AISHWARYASHREE INDUSTRY INTERNSHIP SUMMER 2019
The Spirit of Today’s Woman Name Aishwaryashree Bachelor of Design Fashion Communication (2016-2020) Comapny Name Verve Magazine Industry Mentor Ms. Minal Shetty Academic Mentor Ms. Maulshree Sinha
National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kangra
Internship Document
Certificate
Signatures (Academic Mentor and Jury Members)
Ms. Maulshree Sinha
Jury Members
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Abstract The objective of the internship was to experience and learn the mannerisms and operations of the industry. I was lucky to be in the hands of one of the leading magazines in the country. I am indebted to the various departments of the magazine for teaching me the processes and techniques involved. In addition to the technical knowledge and skills, I was lucky to have got exposure to meetings and events which helped me with personality development. I was originally assigned to the Art Department of the magazine but my mentor, Ms. Minal Shetty, let me gain a wider perspective of the industry by assigning me to the other departments as well. I worked with Fashion, Marketing and Digital Departments.
Acknowledgement The internship opportunity I had with Verve Magazine was a great chance for learning and professional development. Therefore, I consider myself as a very lucky individual as I was provided with an opportunity to be a part of it. I am also grateful for having a chance to meet so many wonderful people and professionals who led me though this internship period. Bearing in mind previous I am using this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude and special thanks to the Art Director and my industry mentor, Ms. Minal Shetty, who in spite of being extraordinarily busy with her duties, took time out to hear, guide and keep me on the correct path and allowing me to carry out my project at their esteemed organization and extending during the training. I express my deepest thanks to Ms. Maulshree Sinha, my academic mentor for taking part in useful decision & giving necessary advices and guidance. I choose this moment to acknowledge her contribution gratefully. I perceive as this opportunity as a big milestone in my career development. I will strive to use gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and I will continue to work on their improvement, in order to attain desired career objectives. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their constant support.
Verve Magazine
Internship Document
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Contents 1. About Verve....................................................1 2. Where..............................................................3 3. History.............................................................6 4. Team................................................................7 5. Content Segregation......................................8 6. Logo.................................................................9 7. Fonts Used.....................................................10 8. Project Overview..........................................12 9. The Fashion and Environment Event........17 10. Capital Comment.......................................23 11. Transcription...............................................27 12. Artist Lists....................................................31 13. Sourcing........................................................34 14. Assisting........................................................37 15. Learning........................................................47 16. Conclusion....................................................48
Verve Magazine
Internship Document
June - July
Credits: Google Images
Verve Magazine
About Verve Verve is India’s premier and only home-grown luxury and lifestyle magazine for women that has been in publication since 1995. The luxury magazine focuses on women’s lifestyle, including trends, national and international fashion, arts and culture, beauty, travel, food and spaces. Verve is known for its strong people focus, with in-depth interviews with real people, stories and also remains a platform for the discovery of new talent in various fields like art, design and music. Verve has an annual Power Issue (curated list of the power women of the year in June), the annual Best Dressed Issue (curated list of the best dressed women of the year in October) and the January fresh list which has a curated list of young achievers. Verve has an art-themed issue in July and bridal issue in September. Verve celebrates its anniversary in December. Verve started out as a quarterly publication in 1995. It then became a bi-monthly (coming out every 2 months) in 2005 and finally made the change over to a monthly in 2007 to keep pace with growing readership demands. Currently, the magazine is back to being a bi-monthly publication in order to present the readers with richer content.
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Where? Mumbai! Verve is located in the heart of Mumbai, Colaba. It is a minute’s walk from the famous Taj Hotel, Gateway of India, Colaba Causeway, Colaba market, the latest and historic food joints, The Museum of Maharashtra, Modern Art Gallery and Kala Ghoda.
The office is situated at the 5th Floor of Cecil Court
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Verve Magazine
The Waiting Area just as you enter the office
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One of the three Conference Areas used by the seniors
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Verve Magazine
Anuradha Mahindra
History Verve was launched in 1995. Anuradha Mahindra, wife of industrialist Anand Mahindra, is the founder, editor and publisher. Mala Vaishnav is the managing editor of the publication and Falguni Kapadia is the CEO. Verve magazine is an Indian magazine, not owned or run by a foreign company. About 80 per cent of its readership is in cities. The south Mumbai-based publishing organisation also produces specialised inhouse magazines, coffee-table books and supplements for leading brands.
