Noah X A-Cold-Wall brand collaboration book by EleanorObrien.

Eleanor O’Brien J85108 Fashion Marketing and communication L4 collaboration Book AD4606 Brand Development

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CO N T E N T S

Part One: The Tomorrow People

Introduction to Generation alpha

Real Movers and Shakers in sustainable streetwear

Sustainable Brand Story

Part Two: the brands

10x10 investigation A-Cold-Wall

10x10 investigation Noah

Part Three: the collaboration

Brand Narrative

Logo Development

Consumer profile

7 P’s of Promotion

Conclusion

References

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part 1 the tomorrow people

PART PART ONE ONE The Tomorrow People

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GENERATION ALPHA GENERATION ALPHA The word Generation defines individuals born and living during the same time with similar ideas, views and attitudes. What shapes generations are the three trends being: technology, economic and parenting (Generation breakdown: info about all of the Generations, n.d.). Generation Alpha are the new generation representing the future and consisting of children of the millennials born between 2010-2025, they are the first generation to be born into a technological infused world. Currently they are made up of children aged 11 and younger and will account for more than 2 billion who are said to become passionate on climate change, witnessing some of the most devasting impacts in our environment due to global warming (Ho, 2019). Researchers have found one in five, aged between five and nine years old, have already attended a protest on a topic they are passionate about, such as climate change, with parents encouraging their children to speak out on what they believe in. Generation Alpha are predicted to be committed to saving our planet and become an open-minded generation, with 57% of under 10-year-olds in a survey stating they believe gender doesn’t matter to them, in contrast to 39% of their parents (Booth, 2019). 9

With technology surrounding them and having information easily accessible, Generation Alpha are said to become the wealthiest and most highly educated generation to date. From a young age they are already influencing their parents (millennials) over what brands to purchase from and introducing them to their conscious buying habbits, influencing their decisions from holiday destinations to the brand of cars. Researchers have found that 25% have encouraged their parents to re-evaluate their purchasing choices and switch to more sustainable products. Children of today have also become aware of the food they digest and are curious to know what is in their food with 21% influencing their parents to eat less meat. (Gilmour, 2020)

When it comes to Generation Alpha, they have already shown how critical and outspoken they are on social media by being involved in “Cancel culture”, calling out brands and influencers on behaviours they don’t agree with. Generation Alpha already understand what greenwashing is and aren’t afraid to ‘cancel’ brands if they go against their loyalties and morals. An example of this is claiming a product to be sustainable when they are not and will influence their parents to follow in their footsteps to stop purchasing from certain brands. This conveys that their parents respecting their opinion comes to their advantage when consuming from brands. This generation are learning new information from online social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, unlike going to their parents for information like previous generations. (Gilmour, 2020). Having the ability to share their opinions online and their experiences means brands will have to work with Generation Alpha to make sure

they give out excellent customer service and support their loyalties, such as sustainability practices as they could face losing customers and being put under threat (Daisy, 2019). Although technology is a big part of their lives researchers believe generation Alpha will not be consumed by it but use it to their advantage to raise their opinions and to encourage others to take action. Three quarters of under 10s are still climbing trees and enjoying the outdoors (Booth, 2019). Children of today are still exploring nature and the outdoors, even though they are stereotyped to always being on their gadgets and staying indoors. Schools have stopped using textbooks and turned to iPad’s/tablets, allowing students to create their school projects and have the ability of sharing their work with their teachers and peers. Unlike Gen Z and other Generations, they are able to contact their teachers to ask questions on tasks they have been set. (Theko, n.d.)

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S A V H

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Brands have started to market towards generation alpha with current platforms, such as “American Public Media” and “Vermount Public Radio”. They have begun to create interactive shows, after understanding they will grow up being able to interact with Ai and robots, which are able to communicate with them, understanding their emotions and enabling to learn from them as well as phones having voice activated technology, for example Apples ‘Siri’ virtual assistant (Theko, n.d.). Gen Alpha are important to brand’s as they provide an understanding and insight into what we can expect in the next decade. Brands can start to make predictions from research provided on their behaviours, to be ahead of the game in the next trends to widen their target audience and stay afloat as a business. This generation will be the largest ever generation having a greater population than other Generations and having a longer life expectancy. Children now will become students for longer and work later. They will stay at their family home for longer before becoming financially independent, with having their own children being pushed back later in life in order for them to focus on their education, which are traits already being shown in Gen Z (understanding Generation Alpha, 2020). Consequently, being the most tech savvy generation to date means they will have the skills to further their knowledge and become more independent. This also allows them to have even more freedom of speech, being able to share their opinions on global platforms and make their voices heard. They will be able to follow climate change protests and take control of their future by voicing their opinion where it matters and take their loyalties to brands that care about their morals.

