your kitchen. Important is that the effect of the table on its users is more about emotional wellbeing and physical wellbeing. The table can react on the way you feel and improve your physical wellbeing. 

Charge Your Phone Using a Window
The Current Window is a modern version of stained glass. The glass contains small solar cells which can capture the energy of the sunlight during the day and collect it in a small box attached to the window. It is an example of material wellbeing, since it is about an object you can place in your house.

The Bike Of The Future
The Halfbike is a practical city bike. It's a modern version of a folding bike and you can take it easily with you in trains or busses without needing a lot of space. The Halfbike has a little resemblance of a segway, but mixed with a traditional bike. The Halfbike is definitaly an example of material wellbeing because it's about a product.

The Multifunctional Use of Place
The multifunctional use of places is hard to place in one domain, since it is about different things. I think the most important one is material wellbeing. The multifunctional use of places is about the future of our city and physical places and making the most of the places that already exist. It also can be linked to development & activity. Most of the places that are multifunctional have a connection with some kind of activity. It's about development, not so much personal but the development of our living environment. 

Last month thousands of people marched past a Spanish parliament building in Madrid to protest for a new law. It wasn't an ordinary protest: none of them were actually there! It was the worlds first holographic protest.





Spain will have a new law called 'Ley de Seguridad Ciudadana' starting the first of July. The law forbids people from protesting in front of government building. Fines can be up to 30.000 euro!

The demonstration was a holographic happening. Spanish activist gathered though their computers. The 'NoSomosDelito' movement asked sympathizers to join the demonstration by sending videos of themselves via a webcam. The final projection used more than 2000 different videos and constitute a hour-long demonstration.



This holographic protest was a smart response to the new law. It was a technical stunt that surely caught attention of the media. "Our protest with holograms is ironic," said spokesman Carlos Escano, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. "With the restrictions we're suffering on our freedom of association and peaceful assembly, the last option that will be left to us in the end will be to protest though our holograms."

The demonstration is an interesting development after the Tupac-hologram. Technology created for entertainment purposes is being used for political reasons. It is an interesting way of human movement, regarding technology but as wel literal movement of people. I think this technology has a lot of potential for other purposes. I can imagine seminars being lead by holograms, hologram-professors teaching at 5 Universities at the same time and scientists sharing their discoveries without having to travel. Important speakers would be able to speak at more places at once and it will save a lot of time. Not only will is save time, think about the pollution that comes with all this traveling. It's a sustainable solutions as wel! Using holograms for teaching purposes will change unnecessary traveling forever. Nevertheless, the question is how much it will cost to make this technology accessible for everyone. Time and money.

Ten years in the future, the world will be a very different place. We have to ask ourselves how we will able to live a sustainable life at home. Big companies are already looking into that strange and technological future. Last week IKEA gave its idea on our future home.

Collaborating with IDEO and Swedish and Dutch design students, IKEA gave us a sneak peek in the kitchen of the future. The Concept Kitchen consists of 4 prototypes; A Table for Living, Storing Visually, Disposing Thoughtfully and Mindful Water Use.



The one I consider the most special and innovative is 'A Table for Living'. It's a high-tech table disguised as a normal dinner table. A camera observes what happens on the table and relevant graphics are projected on the surface. Imagine cooking dinner and your table giving you suggestions on which herbs to use based on your ingredients. Or when your kid is having trouble eating, the table can help. Crazy right? This table is more than a table: it's a preparation surface, workbench, children's play area and a place for your family to connect. Watch the video below to get an impression of this prototype.


Although it's a great technological development translated in something we can use at home,
we have to ask ourselves if we want to live in a technological future like this. Of course it has its advantages: it makes cooking a lot easier and you can learn a lot about food in your own kitchen. With all the ingredients precisely measured and recipes with things you already have in your fridge, it will also be a great help against food-waste. Nevertheless it scares me that everything you and your family do will be filmed and saved. And if everything goes automatically and easy, what will this mean for our children? Will it be a advantage or a disadvantage for their learning process? In short: I think IKEA has done great work with this project and it has a lot of growth potential, but I think the world needs a little bit more time to get ready for technological developments like this.