Credits: Google Images
Internship Document
Team EDITOR & PUBLISHER Anuradha Mahindra CREATIVE DIRECTOR Divya Mahindra
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Aalika Mahindra
DEPARTMENTS EDITORIAL Shraddha Jahagirdar-Saxena (Executive Editor), Shirin Mehta (Fashion Features & Lifestyle Editor), Rymn Masand (Creative Consultant), Ranjabati Das (Copy Editor & Associate Features Editor), Huzan Tata (Senior Writer), Zaral Shah (Junior Writer & Coordinator), Mala Vaishnav (Editorial Consultant), Nisha Akasha Paul (Contributing Writer – London) FASHION & BEAUTY Akanksha Pandey (Junior Fashion Editor), Rushmika Banerjee (Senior Fashion Features Writer), Shweta Navandar (Senior Fashion Stylist), Ojas Kolvankar (Junior Fashion Stylist) ART Minal Shetty (Art Director), Varghees Tharakan & Swati Sinha (Senior Designers), Joshua Navalkar (Photo Editor & Videographer), Mansi Shah (Associate Coordinator) AD SALES AND MARKETING Aviva Patel (Senior Manager, Brand Strategy), Puneet Dhawan (Regional Manager – North) COLUMNIST Madhu Jain is an author and a journalist. She writes for several publications and is currently working on her next book. She also curates art shows.
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Content Segregation NERVE PEOPLE CINEMA ART BOOKS MUSIC FEATURES FRAMED CONSCIENCE CONNECTIONS NOSTALIGA SPOTLIGHT ARCHITECTURE STYLE SELECT PERSONAL STYLE HOROLOGY SCAPES FRAMED TRAVEL SPECIAL FEATURES Q&A DIARY
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Logo C
M
Y
K The logo is Simple and Sleek making it compatible with any sort of (art) work, be it minimalistic or maximalistic
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Fonts Used Neutra Text Mostly used for Headings and Sub-Headings
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
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Didot Mostly used for Body of the article
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
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Project Overview I joined the magazine for June and July and was able to work for two issues, The Environment (March-April) and The Design Issue (June-July). I also worked for The Entertainment Issue (August- September), which is set to hit the stands in September. As mentioned, I worked for most of the departments, as well as Art. I was given the work of Transcription, Illustration, Assistance (Shoots), Event Curation, Deliverables, Fashion Sourcing and Advertising. As The Environment Issue was already out when I joined, I helped in promotion of the issue and curation of the events that promoted sustainable fashion and lifestyle. I was also assigned to create collaterals for the event and the magazine’s digital platforms. For The Design Issue, I helped the editorial team in transcription of interviews and assisted the art department in street and studio photography. For the fashion and art department, I sourced from brands like Nicobar, Fabindia, Raw Mango and The Collective. For The Entertainment Issue, I assisted in shoots and looked for companies to advertise in the magazine.
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THE ENVIRONMENT ISSUE The environment is the first Verve Issue I’ve worked on. The Issue focuses on conservation of the environment supported by real and fictional stories, interviews, visuals and introduction to sustainable makeup and fashion. June - July
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THE DESIGN ISSUE This issue focuses on how contemporary spaces are conceptualised and built to co-exist with the pre-ordained architecture of nature; and the way people function in or are inspired by the jigsaw of man-made and natural elements that make up their metropolises. 14
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THE ENTERTAINMENT ISSUE Entertainment is no longer confined to movie nights with the extended family or patiently waiting until 8 p.m. to catch your favourite soap opera. TV, movies, fashion, art, music or even the news — the ways that we consume culture and use our free time has radically altered.
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Assisted for the editorial “All the king’s men”
The Pop-Up was situated at Mahindra’s Byculla property, which is an architectural treat in itself. The footfall was as amazing as the gathering in the panel discussion.
Verve Magazine
1. The Fashion and Environment Panel Discussion and Pop-up
The Environment Issue was a concious step taken by Verve to bring attention to the alarming situation of our planet. It was followed by an event (panel discussion) presented by Tencel and Eco Vero. Day 1 The event was graced by the UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza, various environmentalists, social workers and activists. They discussed the past, present and future of sustainability and it was moderated by creative strategist for sustainable fashion at Reliance, Mr. Gautam Vazirani. The catastrophic effects of plastic production on the environment, the rise of slow fashion and the merits of recycling were bought to light, questions were asked by a discerning audience and satisfactory answers were provided by the quickwitted panelists. Ending the day on a musical note was Ditty, who serenaded the audience with her earth songs, inspired by the natural world. Day 2 The next day was dedicated to eco-friendly brands as they showcased their products in the pop-up. Popular brands like Claymen, Lota, Malai, 11.11 etc. were invited. Second hand clothing and recycling were promoted in the pop-up aswell. The pop-up was attended by people who try to make the planet a greener place to live in, in their own little ways. Some of them recycle every bit of plastic they buy, some of them invest in pre-owned wardrobes, some of them follow home remedies that encourage them to reuse waste. It was an honour to know their stories and create a space for them that allowed them to indulge their conscientious ideologies.
