MORE THAN JUST YOUR AVERAGE NORTHERN GIRL.
bias magazine
Bias Magazine is a trend led fashion publication that is underpinned by the SS17 Macro-trend, Edgelands. The publication aims to promote the collaboration of creatives such as writers, stylists, photographers and contemporaries to highlight relevant topics to the trend, and also to the industry right now. The Edgelands trend is the starting point to all material ensued, however a range of trend and concept led editorials are included. This provides a platform for relevant practitioners to display their work in a way that positively promotes their differences in styles, which can compete with similar style publications that champion fashion, youth and the new generation, such as Dazed and Confused, i-D, Bricks and Metal magazine. The intention is to publish the magazine bi-annually, focusing on different SS and AW macro-trends each time.
BIAS MAGazine
EDGELANDS
PORTIA HUNT • THOMAS WOOD • HARRISON FRANCE EMA CROMPTON • ZEINAB BATCHELOR
www.instagram.com/bias_magazine
01. EDGELANDS energy
edges
New will come from the urban – suburbs, borderlands and second- tier cities are the places where creativity is beginning to develop its full force for 2017. At the edge of two continents,
Eastern Europe in particular will be influencing all areas of design, tapping into a realistic yet gentle aesthetic that gets to the heart of things. Documentary-driven, at times
gritty
and
tough,
there
is
also
a
nostalgic, homely feel that speaks of housewarming, family and the beauty of nature. Many artists and creatives are migrating to second-tier cities and
creative renaissance
suburbs, sparking a in places previously considered uncool and/or devoid of
Honesty
transparency
culture. and will gain more importance for consumers. Edgelands documents the source
concept to creation, intensifying need for sincerity.
of the product, from
and highlights an Design will return to the drawing board, created from instinct, focusing on the things that people don’t normally pay attention to. Continued emphasis will be placed
on
working
as
designs together with a where
the
beauty
collective, raw and honest a
of
the
process
is
creating approach, praised.
Photography THOMAS WOOD Styling GEORGIA ROBERTS Model CHARLOTTE PEET Designer NICCI JAMES
suburbia
This editorial is inspired by the documentary-driven, at times gritty and tough trend that has come to the forefront in 2017. There is also a nostalgic, homely feel that speaks of housewarming, family and the beauty of nature. The documentary style truth using film photography, combined with digitally designed jumpers speak of a new collaborative era within fashion. Within this editorial, the model is portraying creative beauty in the mundane allotment location. This in turn celebrates the suburban lifestyle, and resonates with creatives who live in out of city locations. The model here shows beauty in the most unlikely of places and authentic, soft posing allows the imagery to speak truth to the viewers. Inspired by stylist Grace Coddington, and Cole Sprouse by Daria Kobayashi for The Last magazine, this editorial would feature within Lula Magazine because these images are dreamy, whimsical and quirky. Clothing is sourced from designer Nicci James and Asos,
7am - Bradford
FREE Photography HARRISON FRANCE Styling GEORGIA ROBERTS Model JAMES HALL Clothing COW VINTAGE
This editorial looks to highlight the creative energy emerging in the suburbs of Manchester. My muse, James, is an Interior Design student and he represents the influx in creative individuals who look to live in the outskirts of cities, as its more affordable. James represents a vibrant student culture in Fallowfield, with his vibrant interest in art and music. The styling within ‘Free Space’ illustrates the rejection of fashion norms to explore silhouette and colour in an innovative way. The poses are long, and other wordly almost advertising the use of small spaces as a creative environment. Clothing is sourced from Cow Vintage and second hand shops, rejecting the use of high street or designer as a form of creative expression. This editorial has also been published in Leeds College of Art’s Nest magazine.
SPACE
3pm - manchester
WA
STE
LAND LAND As busy cities expand, creative neighborhoods move further out towards the suburbs. A mix of urban grit and romantic folk makes Edgelands the perfect festival story that delivers creativity and a casual aesthetic. This relaxed style with its feminine underpinning works perfectly. An industrial cityscape is juxtaposed with pretty and light textures. Pastoral romance draws inspiration from these edges for a cross between utility and city casual. Both poetic and raw, the posing adopts a hard romance inspired by the tough familiarity of suburban streets. Clothing is sourced from designer Genevieve Devine, a recent British graduate, who also represents the innovative, collaborative creative who is coming to the forefront in 2017. Portia Hunt captures in an angular manner, portraying the beautiful surroundings on the outskirts of Leeds.
