THE SUSTAINABLE FASHION MOVEMENT
EMILY KELLY KEL15452179 CREATIVE DIRECTION FOR FAHSION YEAR 3 FINAL MAJOR PROJECT: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT JASON KASS KIM COLEMAN
Background: “Novelty is such an important part of expression and creativity and [it] normally hurts the environment. So, it’s always about how can we be more creative without creating damage.” – Sara Arnold, founder of Higher Studio. (Kelly, 2017) The fashion and textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world and waste is one of the main causes. (Conca, 2015) We are consuming more than we need, in fact, surveys indicate that there are 3.6 billion clothes unworn in wardrobes across the nation, many of which would have polluted waters
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with toxic chemical dyes or used harmful pesticides and fertilisers during their manufacture. (Oxfam, 2017) Although efforts are being made to ‘close the loop’ with recycling, the sharing economy provides a more immediate alternative that could slow down the need for constant consumption of resources. Clothing rental sites are becoming more popular amongst a new generation with more interest in experience over ownership.
Fashion Enterprise. It provides a high-end luxury rental and subscription service with a sustainable future in mind, a concept, which has led many to believe that the idea of a wardrobe will become obsolete in the near future. Whilst investing in the interest of social and environmental improvement, Higher Studio provides consumers with an outlet for creativity in order to satisfy the endless desire for new experiences and avoiding the abuse of finite resources.
Higher Studio is a recent start up, founded by Sara Arnold and supported by Business of Fashion and Centre for
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Challenge: This is an opportunity to explore possible communication platforms that will raise awareness of fashion rental as a conscious alternative. The challenge is to deliver a piece of communication that presents Millennials with an appealing experience that will satisfy both ethics and aesthetics, pushing the boundaries of what consumers believe to be eco-fashion. Enhance Higher Studio’s sustainable platform for fashion rental by producing moving image and (or) physical space, which will positively emphasise the concept of post-ownership. Drive awareness of and followers for the brand and the concept of the sharing economy and spark conversations about the cause by engaging with experience and interaction in order to create personal and meaningful connections with new and existing subscribers.
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How can Higher Studio communicate the concept of rental as a creative solution to our transient relationship with clothes? FIG.4
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Audience: Millennials come from an age of financial crisis, “discount conscious, but crave high-end design and unique experiences” (WGSN, 2017), reflected by their preference of experience over product and quality over quantity. This complements survey results showing that 58% of Millennials in London are interested in renting clothing. (Green, 2016) Aged 18-35, they are the most invested in the environment and most likely to make a change. Higher Studio’s target audience falls within the millennial generation, but focuses on those within the creative sphere. The Higher Studio subscriber is a working creative with a key interest in art and fashion and understands the importance of novelty and experimentation.
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FIG.7 A moving image piece, documenting the creative work of a selection of artists and influencers whose work has an environmental or social message. These may include visual artist Elizabeth Farrell (aka Glacier Girl), painter and sculptor Ella Goerner, eco-inventor Ann Makosinski and sustainable knitwear designer Katie Jones. The creatives would be wearing pieces from the rental service whilst showcasing their work. It may include scenes in their studios, exhibiting or in their own living spaces to give an insight into their lives.
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moving image
This outcome would strengthen the link between Higher Studio and its values of creativity and self-expression, as well as raising brand awareness through use of influencers such as Glacier Girl. It would also emphasise the concept of post-ownership through the sharing of garments between featured creatives.
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This outcome particularly complements the upcoming re-launch of Higher Studio’s Instagram account, featuring portraits of people doing good, whether they’re Higher Studio subscribers or not. This piece of moving image would add another dimension to the Instagram portraits by offering a more personalised and meaningful story of the featured creatives. On the other hand, there are certain elements of this outcome, which would pose issues, such as lack of budget to pay the crew and interviewees for their time. It would also depend on the cooperation and availability of the interviewees, so there would have to be potential backup options. Health and safety would also have to be taken into consideration when filming in the studios as there may be equipment that must be handled with care, but also the crew would have to ensure the clothing was not damaged in anyway by surrounding art supplies.
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moving image and sound design available at: https://vimeo.com/user74612426 1
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FIG.9 The short film would aim to shift the stigma around wearing second-hand clothes by portraying each piece as something new and contemporary. This offers a conceptual way of looking at the feeling of newness and emphasises the concept of post-ownership as exciting and creative through the use of visuals and sound design, creating a sensorial experience to engage with new and existing subscribers. Scenes would highlight how the clothes make the wearer move with a focus on the sculptural and textural qualities of the garments.