WHAT IS STREETWEAR?

Streetwear is casual clothing that Is typically worn by a skate or urban audience. Streetwear has been around for many eras, evolving each decade, becoming global in the 90s from New York’s hip hop culture. Supreme, a popular streetwear brand, first opened their store in NYC during this era. Oversized streetwear originates from gangs who would try to hide drugs and weapons to walk the streets without being caught. Streetwear has had a large impact on luxury fashion with celebrities wearing the style today, such as Justin Bieber. They have helped popularise the style and boosted luxury goods sales by 5% in 2017. However, this also causes issues for the environment, so how can this problem be resolved?

CHRISTOPHER RAEBURN Christopher Raeburn is a luxury sustainable streetwear designer who has been working towards changing the world through responsible design since 2009. He follows his ethos when making decisions, using the 4r’s: raemade, raeduced, raecycled and raeburn. Raeburns vision is to reduce the amount we overproduce and consume by following his ethos and reduce the amount of textiles materials wasted each year by recycling materials that are no longer wanted in order to remake into clothing that is non seasonal but original garments “Nothing new. Nothing wasted.” Says Raeburn (Brooke, 2020). Researchers in 2017 found on average people will throw out 19 wardrobe items each year and not consider recycling or donating (Alexander, 2018). The story around Raeburns fabrics is in his fascination with military materials. To make his designs he uses decommissioned military stock, nylon parachutes, raft shoots and more to create a variety of unique and innovative ethical garments (raeburn changing the world through responsible design, n.d.) Raeburn believes that to ensure a truly sustainable fashion industry, to help the environment, everyone in the industry from small brands to large brands need to work together, including the government, in order to make a change. Post pandemic Raeburn believes we will have an even bigger problem in terms of the environment than ever before. This is why we need to reduce the amount of textiles materials being produced (Brooke, 2020). Raeburn doesn’t agree with Black Friday and stated his opinions and views on his social media platforms. He encouraged people to “buy nothing” and stated how he

believes these sales are what is wrong within the industry and we as consumers need to re-evaluate where we spend our money and to consider changing our mindsets on the matter. With Black Friday often encouraging consumers to buy unnecessary items, which they most likely are unable to afford, Raeburn’s message is to put your money on items that will hold value and to consider purchasing items that will last long term with more substantial quality “it’s about buying less but better” says Raeburn (Alexander, 2018).

Noah is another example of luxury sustainable streetwear founded in 2015 by Brendon Babenzien, based within its flagship store in New York City. The brand creates streetwear like no other by merging skat, surfing and music with classic menswear. Noah donates to causes they believe in by donating a portion of profits and speaking on issues they find important, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraging the American public to vote. They did this through their Instagram page which has a high following. Noah’s vison is to become a better brand in terms of sustainability and consider the environment and social impacts their decisions make (About us , 2021).

Noah have consistently shown their passion on making the fashion industry more sustainable. They are actively looking for ways to improve their packaging, sustainability wise, and hoping to make it less wasteful. Noah also uses recycled fabrics such as cashmere to make their brand more eco-conscious. Noah’s message is similar to Christopher Raeburn’s, being to encourage people to buy clothing that is better quality and will last a longer period of time than buying into trends made from cheap materials. Noah actively keeps their socials engaged with their audience and try to deliver important messages by highlighting environmental issues as well as social issues. Although they are only a small business, they have stated they will always strive to do better and continue to progress in an ethical way. They have used the phrase “we are not a sustainable company” on their website to indicate what they are doing is a small step into the industry of sustainability and to become completely sustainable would mean turning back time on what is a century of consumption and production of trends (On sustainability, 2018)

