N0725971.
Ejide Tondu. 2.
3002 words.
3.
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
OUR STORY 06. EBONY’S IDENTITY OUR NAME 24. MEET EBONY OUR LOGO 26. OUR MUSE 10. OUR FONT 32. OUR PROMISE 11. OUR COLOURS 34. OUR SPIRIT 12. OUR USP 36. OUR VALUES 14. OUR PERSONALITY 16. EBONY IN THE MARKET OUR DESIRE 18. OUR VOICE 20. OUR POSITIONING 40. OUR INFLUENCES 44. SHE-CONOMY 48. OUR COLLECTION 52. OUR TOUCHPOINTS 56. 4.
EBONY’S COMMUNICATION
PHASE 1 60. PHASE 2 61. PHASE 3 64. PHASE 4 65. PHASE 5 66. PRESS RELEASE 68. CRITICAL PLAN 70.
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OUR STORY
OUR STORY EBONY WELCOMES AND EMPOWERS APPEARANCE IN VARIATION. Over the decades there has been a definite shift on societal views on the female form. The celebration of self-love and empowerment of the female body is everything Ebony encompasses.
EXUDE CONFIDENCE, FEMININITY AND SOPHISTICATION. Ebony uses natural beauty within women as a catalyst for her brand. This is portrayed through the use of form-fitting fabrics and the shape and silhouettes of the female body to mimic the essence of their natural beauty.
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MEET EBONY
WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS.
MEET EBONY
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OUR MUSE
OUR PROMISE
OUR MUSE
OUR PROMISE
For women who enjoy dressing feminine, modest but alluring at the same time. Ebony aims to focus on functional design to accentuate the female body while still symbolising confidence, sophistication and modesty.
To offer a unique fashion experience for women, by designing female-focused clothing that inspires and elevates women to be overtly confident.
Ebony champions and inspires female consumers to take risks authentically in their everyday lives as well as through their clothing.
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OUR SPIRIT
OUR SPIRIT
THE WORLD WAS HER CIRCUS, SHE BECAME THE MASTER OF IT.
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OUR VALUES
OUR VALUES
INCLUSIVENESS
AUDACIOUS
Range Bodily Contentment
Bold Confident Adventurous
FUNCTIONALITY
EMPOWERMENT
Purpose Condition Performance
Fulfilment Acceptance Recognition
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OUR PERSONALITY
OUR PERSONALITY CONFIDENT
QUIRKY ARTISTIC
We are confident, bold and resilient. We want Ebony to help create a community for women, by surrounding them with other women to be help support and be inspired. We at Ebony, respect all women, encouraging body positivity and self- love.
Fashion is a true art form. Anyone can wear an Ebony garment, but it takes a special type of women to bring an Ebony garment to life.
SELF-EXPRESSIVE
EMPOWERING
AMBITIOUS
We pride ourselves on being an inclusive brand, representing all women. We also recognise that providing women with functional garments is essential in powering femininity.
We will always convey the communication of ‘She’ to the external world. We defy the laws of conformity, not only through our designs but as a brand. We want women to use Ebony’s garments as a means to communicate their chosen self-image. 16.
SOPHISTICATED
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OUR DESIRE
OUR DESIRE
TO TAILOR HIGH-QUALITY GARMENTS THAT ENCOMPASS FEMININITY TO INSPIRE AND ELEVATE WOMEN TO BE OVERTLY CONFIDENT.
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OUR VOICE
OUR VOICE We welcome everyone to join our community. We make sure to communicate with our consumers in a tone crafted to encourage. This gives our consumers a sense of who we are. Ebony is a brand that has cultivated a persona and a voice that is conversational and caring. Our voice allows us to connect and build a relationship with our consumer.
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EBONY’S IDENTITY
SHE IS THE CIRCUS.
EBONY’S IDENTITY
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OUR NAME
SMART. CLASSY. CIRCUS.
OUR NAME
To put it simply the name Ebony was based solely on our designer Ebony Thomas. We want our consumers to connect with us on a comfortable level. Our name is our foundation of the company, we wanted to pay recognition and homage to our designer herself.
OUR TAGLINE
OUR NAME
Our tagline is a true essence of how we want to be identified as a brand. We have two major tag-lines. LEAVE THE SHE TO US. SMART. CLASSY. CIRCUS. Ebony is feminine. Ebony is innovative. It’s a lifestyle. It’s not just about the clothes, it’s about the women that are wearing them. 24.
