LEVEL 3 PROPOSALS
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REBCCA POOLE N0493746 FASHION COMMUNICATION & PROMOTION LEVEL 3 WORD COUNT: 3157
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CONTENTS 01 02 03 04 05
PREFACE INTRODUCTION TO PROPOSALS GENDERLESS RETAIL NARCISSISM, SOCIAL MEDIA & GENERATION Z CONCLUSION
PREFACE
In the initial brainstorming of potential research topics and areas of interest, I reflected over feedback from Level 1 and Level 2 to find where my strengths and weaknesses lie and what skills need practising over the summer period to improve the quality of my work. In terms of strengths, the feedback given suggests that my visuals in every project are of good quality along with my analysis of the visuals. However over summer, I will keep practising my software skills to ensure that I have in-depth knowledge of the relevant programmes before the start of Level 3. The quality of my secondary research is also good due to wider reading, watching relevant documentaries and films and reading relevant articles from reliable sources but in the future, I must undergo more extensive primary research to back up all my points and ideas. In terms of weaknesses, I have found that as result of poor time keeping, the referencing in my work has not always been done correctly and some of the images used have been pixelated. Over summer, I will read over the relevant presentations on Harvard referencing and continue to practice in time for Level 3.
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As well as reflecting on my SWOT, I thought about what areas of the industry I am interested and where my skills lie on the FCP triangle. Although I do not know the exact job role I would like to pursue I know that the majority of my skills lie in the Creative Concept section of the triangle as I am interested in the visual aspect of the course and thinking creatively. Job roles in areas such as Visual Merchandising, Fashion Journalism and Creative Direction appeal to me and fall in this section of the triangle. These areas of the industry would suit my skill set, testing my knowledge and ability and allowing my abilities to flourish.
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INTRODUCTION In today’s society there are a lot of social trends that affect the fashion industry, influence change and encourage new concepts. After researching my areas of interest and recent trends in society, I found two particular topics that interest me and will allow me to think creatively when developing outcomes for each proposal. ‘Investigation into the future of genderless retail and how to educate consumers on its social issues through a visual concept’ is the first proposal which stemmed from an article in i-D Magazine about pop-up shop Agender in Selfridges. From this original piece of inspiration, I furthered my research, looking in-depth at the political issues that surround gender and what has changed and developed in recent years. My second dissertation proposal is an ‘Investigation into the effects of the Narcissism Epidemic and social media on Generation Z and how to engage them in the community’. I have looked at the Narcissism Epidemic and how it has affected Generation Z in the digital age. The age of social media and the fascination with celebrity culture among teenagers initially fascinated me and encouraged further research into this social trend. This report is going to give a detailed insight into two dissertation proposals and what I intend to achieve from these projects.
GENDERLESS RETAIL ‘I think we realise now that gender is not binary, we are all individuals, and essentially gender is a fluid thing’ (Toogood, F. in Salter, 2015). For my first dissertation proposal, I aim to lead an investigation into the future of genderless retail and how to educate consumers on the meaning of gender and gender neutrality.
Genderless retail is not an entirely new concept – LEGO created an advert in 1981 which pictured a young girl, dressed in blue casual clothing including blue trainers, rather than the pink clothing she would have been styled in modern culture. There was also brand BodyMap, created by David Holah and Stevie Stewart, which challenged gender stereotypes and engaged with club kids during the 1980s.
Throughout history, gender has always been reflected through the way people dress and the colours that they wear. Pink for a girl and blue for a boy. This stereotype is archaic and colours should no longer reflect one sex or another. A man should be able to wear a pink shirt if he wants to without being victim to homophobic slurs. As Selfridges has said in relation to the Agender concept store, sex refers to people being biologically male or female. Gender is a state of mind. (Selfridges, 2015)
However, the idea of genderless retail has remerged, as a consequence of the recent political and social issues surrounding gender. The idea of gender not being binary has been on the surface of society for some time but has not been reflected in the way consumers shop or how they present themselves. Selfridges has recently launched pop-up store Agender which targets consumers of all genders and preferences, taking them on a journey where there are no limitations or stereotypes in how they choose to dress or shop (Toogood, 2015).
‘Identifying a person’s gender is not black and white or pink and blue there are a lot of shades of grey in between’ (Jones, C. 2015). The concept of there being no stereotypes in gender has been touched upon on the catwalk with recently appointed Creative Director for Gucci, Alessandro Michele dressing male models in blouses and using stereotypically feminine materials such as lace. These controversial designs has encouraged a lot of talk around gender stereotypes in the fashion industry and breaking down the rules of what is acceptable for men and women to wear.