Photography PORTIA HUNT Styling GEORGIA ROBERTS Model LAUREN BACKHOUSE Designer GENEVIEVE DEVINE
12PM - LEEDS
Photography EMA CROMPTON Styling GEORGIA ROBERTS Models CHARLIE MORGAN and FREYA BROOK Clothing LEVI STRAUSS & CO A scene from Trainspotting inspires ‘Denimmm’, where main characters from the 90s cult film take heroin in a dingy council flat, whilst images from the Scottish highlands are projected onto them. Poor housing and social deprivation is a theme coming to the forefront in 2017, and Edgelands celebrates beauty in social equality. Located within a flat, the interior of brutal architecture of the former Eastern Bloc provides the unlikely backdrop for a fresh wave of creativity, bringing with it essentials which are stripped-back and raw yet beautifully considered. At the fringes of the city, where town meets country, the interplay between urban grit and pastoral romance will inspire a unique design aesthetic. Encapsulated by photographs taken by myself in Leeds, shown left inspired by Alexander Gronsky’s bucolic urban landscapes, photographer Ema Crompton helps me explore the strange beauty of the city wilderness. Design will hold a functional sentiment – where grass meets concrete, earthy workwear and raw texture marry city casuals and suburban grit. Styled entirely with clothing from Levi Strauss & Co, I adopted this workwear aesthetic to portray the hardness of the cityscape. Quotes from the models/muses who themselves are creatives based in Manchester, explore the randomness of the creative and digital atmosphere in 2017.
DENIMMM
1PM - SALFORD
T N O R F N R E T S EA Photography ZEINAB BATCHELOR Styling GEORGIA ROBERTS Models OLIVIA FORD Clothing BLUE RINSE
According to the Urban Land Institute, the blurring of the city and the suburbs is the third installment of the Great Reset: a fundamental change following economic crises that impacts how society makes and consumes goods and how they live and work. ‘Eastern Front’ is inspired by design and consumerism that has returned to the drawing board, created from instinct, focusing on the things that people don’t normally pay attention to such as vintage clothing and furniture. Capturing the essence of modern thrift, vintage furniture fabrics, laundered surfaces and timeworn colour reflect the warmth of the suburban home. Hazy shades of white and cream are used in sumptuous silhouettes to create a luxurious peasant look. In addition, the Eastern European inspired look of the model, Olivia, creates a forward thinking and feminine atmosphere, contradicted by male vintage blazers and pleather thigh high boots. Cloud backdrops illustrate the ideas of creatives having their ‘head in the clouds’. This forms a part of the creative disporia forming in the outer edges of the city in which this is photographed, Leeds. Zeinab Batchelor photographs on medium format film, producing muted blues and beiges forming part of the Edgelands colour theme.
3PM - LEEDS
sample behaviour Photography HARRISON FRANCE Styling GEORGIA ROBERTS Model ZOE THRESHER Clothing BLUE RINSE ‘Sample Behaviour’ takes on one particular case study that was explored within Bias Magazine. Long standing vintage brand Blue Rinse bases themselves in Armley in the outskirts of Leeds and allowed me as a creative to conduct a styled shoot within their warehouse premises. Representing the success that comes from outer city locations, Blue Rinse gave me and Harrison France full reign of the warehouse and clothing stores to produce a relaxed style with feminine underpinning. Teenage charm sits at the heart of this vintage-inspired story. Abandoned environments inspire with neglected charm. As advocates for reusing and reworking garments, Blue Rinse clothing is combined with sourced clothing from Asos White, Cheap Monday and Weekday to provide an up-to-date, trend led aesthetic. Seaside postcards and picturesque landscapes are art-worked into multi-layered prints on t-shirts, contrasting against striped denim and tailored trousers. A bright an angular style is adopted by photographer Harrison France to best portray the interesting and creative space Blue Rinse provided.
E S X E S
* S LL
Roundhill Ltd
11AM - ARMLEY
THEORY IN PRACTICE
FLUID
This practical project looked to explore to what extent gender neutral photography influenced our social perceptions of non binary identity. It was evident within both the theoretical and practical aspects of the project, that fashion photography has a great deal to do with impacting views on societal topics, which in turn creates new norms. The rising topic of gender is bubbling up through online communities and the increase in exposure within the fashion industry is positively impacting contemporary gender representations today. This project was influenced by creatives who highlight the gender topic through their practice, reinforcing the aesthetic for the final series of photographs produced. I was keen to portray an authentic aesthetic through the choice of my muse Michael Savage. He represents one of a growing number of people who believe gender labels are constraining us, and he dresses fluidly to express this however is still heterosexual. This zine highlights the portrayal of Michael Savage’s aesthetic through photography in a creative and innovative manner. It is suggested within my essay that this in turn influences the social perceptions of non binary identity in a positive way.
gender neutral [adjective]: gender classification where one individual does not feel/belong to neither genders
MICHAEL SAVAGE
“we are in a visual culture, like it or not we are, images we are fed are responsible for changes.”