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moving image
The conceptual nature of this outcome strengthens Higher Studio’s ties with the art world, as well as conveying the message that it’s okay to want the feeling we get from wearing new things, as the garments will not go to waste once this feeling wears away. Having already worked with Higher Studio to film a series of the garments in motion and collaborated with a sound designer to create possible accompanying tracks, this outcome would have the benefit of already having a collaborator on board. Although the current visualisation aims to demonstrate the overall concept, it is difficult to fully realise the message due to the clothing not being worn by models. An important factor of this concept is the interaction between the clothing and the wearer and how the clothing, especially the more sculptural pieces, makes the wearer move. Therefore, it would be crucial that this is experimented with further before fully realising the outcome. Another potential issue is that the re-launch of Higher Studio’s Instagram will feature portraits of individual creatives trying to make a change. This outcome does not necessarily fit in with this approach, therefore I would either have to incorporate portraits into this concept, or would have to approach this outcome as something for either the website or to be launched on a moving image platform, such as Nowness.
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FIG.10 This outcome poses a potential collaboration between Higher Studio and Soho Works. It would involve Higher Studio curating a space for the rental collection within an area of Soho Works’ collaborative working environment, aimed at young, creative practitioners. I would launch the space with a series of talks from industry experts and eco-influencers, in order to spark conversations on the topic of the sharing economy. I would also commission artists working with ideas of environmental and social issues to display within the curated space.
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This would promote Higher Studio as a creative outlet for a millennial audience who seek unique experiences due to the fresh and exciting changes within the space, as well as enhancing a sense of community. The series of talks will also spark interest in the overall concept of post-ownership and raise awareness of the environmental benefits of renting. However, having no current contact with Soho Works renders this concept difficult to negotiate collaboration. This would have to be overcome by setting up a meeting between Higher Studio and the press team at Soho Works in order to pitch the idea and move forward. In terms of the physical space design itself, this could be developed further in order to explore how the collection of garments could be integrated into the space in a more interesting and conceptual way.
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FIG.12 Apartment stores are becoming a popular method of showcasing collections. Higher Studio would align this trend with their concept of post-ownership by setting up in a different apartment space every month to bring the feeling of newness to these used spaces. Each new space would be launched with an evening event, featuring different creative performances and displays, whilst acting as an informal networking space for the artistic market for which the service is aimed at.
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This would offer an exciting series of events for subscribers of Higher Studio. Through these events, subscribers could engage with exclusive and personal experiences, making the attendees feel welcome and encouraging them to explore the collection further. It would also promote the feeling of newness by inciting new conversations with new talent every month, such as performance artist Susie Green exploring the feeling of wearing latex or artist Ella Goerner painting live environmental art. This would successfully entertain attendees as well as enhancing Higher Studio’s cultural capital as an artistic outlet. Something that may restrict these events is budget for the hire of apartments, for performers, and for equipment such as speakers. Ideally, this could be a series of events to promote the concept of sharing spaces as well as clothes. However, depending on budget, this could instead be a one-off event or apartment owners and performers could be paid in lieu with free rental of clothing for a certain period of time. Another reservation with this outcome is the subscribers’ interaction with the clothing during the event, as it would be implausible to allow all attendees to try on clothing due to the nature of the collection being one-off pieces. Instead, it could be suggested that the event acts as an exhibition of the collection and the continued space could then be used for more personal and intimate appointments with subscribers. FIG.13