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A-Cold-Wall is a third example of luxury sustainable streetwear founded by Samuel Ross in 2015. When Ross first talked about his plans for A- Cold-Wall he described it as “an art project based on exploring the cultural melting pot of the UK”. Ross wanted to create a brand that celebrates the energy of the youth and to start a cultural conversation. Although the brand isn’t as forward with sustainability and doesn’t promote this as well as Raeburn and Noah, they still continuously create sustainable messages and collaborations with brands such as Nike to create products with sustainable motive. (Cole,2019) The brands vision is to be focused on bringing in knowledgeable and loyal customers to keep returning. They want to encourage small brands and students starting a business to incorporate sustainable practices early on to make a change within the industry. “The earlier you start becoming sustainable, the better.” – Samuel Ross. Their aesthetic is minimalist urban wear targeting the youth of today, with bold and neutral colours. A-Cold-Wall message is again similar to Noah and Raeburn’s but unique in principles by practising to discourage overproduction and consumption within the industry, highlighting the effects of fast fashion and the issues around buying into trends. A-Cold-Wall use minimalist principles to act on this. The brand states to use high performance fabrications and hand finishing techniques. 20

SUSTAINABLE BRAND STORY For brands to create a sustainable brand story, in my opinion, they would need to understand what their consumer’s needs and loyalties are. For instance, brands could focus on advertising and posting about current world issues. Understanding Generation Alpha’s loyalties, being sustainability and open minded, they could target them to widen their audience by improving on how ethical their brand is. Brands could also create polls on socials media platforms, asking their consumers questions to understand where they can improve and what people want to see in terms of sustainability. This would also help to stay in the loop with consumers and become more connected. It would also help to improve their consumers emotional connection to the brand, as feeling as though they are being listened to and understood.

Brands could also follow in Christopher Raeburn’s footsteps by using a similar ethos to his 4r’s. By recycling and up-cycling unwanted textiles materials, to reduce making new materials and further adding to the problem of having an unsubstantial amount of waste in our environment. Brands could also create a message to their audience to encourage them to wear clothing with sentimental value, instead of buying into trends and choosing to spend their money on better quality clothing, this could also

improve their sustainable footprint. To further a brand’s sustainable story, by reducing the amount of plastic used in their packaging and instead use recyclable materials, this is another effective way to become a more sustainable brand. When consumers shop with a brand, researchers have found packaging is one of the top things they look out for, sustainability wise, and might not shop with them again if their packaging consists of non-sustainable materials. Brands should also communicate on social platforms and tell their sustainable story. This will help to promote the effects and changes the brand is making, which is important for the brands image as well as encouraging others to make the same choices, helping towards a more sustainable industry. I also believe it’s important for brands to create articles on their website, regularly updating changes they have made to become sustainable and giving updates on how they are improving their priorities and what their plans are in the future, in order to develop even further sustainability wise. Brands could also show their support for other sustainable brands as this could also improve their brand image. Exchanging ideas and promoting ethical companies is important for the industry as smaller sustainable brands are then also being heard.

PART PART TWO TWO The Brands

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How does a Cold Wall appeal to an Urban Target audience? The majority of A Cold Walls collections consists of an Urban aesthetic. Their PS21 collection has a variety of urban-focused garments, including cargo trousers and raincoats. Their SS19 collections focused on urban Britain and the scenery. Their photoshoots for this collection consists of concrete buildings and combined earth tone colours with vibrant colours such as royal blues and yellows. Their target audience is mostly London based, where the brand originates and in other cities, this could be due to the urban aesthetic the brand has with urban being city focused.

Why did A Cold Wall create their spin off brand Polythene Optics? With A Cold Wall targeting the millennials, Samuel Ross the founder of ACW wanted to create a sperate brand that focused on the youth of today and have more streetwear focused garments. Polythene Optics was launched in 2018 and is more affordable than A Cold Wall starting at around £40. The new brand realigns their mission statement which is clashing environments and class systems. Ross’s vision with Polythene Optics was being able to exist in different rooms of fashion. As a result of this ACW can now be the smart focused brand that it is destined to become and now Samuel Ross can focus the brand being more suited to the luxury market.

What measures does A Cold Wall have in place to ensure their brand is Eco conscious? Originally A Cold Wall wasn’t sustainably driven but have recently started to make eco conscious decisions. The brand has been in talks with a supplier to change their most iconic synthetic fabrics into sustainable synthetic fabrics by recycling plastic which has been collected from the bottom of the ocean. Samuel Ross has also advised students who are considering creating their own label to think more consciously by incorporating sustainable practices and an early stage. “The earlier you start becoming sustainable the better.” – Sam Ross. Ross has also worked with the Brand Nike in the past who are very much sustainably driven to create a collaboration using upcycled leather materials.