Want more information about this project and the other prototypes? Check IKEAs website on the kitchen of the future.

In the city of the future we have to keep looking for new ways to capture or generate green energy. Solar panels are a great example, but there are ways which are even smarter! Let me introduce you to the Current Window.

The Current Window is a modern version of stained glass. The glass contains small solar cells which can capture the energy of the sunlight during the day and collect it in a small box attached to the window. You can plug your phone or other small devices in the usb portal of the box and charge it with the energy captured. This electricity can be used to power a whole lot of different electrical appliances! It's a very smart solution for capturing solar power without having to use big solar panels. So even if you don't have a lot of space you can use this green power: everybody needs a window!




The great thing about this window is it's not only functional but it looks awesome! The window can be made with different patterns and in different sizes. Imagine a school filled with windows like this, it would look amazing!

I think there is a lot of growth potential with this product. I mean, if you can make a stained-glass window that captures energy, you can also make normal windows who capture energy, right? Image that if in a few years all the windows of new buildings are made with solar cells. It would definitely change a lot and it would be a step in the right direction of the world getting a little but more sustainable.

Bicycles: you can't even imagine Dutch cities without them. I myself love to ride a bike. I use it every day to go to school, work, meet friends and do groceries. It's my number one way of transportation. Wouldn't it be great if all big international cities were crowded with bikes instead of cars?







If you ask me the city of the future needs a bike of the future. Let me introduce you to the Halfbike. The Halfbike is a bike especially designed for transportation within densely populated city streets. It's a modern version of a folding bike and you can take it easily with you in trains or busses without needing a lot of space. The Halfbike has a little resemblance of a segway, but mixed with a traditional bike. Instead of sitting on a saddle, the rider stands on the peddles and leans in the direction he or she wants to go.

It think this bike has a lot of potential especially for big cities. The problem with normal bikes is that you can't take them with you in public transportation. With the Halfbike this problem is solved and you can easily use public transport in combination with your bike! Also the bike is more easy to store in your home and doesn't need a lot of space. The cherry on top is that it simple looks very stylish. Who wouldn't want to have a bike like this?

Watch the video below to see the Halfbike in action. Want your own Halfbike? You can still back the project on Kickstarter!

Welcome to Chapter five: Human Movement! This time we got the assignment to coolhunt for things within the theme 'Sustainable Cities'. How is the city of the future going to look like? I'm going to research things related to the distant future but as wel as the near future. Let's start with the last one with something very close to home.

In the city of the future there will be no doubt that the redesigning of places will become more important. If we want to live more sustainable, why build new things? It's a better start to look at the things we currently have and change them into the things we need or want. The redesigning of places is fantastic, although there might be a more simple step before totally redesigning. Let's call it 'multifunctional use of places'. Why use a place for just one purpose? If the things we use for one purpose, will get more purposes at once, there is no need to redesign places and we can make a change in a more approachable way.



Let's start with a cool example: Solar Cinema. Solar Cinema is Holland's first and only mobile cinema running on solar-power. The solar panels on the roof of the cinema store enough energy during the day in order to project a movie on a big white screen at night. Due to collaborations with different local initiatives Solar Cinema travels across the country during the summer. They pop-up at outdoor theaters, parks, festivals, back gardens and everywhere else you can think of! Solar Cinema is entirely self-sufficient and independent. Never before was watching a movie this sustainable!


Next is something you might have already seen a while ago, but it still amazes me. Designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel designed a new way of being buried. This egg-shaped chest is 100% biodegradable and can be planted as a seed. Cemeteries will look like never before and have a double purpose as a forest.