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Conca, J. (2015) ‘Making Climate Change Fashionable- The Garment Industry Takes on Global Warming’ Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ jamesconca/2015/12/03/makingclimate-change-fashionable-thegarment-industry-takes-on-globalwarming/#6aacc98779e4 (Accessed: 12th October 2017) Kelly, E. (2017) ‘Interview with Sara Arnold, Founder of Higher Studio’ (Available in Appendix) Oxfam x Marks and Spencer Press Release. (2016) ‘3.6 billion clothes left unworn in the nation’s wardrobes, survey finds’ Available at: http://www. oxfam.org.uk/media-centre/pressreleases/2016/06/over-three-billionclothes-left-unworn-in-the-nationswardrobes-survey-finds (Accessed: 17th October 2017) Green, C. (2016) ‘Clothing Rental: New Subscription Service Allows Customers to Rent Clothes from High Street Shops’ Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/ life-style/fashion/news/clothingrental-new-subscription-serviceallows-customers-to-rent-clothesfrom-high-street-shops-a6863406.html (Accessed:10th November 2017 ) WGSN. (2017) ‘Affordable Luxury: Millennial No-brand Brands’ Available at: https://www-wgsn-com. arts.idm.oclc.org/content/board_ viewer/#/74116/page/1 (Accessed: 18th October 2017)
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LIST OF IMAGES Figure 1. Higher Studio (2017) ‘HYDRA Underwear.’ [Photograph] (Received from Higher Studio 18th November 2017)
Figure 2. Higher Studio (2017) Website Homepage [Screenshot] Available at: higher.studio (Accessed: 10th December 2017) Figure 3. Fashion Revolution (2017) 4 November [Screenshot] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ BbE2n5ogd6J/?taken-by=fash_rev (Accessed: 1st November 2017) Figure 4. Unique Style Platform (2017) Vetements Dry Cleaner PopUp. [Photograph] Available at: http://uniquestyleplatform.com/ blog/2017/02/17/vetements-drycleaning-pop-up-store/ (Accessed: 7th October 2017)
Figure 8. i-D (2015) ‘Glacier girl is reinventing the eco-friendly aesthetic for the tumblr generation.’ [Photograph] Available at: https://i-d. vice.com/en_us/article/evnmpw/ glacier-girl-is-reinventing-the-ecofriendly-aesthetic-for-the-tumblrgeneration (Accessed: 2nd November 2017 ) Figure 9. Kelly, E. (2017) HYDRA Latex. [Film Still] Available at: https://vimeo. com/user74612426 Figure 10. Soho Works (2016) 21 December. [Screenshot] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ BOSbYnJg8nj/?taken-by=sohoworks Figure 11. Soho Works (2016) 14 October [Screenshot] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ BLiUTW3ABAQ/?taken-by=sohoworks (Accessed: 17th November 2017)
Figure 5. Higher Studio (2017) 6 December [Screenshot] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ BcXQM7pB3zx/?taken-by=higher. studio (Accessed: 10th December 2017)
Figure 12. Decoist.com (2015) Old Warehouse in London. [Photograph] Available at: https://www.pinterest. co.uk/pin/83175924348836287/ (Accessed: 18th November 2017)
Figure 6. Higher Studio (2017) 17 April [Screenshot] Available at: https://www. instagram.com/p/BS_IgzeBLl5/?takenby=higher.studio (Accessed: 10th December 2017)
Figure 13. Susie Green (2017) 28 October [Screenshot] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ BayyKpCHr1-/?taken-by=susiegreen_ (Accessed: 20th November 2017)
Figure 7. Nowness (2015) ‘My Place: Florence Welch.’ [Film Still] Available at: https://www.nowness.com/series/ my-place/florence-welch-barbaraanastacio (Accessed: 12th November 2017)
Figure 14. What’s Your Legacy (2017) ‘Innovation: Higher Studio’ Available at: http://whatsyourlegacy.co.uk/ innovation-higher-studio/ (Accessed: 22nd November 2017)
APPENDIX interview with sara arnold, founder of higher studio Emily: So, I’m Emily, a Creative Direction for Fashion student and I’ve been looking at the idea of conscious consumption and how Higher Studio fits into that. So, if you want to introduce yourself and tell me a bit about why you started Higher. Sara: Yeah, so, my name’s Sara. And I’m not really sure what else to say about myself. But, I studied fashion design at Saint Martins and I kind of, did that degree thinking that I wanted to have my own label, but I was always really concerned with the environment and when it came to thinking like how am I going to have a label that I can kind of satisfy both my desire to be both, kind of, to push boundaries of creativity, but also to be sustainable. I felt like there wasn’t really a way without sacrificing something that I could do it. And I thought the main problem was that, as long as I’m having to push sales, I’m kind of encouraging damage to the environment. So, I didn’t really know- that was like 2012- I didn’t really know what I should do about this, so I thought having my own label wasn’t really solving problems. There was a wider problem to be solved so I ended up, I went to Imperial Business School and I studied innovation and management. I thought it would be good to do something completely different and I ended up writing my final project on the circular economynew business models within the circular business economy. So I kind of applied that to fashion and was looking at all these rental and sharing platforms, this kind of thing, which led me to believe that rental was really the way forward and yet for somebody with my taste, there was really nothing on offer that I wanted to wear.