Why is A Cold Wall inspired by the British Class system? A Cold Wall was founded in London, UK by Samuel Ross. Ross did not come from the typical British designer background of graduating from St Martins, instead he was from a working-class background as a black man and studied graphic design at university. Ross took inspiration from the British class system when creating his design pieces, particularly from people affected by modern black Britain. The name of his brand, A Cold Wall was also inspired by Britain’s class system, representing the social barriers in place which makes life for those under privilege even more problematic and stressful. The majority of ross’s work conveys his fascination with the working class such as using polythene sheets which you would fine at a construction site, relating to that working class environment.

What makes A Cold Wall artistic? A cold wall was initially described as an “art project” by Samuel Ross. He explained how clothing was a way for him to express his ideas coming from an artistic background and his passion for graphic design is something he wanted to showcase in his work. He explained that fashion for him is a medium. “graphic design is a new way for the youth of today to get their foot in the fashion industry “- Samuel Ross. He often expresses his enthusiasm for art in his collections such as his SS19 collection which consisted of models dressed in what appeared as mud which was a seemingly unusual show for the fashion industry.

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How does A Cold Wall use Minimalist principle’s? A Cold Wall has recently started to shy away from typical streetwear and became more minimalist, using minimalist principles to discourage the overproduction and overconsumption in the fashion industry. I believe this is due to the fact, founder Samuel Ross has been applying minimalism in his own life stating “I have become a minimalist” throwing out unwanted possessions to match his new mind set. He is inspired by Japanese minimalism, using only necessities and taking into consideration the efficiency of a product than the style which is something Ross has shared his opinions on and doesn’t agree with the streetwear industry choosing to produce mass amounts of garments over quality.

Why is it important for A Cold Wall to ensure their brand is diverse? Samuel Ross has stated that his inspiration in his design work comes from his experience of racism in London during his youth. His “No Water” collection from SS16 refers to the underprivileged communities that face no clean water which conveys how Samuel Ross wants to use his brand to make a change and create a diverse brand that is suitable for everyone and something the working class and under privileged can relate to and feel understood. Throughout A Cold Walls collections he has used a diverse range of models which again shows his passion to make his brand suited for everyone no matter what skin colour you have. In June 2020 Ross announced he was donating thousands of pounds to the Black Lives Matter movement as well supporting black owned businesses.

How has the use of Instagram positively impacted A Cold Wall? A Cold Wall began on Instagram and has since become a success. Samuel Ross started to share his creations on the social media platform and has since caught the eye of many designers including Virgil Abloh and have since worked on projects together and has become the mentor to Ross. Samuel ross has since worked with popular brand Nike to create their Air Force 1 collaboration which further helped his brand to become a success, gaining more followers and growing his audience. A Cold Wall also use their platform for political issues and are able to reach out to people on world-wide issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement which I think is important for brand to be able to emotionally connect with their consumers and create loyalty.

Is A Cold Wall a Streetwear brand? A Cold Wall started out as a menswear streetwear brand inspired by Samuel Ross’s passion for art and graphics taking on a futuristic aesthetic of streetwear. Ross is no longer keen on using the word ‘streetwear’ to define his brand. He stated that originally it was used as a divide in the class system but with luxury homes wearing streetwear, he feels it’s no longer suited to his brand. From my research I believe Samuel ross doesn’t want his brand to be placed in a specific box in the industry, he seems to keep on open mind on where he can take his brand and how he can cater for everyone not just a specific type of consumer.

Has Collaborating with other brands been a success to A Cold Wall? A Cold Wall first successful collaboration was with Nike, which was said to be the point of success for ACW. Since then, ACW has also collaborated with converse, dock martins and Diesel. Diesel’s founder Renzo Rosso wanted to collab with A Cold Wall, not for making money but to bring fresh energy to the brand and trend focused items, which shows the success of ACW being a new brand and diesel having a lot more history and experience in the industry. A Cold Wall tend to bring their edgy style to their collaborations such as using earthy tone colours within their converse collaboration and a distressed look to their collaboration with Diesel.

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What does Noah do in terms of sustainability? Noah are constantly being recognised and praised in the media for their efforts in terms of sustainability. Noah uses recyclable materials throughout their collections and are a part of the 1% for the planet international organization, which contributes one percent of their annual sales to help with environmental issues. Not only do Noah help with the environmental side of sustainability, but they also ensure their workers are being treated fairly. Working with manufactures and supplies that are ethical and put integrity above trends. Noah also encourages their consumers to buy better quality clothing that will last in the long run rather than buying into fast fashion trends. However, Noah don’t envision themselves as a sustainable brand and believe for a brand to be truly sustainable would meaning going back in time to change what is over a century of overproduction and consumption.