COMPETITION BRIEF: AN ‘OF ITS TIME’ INSTAGRAM CAMPAIGN UTILISING GIFS AND HASHTAGS TO SPREAD THE AWARENESS OF THE CRUEL AND UNNECESSARY FUR TRADE
: h c r a e s e r
NEW CAMPAIGN TRENDS:
How do you best reach your audience? Facebook holds 1.71 billion people. Instagram has 500 million active users. Youtube has 1 billion. Brands have two choices: pay up, or have a true understanding of the content your audience wants to see.
INCREASED PERSONALISATION:
There is so much choice for the reader that if you do not personalise and focus on a specific target, your content is much less likely to resonate with your audience.
INSTAGRAM:
‘Dumb animals’ was of its time, but now the majority of campaigns are accessed via Instagram. This platform as shown in these screenshots from Boohoo, allows the brand to engage with their customers through photographs and animations known as gifs via their instagram story modes.
INTENT:
Niche, interactive and innovative content via the gifs attempt to win limited attention in a busy space. Flashing gifs allow the viewer to be captivated within a 3 second window and sound is not required. Mobile traffic has overtaken desktop tenfold. These changes mean that it is more important than ever to make the mobile experience as good as possible.
CRITERIA and TOOLS:
53.3% of bloggers are 21 to 35 year olds. This highlights the growing need to create creative and eyecatching content. As stipulated by Respect For Animals, the content must not be gratuitously offensive, therefore through the use of a hashtag the audience will be able to relate to the subject of the animals.
THE AUDIENCE:
Bloggers, streetstylers and fashionistas typically use social media as their platform for expressing their views and tastes. If content was created to discourage them whilst they post their own material, they will be inclined to repost. Creating graphic content such as gifs will be shareable and downloadable, and the ‘SWIPE UP’ feature on the Instagram story itself will directly link users to the Respect For Animals website. Instagram is available and accessible across the world but the gifs can be downloadable from the website and shared across any social media platform.
: T N E M P O L E V DE
THE POWER OF THE HASHTAG:
The hashtag has been morphed into a global symbol that links unique communities together through the use of a single world or phrase. As shocking content has not been created within the gifs as a younger, more colourful, graphic stance has been adopted, the personification of the animals will ultimately trigger empathy within the viewer. The truth within the hashtag is something that will resonate with all viewers and can be used by Respect For Animals across all social media platforms as an innovative engagement with their customers.
#FUR IS NOT FACELESS
identity:
The hashtag #furisnotfaceless has been featured within each of the 3 gifs made, and will become an identifier of the Respect For Animals brand by social media users. Creating and using this unique hashtag consistently allows followers to use the hashtag when discussing the brand and its views. Hashtags have the power to not only connect different audiences but to drive engagement and brand awareness to a whole new level.
styling for ‘fashion in leeds’ at leeds international festival I was approached by two brands, Levi Strauss and M&S to style their catwalk shows over the course of two days for Fashion In Leeds during Leeds International Festival. With two different initial briefs, yet one overarching goal of increasing footfall in their Leeds stores, within a team I produced 7-10 looks for each brand. The feedback gained from each brand post fashion show was incredibly positive and thankful, and important industry contacts were gained.
marks and spencers
Aim: To style seven womenswear outfits that portray a more trend driven Marks & Spencer’s image. The Leeds M&S store want a younger customer, and their garments are often perceived as ‘old’. By styling younger, fresher looks on young models, the image of M&S was seen as more commercially viable.
LEVI’S
Aim: To style five womenswear and five menswear outfits adhering to the Levi’s brand guidelines. Portray the Levi’s aesthetic and illustrate customisation services to generate footfall for the Levi’s Leeds store.
CONCRETE SPLENDOUR
Photography HARRISON FRANCE Styling GEORGIA ROBERTS Model LAURA GWYNETH BUTLER Clothing ASOS WHITE
MORE THAN JUST YOUR AVERAGE NORTHERN GIRL. WEBSITE: www.georgiarobertscreative.com EMAIL: gmrgmr@hotmail.co.uk INSTAGRAM: @georgiarobertsuk