LEAVE THE SHE TO US. 25.
OUR LOGO
OUR LOGO
We want our identity to resonate with our brand logo. The simple flower represents the unquestioned symbol of femininity. Although there are the known stereotypes of linking objects to being feminine, we took the flower as a symbol of redefining our own femininity. 26.
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PRIMARY LOGOS
SECONDARY LOGOS
EBONY The two Ebony logos, pictured above, are our primary logos. The logo pictured above on the right is used when there are restrictions such as aesthetics as well as finding the specific (Selima) font for the logo.
The flower symbol taken from the logo is used as a secondary logo for Ebony. It will be the symbol that people will associate with Ebony, as it’s easily recognisable and unique to our brand.
EXCLUSION ZONE x x
E E
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The Ebony logo on the left is our primary logo colourway and should be used when placed on light backgrounds. Our logo, on the right, with the text colour inverted should be used when the logo is placed on dark backgrounds.
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A logo exclusion zone should be used as a minimum clear space when placing anything next to the logo. 29.
AVOID ANY IMPERFECTIONS... NO.
NOPE.
NAH.
EBONY Never distort the logo.
Never rotate the logo.
Never rotate the logo.
TRY AGAIN SIS.
YEH. THAT’S NOT IT.
UM NO.
Never use the Ebony logo without the flower symbol.
Never use any other colour for the logo but the primary colourwave.
ebony Never change the type face of the logo.
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OUR FONTS
PRIMARY FONT
OUR FONTS
Cormorant Garamond Bold Cormorant Garamond Bold Italic
CORMORANT GARAMOND BOLD Our text and fonts are cohesive and distinctive as we only use two fonts for our brand; Cormorant Garamond and CheGuevara Sign. Cormorant Garamond is the main font for our brand being used for the titles, body text, headings and subheadings. CheGuevara Sign should only be used for titles alongside the Cormorant Garamond title. This typography illustrates the true essence of Ebony, aesthetically as well as through the contrast of both of the fonts. Cormorant Garamond being very simple, modern and easy to read and CheGuevara Sign being overly cursive and ornamental signifying a more feminine typeface.
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CORMORANT GARAMOND ITALIC SECONDARY FONT
CheGuevara Sign alt CHEGUEVARA SIGN ALT 33.
OUR COLOUR PALETTE
OUR COLOUR PALETTE
Our colour palette was inspired by the historical imagery and culture of the circus. These are bold and strong colours with low saturation, so they fit as pastel colours. These colours definitely contradict any initial preconceptions of Ebony. The connotations associated with our colour palette links to our values of being audacious and inclusive. The colours represent what we want the women wearing our garments to feel; a sense of optimism, pride and to have the willingness to take risks.
E6344C
184258
B2B63D 34.
F39553
EEC17E 35.
CIRCUS. YES. THE CIRCUS.
CIRCUS. YES. THE CIRCUS.
The theme of the circus originated from the influence of our essence. ‘ The world was her circus; she became the master of it.’ The circus and its historical imagery inspired elements of Ebony’s designs and garments. Heartening essential features to our clothing such as the shape and silhouettes. Which was then transformed into stylistic ideas that best suit Ebony as a brand. This is all conclusive to the concept of manipulating the literal definition of the circus and applying that to our designs. Stemming from our previous notion of wanting to redefine femininity, we also use that for the circus theme, putting a spin on what is known as the circus. This allows us to differentiate ourselves from other brands as we are bringing a new, innovative and niche idea to the market.
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YOU CAN’T STOP THE CIRCUS.
EBONY IN THE MARKET
EBONY IN THE MARKET
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UNCONVENTIONAL
OUR POSITIONING
OUR POSITIONING
Ebony segments themselves in the affordable but high-end, UK womenswear market. The UK womenswear market is overstocked. It takes a niche brand like Ebony, to be able to come in and cater to the needs of consumers looking for something new in the market. Niche brands thrive on knowing they can provide new and innovative concepts to the market, tailoring their brands to their consumers. To build a strong business to consumer relationship. Consumers are now looking for brands that speak to their values and individual styles.
Fashion-conscious Millennials and Generation Z’s are in demand for brands who custom their brands to their lifestyle. Within this economy, these consumers are making more considered purchase decisions. Seeking premium quality products but at an economical price. This fits entirely with Ebony’s stance within the marketplace as through the use our garments we want our consumers to live an opulent lifestyle at an affordable price. According to Mintel, (market research agency), the UK womenswear market will grow by 14% between 2018 and 2022 to £33.5bn. This highlighting the clear opportunity for Ebony to enter the market, allowing the means to flourish and hold a distinctive position as a brand.