Is Noah considered a political brand? Noah is consistently posting current world issues online and on social media platforms such as encouraging American citizens to vote in their presidential election and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Noah produced a t-shirt in which the sales of the t-shirt would be donated to the BLM movement. Noah stated how proud they are of their luxury cashmere scarves which supports a business based in the UK. Noah came out with a human right scarf which acts as a banner to remind people of the simple principle that all of us humans deserving rights which are unfortunately being ignored around the world. Noah also have created t-shirts that go to supporting breast cancer with graphics on and donate all of the proceeds of the sale to breast cancer prevention partners which is a non-profit organization. This is just a few of the many causes Noah supports.

How does Noah create a skate aesthetic? Noah first started as a streetwear brand targeting a skate audience, since merging with surf, and music culture. In 2018 Noah collaborated with frog skateboards and came out with their own collection of skateboards and filmed a video to entice a skate audience. Noah also created a batman collaboration collection which consisted of graphic T-shirts and used a collection of images showcasing a skate aesthetic with batman printed on a skateboard. Their SS19 collections encouraged to make the most of the sun with a skate aesthetic consisting of bright coloured garments such as shorts and casual wear. Babenzien wanted to remind people to have fun.

How has New York impacted Noah? Noah launched its flagship store in 2015, New York city. Their store was a few blocks away from supreme’s store where founder Brendon Babenzian worked as a creative director. I believe Noah has been such a success due to originating New York where streetwear is popular. Noah is different from your typical New York urban streetwear with Babenzian taking inspiration from Long Island and surfing aesthetic. The brand introduced a label in 2006 and was at New York fashion week but returned a decade later, opening up a store which is when Babenzian wanted to create his own brand and move on from supreme.

How are Noah developing as a brand? Noah are a new brand founded in 2015 and are still developing and figuring out the ropes in the industry. Noah is an honest brand and know where they need to improve, they have stated that their packaging “sucks” and have written a blog on their website on the environmental effects of packaging and what they are doing to help fix this problem. Noah have recently created a new recycling program called ‘Not dead yet’. This is for their consumers to be able to return unwanted or outgrown items for credit towards their next purchase which Noah can then repair and resell or be used for other benefits.

Why is Sea life important to Noah? Majority of Noah’s spring/summer collections consists of bright summer clothing with a surf aesthetic but intertitular their SS20 collection which is dedicated to the health of world’s oceans and revolved around campaign images which delivered the message of “No fish, no future” I think it’s important for Noah to portray a sustainable message for all of our environment, including our oceans which many people forget about or look past. Towards the end of their SS20 look book the brand admitted to ‘not being close to true sustainability’ and are working towards becoming a more responsible company. Noah also donates to the Sea Shepherd which protects our seas and have manged to end seal hunting in Ireland.

Sea life

Why does Noah target the millennials? Noah’s target audience is men aged late 20’s to early 40’s (millennials). Millennial’s youth was around the 80s and 90s, which are the eras Noah is referenced around. Millennials are said to be internet oriented with 97% using the internet and prefer online shopping. This is most likely the reason for Noah’s limited number of stores and are mainly focused online. Noah’s use of blogging political issues is a trait millennial have when growing up in a time where blogging was a lot more popular, and they are also said to be political minded. Founder of the brand Brendon Babenzian has a past of working for supreme which was a very successful streetwear brand in the 90’s that millennials loved.

Why is Noah important to Brendon Babenzian? Brendon Babenzian worked as a creative director for supreme but left to launch Noah in 2015. Babenzian was passionate for skate, surf and music which is portrayed throughout Noah. Babenzian desire to create a conscious brand stemmed from the birth of his daughter and the idea of her growing up in a world of poor decisions and environmental issues. Babenzian wanted to make a change and open a discussion within his brand Noah. Discussing all topics from climate change to tragedies around the world that need to a platform like Noah’s to be addressed. Babenzien always intended to create a new line of clothing to be known to build clothes that last, not necessarily trend focused.

Why is staying active online important to Noah? Noah have included a selection of blogs on their website which discusses a variety of world topics and causes they believe in and to educate people on. I believe that it is important for Noah to be active online is it creates a connection with their consumers, being able to share their passions and become a voice for people who don’t have a platform. I also think it’s important for Noah to be able to update their consumers on new projects they have launched and how they are improving as a brand sustainability wise. Noah also supports smaller sustainable brands through their blogs and brand as a whole.