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Emily: Mmm, yeah, like Rent the Runway? That sort of thing is very different to what Higher is offering. Okay, so I’ve done some little focus groups and things with some of my friends to see what they thought of it and none of them had even heard of the idea of rental, so they were all like “Where do I sign up?” I think people will definitely, once the message is out there, be definitely ready to choose that as an alternative. Sara: Yeah, it’s interesting for me because as I’m trying to get investments for my company investors tend to want to invest in a really early innovation, which rental’s not. It’s been done already; I’m just applying it to a new market. So, it’s kind of this weird thing where to get investment, for a lot of investors I’m not doing something new enough, and yet there’s so many consumers out there who don’t know about rental because there’s been no rental platforms that have been aimed at them. It’s all been aimed at a really mainstream market. Emily: Okay, so who would you say is your target audience? Sara: Erm, well I think Millennials are more receptive to rental because, well, I guess economic reasons like we’re not going to have as much money as our parents, most of us. And so we’ve got to find other solutions, but also the car sharing, Airbnb all this kind of stuff all seems really normal to us. At the same time, I don’t see why my offer can’t work for somebody who’s 50s even 60s. But, yeah, I mean I guess I come at it from a point of view with me as my own customer and I’m hoping there
are other people out there like me! Erm, so that’s where I start, but I think it has a much wider audience. Emily: Yeah because there have been a lot of trend reports and things on how Millennials are looking to post-ownership. Do you think that will eventually become the norm? Sara: Yeah, I think it will become the norm and I see that, I think the idea of a wardrobe will, kind of, become obsolete in the next twenty years because it just doesn’t make sense. We’re living in smaller housing, we don’t have space to put all this stuff. I think personally, at the point of when I started Higher, part of the driving force behind it was I was really fed up of my wardrobe and I got so much stuff and no where to put it. Yeah, I see that we could just have a subscription for our wardrobe and just interchange things. I think we’re always going to have sentimental pieces; I’ve got loads of clothes I got when my grandmother died and I’m not going to let go of those of rent them to anyone, but the rest of my wardrobe I’m just like “Why is it there?” Emily: Yeah, since I’ve started this project I’ve been like, oh my God, the amount of stuff that is in my wardrobe that I haven’t worn in years or haven’t worn at all, it’s just a bit- it seems stupid. Sara: Yeah, erm, also I think that it’s not just the statement pieces that we can be subscribing to. We could actually have subscriptions for our underwear, leggings, all the basics. Obviously, we
FIG.14 wouldn’t share those, but the idea would be that the company who created them would still own them so when they need to be recycled, they would go back to that company so that they could deal with them and then you would have longer lasting underwear because there’s a massive problem with underwear not lasting- it falls apart quite quickly. Emily: Mmm, and most of the time its made of plastics and stuff that aren’t going to biodegrade and are going to end up in a landfill. Okay, so that’s interesting about the basics, do you think that’s something that Higher might incorporate? Sara: It might do. Emily: So some of your brands, the brands
APPENDIX interview with sara arnold, founder of higher studio that you stock. Do you look for them to be sort of, sustainable themselves, or is it more of the concept that is sustainable?
Sara: Yeah, because she does latex and latex is biodegradable.
Sara: Yeah, but also you know we’re thinking about how we’re going to repair the items and erm-
Sara: Yeah, so I mean I guess it works, if it’s somebody using it for a project that’s not really going to help me I would just see them as a normal customer, if it’s kind of reputable press then we can come to some kind of deal.
Emily: Mm, because I think I’ve used that in another shoot with Anna Pesonen actually, the H Y D R A stuff and it does naturally get sort of marks on it, but that’s sort of part of the skin?
Emily: So what would you say is the main ethos of the brand, I’ve sort of got from the site that it’s about freedom of expression without harming the environment. Is that sort of the main thing?
Sara: Yeah, exactly. Erm, I mean at the moment, Anna’s actually – H Y D R A Anna, not other Anna, she’s actually kept the dirt on the bottom of them as kind of part of the story, but obviously I will have to clean that off at some point! Erm, but yeah we really wanted to build this story around post-ownership. The items we’ve got she’s used in performance art, so it all kind of builds a narrative around them because they are the actual item that got used in this exhibition, or performance.
Sara: Yeah, I think it’s always about how can we be creative and expressive without creating- because normally the more creative you are, the most expressive you are. I think that comes like, novelty is such an important part of expression and creativity and novelty normally hurts the environment. So, it’s always about how can we be more creative without creating damage.
Emily: Is it natural rubber then? Sara: So, at the moment, as I said I’m looking for investors, so I just started with what I could kind of get my hands on and my kind of policy is that if something was made before Higher existed, which is like the idea started in 2016, so I say anything made prior to that, I couldn’t have done anything about, it just exists, so we might as well make good use of it and anything after that I think should meet some kind of minimum criteria. But at the same time, I don’t pick brands that are necessarily say they’re sustainable brands because I think that- I don’t think sustainability is, kind of, a long lasting advantage, I think sustainability is kind of a collective effort from everybody to protect the fashion industry and to protect the world. Erm, so, I always think it’s better to take on designers because I like them as designers and to help them on that process towards a more sustainable future. Erm, because I think at the end of the day, people want good design and anyone should be able to be sustainable it’s just about giving and helping them do that. Emily: Okay, so would you sort of work with the brands? Sara: That’s what I’m kind of hoping to do. So, I’m taking on one kind of young designer as a kind of pilot to find out how we’re going to work together.