EBONY LUXURY
HIGH-STREET
CONVENTIONAL
At Ebony, we stray away from conformity. Unconventional design is our best friend. Think that’s pretty obvious with the circus theme. Brands encapsulating the same mannerisms are seen to be our competitors; i.e. Zara, Sister Jane and Kitri. 40.
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Womenswear brands such as Sister Jane, Kitri and mixed apparel retailer; Zara, have utilised their individual and unique creative approaches to differentiate themselves. Blending capital trends and versatile designs, these brands incorporate their own playfully quaint personalities to create their feminine collections. But our strong ethos of empowering and honestly representing women through our feminine pieces will help as leverage for competitive distinctiveness.
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MAJOR AND MINOR INFLUENCES
MAJOR AND MINOR INFLUENCES
MACRO TRENDFLAWS IN EFFECT
IMPERFECT PERFECTIONS
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Global forces such as mainstream culture have taught us to celebrate perfection. However, in the new social media age, consumer expectations and values have changed to celebrate our imperfections. Consumers have now become the new style icons, pioneering trends such as individualism, diversity and inclusivity. The natural beauty and female empowerment have been movements that have and are continuing to shape the new decade. Females are feeling as liberated as ever within their natural forms; physically and mentally. Fashion brands have become more progressive, embracing this trend in terms of marketing and consumer reach. Consumers are yearning for something more human and are now resisting the unrealistic beauty ideals. Ebony celebrates the beauty of imperfections through the natural body. We praise differences and flaws having the ethos that no one can permanently be at their best. Taking a spin on this notion, by wanting women to feel at their best when wearing their garments. We make women feel as if our products were tailor and custom made for each woman. It is a line for which personality shines. 44.
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ESSENTIAL VANITY
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MICRO TRENDME-CONOMY
Essential vanity emerged from the driving forces such as the Me-conomy. The Me-conomy is the concept/idea of changing values and shifting identities, affecting our sense of self. Movements such as body positivity have championed a sense of pride around our identity. Consumers are rewriting the definition of terms previously considered negative measures of value, including selfishness, self-enjoyment and self-adoration. Women are disproportionally affected by feelings of inadequacy. Brands are using marketing communications to capitalise on the ever-growing self-love economy. New fashion brands such as Ebony can help to boost women’s confidence and alter those feelings.
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THE NEW FEMININITY
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Brands like Ebony are abandoning typical gender design cues such as the colour Pink being associated with women to redefine modern female identity. Embracing bold and vibrant aesthetics to communicate diversity within women. The ‘Pinkification’ of femininity has been detrimental to the progression of women’s rights. Female consumers are now favouring neutral and bold colours. Promoting a modern and new type of feminity or female identity.
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MICRO TRENDREBRANDING FEMINITY
SHE-CONOMY
SHE-CONOMY
The she-conomy. Our community reach created for Ebony consumers. We use the she-conomy to build a community for our consumers to show that our brand is more than just selling garments.
Demographic: 18-35 year olds.
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The creative professional
THE CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL
Creative Open minded Visionary
The creative professional is a fashion vixen, constantly submerged in the fashion industry and depicts their fashion sense. She has a major knowledge of fashion and always has an insight into upcoming trends. She knows what she wants in terms of styling and purchasing outfits; i.e. simple cut and tailored clothing. She unapologetically takes risks and experiments with her clothing, often purchasing unique and bold statement pieces. If we were to describe her style it would be a 50. ‘professional women on a weekend’.
Sociable Trend Follower Conscious
The simple femme THE SIMPLE FEMME
The simple Femme is a trend follower. She sticks to a clear aesthetic, she’s in her early twenties, so tends to seek premium items at a more affordable price to keep up with trends. She would purchase from Ebony for one-off pieces to add to an outfit or her purchase decisions are usually based off of having seen it on an influencer. If we were to describe her style it would be a ‘Whatever’s next in fashion’ 51.