Is Noah considered streetwear? Noah is considered rebellious in the streetwear industry, going against the typical style and trends. Noah’s message is to simply put an end to overproduction in the streetwear industry and to wear clothes that you love not following trends and becoming distracted from what really matters. Babenzian mission statement is to bring people’s ideas through a product. After working for supreme Babenzian brought their skate streetwear inspired garments with him to start his own conscious business, Noah. From my research Babenzian didn’t agree with supreme’s practices in the industry and created Noah to inspire people to think more consciously and understand there is more important issues than what someone wears.

PART PART THREE THREE THE COLLABORATION

BRAND NARRATIVE

I decided to bring A-Cold-Wall and Noah together after thoroughly researching both brands to create a luxury sustainable men’s streetwear collection catering for the new generation Alpha, that supports their loyalties and lifestyle, being tech-savvy from a young age and eco-conscious. Generation Alpha is also said to only buy from companies that are purpose-driven as they grow up protesting for climate change.

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After extensively researching into Noah and a-cold-wall thoroughly by my 10x10 investigations, I particularly liked how Noah is a lot like a movement as well as a brand. Noah donates portions of profits to causes they believe in such as creating t-shirts donating to cancer, they also created a t-shirt supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and starting a conversation on their Instagram with their followers. Noah also has a blog on their website which includes a large number of articles on causes they are passionate about and want to educate people on. I wanted to take the political side of Noah for my collaboration as it is something I found will cater for Generation Alpha, seeing how they are a more outspoken and openminded generation than previous.

For my collaboration I want to create a collection that is also a movement surrounding sustainability and how generation alpha are focused on “saving their future”. I took inspiration from Noah using their “No Fish, No Future” collection to create protest clothing that also consists of colours typically seen throughout Noah’s collections but has the urban aesthetic of A-Cold-Wall, since this has generally been the more preferred or popular style of streetwear.

After my 10x10 investigation with A-Cold-Wall I found them to be a lot more edgy and trend focused than Noah which is something I wanted to incorporate into my collaboration. From my research A-Cold-Wall focus on the British class system, relating to all types of people from a variety of different backgrounds. They use materials taken from working class environments which is something I particularly found interesting and what makes their collections so unique and edgy. 79

LOGO DEVELOPMENT

When designing a logo for the collaboration it was a case of trial and error to figure out the best possible design by putting my ideas together to figure out what worked best. For the logo, I didn’t want to create a completely new logo or take away the identity of each brand (Noah and A-Cold-Wall). I wanted to make each brand recognisable and not go over the top or make it too complicated, to keep the identity of each brand intact. Despite this being a collection to target a new consumer I think it’s important for existing consumers to recognise the brand and also target them. The reasoning behind my final logo was keeping the identity of the brands separate but come together to represent how my collaboration is based on how Noah and A-Cold-Wall make a stand for things they are passionate about and believe in. Noah is the main focus of the Logo as they are the stronger brand in terms of activism which is why their hallmark cross is holding up the A-Cold-Walls logo.

Final Logo

CONSUMER PROFILE

The consumer of my collaboration comes from Noah being politically focused and a cold wall consisting of an urban aesthetic, which is the more popular style of streetwear and focuses on being relatable and supporting those who are underprivileged and most importantly focusing on the future of Generation Alpha, being outspoken and aren’t afraid to speak their mind on topics they are passionate on. The consumer of my collaboration are men who enjoy wearing luxury streetwear and spending their money on garments they value and will last for a longer time than shopping from fast fashion. The collaboration would target men who enjoy protesting and are passionate on sustainability and making a change to our environment for the better.