Emily: Yeah, there is definitely this kind of performance art sort of vibe with all of the designers that you’ve got. Do you lend it to, obviously I know that you’ve lent to it Anna before, but do you do sort of press? Sara: Yeah, I don’t have a problem with doing that. It’s not specifically what its about because it should be about changing the patterns of consumption, but at the same time I don’t have a problem with people using it.
Emily: Is that H Y D R A? Emily: As long as they mention Higher
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Studio, I guess?
Emily: So, would you say the pieces are more like piece people would wear instead of- from talking to some of my friends about their shopping habits and stuff, I’ve kind of got that its more that the evening wear and the ball gowns that they would only ever wear once and never wear again. Would you say that you are more focussed on the occasionwear? Sara: No, not really. Erm, I think it’s just about cool clothes! (laughs) Erm, yeah I don’t actually have that much eveningwear, I think it’s more about how can I incorporate this into an everyday lifestyle. Because, obviously the most
damage is that when the eveningwear, when that’s worn just once or twice, but then there’s all the other stuff that I mean, you don’t really want to wear a coat for like three years, I don’t know, it’s nice to wear a new coat each season, isn’t it? It’s also nice- it’s just nice to have new things and experience new things on a more everyday kind of basis. Yeah, I mean I do need to have some more eveningwear probably, but I don’t really want that to be the main focus. I mean, I’ve found from talking to people who I thought was my target customer, that they felt that a lot of the sites that were based on eveningwear were really sort of for people that were not fashionable on an everyday basis and kind of wanted to fake it for an evening and my customers are fashionable on an everyday basis so they didn’t want to be part of that kind of faking it lifestyle. For them, it was more, yeah, you know, we are this already, we authentically care about fashion so how can we just live that to the fullest, if that’s making sense? Emily: Yeah, cool! So, as I said, I’m sort of in the midst of creating my own brief about Higher and as my course is a communication course, in terms of communication, what would you say is the most effective platform, way of getting the message out there? Is it Instagram? Sara: Erm, yeah Instagram, but I haven’t been very active on it because I have a problem with- I’m not somebody who can easily do things if I don’t feel like there’s a strong meaning to it, so I’ve struggled to kind of work out what that meaning is with the Instagram, but I’m actually planning to relaunch it, I don’t know if launch is
APPENDIX interview with sara arnold, founder of higher studio the word, but from kind of December onwards, I’m just going to do portraits of people who kind of share our ethos and each portrait will kind of have a message so it becomes more of a platform for other people’s ideas who we feel we have an affinity with.
it a new face and for that to actually show people, like, who are the people really behind this.
Emily: Very cool and would they be customers?
Sara: Yeah, but I don’t think it necessarily has to be sustainable. It might be that they’re, I don’t know, it might be gay rights, it might be, like, I think it’s just about people who are actively doing something to make the world a better place. Maybe it’s just that they’re, maybe they’re vegan, maybe they’re vegetarian, yeah.
Sara: Erm, yeah, they might be partly customers. Emily: But more a sort of platform to celebrate creativity? Sara: Yeah, I think its got to be people who kind of fit the aesthetic, like if they really don’t like any of our clothes then I think there’s kind of no point in that. I think what it is is that, erm, the sustainability thing- I still don’t really feel that my aesthetic has a place in what’s happening with sustainable fashion. Emily: Mmm, that’s what I’m finding so interesting is that the concept is really sustainable, but the aesthetic is nothing like what sustainability has looked like before. So, I’m trying to come up with these creative outcomes saying how am I going to merge these, some sort of conceptual piece, I don’t know! I think it’s a good challenge. Sara: Yeah, because I think everybody should have a place within that because yeah, I mean, I think the majority of people want to change the world in a way, it sounds cheesy, but I think we all want to do good and so we should all feel like we belong within that. So, I just wanted to give
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Emily: Okay, so would the people you feature be in some way doing something sustainable?