OUR COLLECTION
SHE IS THE CIRCUS COLLECTION S/S 21
OUR COLLECTION
The launch of our ‘She is the Circus’ collection is coming and will be ready for Spring/Summer 2021. British designer Ebony Thomas is a designer that uses the method of manipulation as a concept to her designs. She manipulates chosen themes and topics, applying them to her designs, reinventing it to fit her style. The freedom of movement and self-expression of the performers within the circus is what gravitated Ebony towards this theme. The circus may not be deemed to suit fit as an obvious fashion theme. But Ebony used particular elements of the circus and its historical imagery to create this experimental and quirky collection. Our range will showcase a selection of 15 pieces. Incorporating a variety of items that can be paired with not just Ebony’s clothing but to be used as a statement piece within any outfit. From chiffon striped hemmed satin skirts to print flared lycra trousers to pleated hooded jackets. Our range covers you for any occasion! At Ebony representation matters, which is why we’ve produced a size-inclusive collection; 6-20.
COAT: £175 52.
COAT: 225
COAT: £150 53.
COAT: £95
SHE IS THE CIRCUS COLLECTION S/S 21
SKIRT: £75
SKIRT: £85
DRESS: £125 54.
TROUSERS: £95
SHE IS THE CIRCUS COLLECTION S/S 21
ONE-SUIT: £115
BODYSUIT: £65
BODYSUIT: £75
BODYSUIT: £85 55.
BLOUSE: £45
CROP TOP: £25 TOP: £40
OUR TOUCHPOINTS
OUR TOUCHPOINTS ONLINE
OFFLINE
At Ebony we want our brand to be inclusive and diverse to the higher end market. This isn’t just specific to our consumers or our range in collection, this is also directed towards our touchpoints. We want to be accessible and reachable to the masses. So, we’ll also be selling our garments online through the recognised retailer ASOS.
Other than just being connected through the digital world, we will also have physical pop-up store experiences across the UK. Facilitating the means to sell directly to our consumers, giving them a chance to connect with Ebony, our she-conomy and to get a real feel for our brand.
We are for every woman.
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EBONY’S COMMUNICATION
EBONY’S COMMUNICATION
WE’RE COMING...
#YOUCANTSTOPTHECIRCUS 58.
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@JUST.ASHAA
PHASE 1:
PHASE 2:
Having our website is our main way in which we can generate business and is the easiest touchpoint for all consumers to access our brand. Consumers can connect with our website through multiple devices. Our she-conomy consumers will have the option to opt to subscribe to our direct e-mailing list for access to exclusive deals/ discounts, upcoming events and new products. We want our consumers to want to stay loyal to our brand. By constantly bombarding them with our emails. Just kidding. By keeping a constant interaction with our consumers, we stay in the minds of our consumers and hope to build relationships with them too.
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SMART. CLASSY. CIRCUS.
*Circus not included.
Amongst the release of our website, we will be dropping our campaign; Smart. Classy. Circus. This campaign will be the first visuals relating to our brand. These visuals are so important to our brand, as we needed to capture the true essence of who we are and what we represent to our future consumers. Representation is key. Conceptually for this campaign, we aim to promote confidence, femininity and sophistication. Influencers are also major a spokesperson for your brand. Picking influencers that truly represent your brand image is key. They need to hold characteristics that resonate with your brand’s values and personality. We want our brand to be as authentic as possible. These influencers will help to promote our brand and our upcoming collection. We’ve chosen to use three influencers, Asha Mohamud, Stephanie Yeboah and the one and only Chidera Eggerue aka. The Slumflower. They embody everything we promote at Ebony; confidence, power, body positivity and self-love. 61.
@THESULMFLOWER
@STEPHANIEYEBOAH
This campaign is more than just bringing awareness to our brand. We want this campaign to be the main starting point for our she-conomy. The She-conomy to us is our community, where we can start a new conversation for women, where we uplift each other, share experiences and stories on being a woman in the 21st century. With this Instagram campaign, we’d also ask for people to share their thoughts and feelings, anonymously or proudly through our dms on what they define being a woman today is. These will be posted weekly on our stories alongside our campaign posts. The hashtag #sheconomy will be used in all of our posts and eventually when the collection is launched we’ll get our she-conomy to tag us in their looks. Through the use of tagging our community, we will create an online lookbook of everyone’s styles. The hashtag will also help to build brand awareness without having to always use methods of sponsored ads or influencers. We as the she-conomy should also be built authentically.