CROQUIS

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

The collaboration collection will consist of loungewear taking inspiration from A-Cold-Wall’s designs as well as a jacket and jeans made from Pinatex which is a natural leather made from fibres extracted from pineapple leaves and recycled polyester for the loungewear pieces and head caps which makes use of existing plastics. I have used the slogans “save our future” and “No Fish, No future” to create a movement type of collection targeted to the new consumer (Generation Alpha). The colours in the collection are inspired by Noah as their collections consist of bright colours which is the typical aesthetic of the brand. I also added the logo printed onto the products mixing between the front of the garment and just the inside to tag, the reason for this was to keep the political quotes the main focus of the collection.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Reusable shopping bags are one of the best ways to promote a brand, the reason for this is people can take them wherever they go throughout their daily lifestyles such as work or supermarkets almost like a walking billboard. This would mean having the logo of the collaboration printed onto bags would be a good way to extend the target audience. I think it’s crucial for these bags to be recyclable which is why I have chosen a reusable canvas tote bag that would be made from organic cotton this also helps to promote the sustainability aspect behind the collaboration and will last for a longer extent of time than a plastic bag would. I have also chosen to use a paper bag, although this isn’t a reusable bag, they are still a much better alternative to plastic as they are environmentally friendly and can be recycled. I have also included a cardboard box with the brand logo printed on it for online orders, to cater for the new consumer with retail becoming more and more online-focused. Swing tags are what will be tied to the product and are a good way to communicate with consumers. I have included the social media and website address and quoted the reasoning behind the product. I didn’t want to go into great detail on this as I thought it would be more beneficial to catch consumers interest and make them want to know more about the brand by going onto the social medias linked.

PACKAGING

WEB PAGE

SWING TAG

PROMOTION

For the promotion of my collaboration, social media platform’s like Instagram would be best suited to the target audience (Generation Alpha). A Cold Wall is doing particularly well on Instagram, having started on the platform and caught the eye of many designers they have since worked with on collaborations. Since Generation Alpha are the most tech-savvy generation to date, I think they would use social media daily and would be a beneficial way to promote to them. The social media accounts would promote the new collection with a series of images and also with the use of storytelling, showing the design process of each garment and the story of sustainability behind this. I also think it would make a great way to engage with the target audience by sharing images of consumers wearing the collection while also being able to create conversations regarding political issues and causes that deserve recognition.

PRICE

After researching Noah and A-Cold-Wall’s pricing this made it easier for me to differentiate a price that is best suited to the collaboration and target audience. Both brands are luxury wear with pricing raging from £100 to £1000 a garment. Noah also has accessories which can be as little as £4 for surf wax, this a good way to widen a target audience so people can still buy into the brand if not being able to afford the higher price garments. This is something I want to bring into my collaboration as it brings more consumers into the brand, I have done this by added a cap as an accessory to my collection. The sweater will sell for £150 Joggers will sell for £225 The jacket will sell for £320 Jeans will sell for £450 Cap will sell for £43

PLACE

With Generation Alpha said to do their shopping online I think it’s only fitting for my collaboration to sell mainly online to suit its target audience. With that being said I also think pop up shops would be a good way for consumers to see the products in real life before purchasing. Pop up stores are becoming increasingly popular and is a great way of testing the waters without having to open up a permanent store that might not work as hoped. The pop-up store would be located in New York and London during the release of the collaboration, the reason for this is Noah being founded in New York and A-Cold-Wall being founded in London. I think to entice people to visit the store’s a good way of marketing this would be to release an exclusive item only to be sold at the temporary store as well as giving consumers discount codes of 20% off whilst shopping at the pop-up stores.

PEOPLE

The people are an important part of the collaboration and will rely on a friendly team of people for each popup stores to ensure customers get the best possible experience. There will need to be a manager as well as retail assistants who will go beyond customer’s expectations as this will be a time of new consumers so first impressions matter, as well as existing consumers and making sure their loyalty is kept. Its also important to ensure staff feel appreciated during this time by offering staff discount and generous pay. There will also need to be a team of people behind the collaborations social media accounts ensuring the best possible promotion and ensuring all customer queries are answered and resolved in a helpful and friendly manner.

PROCESS

The process for my collaboration needs to be excellent organisation in terms of fast delivery services and ensuring all customer queries are delt with in an efficient and timely manner to make sure customers are satisfied so they will return. The process is important to keep an excellent brand reputation and to make sure the brand is loyal to its customers. It’s also important for customers to receive their discount codes before arriving to a pop-up store, this would be done by signing up online and receiving an email with an individual code per person, this also caters for Generation Alpha with technology surrounding them.

