BRAND ME BRAND N D R AME B BRAND ME BRAND E M ME BRAND BRAND ME
“A STAR WAS BORN”
“A STAR WAS BORN”
AD6605 CONCEPT DIRECTION AND DEVELOPMENT HANNAH SOPER
CONTENTS
1. My Childhood
2. Strengths and Weaknesses
3. How am I as a Communicator?
4. Market Level
5. Brand Inspirations
6. Generation Z
7. My Message
8. My Values
9. Conclusion
10. References
“A STAR WAS BORN”
Introduction
To begin this module, over the summer we were asked to explore and develop a personal brand concept. `The journey of discovering myself where I delved further into my childhood to help determine the person that I am today. I have delved into how brand me has given me a clearer understanding of myself and finding out what my strengths and weaknesses are as a marketer and communicator. After a lot of research, self-reflection and influence I have progressed my personal brand which will communicate my final outcome.
This research is what I consider a self-encyclopedia into the self-confessed world of me, Hannah Soper. It is what has supported me through my journey of finding myself in terms of a creative and discovering my personal brand.
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1.
My Childhood
SUMMER RESEARCH PART 1
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Wher it la stared
NAN n Grand
AUNTIES
Dad
MUM
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y M
Y L I M F A
Meet Hannah Soper
Stripping it back to the beginning, I was one of the last of the 90’s babies. Borin in 1999 I was brought up in very a close-knit, strong family. However, I am an only child so I was always incredibly lucky in terms of getting everything I wanted, and some would argue rather spoilt growing up, which I would like to say is not reflected on my personality but being brutally honest with myself it really is. Although being an only child I am fortunate to have a lot of cousins close in age and have always been close to them. However, I was always the favorite grandchild and like to think I still am. I was nicknamed star of the family, always putting on shows and playing dress up and all round being their form of entertainment at family gatherings. I am fortunate enough to have a strong support system around me and to put it simply I don’t know what I’d do without my family, they are my rocks. As you can probably tell from that short introduction I adore the lot of them.
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Role Mod
In terms of role models and who inspires me, I could think of a list as long as my arm but the one person that came to mind is my mum. Left as a single parent, she is an extraordinarily strong woman both mentally and morally. Very hardworking and incredibly selfless she has undoubtably shaped me into the person that I am today, and I aspire to turn out to be the women that she is.
MUM
el
D AD s s i M When looking into the type of personality I have the word acceptance sprung to mind. I have always been a very accepting person. I have been brought up surrounded by diversity so being an accepting person comes naturally to me and is something that I am extremely passionate about.
u o y
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SELF REFLECTION I felt that to truly get the best understanding of myself that it would be best to ask my family and closest friends questions about myself that they could answer and be brutally honest about. I knew the people that I asked would give me honest answers in how they truly see me. From this it enabled me to compare how I see myself to how others perceive me. The response I got were vaguely diverse, for example a few said about my more emotional side and vulnerability. One thing that everyone agreed on was my passionate side which I briefly mentioned before. It was clear to me from this that passion is my mostly viewed trait and that it was important for me to carry that throughout my brand me.
“A STAR WAS BORN”
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Strengths / Weaknesses
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Over the summer we were given two briefs, where I created two sketchbooks to communicate my research from the briefs given to us over the summer. These included questions such as; am I fight or flight? Am I more of a marketer or communicator?
At first it was hard to pinpoint, but after creating mood boards and comparing the questions I asked it soon became clear to me what my strengths and weaknesses are, what brands I mostly relate to and who my inspirations are.
From this I concluded that my strengths are that I am a logical and creative thinker. I enjoy creating concepts and narratives and exploring them using Photoshop and InDesign. Along with this I have identified throughout my research that I gravitate more towards the marketing side of fashion and have strong marketing skills. In contrast, my research also helped me to understand my weaknesses and that the digital side of fashion is not particularly my strong point and can be developed. One thing that became apparent to me was that the brands that appeal to me the most were luxury streetwear brands, which did not surprise me as I have naturally always been drawn to more casual comfortable higher-end pieces which is reflected in my personal style. Growing up I would not necessarily consider myself a tom-boy but have always been drawn to deceptively simple garments. I am not a typical girly girl but appreciate luxury items and love combining
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Passionate was a word that my family and friends used to describe me and particularly stood out to me. I have always been a passionate person and I partially put that down to being Scorpio. I decided to explore further into the things I was truly passionate and one thing that was clear throughout was my love for Streetwear and how I naturally just gravitate towards it. Which is evident throughout my research. My aim is now to bring all these elements into my personal brand.