Last on the list is a very special place I discovered during my trip to Prague. If you've ever visited Prague, you might know it's a city that has a big underground life, literally. A lot of clubs and pubs are build in the old underground bunkers build for World War II. I think that's a pretty good idea for re-using places. There is one place in particular that is a perfect example of the multifunctional use of a place: the Parukarka bunker. From the outside it just looks like a regular bunker. A little graffiti on top, but nothing special. However, if you walk inside you will be surprised. The bunker serves as a club, a gallery, a museum and has a climbing wall inside. It's a place for learning, sports, art and having fun. What can be a better example of multifunctional use?!

Just like the redesigning of places I think the multifunctional use of places will only grow bigger. Like I said before: "If we want to live more sustainable, why build new things? It's a better start to look at the things we currently have and change them into the things we need or want." Redesigning is great, but sometimes expensive. With the multifunctional use of places there is no need to re-build things and we can re-use it without having to change everything. It is a small step before redesigning and I think it would be a big step forward for cities wanting to be more sustainable!

We've arrived to the ending of chapter four, 'food'. Like I did before in chapter two, I'm going to analyse my blogposts and place them in the Quality of life model of Felce and Perry. The model knows 5 domains of wellbeing; social, physical, emotional, material and development + activity.



According to Felce and Perry 'food' can only be placed in the material wellbeing. This chapter I discovered that this is not the case!

Made by Humans
The 'Made by Humans' campagne of fashion brand Armed Angels is an example of emotional wellbeing. In their campagne they draw attention to the invisible workers at the back of the fashion industry. By using a clever ad they confront us with the ridiculous cheap prices in the fashion industry. This has effect on the way you feel buying clothes. Knowing Armed Angels is trying to change something in the fashion industry, makes you buy your jeans with a clear conscience.

Are you sure that's food?
Articles about foods that aren't food show us the truth about the things we eat. This is something that effects our physical wellbeing. All those chemicals and artificial flavors they put in our food can't be healthy for us. If there's no one to show a good example about what (and how) we should eat, we'll never learn. Luckily there are: You wouldn't see any food blog, magazine or recipe using these kind of ingredients, ever. Yay for healthy, fresh and real food.

Trash decides what's on the menu
Pop-up restaurant Instock is a great example that can be placed under 'development + activity'. Eating at Instock is a great way to support sustainability regarding food. It is a solution for food waste and it makes you aware of the problem. It can also be placed under 'social wellbeing', since it is a restaurant where you eat together with friends or family. 

Six months without supermarkets
Supermarkets control a lot of the food we eat. Gerrit Jan Groothedde wrote a book in which he shows us alternatives for food-shopping. This is an example of material wellbeing, because it's about the quality, the reliabitily and the freshness of the food we buy. Buying local and eating fresh is becoming more and more important for our health.

Urban farming for dummies
This one is a tricky one to place in the Felce and Perry model. Or is it the opposite: really easy? Urban farming is about growing your own food, getting your hands dirty and building your own greenhouse! (development + activity/material wellbeing) But it's also about wanting to eat food without chemicals. (physical wellbeing) It brings our neighborhood together (social wellbeing) and most of all it's really fun to do. (emotional wellbeing) Is urban gardening the solution for a perfect wellbeing? According to the Felce and Perry model it is!

Transparency and honesty is something we all long for, says Don Tapscott in his presentation about the four principles of 'The Open World'. Not only in the food sector this is a subject worth mentioning but also in other sectors it's becoming more and more important. In my previous blogposts one thing became clear: we want to know more about our food. Where is it from, how is it made and what is actually in the food we are eating? 

A lot is happening in the food industry, but it doesn't stop there: the fashion industry is changing too. Small initiatives are creating it's own voice. For example clothing libraries like 'De Kledingbibliotheek' or 'Lena-Library' show us that fashion doesn't have to be at the expense of people and the environment. Fashion can be conscious.

Bigger fashion chains are also making a difference. The brand Armed Angels is introducing their new campagne "Made by Humans" in which they draw attention to the invisible workers at the back of the fashion industry. The entire line is certified organic and fair trade!