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PHASE 3:
PHASE 4:
Our YouTube styling series will then be released. We will be styling a few of Ebony’s designs to show the consumer how you can style our products. Each styling process will be different in each episode as we make sure we tailor the looks to the models desired style. By doing this we once again want to highlight the importance of individuality and the acceptance of self-expression. Then condensed and shortened versions of the styling videos will be put on IGTV as well, this is done to gain a border reach with our consumers as the She-conomy ranges from the ages of 18-35. They all use a variety of different social media platforms and we need to make sure we are utilising them. In terms of inspiration for styles, colours and concepts, our consumers can go to our Pinterest account. Our Pinterest boards include concepts, design ideas and colour inspo.
Our Pop-up stores will be in a total of four locations; London, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham. On the opening of our first pop-up in London, we will also be releasing the collection online via our website. In the lead up to the pop-up event, we’ll be announcing on Instagram our competition. The competition winners will receive a free styling experience at Ebony with our in-store team as getting to keep the outfit they create. To be able to join the competition we’d get our she-conomy consumers to repost our competition post, tag us, the store location and three of their friends. They’d also need to comment on the post; reasons as to why they feel they connect to Ebony as a brand. We will then pick twelve winners, three for each location. Almost forgot they will receive a glass of free prosecco on the door. Who doesn’t love free prosecco?! This will be a chance for all of our she-conomy ladies to meet personally, in an in-store environment. They will be able to shop the range and try on clothes in-store. This is a shared experience for us as well as the she-conomy. Having the means to now see what we’ve created in physical form and to see the support that will come from our consumers, relays the sense of fulfilment. We are doing this for our she-conomy. We are so excited to personally meet our she-conomy community!
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PHASE 5: We are teaming up with ASOS to bring to you another way to grab your Ebony garments! ASOS is a reputable online retailer, with a mass following from young adults. Just to entice you even more, we will bring to you some exclusive products i.e. accessories; tights and leggings. Ebony joining forces with ASOS, help in terms of reach for selling our products. As a brand, we always want to stay true to who we are. As ASOS sells over 850 brands, we don’t want to get lost in the masses and just become another brand. We decided with ASOS that with every purchase made from Ebony through their website, 10% of the proceeds will go to Women’s aid. At Ebony, we stand for women. Women’s aid is a UK charity who aims to end domestic violence against women and children. We hope by doing this we will help to gain publicity and awareness for the charity.
X EBONY 66.
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ENDS
Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
High-end up and coming womenswear retail brand launches its Pop-up store London based womenswear fashion brand, Ebony, will be taking their sales to the streets this April. The first Pop-up opening will commence on Friday 9th April 2021, in Camden, London. Then will continue to proceed to the locations; Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham in the following weeks. The pop-up event will also be in conjunction with the launch of Ebony's online collection exclusively on Ebony's website. The concept revolves around the opportunity for Ebony to meet their consumers, or as they call it the (She-conomy) in physical form. The temporary store experience allows for an exclusive and one-off in-store shopping experience. Alongside this, Instagram competition winners will gain a costless styling experience and complimentary garments on Ebony. This event showcases the efforts in which Ebony and the team have put in, design-wise and conceptually as well as their efforts to join the conversation on female empowerment, self-expression and individuality. Fashion designer and creator of Ebony, Ebony Thomas, had a few words to say impending the launch of her collection, "My designs encompass femininity, I enjoy creating designs that are a little bit quirky yet simplistic. Whilst I enjoy including feminine elements such as gathers and pleats, I also like to keep my designs quite simplistic and sophisticated." She adds " I want women to feel empowered by our brand, having this pop-up store experience will truly equate to who we are as a brand. Bringing all women from every race and culture together, to essentially shop at the end of the day!" The pop-up event festivities will commence Friday 9th April 2021 at 10:00 am in London, Camden. With the release of the online collection exclusive to Ebony’s website, visit https://ejide2704.wixsite.com/ebony.
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About Ebony: Ebony is a high-end womenswear brand founded by fashion designer Ebony Thomas. Basing their brand around the sentiment of self-love and empowerment. Ebony aims to focus on functional design to accentuate the female body while still symbolising confidence, sophistication and modesty. Ebony welcomes and empowers appearance in variation.
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CRITICAL PLAN: Communication
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR APR
MAY
Website Instagram
Our 12-month communication plan lays in line and helps to structure the lead up to the launch of Ebony in April 2021. This critical plan shows the strategic process across the 12 months; June to May.
Pinterest S.C.C Campaign Influencer paid ads YouTube styling series
This is the beginning of Ebony.
Pop-up store Press release ASOS x Ebony Launch collection Direct email Competition post
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