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‘The gender stereotypes that exist are out-dated expectations left over from generations past’ (Tierney, G 2015)
The recent interview as part of my primary research with eighteen year old consumer Christopher identified that gender stereotypes are archaic and should be broken down in retail. This could be addressed by categorising each item such as having a section dedicated to jeans rather than a separate womenswear section and menswear section because this automatically separates gender, although this way of shopping has always worked before for most people (Poole, 2015). The stereotypes that exist are consequences of the strong gender roles that were present among men and women from the 20th Century. These roles between men and women have been broken down as a result of campaigns such as He For She and protests from feminist activists. These retail and design choices in the industry have been a result of the recent social and political issues that have surrounded gender. Over the past few years, the topic of gender and gender neutrality has becoming an extremely big talking point among today’s society and started to make a big impact with more people becoming accepting of the idea that gender is fluid and a subject of choice rather than being stereotyped and categorised into one gender group or another. ‘More and more, the boundary is blurred. It’s definitely reflected socially and politically.’ (Faye Toogood in i-D Magazine, 2015) With social media platforms Facebook and Google+ introducing “infinite” gender options where consumers have the right to choose their own gender titles and whether or not they want to place themselves in a particular category, brands are starting to listen to the needs of the consumers and responding to this current social and political issue.
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‘By empowering people to talk about their gender in their own words, Facebook continues to be a leader in its commitment to respecting and protecting LGBT users’ (Ellis in Gale, 2015). Gender neutrality doesn’t stop at social media with ‘official documents in the UK giving consumers the option to use Mx as a title alongside Mr, Miss and Mrs’ (Gush, C.,2015) and gender neutral toilets being introduced in some parts of the UK. This gives people who want to be identified as gender neutral the option and allowing them to feel part of the community rather than disconnected. As brands start to and continue to break the boundaries between genders, gender neutral and transgender consumers will feel a sense of belonging in a community where they may not have felt as connected to previously. Fig 13
With Facebook being an accessible social media platform worldwide, gender neutrality isn’t something that is refined to the United Kingdom. It is social trend that is evolving globally which is evident in Sweden, where they added gender neutral pronoun ‘hen’ to the country’s National Encyclopedia in 2012. Alongside this milestone, activists in the country protested for parents to have the right to choose any name for their child whether or not is traditionally used for one sex or the other with the idea that names shouldn’t be associated with gender (Rothschild, N., 2012) As a consequence of this post-gender society that is becoming more accepting of people’s choices, a transgender mayor in an Indian state has recently been elected, nine month afters Indian government ruled that the transgender community can be legally recognised as gender-neutral. This highlights that change for the transgender community is taking place globally and recognition for gender-neutrality is becoming wide spread. Fig 14
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Looking at all of the ways gender issues has modernised in recent years through retail as well as in politics using a cartogram has helped identify that there will be a strong future for genderless retail if consumers are further educated on gender and the meaning of gender neutrality. Although there have been some influences from gender neutrality such as Agender and thecorner. com’s No Gender, there needs to be recognition on these gender issues in retail that is accessible for the modern day consumer. A visual concept, for example a zine or a visual merchandising concept, that educates the consumer on gender neutrality and allowing them to open their eyes to new ways of living and shopping would be a potential path for this first proposal because although consumers are always wanting to experience something original, they don’t necessarily learn anything new from these experiences. Consumers need to understand what they are buying in to and the bigger picture, not just about the products they are purchasing but what the brand or the experience stands for and the impact it has on society. This will be considered when thinking of a creative output.
THE CONSUMER
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‘Is there a particular type of consumer you think may not be as educated about gender neutrality and wouldn’t want to be involved in the openness of today’s society?’ I asked this question in the interview with consumer Christopher as part of primary research. Initially, his response was the older generation, Baby Boomers and the Lost Generation, because they were brought up in a time where specific gender roles were massive whereas now gender roles have been blurred and everyone is allowed to be themselves more openly (Poole, C., 2015). However, looking at gender in the fashion industry and what is currently happening in terms of genderless retail, it is unlikely that this generation would be effected by this new type of retail because they have had their own shopping habits for a long period of time and have never felt the need to change this. Instead of targeting a consumer, a brand would be an ideal area to target because they can drive consumers to engage with the brand and buy into what they are promoting. I would create a unique concept around the idea of gender for the brand to use to educate and engage with consumers.
NARCISSISM, SOCIAL MEDIA & GENERATION Z Narcissism and social media go hand in hand in modern culture. If you aren’t promoting yourse;f through social media then you are of the small minority. It’s a social trend that has exploded in recent years with the mass celebrity culture that is dominant in today’s society and with Generation Z being so influenced by what they see on the internet. It could be said that the trend innovators of this trend are the social media platforms and their founders that encourage narcissistic behaviour. It is said that sites like Instagram have fuelled narcissism and encourage consumers to curate an unrealistic and untrue version of themselves. (Parrish, C., 2015). In an online survey taken by twenty four potential consumers as part of my primary research, 88% said they use Instagram on a daily basis, more than other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
‘There was once a young man named Narcissus who was so vain that he fell in love with his own reflection in the water and died.’ (Campbell, W.K.,2014). This story is an Ancient Greek mythological tale that introduces the term Narcissism and suggests that vanity can have a dangerous effect on a person. Although just a tale, it can be captured in modern culture with users constantly uploading selfies and other images that capture their lives on social media.
However, Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, believes that every single piece of our lives is about the image we present to others which is why people wear the clothes they do, it’s a natural, human process and has been in existence a lot longer than Instagram (Systrom K. 2015). Narcissism is noticeable more so in today’s society than it ever has been before as a result of technology being so easily accessible but that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist before.
‘Social networking sites encourage users to highlight only certain aspects of themselves’ (Twenge & Campbell, 2009). This quote supports results from an online survey I created where the majority of people asked agreed that people only post good aspects of their life the majority of the time and try to create the perfect image of themselves which could be to boost self-esteem amongst other things
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‘Web 2.0 and cultural narcissism work as a feedback loop, with narcissistic people seeking out ways to promote themselves on the Web and those same websites encouraging narcissism even among the more humble’ (Twenge & Campbell, 2009). The main aim of social media sites nowadays is for self-promotion even if users do not realise they are doing it.
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‘Nowadays, what’s the point in doing something if you are not prepared to share it with your 536 Facebook friends or your 3,754 Twitter followers?’ (Gordon, B 2014) One social trend that has hit sites like Facebook in the last year is video challenges that claim to raise awareness a long with donations for chosen charities. One example of this is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge where consumers had to video themselves pouring ice cold water over their head and then nominate their friends to do the exact same. As well as taking part in this challenge, they were encouraged to donate to the ALS Association as part of their participation. However, results of a recent survey show that over half of consumers from the United Kingdom did not donate to the charity even after participating in the challenge and additionally, 53% of people surveyed didn’t know what charity it was supporting (Gordon, B, 2014). This shows the ignorance of modern culture and how people are more concerned about self-promotion and what will improve their image rather than issues that are bigger than the internet. This behaviour could cause concern for Generation Z as they are more likely to follow by example, leading to them becoming disconnected with the community and more focused on their image over social media rather than who they are in the real world. The term ‘Screenagers’ has been coined for this generation of teenagers who have grown up with the internet and social media and do not know anything different. (Global, M. 2014) Generation Z have grown up in this digital age, unable to escape from the advancing in technology and the huge celebrity culture that dominates social media. With the rise of the Kardashians, it’s hard for teenagers to escape the mass selfie posts and flawless photo editing that has taken over the internet. ‘One in four teenagers admit they are more influenced by celebrities than people they know’ (Telegraph News, 2015). As a result of this, they are being influenced by what they see their favourite celebrities doing on sites such as Instagram and copying this behaviour. This copying mechanism is caused by mirror neurons being activated in the brain when another person does some kind of act for example yawning (Hughes, M 2015).
THE CONSUMER
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The target consumer for this report is Generation Z, consumers between the ages of 13 – 18 who use social media on a daily basis and spend more time on digital devices than verbal communication with people in everyday situations. They spend little time connecting with the community and more time glued to their phones. This modern day teenager cares a lot about their appearance, how they are perceived by their virtual community and the majority of their influences come from celebrities such as Kim Kardashian who post perfectly polished selfies daily.
CONCLUSION To further develop my ideas for both proposals, I am going to take part in more extensive research, primary and secondary, over summer to refine my research questions. For the Genderless Retail proposal, I will firstly visit the Agender pop-up store in Selfridges to gain a real understanding of what the project stands for and if possible, interview staff working in the concept space. I will also do further reading on the subject of gender, looking at The Apartheid of Sex by Martine Rothblatt and I will also visit Looks Exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. This exhibition explores how mass digital culture affects modern society, using methods that are responsive to advanced technologies and looking at this is relation to gender and sexuality (ICA, 2015). This will aid my research for both project ideas and hopefully allow me to explore potential outcomes for each proposal. Additionally, I will further my reading on the topic of Narcissism and the digital age by continuing to look at The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell, Connected: The Amazing Power of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler and Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion by David Zweig. These books will allow to explore the topic in more depth and help gain more knowledge on what is happening in the digital age and its effects on society. In terms of primary research for the Narcissism Epidemic and the Digital Age, I aim to visit a local high school and hold a focus group with teenagers between the ages of 13-18. I will seek permission from the school and the parents of these students using ethical forms where necessary. This will allow me to gain insight into their perspectives of social media, how they use it and what influences them in modern culture.