Emily: That’s interesting because I’ve been looking at a lot of eco-influencers and activists and that sort of thing and I was wondering if that was something that could sort of work with HIGHER, because the aesthetic is a little bit, like, shocking and could go into that sort of avenue? Do you think you would collaborate with activists? Sara: Yeah, definitely. I also just think anyone with progressive points of view, as long as they’re good! (laughs) Erm, yeah. Emily: Okay, cool. So, what would you say is your biggest communication challenge for HIGHER studio? Sara: Time. Time to do everything that I want to do! Emily: Is this your full-time thing? Or do you do other bits? Sara: I actually earn money from Airbnbing
a room in my flat! So it actually takes up a surprising amount of my time, people seem to think that if you’re an Airbnb host, that you just have a room and you make the bed every now and then and the money just pours into your bank account, but it’s not really like that, it’s quite a lot of work! But yeah, apart from that I’m doing this full time. Erm, and then I’ve got a couple of people who come in and help me with various things, but it’s mostly just me. Emily: Where do you have all the clothes? Is it at your flat? Sara: Yeah Emily: How does that work? Do you have a space for it? Sara: Yeah, I’ve got a room that I work in with all the clothes in. Emily: Yeah, that’s alright then, a nice little studio! Sara: Yeah, so I guess time and money is the big problem right now. But, what else is a challenge? I think it is that thing of making sure that, there’s just so much content out there and I think it’s really important to not feel the pressure to just be like posting every day for the sake of it or involving influencers for the sake of it, just thinking what really has meaning and what can create change. Emily: Do you think you would want to do that through- I’ve been looking at sort of options of moving image as a series of films or one film. Would that be something that you would look to?
Sara: Yeah, I mean I guess the other challenge is just making people understand what rental is and what the subscription is and how it actually works, but I really don’t want to seem like- because it should be like a highend service, all the clothes we have are pretty much high-end and erm, then when you go on, I don’t know, Rent the Runway or Girl Meets Dress or something like this they always kind of have a step one, step two, step three and it’s just so, like, really cheesy and erm, yeah, I don’t want- the word service isn’t really a nice word. I don’t think people want to think or something as a service, it should be an experience. So, yeah, I think using moving image or film in a really interesting way to convey what the service is, is something that’s really- it’s something I need to do. But it shouldn’t be- I just imagine, I’m sure I’ve seen one of these platforms where they have a video where a girl receives a box and she opens the box and is like oh and then she goes on her night out, not like that at all! It should be like, the anti-that, like, how can we be-I don’t know, I was kind of thinking about maybe doing some kind of digital animation and there’s somebody, like, you get somebody to draw, do those kind of digital drawings like 3-dimensional drawings of some of the clothes, but some of the more sculptural pieces I have. I guess it would be almost like a video game or something and you can put clothes on them. Emily: Oh that’s interesting. So, something quite interactive. Sara: Yeah, I kind of like imagine a digital world where you’re like, erm, what’s that
APPENDIX interview with sara arnold, founder of higher studio game where you have-oh, like Second Life or something where you’re choosing your clothes. Emily: Oh yeah! Or Sims or something. Interesting because you could create your own avatar and try before you rent type of thing. Sara: Exactly! I was thinking something like that that’s completely different and kind of abstract, but gets the message across and explains the service perfectly, which would be quite cool. Emily: Okay, so do you think that is the sort of communication challenge at the moment is getting the message of the service out there without it looking cheesy and obvious? Sara: Yeah, I think that is one of the challenges. I mean, I’m thinking if you can, if that kind of a video that can explain that, but can double up as, like, a kind of-you know, if it looks like you’re watching a fashion film that could be in, I don’t know, in GARAGE magazine or something, you know, like online. Emily: Yeah because GARAGE magazine is quite abstract and digital isn’t it. Sara: Yeah, if it felt like you were doing that, but actually you were explaining a service, then I think all the boxes are ticked and it’s something that people would then share online, it’s something really cool and different. Emily: And people, they can interact with it as well, it’s an added bonus of experience
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over product, kind of thing. Leading from the experience, kind of interactive side, I’ve been looking at also another possible outcome of doing a sort of an immersive installation space. So, something perhaps incorporating projections or some sort of- would Higher Studio do something like that?
that in mind. How do you create postownership and I was thinking her Meet Yourself experience would be really good thing to have within that, so we’ve been talking about doing that.
ankles kind of hit the tennis ball things and they judder, its’ like they vibrate, it’s bizarre!
Emily: Okay, interesting. Have you done any spaces before?
Sara: No, the balls!
