FINAL EXTENDED PROJECT
Secondary Research
Industry Professionals and Inspirations
Industry professionals and inspirations are important to my product because they are the backbone of how I want to style my product. They pave the way of how I'm going to create content and my magazine.
An Industry Professional and Inspiration of mine is Culture Force, he makes 30 second to 3 minute videos on TikTok. His content is based on buying into popular fashion trends and seeing if they are worth it or not so the average consumer can see if they want to buy it or not. I like culture force because he makes informative content about what is going off in the world of fashion, for example; Latest drops and cheap steals. Another thing I like about him is that he is very honest with his viewers, if he doesn't like something he doesn't shy away from the topic and he only does brand deals he believes are ethical. Something I don't quite like about culture force is that recently his content seems to be catered for immature audiences, this makes it look like he's not really bothered about the content and more about the views. This impacts my product because I can make similar content such as when there are fashion drops from companies such as Supreme, Cortiez, Nike SNKRS, etc... Another way this impacts my product is that it gives me ideas for content and how to get on the algorithm to get the most views from my content.
Another industry professional and inspiration for me is @im.5ft on TikTok. He makes short videos usually around 30 seconds - 3 minutes. His content is based on him going shopping for cool clothes and accessories in all of the big cities around the world such as London and Amsterdam. Something I like about him is that he is honest about what he likes and doesn't like, this shows initiative to me and that he doesn't like things just because they are popular. I respect this very highly. Another thing I like about him is that he promotes small businesses with his following, but only the ones he believes are good and have good intentions and not just doing it for money. He also has a series on his channel where people send him their outfits and he rates them, sometimes quite harshly but it is amusing and quite funny. I would like to do this because it encourages interactions from people on Instagram wanting to send you their outfits to post. Something I don't quite like about him as that sometimes he comes across a bit snobby and big headed, but I think a lot of the time he is joking, but could easily be misunderstood by someone thus creating a controversy. This impacts my product because I could create a similar series to his for interactions on our different social media platforms. Another way it impacts my product is that he is always on top of trends but he sort of makes them popular. So he is the pioneer of a lot of streetwear inspirations across England.
Similar Products
A similar for me would be the local magazine ‘Exposed Magazine’. Based in Sheffield, it is possible for us to organize a meeting with the people from Exposed, to find out more about the industry and how to grow our brand. Something I like about this company is that they report local and national affairs, so they gain following from everywhere around the country. Another thing I like about Exposed is that their website is easy to navigate and is well labelled. Something I do not particularly like about Exposed is that their Social Media accounts mostly post links to things instead of making content that can just go on the social media's, such as Social Media videos. This impacts my project because they are local, therefore we can get in touch with them and find out how to successfully run a professional, industry-standard social media brand.
Another similar product for me would definitely be Dazed Digital as they cover all kinds of stories from fashion weeks, to hyped up fashion drops which is more or less exactly what I want to do. Something I like about this company is how minimal and simple their website is, this makes it appealing to the eye and it is easy to navigate. Another thing I like about Dazed is how they cater to all audiences, although we do not specifically strive to do this, it would be nice to make something for everyone. Yet another thing I like about Dazed, is that they are insanely active on all social media platforms and are always on top of current trends. Something I do not particularly like about Dazed is that they sometimes 'milk' (use too much) certain trends for popularity.
This impacts my product because I can take things from them like style of writing or their posting schedule to get the most impressions (clicks). Another way Dazed impacts my product is it shows me how to run a proper Media Brand, and when to push out content so the algorithm helps it gain popularity.
Theories
Media dependency theory, Sandra Ball – Rokeach and Melvin Defleur circa. 1976
This theory is heavily based on the Uses of Gratification theory by Bloomer & Kutz circa. 1974. The theory suggests that the more a person becomes dependant on the media to fulfil their needs, the media will have so much more power over the person. This in term makes it easier for encoders to set the agenda.