By using a clever ad they confront us with the ridiculous cheap prices in the fashion industry.

"Both knowledge and intelligence are power." Tapscott says. Empowerment is important for this industry. The growth potential for this has to be big. Without it, it will become worse and worse, not only for the people working in the factories, but also for out planet and in the end: for us all. Hopefully the future shoppingcentra will be filled with brands like this!

I really love this initiative and I would definitely want to buy a pair of jeans from this brand, except for the fact that 99 euros is way to much for one piece of clothing for a simple student like me. Luckily there are a lot alternatives for me to get cheap clothing and still be conscious, like the clothing libraries! Go consciousness!

Do you ever think about what you are really eating? A lot of foods that might look like food aren't actually food. Let's face it: Some things you should just not put in your mouth. Filled with chemicals, artificial flavors, artificial colors and a lot of ingredients you probably can't even pronounce. I found an interesting article that shows 19 foods that aren't food.


Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” — Michael Pollan

When I started googling this subject it seemed like every food blog or online magazine has written an article like this. Does this mean we are finally really acknowledging the crap (excuse my french) we are eating? There were a few products that made an appearance in every article so let me show you the products you want to avoid eating:

Chocolate milk that isn't chocolate milk
"Take a closer look: That's not chocolate drink in your hand, not chocolate milk. Yoo-hoo doesn't actually contain any liquid milk, but it does come with a dose of partially hydrogenated soybean oil (hello, thans fat!). We dare you to get even halfway down the ingredient list before shedding a chocolate flavored tear." (www.prevention.com)
I think chocolate milk made of 'chocolade' powder isn't that good. I can't even imagine how this is going to taste. 

Eggs that aren't eggs
"Real eggs contain one ingredient. Egg substitutes contain 20 ingredients. After eggs, the next ingredient is a proprietary blend of “natural flavors”." (Village Green Network)
Wow! I didn't even knew this product existed. I can't imagine you would want to use fake eggs, ew! 

Blueberries that aren't blueberries
"What goes best with fake maple syrup? Fraudulent pancakes, of course. Read the tiny print that says "with imitation blueberries", and you'll be dying to hear how to fake a fruit. Here's the secret: take some dextrose, fractionated palm kernel oil, flour, citric acid, cellulose gum, maltodextrin, artificial flavors, two types of blue, one part red, and you're set!" (Huffington Post)
Do I even have to say something about this? As a fruit lover it makes me cry that this product even exists. Never underestimate the taste of fresh fruit, yum!

I think articles like this show that we're getting more and more conscious about what we are eating. It also links to 'The Open World', because if found almost the same article on various websites. It's a subject we want to share our knowledge about. 

If there's no one to show a good example, we'll never learn. Luckily there are: You wouldn't see any food blog, magazine or recipe using these kind of ingredients, ever. I think this is a good sign and a step in the right direction. Hopefully this consciousness will only grow bigger in the next upcoming years. Recent trends linked to this subject show us it will: transparency and 'sharing is caring'. 

Have you ever heard of dumpster diving? Dumpster divers are people who live from trash. It might sound weird but think about how many food ends up in the trash, especially by supermarkets. A lot of the food that gets thrown away isn't even rotten, but it simply gets thrown out because it doesn't look that pretty or may have a brown spot here or there. Dumpster divers are people who take food that is still eatable out of the trash. It is cost-effective and it minimizes waste.

There is no denying farmers markets are back to being cool. A healthy lifestyle is trending and we want our food to be local and fresh. We're back to growing vegetables and herbs ourselves and urban gardening is cool like never before. Although there are a lot of initiatives to get your food local we still rely on supermarkets. There's a lot more we need than just vegetables and fruits right? Did you ever asked yourself why there is an alternative for greens, but not for all the other stuff?