Sara: Yeah, I’ve actually been talking to, do you know this designer called Martine Jarlgaard? I mean, her clothes are really classic, but her, if you meet her, she’s quite kind of, one of these people that’s got a really radical point of view on things and- (shows Instagram page on phone) this is her. And she’s kind of been working with like mixed reality things and she’s really, really concerned with sustainability and really trying to think of new ways we can consume and one of the things she thinks about a lot is like, erm, in the future, for a fashion experience, will we rely on materiality of clothing so much or can we have a kind of, I guess a virtual experience that satisfies us? And she’s recently done this experience where you meet a hologram avatar of yourself in life size and she kind of did it as a bit of an experiment and realised that she’d found quite a profound thing because, you know, we look at ourselves in the mirror, but we only see like the front of ourselves, we don’t actually look at ourselves- she calls it Meet Yourself. We don’t ever really meet ourselves and so we’ve been talking about doing a kind of Higher experience where-I’ve been really wanting- because the article I wrote about the performance economy, I’ve been really wanting to put that into context and actually get designers to create things specifically with
Sara: Yeah, we did a showcase thing in April, which to be honest it was all, like, I organised it really, really quickly and we did it, I’ve got some pictures of it, but I mean we just had the clothes on rails and people could try them on so it wasn’t really- it was more just- at that point it was kind of testing the idea, like, are people actually interested in this concept? Yeah, so I see the showcase thing as something we carry on, but it needs to go up a level. Emily: Yeah because I think people still want the tactility of being able to touch. Because I think a lot of the clothes that you have, they have really interesting textures, so it’s good for people to be able to interact. Sara: Yeah, it’s very important. Yeah and also the kind of sculptural element of them. I’m not, to be honest, I don’t shop online, I’ve never bought clothes online, I really believe in the need to touch things and try things on because a lot of the things- my favourite thing, pieces of fashion ever and ones in which, like, they made me move in a different way, like, it made me, or maybe it made me seem like I was moving in a different way. I have this skirt, which looks like it kind of has tennis balls on the bottom, but it’s kind of like a long, thin, floor-length skirt, so you’re
Emily: Wait, your legs vibrate?
Emily: Are they quite weighty? The same as a tennis ball? Sara: No! They’re just like wadding, but it’s just bizarre what it does. And it just really made me laugh and it made me feel just completely different from anything else I’ve ever tried on and I think it’s really those really profound moments that are really important and that I want to keep going. Because it makes you reconsider kind of what fashion is and why we wear things. Emily: Do you think you would ever do a physical store? Sara: Yeah, I think as early as possible, it’s really important to add a physical store. Emily: So, a permanent store instead of pop-up? Sara: Yeah, erm, but I see it would be kind of a creative space. That’s why I called it studio because I wanted, when it becomes physical, to have that kind of feeling that creative people are in there and changing it and that we’re not just a business that manages creative people, but we are creatives ourselves. So I feel, yeah, it should be sort of like walking into a studio. I mean, the clothes have to be stored anyway, so it needs a space. But I do think,
APPENDIX interview with sara arnold, founder of higher studio I’d take on a LNCC model, which is like they’ve got one space, but actually a lot of their sales are online. My customers would probably, essentially our online platform would be like their virtual wardrobe and then every few months, they’ll come in and try on all the cool pieces that they like and then we can log that into their virtual wardrobe and see the pieces you tried on and liked, these are the ones you tried on and didn’t like-bin them, and then from home they can manage what they actually want to wear from the wardrobe. Emily: So, would you say it’s still quite exclusive still? And sort of, if you were to do a physical space, would it be by appointment only and it would be very personal and that sort of thing? Sara: Yeah I do want it to be very personal, I don’t know if it would be- I guess we would encourage appointments, but we wouldn’t turn people away if they want to just walk in. Emily: So I noticed when I applied for the pay-as-you-go membership, you sent an email about meeting up for a coffee and that sort of thing. Are you trying to get to know your customers better? I think that’s so important nowadays because people have been so separated from it, people are now wanting to go back to these personalised experiences. Sara: Yeah, I worked in luxury retail for a long time and I do feel it’s kind of, yeah, I think it’s really important that experience you have with people in the store. Emily: I guess, to wrap things up, I’d like
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to ask you what you think the future of fashion is in terms of sustainability and how you think Higher is going to fit into that? Sara: Erm, well, I already said what I think about wardrobes, but I think in terms of materials, there’s a lot of interesting research being done now, you know, alternatives to using leather, like mushroom and all this sort of thing. So yeah, I think we’re going to see the end of animal products in fashion, hopefully soon. But I think that’s inevitable, it doesn’t make sense and I think in terms of the other materials, we’ve got a big problem with plastics because they go into water systems because it was previously seen as a bit of a solution as they could be melted down and you could make clothes from melted bottles and stuff, but it seems it’s not the solution so it seems it’s more about what materials can biodegrade I guess. But, I think the material problem will sort itself out, I think the consumption problem, it’s a more tricky problem that people need to start taking a lot more seriously. Emily: Do you think there will be a time where people will be a lot more conscious with their consumption? Or do you think there are always going to be people buying into fast fashion? Sara: I think once rental becomes mainstream, fast fashion will be obsolete as well- what would be the point? I think, yeah, H&M, I think the fast fashion retailers will just start making higher end products and just erm, renting. I think they’ll have to to survive because it’s just not going