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1.1 The Fashion and Environment E-Invite
The brief was to create an e-invite for the event using the elements of the cover story of the issue.
COLOUR
#b2bf94
#FFFFFF
ILLUSTRATIONS
Inspired by the seeds from the cover story “Gayatri Bhatia: One seed at a time”
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1.2 The Fashion and Environment Workshop Curation
I was given the responsibility to help curate the Block Printing Workshop. The participants started the process from scratch. The blocks were dipped in natural dyes and then pressed against a cotton cloth. This was repeated and a pattern was created. The crowd was facinated and the number of participants increased with time.
The workshop was filled with creativity and the smell of natural dye. The participants were educated about the craft while performing the activity and all questions were answered by an expert placed there.
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2. Capital Comment Illustration
The brief was to create an illustation for the Capital Comment article “Putting Down Roots� By Madhu Jain. The article talks about the coexistence of the modern world and nature. It is a story of her bitter-sweet relationship with a mandarian tree that she nurtured, right outside her house in Delhi.
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#75B72A
#EFEA9A
#DD4416
#C78DA8
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The Illustration I created is just a simple symbolism of co-existence of nature in the modern society. The nature in the illustration seems nurturing and unbothered. Both the parties seem to enjoy each other’s company.
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3. Transcription
Interview of Gazal Dhaliwal Konkona Sen Sharma and Gazal Dhaliwal’s recently-released short film “The Monsoon Date” uses a light-hearted lens to inspect the challenges faced by a transwoman. In the interview, which is taken by Konkana, she talks about her personal struggles, the LGBTQ community and Indian cinema. The brief was to listen to the interview recordings and transcribe the content for the writer, Ojas Kolvankar, to help with the article.
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Verve Magazine
The article on the website www.vervemagazine.in 28
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I believe every artist, every creative person, creates something which is inherent to their core values, is inherent to the very person that they are. And so the fact that there has been such little representation for women protagonists, such little representation for sexual minorities and gender minorities, that now that we, sort of, are taking charge, gradually, surely, but slowly, now we are telling our stories in the way that we feel they should be told. And we are obviously using the perspective we have on our individual life as well as of the minorities around us. We are using our own experiences and telling authentic, moving stories which have not been told, honestly, till now. I mean, the film making sphere has largely been occupied by male voices, and some of them really well intentioned male voices and yet the nuance that comes with living the life of a minority can be probably understood by others but it’s very difficult to really, truly, relate to it by someone who has not had those experiences. Which is why I think us telling our stories is extremely significant and the number of these stories needs to increase manifold. You know I was telling somebody that research has shown that 7% of human population belongs to the LGBT community. So we should have at least 7% of our cinema, mainstream as well as independent cinema which reflects the LGBTQ community. And similarly for women (laughs) at least 40-50% of our movies should be about female protagonists. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that male characters wouldn’t have significant roles in them. Of course not. There have been plenty of male protagonist movies in which females, women, have very important, great paths. And it would be likewise, other way around. But the things is that we must work towards equal representation. Having said that, so, know, film business is an industry, its a business at the need of the day. So people will only create what they think, producers, I’m saying, they only put their money into what they think will get them more money back from the viewers who go to the movies. So it’s sort of a circle, the more people come to watch female lead movies, the more such movies would get made. and then when more such movies get made, it would also mean that more people come to watch them. So it is a circle and gradually we have to go from one to the other. And the producers need to take some steps forward and then the audiences would have some more steps forward. It’s that way. i think there has to be an initiative from the society as well as from the industry.
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Verve Magazine
I think I haves sort of answered this question number three within my answer of the question number one. But as far the format is concerned you know before the script came to you Konkana, we have been through several versions of this script. There was one time when there were actually no flashbacks to the childhood of the protagonist. There were in fact flashbacks to the relationship of this girl with that guy and you saw several of their interactions over the last one month, and all. But then along the way we felt that it was more important to explore who she was as a person and then have this one powerful dramatic scene in the end. So these sweet little nothings happening when there is this storm brewing outside and she is having these sweet little interactions with other people. All of them in some way, at a certain stage of relationships in their lives whether its the old man and woman who were totally comfortable, settled into their lives. Who sort of complete each other’s sentences. Who can tell the other person what they think? So they totally, sort of, aligned with each other. Then there is this really young 16-year-old girl who’s just had her heart broken. You have the uber driver who is probably recently married just 2-3 years back and he is in that honeymoon period of his life. Where the wife is saved as sweet wife on his phone. So you see this different, sort of, little-little love related expressions of three different kinds of people and you know that our protagonist is heading towards somebody she has fallen for. And while you’ve seen other people’s relationships, you’ve seen that kind of relationships on screen earlier but love for the kind of protagonist that is in this film, love for someone like her, has rarely been in scene or explored in this fashion. So which is why we decided we must not cut back to her flashes with this guy. It’s more important to see who she is, who she was, and know her more. And the last scene in itself was enough to convey what this relationship means to her and of course you did, konkana, you did such an amazing job in the scene that you did not need any more flashes to tell us about her journey with this guy.