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1: Agender Labels, 2015, www.selfridges.com, Fig 2: Agender Campaign, 2015, www.selfridges.com Fig 3: Facebook Likes, 2015 Dazed Digital [online] Fig 4: Kim Kardashian, 2015, www.pinterest.com Fig 5: Agender Campaign, 2015, www.selfridges.com Fig 6: Gigi Hadid Ice Bucket Challenge, 2014, Instagram [online] Fig 7: Visual Merchandising Concept, 2015, www.pinterest.com Fig 8: Self Service Magazine Front Cover, 2015, www.pinterest.com Fig 9: Generation Z Front Cover, 2015, i-D Magazine [online] Fig 10: LEGO Advertisement, 1981, Fig 11: Agender Campaign, 2015, www.selfridges.com Fig 12: Agender Pop-up Store in Selfridges, 2015, www.selfridges.com Fig 13: Gender Neutral Toilet Sign, 2015, www.pinterest.com Fig 14: Agender Campaign, 2015, www.selfridges.com Fig 15: No Gender Campaign, The Corner, 2015, www.pinterest.com Fig 16: Agender Concept Store, 2015, www.selfridges.com Fig 17: Graffiti Art, 2015 www.pinterest.com Fig 18: Kylie Kardashian Selfie, 2015, www.pinterest.com Fig 19: Social Media & Beauty Editorial, 2015, i-D Magazine [online] Fig 20: Looks Exhibition, ICA, 2015 [online]
REFERENCES CAMPBELL, W.K., 2014, Are we more narcissistic than ever before? The Independent [online] COLBY, J. in DOHERTY, H, 2015, Blue for boys, pink for girls, Dazed Digital [online] ELLIS, S. in GALE, E., 2015, You can now define your own gender on Facebook, Dazed Digital [online] GORDON, B., 2014, The Ice-bucket challenge is as much vanity as charity, The Telegraph [online] GUSH, C., 2015, Gender-neutral mx title officially recognised in the UK, i-D Magazine [online] HUGHES, M., 2015, The Human Condition Lecture ICA, 2015, Looks Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Arts [online] MESSAGING, G., 2014, Beyond Facebook – Marketing to Generation Z, Digital Marketing Magazine [online] PARRISH, C., 2015, POOLE, C., 2015 Interview to gain insight on idea ROTHSCHILD, N., 2012, Sweden’s New Gender-Neutral Pronoun: Hen, Slate [online] SELFRIDGES, 2015 Available on www.selfridges.com/agender SYSTROM, K., 2015, Instagram’s Kevin Systrom, The Telegraph [online] THE TELEGRAPH NEWS, 2009, Teenagers most influenced by celebrities, The Telegraph [online] TIERNEY, G., 2015 Imagine there’s no gender, it’s easy if you try, i-D Magazine [online] TOOGOOD, F. in SALTER, 2015 Genderless retail is the future and it’s here, i-D Magazine [online] TWENGE, J.M. & CAMPBELL, W.K., 2009, The Narcissism Epidemic, P107-122
BIBLIOGRAPHY BBC, 2015 [online] CAMPBELL, W.K., 2014, Are we more narcissistic than ever before? The Independent [online] CATFISH, 2010 [film] COLBY, J. in DOHERTY, H, 2015, Blue for boys, pink for girls, Dazed Digital [online] DAZED DIGITAL [online] ELLIS, S. in GALE, E., 2015, You can now define your own gender on Facebook, Dazed Digital [online] GORDON, B., 2014, The Ice-bucket challenge is as much vanity as charity, The Telegraph [online] GUSH, C., 2015, Gender-neutral mx title officially recognised in the UK, i-D Magazine [online] HUGHES, M., 2015, The Human Condition Lecture HUNT, K., 2015 Reading List I-D MAGAZINE [online] ICA, 2015, Looks Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Arts [online] MESSAGING, G., 2014, Beyond Facebook – Marketing to Generation Z, Digital Marketing Magazine [online] PARRISH, C., 2015, POOLE, C., 2015 Interview to gain insight on idea POSNER, H., 2011, Marketing Fashion RADIO 4, 2014, Digital Human Series ROTHSCHILD, N., 2012, Sweden’s New Gender-Neutral Pronoun: Hen, Slate [online] SELFRIDGES, 2015 Available on www.selfridges.com/agender SYSTROM, K., 2015, Instagram’s Kevin Systrom, The Telegraph [online] THE BUSINESS OF FASHION [online] THE TELEGRAPH NEWS, 2009, Teenagers most influenced by celebrities, The Telegraph [online] TIERNEY, G., 2015 Imagine there’s no gender, it’s easy if you try, i-D Magazine [online] TOOGOOD, F. in SALTER, 2015 Genderless retail is the future and it’s here, i-D Magazine [online] TWENGE, J.M. & CAMPBELL, W.K., 2009, The Narcissism Epidemic, P107-122 WGSN [online]
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OVER SUMMER
APPENDIX PRESENTATION SLIDES
SURVEY RESULTS
ETHICAL FORMS