Main reason we love supermarkets is of course the convenience of it. All the things we need in one place, what's not to love? Gerrit Jan Groothedde (aka 'de eetschrijver') thinks otherwise. He wrote a book about supermarkets vs the alternative. When the writer moved to Almere Buiten he noticed that this 'City of the Future' has a great lack for alternative and local food. He challenges himself into not buying food in a supermarket for six months.
In his book he writes about his confronting conversations with (among others) a master chef, a culinary journalist, a food trendwatcher, a sustainability activist and asks for the 'normal' people's opinion. I haven't read the book myself, but it makes me very curious. I wonder what his discoveries will be in his food-life outside the supermarkets.


The great thing about this book that it is really transparent and a good example of 'the open world' we live in nowadays. Groothedde compares supermarkets not only in their price range but also in quality and their offer in products. He shares his discoveries about a range of different products but mainly focussed on vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy. 

The things that makes me really want to buy the book is that he shares a practical buyers guide in which he shows you all the alternatives for supermarket-shopping.


The book is for sale at bol.com for €19,99. Click here more information.

Welcome to the fourth chapter of the year: food! I have a feeling this is going to be my favorite one. Do I even have to explain why? Let's kick this chapter off with a subject which might seem familiar to you: urban farming!

source: The Pretty Blog, pictures by Christine Meintjes

Urban farming is making it's comeback and presenting itself in all kinds of shapes and sizes. It's getting more and more attention and there are countless organisations for getting involved or doing your own gardening. Countless (food)bloggers are giving urban farming a try. For example 'The Pretty Blog' who wrote an article on growing herbs and using them in recipes. 

In chapter one I already gave you three reasons why urban farming is super awesome. I talked about the increased awareness of chemicals being used on vegetables and fruits in the food industry - a bad side of the open world because people are becoming more and more suspicious about the origin of their food. With urban farming you can make sure your own greens will be the healthiest ever! I myself used to have a little greenhouse on my windowsill with herbs. I loved taking care of my little plants but by my lack of knowledge about the herbs they all died in the end. I tried many times, but all the plants ended up dying every time. So the problem of this DIY vegetable trend is a lack of knowledge. To make this sad story a little bit happier I want to introduce you to "Rauwdouwers".

Rauwdouwers DIY packages

Rauwdouwers is a company where you can buy seeds and get started with your own vegetable garden. But why pick this one over all the other organisations who are alike? Let me explain to you why rauwdouwers is the best of all! The cool thing about Rauwdouwers is that you will learn with small steps. Every month you'll get a package in your mailbox with seeds and a manual that learns you all about the 'what and how' of the plants. The cherry on top is the design of the manuals. Cool little books decorated with great illustrations give you all the information you need so that your plants are fail-proof. If you think that is great.. there is more! The books also contains little experiments, puzzles and recipe. How amazing if you can successfully grow your own vegetables and make an awesome dinner with it, all by yourself!

We can say for sure that urban farming is a booming trend. It still has a lot of growth potential because of the authenticity of it. People want to know more about the origin of their food. Growing your own gives a guarantee on fresh and chemical-free food. Do you still haven't got your own urban garden? The time to start is now! 

Society Nine is a brand for every female fighter founded by strong, empowered, diverse female athletes who are fighters in and out of the ring. 

The idea started out of frustration with the lack of quality equipment available for women.
"Manufacterers think that taking the lowest-quality glove and turning it pink is what we need. I'm here to tell you that this way of thinking is dead wrong" says Lynn Le, the brain behind the project.
She created Society Nine for the female fighter who trains in combat sports, and to also represent the every-female fighter in our lives, across all sports.

Like I talked about in my previous blogpost the average women now a days isn't just a woman. She's a friend, a teacher, a sister, a student working two jobs and above all a fighter. A fighter in the literal sense of the word (let's keep it to boxing, shall we?) but also figuratively speaking: a woman that can take the world! This clothing line is especially made for these strong woman.

"We want to create a movement and community that unites strong, empowered, diverse, fierce woman who are fighter for more than physique. We are the brand for this community of badass woman"




The collection starts with a glove. If you go to google and image-search for "womans boxing glove" you'll find a collection of girly pink boxing gloves (just try it!) But according to Lynn, most of the woman's boxings gloves aren't at all adapted to the needs of woman.