This is relevant in my project because I want people to see our magazine and videos and be easily influenced by my ideology of fashion, this is how trends start by people mindlessly listening to influencers just to be like them.
An example of this theory being used within the industry is within the social media platform TikTok. TikTok creators have so much power over how people dress because if someone likes what they see, they will go out and buy it. This is bad because it creates a fast fashion loop hole which is extremely bad for the environment.
The Knowledge Gap Theory
Philip. J Tichenor, George A. Donohue and Clarice. N Olien
The theory was suggested by the above professors in 1970
They say some parts of society will gain more knowledge and understanding than the lower-economic parts of the population.
If this theory is correct, it means people who operate in a higher class will receive more detailed understanding of what is happening of what is happening – simply because they can access it.
If the way we get news is not made equal, that gap will only get bigger.
The encoder
Their information
Person 1: this person lives in London and earns a very good wage as a banker. This means they can receive more news and information.
Person 2: This person earns an average wage as a builder so can receive some of the same news person 1 gets.
Person 3: this person doesn’t have a job. They live in a one bedroom therefore cannot receive the same information as person 1 and 2.
This theory is relevant in my project because not everyone can afford to keep up with trends as fashion is expensive, an example of this is myself. I can not afford to buy top designer clothes as I am just a college student with a part time job. But there are places to get clothes for cheap, such as charity shops and thrift stores.
An example of this theory being used in the industry is high-end fashion. An extremely popular part of fashion. The problem with this is that people who don't earn enough to buy into high end fashion have to resort to buying replicas, which are extremely bad for the environment, as they are made unethically in warehouses all around Asia. These warehouses emit a lot of greenhouse gasses and cause a lot of environmental damage.
The ‘Representation in media theory’ by Stuart Hall circa. 1997.
This theory originated from a video created by Stuart Hall. This theory suggests how media represents and deals with things such as gender, society, class, places, objects, or events.
This is relevant to my project because my content appeals to anyone of any gender, any class, any society. Anyone can enjoy fashion and streetwear.
An example of this theory in the industry is that there are male and female content creators, and it shows that anyone from any background can partake in fashion.
Font Theory
Font theory suggests that you have an emotional reaction to which font is being used. Behind the psychology of fonts, the amount of power that lies to drive your decisions and goals is unparalleled. Understanding how people react to fonts is extremely important because this allows you to influence people to be attracted to your product and gets you a target audience. This impacts my project because I can attract people to my project just through the font I use.
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The font on my front page 'Franklin Gothic Demi' (photo attached) Is professional and good-looking. As you can see it is tailored towards the younger audience.
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As can be seen here, Serif has these little flicks on the corners, while Sans-Serif is more straight and abrupt. This is because Serif is targeted more towards a higher society, such as 50+ year old reader. Whereas Sans-Serif is aimed at the younger generations as it looks more powerful and is kind of a simplified reason. This is why I chose a Sans-Serif font for my front cover, as it is targeted to the younger generation.
Colour Theory
Colour Theory suggests that the collection of rules and guidelines which designers use to communicate with viewers through appealing colour schemes. To pick the most relevant colours every time, designers use a colour wheel and use information about human optical ability, psychology, culture and more.
As can be seen from the photo attached, there are warm and cool colours. Warm colours are those in the red, orange, and yellow families while cool colours are in green, blue, and purple families.
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Warm colours are inviting, happy and cozy. These colours make places seem more homely and smaller (cozier). Warm colours create a response in your brain to bring feelings of excitement, passion, but also aggression and frustration.
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On the other hand, cool colours include green, blue, purple and yellow. And they are known to be the colours of night, water, nature and are usually calming, and relaxing.
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As you can see from my front cover pictured above, I used a light green colour for my Title which gives off an exciting, inviting but also a naturistic, chill feel, which matches the magazines contents perfectly.
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For example, Exposed Magazine from Sheffield have an orange Title/Logo, which creates a warm, cozy, inviting feel which drags people in and interests them.