to make sense otherwise. And yeah, I think the problem is, for our generation it’s kind of a no-brainer, the problem is our parents’ generation that have bad habits that they’re not changing and time is ticking because we’re now set, it seems the average prediction is by the year two thousand- by the end of the century- we’ll have 3.2 degrees of warming and that’s the average prediction, I mean, it could be far more than that. And a lot of the big cities will be under water. Emily: Yeah, it’s not going in the right direction at the moment. Sara: Yeah, so change needs to happen really, really quickly. That’s the worrying thing. Emily: Right, so thank you for answering all my questions! Sara: Thank you. So, what’s the kind of format of your course? Emily: So, at the moment, I’ve been creating a sort of publication, that will be printed in a couple of weeks, of all areas of sustainable fashion and then looking more at sharing and circular economies and case studies and I’ve done a few surveys and focus groups and that sort of thing and that will all get printed in a little publication and I have to come up with a brief and possible outcomes by three weeks. So, I’ve sort of generated my own brief, then I have to do some mock ups of design tests, for example an immersive space on SketchUp on my computer or, erm, come up with some rough moving image experiments and put them in and
then next term is when we have to start the making and yeah! Not quite sure of the layout of next term, when and how everything needs to be done, but yeah. Sara: I mean, keep in touch and just, like, if you have more questions, just let me know. I mean, it’d kind of be great if we could, if we could do something that we could actually use, if you want? Emily: Yeah, definitely. No, I mean if you like what I come up with then by all means! It’s been really useful to find outSara: Yeah because if you want any help, just let me know and yeah, so what do you- in the end is it-what’s the- is it basically a really wide brief, like you can kind of create what you want to? Do you have an exhibition at the end? Emily: Yeah, the LCF 3rd year degree show, so I submit early May and I think the show’s in June and there’ll be a big exhibition, so Higher Studio will be promoted! But yeah, I’m not sure how that bit will go because we’ve not really talked about the exhibition or anything yet. Sara: It’s exciting! Emily: Yeah, it is. It’s been quite daunting to come up with, I changed my topic as I was looking at sound and immersive design during Summer and I kept hitting dead ends, like, as you were saying earlier, I want to do something that has something with meaning behind it, like a proper concept and I was just like I think I was doing sound for the sake of it and erm, so I swapped to sustainability and its
APPENDIX interview with sara arnold, founder of higher studio given me a lot of focus and then choose a brand and think of all the outcomes in a matter of weeks, so its been a bit crazy, but it’s exciting. Everyone does something really different on my course, so it will be interesting to see what everyone comes up with.
a bit and then I haven’t laid the pieces out like, you know normally it’d be laid out really neatly, with some of them I’ve almost just thrown them on to the Perspex, so it kind of, I wanted them to look like real garments, not like we’re trying to make them look perfect.
Sara: Yeah because I was kind of hoping to do, because I haven’t actually done an official launch, I’m kind of looking to do, well not really a launch because I haven’t , I have customers, but they’re mostly friends of friends and everyone else I’ve kind of kept on a waiting list as you kind of know, so I’ve just finally photographed all the pieces, so I’m at the moment putting them all up on the website, which is quite a long process and then hopefully in December they’ll be ready to rent.
Emily: I was once working for a styling job, an e-commerce place and I had to do the whole flat-bed thing and it was the most dull thing I’ve ever done because they were like it has to be done so precisely.
Sara: I’m putting up a hundred, oh maybe not, maybe seventy-five to begin with. There is a lot more that can be put up, so I’ll do that more in a second round, I’ll do seventy-five at a time because it’s actually getting them all up and doing the product descriptions.
Sara: Yeah, ours was like, towards the end, like you’ve got to hurry up and just shoot these and we were like actually it looks really good just thrown on. But yeah, because some of the pieces are quite sculptural and hold their own shapes, so it looks quite interesting. Anyway, so I can’t remember what I was trying to say. So, yeah trying to do a little launch in December, trying to get the portraits up on to the Instagram and I was hoping to try a kind of crowd funding thing, but not Kickstarter, more a crowd equity, so it means that serious investors can invest alongside your friends and family and your network and they all get part ownership of the company.
Emily: How are you photographing them? On models or?
Emily: Even more sharing! Sharing economy, sharing business!
Sara: No because I don’t have the money to have it on models, so I’ve done them flat, but I’ve tried to make it look quite interesting, I’ve done it, I’ve photographed them on a large piece of Perspex, which was held up with acrylic rods underneath. It kind of almost looks like they’re floating
Sara: Yeah, so I was hoping to do that early next year and then the event, performance economy thing I was hoping to do next fashion week. I don’t know, I’m constantly kind of, over optimistic of what I can achieve. Emily: That’s fine though!
Emily: How many, roughly, pieces are there?
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Sara: Yeah, so that’s what’s going on! Emily: Lots of ideas then!