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4. Lists
Of Illustrators and Photographers I was given the job to make lists and research on the best Indian Photographers and Illustrators I find on Instagram and Behance. The motive was to collaborate with some of these artists for upcoming issues.
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Illustrator’s List 32
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Photographer’s List Over a week, I looked into all the possible illustrators and designers I could find and later shortlisted the best. I went through numerous Instagram, Behance accounts and Websites. Verve has previously worked with some of these artists before. The intention is to refer to the list whenever they require a freelancer.
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Verve Magazine
5. Sourcing
Of Apparel and more
I had to source Apparel, Crockery, Cutlery and other aesthetic pieces for ongoing shoots. I sourced and returned Apparel from: Raw Mango The Collective The Label Life Kanika Goyal Label For resturant and food based shoots: Fabindia Nicobar Clove
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Screenshot of one of the Sourcing Requests (The Label Life)
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Example: Cake Stand sourced from The Label Life
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6. Assisting
For Editorial Shoots
As an Intern, my job at shoots were to help in any manner required. From holding the reflector to making the model feel comfortable, I was given all sorts of work. Shoot 1 My first shoot was with India’s first Drag King, Puja Sarup, who revives late actors like Shammi Kapoor. She Co-founded the theatre company Patchwork Ensemble in 2014 and is the star of the successfully running act, “Tape.” Apart from being an amazing actor, Puja is also a well known Writer and Director. Shoot 2 A shoot for the latest Micheal Kors Handbag.
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Verve Magazine Shoot 1
THE TRANSFORMATION It is definately easier for Puja to slip into the character emotionally than physically. Her makeup took a considerable amout of time but she sat still with patience. Her breasts were tightly taped to smoothen the surface, like that of a man. She was transformed into a man but the feminine energy of endurance couldn’t be silenced. 38
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THE PHOTOGRAPHER Puja was shot by Pulkit Mogha, famously known as skintype to his huge instagram following. He specialises queer in photography offering uncensored representation for male bodies, niche queer subcultures and above all sexual minorities in South Asia. June - July
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THE CHARACTER Puja danced, sang and took the stage with exaggerated swagger and tawdry sartorial style to get into character. She performed many vintage bollywood songs and was entertaining throughout the shoot.
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The Final Feature
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Shoot 2
JOIN THE CLUB Shoot of one of the bags of the latest collection of Micheal Kores. The theme was “Disco”. June - July
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Verve Magazine
LIGHT PLAY An iridescent base and a white backdrop was used to create the “Disco” vibe. 44
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The Final Feature
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Learning In the two months of internship, I learned and practised various skills as a designer, stylist and curator. Firstly, I was made to understand the entire publication process: The key ideas of content are generated by the 2 chief directors of the company, The Editor and The Editorial Director. The Creative Director ovresees the work of the Art Department. The Art Director’s job is majorly to approve of newly designed layouts, plans and the shoots under Art Department , she is also responsible for maintaing the entire aesthetic of the brand. The Art Department is not entirely responsible for the Illustrations and Photography that goes in the magazine, instead, it hires talented freelancers to do it for them, simultainiously creating a platform for fresh artists. I was also introduced to the printing techniques involved. The magazine was earlier printed in thin glossy paper but they have now switched to a matte finished paper type, to making the reading experience more interesting. The people in the industry taught me that it is very important for a person to be a go-getter and how it is crucial to be aware of your surroundings and news. People working at Verve do not succcumb to the monotonous life of an office, they are lively and enjoy their work thoroughly. The workplace is lit with friendly debates, harmless gossip and laughs. Overall, Verve was an educational experience and I enjoyed every second I spent there.
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Verve Magazine
Conclusion I can honestly say that my time spent interning with Verve Magazine resulted in one of the best summers of my life. Not only did I gain practical skills but I also had the opportunity to meet many fantastic people. The atmosphere at the Colaba Office was always welcoming which made me feel right at home. Additionally, I felt like I was able to contribute to the company by assisting and working on projects throughout the summer. This was the closest I’ve ever come to Fashion Journalism Industry and my experience was just what I expected it to be. It wasn’t only glamorous, but also very responsible. Overall, my internship at Verve has been a success. I was able to gain practical skills, work in a fantastic environment, and make connections that will last a lifetime. I could not be more thankful.
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