The team behind Society Nine studies every boxing glove on the market to understand how they were constructed, what materials they used and how they fit. Next they asked different woman in sports (professionals but also amateurs) to their opinion and with that feedback they made their first design.






I think it is great that people like Lynn start projects like this. Gender equality is definitely not where it's supposed to be in the world of sports and this is a step in the right direction. I hope woman will feel empowered to do whatever they want to, even if it's in a mens world. The Kickstarter for this project is still running and they are already halfway to their pledged goal.

For more information, a sneak peak of their collection and the progress of the Kickstarter check out this webpage.

We've arrived to the ending of chapter three, 'appearance'. Like i did before in chapter two, I'm going to analyse my blogposts and place them in the Quality of life model of Felce and Perry. The model knows 5 domains of wellbeing; social, physical, emotional, material and development + activity.


I think emotional wellbeing will be the most important this chapter, but there might be some overlap with other domains. Let's see if we analyse them one by one!

I am what's underneath
This project is a really good example of emotional wellbeing. The goal of the project is to create a worldwide movement for self-acceptance. The need for authenticity grows and we don't want to see the perfectly photoshopped skinny girl anymore on the cover of a magazine. It's proof that the fashion industry is chancing. The project has a positive effect on the self-esteem of the participants, but creates a self-acceptance with the readers of the stories on the blog.

You are more than your uniform
This project can be placed under the sub-category 'status' - you are what you do, and in this case you are more than what you do. A good example of emotional wellbeing aswel, but it has a little overlap with the domain development + activity. The photo series shows their life next to their job, but it's no secret that the people in the pictures are proud of their job. When we look to the model we see that 'job' is a sub-category in the domain development + activity so that explains the overlap.

Hipster or Muslim?
The photoseries 'Hipster or Muslim?' is maybe the opposite of wellbeing. It can be linked to the domain social wellbeing, but it is not an example of a good wellbeing. It raises questions about how truthful our own identity is and it shows us how easy people can create an identity for you. It also shows us how easily you can manipulate your identity but just using material things.

The female body image
The people at Greatist.com made some cool illustrations to show how much the female body has changed over the years. It's hard to place this one in a domain. I think emotional wellbeing is the best fit. Although it might seem that physical wellbeing could be linked to it, it's not about our health and state of our body. The illustrations show beauty ideals over the years and that has effect on our satisfaction about our own body. 

Golden oldies
In this blogpost I talk about elderly making an appearance in advertisement for the fashion world. A few domains of the model can be linked to this. The photo series of Dean Bradshaw is a great example of physical wellbeing. Not only young pretty girls can be used for sport campagnes, but elderly are still fit and tough enough to do it aswel. But the campagne by Dolce & Gabbana on the other hand, shows a lot more emotional wellbeing. It's all about authenticity and real women. Perfection is boring an not so much inspiring. We want to see real people and more diversity. Magazines already payed attention to different size girls and now they are adding different ages. 

Like I predicted, emotional wellbeing is the most important one in this chapter. An explanation can be that appearance is so much about your physical appearance, but also about your inner self. Everything reflects on identity and our satisfaction, self-esteem, status, contentment and trust: all connected to our feelings. 

Did you see the new campagne of Dolce & Gabbana yet? If you are expecting over the top glamour girly girls, think twice, because old is the new young. A cast of three elderly Spanish women are the new campagne lady's for D&G's 2015 spring collection.

Not only Dolce & Gabbana has faith in golden oldies, but the French fashion brand Céline also goes for a different age category. The eighty year old writer Joan Didion stars as the face of their new collection.

Why are our grandma's en grandpa's that cool all of a sudden? Perfection is boring and not so much inspiring. We want to see real people and more diversity. Magazines already payed attention to different size girls and now they are adding different ages. Age elasticity is trending!