My Noah and A-Cold-Wall collaboration idea was eye-opening to the potential buying habits we will see in the future, with retail becoming more online-focused and the new Generation Alpha being brought up into a technological infused world. I discovered how children in todays society are growing up being able to access information easily and will become one of the wealthiest generations to date. I also learnt the devastating impacts fast fashion is having on the world and luxury designers such as Christopher Raeburn are trying to make a difference teaching people the effects of Black Friday shopping and just general fast fashion is having on the world in terms of the environment. This module has made me reflect on the impact buying into trends is causing. I have also learnt a variety of new methods and skills. I particularly found the 20x20 method to be a great way to explore brands and helped me a lot with my research to get a better understanding of the brands. I chose words I thought best fit the brand and gave a much better understanding of the narrative of Noah and A-Cold-Wall. I also felt the 7ps of promotion helped me to explain my ideas around my brand and learn more about branding itself and how the business side to the fashion industry works. In terms of the collaboration, I specifically enjoyed the photoshop work, creating croquis and the logos was what I enjoyed most.

Reference List About (n.d) A-cold-Wall. Retrieved from https://a-cold-wall.com/pages/company About us . (2021). Retrieved from Noahny: https://noahny.com/pages/about A-Cold-Wall designer Sam Ross gets candid about sustainability & switching to a sustainable model. (n.d) The fashion plate magazine. Retrieved from https://thefashionplatemag.com/sustainable-fashion/a-cold-wall-designer-sam-ross-gets-candid-about-sustainability-switching-to-a-sustainable-model/ Alexander, E. (2018, November 23). Christopher Raeburn has closed his shop on Black Friday in protest of consumerism. Retrieved from Harpersbazaar: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/a25288114/christopher-raeburn-closed-his-shop-on-black-friday-in-protest/ Booth, R. (2019, june 19). March of the under 10s - generation growing up as protesters. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jun/19/march-of-the-under-10s-generation-growing-up-as-protesters Brooke, T. V. (2020, june 13). Christopher Raeburn is taking sustainability to new levels. Retrieved from GQ-magazine: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/christopher-raeburn-raestart daisy. (2019, february 02). Say hello to generation Alpha. Retrieved from Social change: https://social-change.co.uk/ blog/2019-02-02-say-hello-to-generation-alpha Fournier, C (2020, March 3) 5 tips on how to become a more sustainable brand. Youmatter. Retrieved from https://youmatter.world/en/5-tips-sustainable-brand-csr/ Generation breakdown: info about all of the Generations. (n.d.). Retrieved from CGK: https://genhq.com/faq-in100

fo-about-generations/ Gilmour, H. (2020, April 16). Connecting with the Alphas- the brand power behing pester power. Retrieved 9 february 2021, from Warc: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/connecting-with-the-alphas--the-brand-power-behindpester-power/3535 Ho, S. (2019, October 16). Generation Alpha: 67% of 6-9 year olds want to make saving the planet their career mission. Retrieved from Green Queen : https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/generation-alpha-67-of-6-9-year-olds-want-to-makesaving-the-planet-their-career-mission/ On sustainability. (2018, Feb 15). Retrieved from Noahny: https://noahny.com/blogs/news/we-are-not-a-sustainable-company?_pos=1&_sid=a09912d03&_ss=r raeburn changing the world through responsible design. (n.d.). Retrieved from Raeburndesign: https://www.raeburndesign.co.uk/pages/about Stephanie (2020, Jan 28) 7 ways to become a more sustainable brand in 2020. Rewardagency. Retrieved from https://rewardagency.co.uk/sustainability/become-a-more-sustainable-brand/ Theko, K. (n.d.). Meet generation Alpha. Retrieved from Fluxtrends: https://www.fluxtrends.com/meet-generation-alpha/ understanding Generation Alpha. (2020). (M. McCrindle, Producer, & McCrindle ) Retrieved February 2021, from Generation Alpha: https://generationalpha.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Understanding-Generation-Alpha-McCrindle. pdf

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Images Reference List fig 1. https://champ-magazine.com/homepage/side/a-cold-wall-aw18-national-gallery-room-1/ fig 2. https://stock.adobe.com/uk/search?load_type=visual&native_visual_search=6069f6948aa30&similar fig 3. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2i5448 fig 4. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-does-screen-time-affect-kids-brains fig 5. https://noahny.com/pages/archive fig 6. https://theface.com/style/a-cold-wall-london-ss20 fig 7. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2019-menswear/a-cold-wall fig 8. https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion/fashionweeks/menswear-aw-2020/milan/a-cold-wall-aw-2020-milan-fashion-week-mens

fig 9. https://hypebeast.com/2018/8/noah-fall-winter-2018-collection-lookbook 102

fig 10. https://hypebeast.com/2018/8/noah-fall-winter-2018-collection-lookbook fig 11. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-climate-change

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