Historical Research
The first magazine was published in the United States of America in 1741, it was names Andrew Bradford's American Magazine. Not long after (3 days) Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine was published.
However, the first fashion magazine appeared in England and France towards the end of the 18th century, with the first flourishing fashion magazines being 'French La Mode Illustrée', 'the British Lady's Realm', and the 'American Godey's Lady's Book', in the 1900's.
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Magazines have evolved so much over the last 300 years, now they can be published online. This is important because I can publish my magazine online for completely free for anyone to see. It's free publicity.
Content of Product.
Here are all of the articles I writ for my magazine.
With trends constantly taking over social media, things go in and out of fashion constantly. Today I’m going to go through what I think will be massive this summer. It’s no surprise that fast fashion has taken over the internet and UK streetwear, even though this is not a good thing, it means trends go in and out of fashion more or less instantly, some stick around though, and I’m going to tell you what I think will be around for the whole of the2023 summertime. First of all, Jorts. You heard me, jorts. Baggy jean shorts are taking the UK fashion scene by storm right now as the English summer time approaches. Some shoes that fit the vibe of jorts are; Nike Air max 95’s, Nike Air Shox, and Nike Jordan 4. All these iconic silhouettes complement the jorts very well and each are summer shoes. And for the top I like how windbreakers look with jorts. A few brands that make nice windbreakers are; Corteiz, The North Face, Supreme, Nike And Arc’teryx. In an interviewwith Brad Shafi (TikTok @bradshafi) who is a high-end sneaker reseller and fashion influencer, saidhis perfect ‘fit items for this summer would be ‘a Burner World hoodie, a plain
T-shirt, double knee jeans, Reese Cooper jackets, Poplin pants, and wide leg jogger bottoms’. With his shoes of the summer being ‘Jordan 2s, Jordan 3s, Adidas chunky hiking trainers.’ He also told usto watch out for these upcoming brands this summer: Burner World, Sorrysora, and Drip Daddy.In this photo of me, I’m wearing my beforementioned jorts, which i think put this outfit together, i paired them with a black Stussy knitted sweater and white and red Nike x Supreme Air Force One’s, which give a pop of colour to the outfit.
Summer Essentials
Must have drops this summer
First up, let’s have a look what Nike SNKRS has lined up, starting with May 20th 2023, is the Nike Air Jordan 1 ‘Next Chapter’. Which is what they describe as a ‘Fresh Take’ on the iconic Chi cago colourway (red and black, named Chicago as the Chicago Bulls played wearing red and black jerseys, whom Michael Jordan played for when Nike signed him back in 1984, which is also when this iconic silhouette was created). The shoe is based on the upcoming movie ‘Spider-Man:
Across the Spider-Verse’. This is the shoe we will be seeing the main character, Miles Morales, wearing throughout the film on-screen. The shoe consists of a mix of materials, including leather and suede for a comfortable feel on foot. The shoe will retail for a price of £179.95.
Next up, we have the Nike Air Max 1 Crepe ‘Light Bone’. Another Iconic silhouette in the shape of Air Max 1. For the colour of the shoe, a soft beige and cream hues make up the upper, the midsole also being beige, which complements the gum/crepe sole. This shoe’s standout piece is definitely the light blue denim mudguard, it’s so unique but brings the whole shoe together. This shoe screams good vibes! You can pick these babies up from Offspring on the 20th of May 2023 for a price of £140.00.
(My own opinions)
I got this information from the Nike SNKRS website and The Sole Supplier.
Ugly Fashion
First of all, what even is fast fashion? Basically, fast fashion is replicating recent trending catwalk designs, mass producing them and selling them for cheap. It doesn’t sound like much, but it has a catastrophic impact on the environment. Over 92 million tonnes of wasted fast fashion ended up contributing to global warming in 2020, this is simply unacceptable, and change is needed now. To combat this, do not buy into trends that wont interest last. For example, a technique I use is, when buying new clothes, I ask myself if I think I would wear the piece in a years’ time. If not, don’t buy it, if I will, buy it.