Another great example is the photoseries by photographer Dean Bradshaw, who uses elderly to show that age is nothing but a number. A funny response to the traditional models usually found in sport advertisements and magazines. The cute and tough photo's of elderly almost make you feel guilty for skipping the gym this week.

And last but not least: Not only big fashion brands are using elderly for their campagnes, but also on a smaller scale we see this trending topic making an appearance. The Instagram account "Fashion Grandpa's" shows fashionable grandpa's found in public. What is not to love?! Clearly not only wisdom, but also a sense of fashion grows with age!

During my research about 'shifting identities' one thing in particular seemed to cross my path again and again: the perfect body. Every magazine contains at least one article about getting in shape, losing weight and being skinny. "Get in shape for summer" or "train away your christmas belly" or "this new superfood wil make you lose weight in no time". What is this obsession of ours about losing weight? We all want to be skinny like the cover girl from Vogue. Or at least, that's what the media is telling us.

When looking for interesting coolhunts about identity I came across this project of a photographer named Kasimir Szekeres. He asked himself "What happens when hipsters and Muslims switch clothes? The results are six personal portraits about today's zeitgeist, religion, stereotyping and identity.

Someone wearing a military uniform can look very serious and strong. But do you ever think about what's behind that uniform? A machine gunner, a guard commander, a warfare officer, an air force commander but also normal people like you and me.  


I think the concept of the pictures are very strong and tell a confronting story. This project has a good connection to the theme 'shifting identities'. Back in the days, when our parents were little kids your job was your identity and nothing more. Now we can identify ourselves with the things we love, the things we like and the things we do best without connecting our jobs to it. I think this is a mindset that is growing more and more in our society and hopefully will keep growing. 

Christmas break is over and it's time for blogging again! This chapter I will dive into the subject 'shifting identities' connected to appearance. At first you might think that's all going to be about fashion and pretty things, but appearance is more than that. It's about who you are, who you want to be and everything in between. It's not only about looking good, it's about what's underneath.



The first thing I'm going to tell you about is a perfect example. The project is called 'I am what's underneath'. Maybe you can guess what's it about? Two woman, a daughter and a mother, want to show the world that it's not about clothing, but about what's underneath.

Elisa Goodkind worked as a fashion stylist while daugther Lily was in her teenage years. Lily tried everything to be like all the 'skinny and pretty' girls from the magazines. With unhealthy eating and dieting pills she lost herself in this empty ideal of beauty. Over the course of 20 years Elisa realized that fashion was turning into a machine turning out one prescribe surface image. "I realized that those same magazine covers I was styling were destroying my daughter's self-exteem" she says. Elisa quit her job and collaborated with her daughter to start the project 'I am whats underneath'.




The kickstarter is done and they collected 135% of their goal. It's clear there is a need for attention to this subject. At the moment the project is in full swing. You can watch all the stories at their website which is still growing every day. It is so great and inspiring to see all these different stories. And it makes you realize that everyone has issues and flaws. At least once in their life everyone has had that feeling that they were lacking something that kept them from feeling beautiful and I bet you are one of them. No matter how fierce they might look at the beginning of the video, everyone has his own story.

This project is a great example of the trend 'transparency'. We all want to know what's behind that fabulous fashion girl and by exposing those vulnerable stories, it makes us feel better about ourselves. Maybe it's okay if I'm not perfect, she has flaws too? It is clear that this amazing proje ct has a lot of growth potential, since it is already growing each day. New sub projects are arising. For example: 'second skin' in which two fashion icons trade clothes with each other. They even got some celebrities involved, which probably makes it even more inspiring for people.

Oh, and what about 'shifting identities'? This project is proof that the fashion industry is changing. The need for authenticity grows and we don't want to see the perfectly photoshopped skinny girl anymore on the cover of a magazine. Elisa and Lily have a goal to create a world-wide movement for self-acceptance with this project and I think they are doing a pretty damn good job at it!