Do not let clothes go to waste as it is becoming a recurring theme that these fast fashion trends are extremely harmful to our planet. Instead of buying brand new clothes from places like SHEIN, H&M and Boohoo, buy second hand preloved clothes from somewhere such as a charity shop, which gives the proceeds to charities and sells good clothes for dirt cheap, I like to go scouting and it gives me a rush when I find I nice piece for cheap. The donation aspect makes you feel good as well as you are giving to charity with something in return.
According to Earth Org, America alone has 11.3 million tons of textile waste (estimated). That’s equivalent to 85% of all textiles end up in landfills on a yearly basis. Clothes Aid, a British clothes recycling charity, said 350,000 tonnes or £140 Million worth of used but still wearable clothes go into landfill in the UK each year. This needs to be controlled asap, people do not understand the effect this is having on our own world. Fashion is beautiful, but not in an ugly world.
This information came from the Earth Org website and my own knowledge.
Fame = Style?
Recently, UK rapper and celebrity Central Cee has released his own clothing brand, named ‘Syna World’, mainly manufacturing tracksuits and a few T-Shirts. Obviously, people went crazy over this drop. A few hours before the online release, the brand did an in-person drop with the man himself there, can you imagine already how that went down? The fans and followers of Central Cee (or Cench for short) were pushing, shoving, and shutting down roads just for the chance to get a glimpse of their favourite rapper and to possibly get a tracksuit, someone even sent their Nan! People were following Central Cee as if they were his disciples, it was pure madness.
Now, the actual clothes. It’s no mystery that tracksuits are a staple of UK/London streetwear, as we have the giants such as Corteiz, Nike Tech, and Trapstar. Back to Syna World, the hoodie features branding across the hood, and the bottoms with branding on the, well… bottom. The hoodie and bottoms feature some crazy drawstrings which are like ropes. The tracksuits dropped in the colourways: ‘Blue’, ‘Grey’, ‘Red’, and ‘Sage’.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the tracksuits, but I can see the appeal to his fans who idolise him and try so hard to be just like him. I’m not saying they aren’t nice, but I just couldn’t see myself wearing it. The tracksuits are already reselling for upwards of £250. From retail, the tracksuit costs £184.23. That’s around £66 profit if you were to resell!
It just goes to show that people will go to extreme, ridiculous lengths just to appear relevant or just to be like their idols.
These all impact my product because without them there would be no magazine. I tried to do different topics for each of the articles, such as the one about fast fashion and why that it is bad, another about some upcoming drops, another about what i think will trend over this summer and one about a rapper who has released his own clothing brand.
I got this information from social media influencers and my own knowledge
Presentation of Work
My work for my final exhibition will be portrayed by putting the social media posts on Instagram and TikTok mainly, and my Magazine will be a physical copy and digital copy on the website 'FlippingBook'. This impacts my project because without these there would be no where to show the work that I make, the reason I chose Instagram and TikTok are because they are the most relevant social media platforms for what I will be producing.
Market Research
My research is relevant to society because more and more people are becoming interested in fashion and streetwear, especially younger adults. What proves this is the publicity it gets on social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok. The current state of the media industry when it comes to this topic is that it is on a rise. It is trending now more than ever and it doesnt seem to be stopping any tme soon, which I think is brilliant.
In an article from Fashion United, they said 'TikTok’s great rise to fashion power player status is in large part owed to COVID-19. The platform exploded when everyone was locked in their home without nowhere to go and nothing to do.
Eventually, once high fashion brands, like Gucci, hopped on the platform, the floodgates were open. TikTok quickly solidified its place as the next big platform for fashion next to Instagram, which arguably transformed the entire fashion industry'. This shows that TikTok and Instagram are neck-and-neck when it comes to being the bigger advocate for sharing fashion and trends. This impacts my project because I will be posting my content on to the two largest social media platforms for fashion, meaning I will hopefully get a larger chance at getting onto the algorithm.