PASSIONATE PASsIONATE PASSIONATE PASsIONATE PASSIONATE PAsSIONATE PASSIONATE
“A STAR WAS BORN”
Strengths Passionate: I am a deeply passionate person in terms of anyone and everything. If I love something, then most people know about it, and I put that down to being a true Scorpio. When I asked my friends and family to describe me passionate was a common denominator amongst their answers.
Strong: I consider myself to be a strong person, I have had my fair share of troubles, but I believe they have shaped me into the person that I am. I have learned to survive over the years through the experiences I have lived.
Moral: I am a very moral person. I have been brought up surrounded by strong morals and it's been drilled into me from an early age. I hold a strong moral compass and firm beliefs.
OPEN-MINDED: I am a very open-minded person and enthusiastic about a lot of things. I am very much a people pleaser so most of the time am up for trying out anything and say yes to a lot of people ( I should not say yes as much as I do)
LOGICAL: I am a logical person. I am aware that I am good at solving problems and think very openly towards situations which can have its advantages at times when it comes to my work as I am able to think clearly about how I want my work to be.
Weaknesses DISORGANISED: If I am being truly honest with myself being organised is something I would love to be, but I have accepted that I am not an organsied person. A lot of the time I can be very last minute, but I am working on that to change it.
Time Management: My time management skills are not as good as they could be, and I put that down to my lack of organisational skills which is something that I am trying to work on.
Over-Thinker: I am a massive overthinker in every aspect of my life. This is a big weakness for me as it means I overthink a lot of my work and do not always push the boundaries
SELF-critical: This is one of my biggest weaknesses. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to being over self-critical, sometimes it can have its advantages but most of the time it causes me to doubt myself when I should not.
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3.
How am I as a Communicator?
“A STAR WAS BORN”
One of the questions we were asked to discover about ourselves was how safe we are as a communicator. For me, I would consider myself as a safe communicator pushing the boundaries of a little too safe at times. I am very black and white a bit like my personality. I like to keep things very minimal and simplistic which just sums me up as a person really. Although I do get inspiration from creatives such as Tim Walker and Craig Green who push the boundaries of their work a considerable amount more than I do. My preferred methods of working are edge more towards the marketing written side I am problem solver more than anything. However, I would like to push myself more when it comes to the digital graphic work.
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FIGHT OR FLIGHT? In terms of risk taker, I would not consider myself to be one creativity wise. I am a risk taker on the inside but on the outside when it comes to doing it, I am more introverted a like to keep my work basic. This is something that I am working on and would like to change. If you compare my work, you can spot a common denominator in terms of my aesthetic and how I develop my work. I learnt a lot about myself during my self-reflection, and one of the main things was that I am infact a people pleaser, I find it hard saying no to people which was influenced by my mum (she is the exact same). I guess you would consider this more flight. However, over the years I have become more of a fight person. This stems down to the challenges I have faced throughout my childhood and have learnt that I most definitely fight over any obstacles that come my way to get what I want. When I set my mind to something I am always determined to achieve it and never give up.
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4.
MARKET LEVEL
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The market level that my brand sits at is within the luxury market, with elements of visionary fashion. One thing that became clear was the elements of the brands that influence me all sit at the luxury streetwear market. As 2020 unraveled and the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic became evident the wave across luxury and streetwear changed demand plummeted and revenues dropped. The second half of the year tells a different story. Both luxury and streetwear brands learnt to survive, it was their only option.
The rise and fall of 2020 shaped luxury streetwear for years to come. Although not guaranteed, this is a huge opportunity for streetwear brands to grow not just in terms of revenue and sales but to connect to their consumer and I believe loyal customers will support the brands they love now more than ever. My brand is the future of luxury streetwear, containing elements of acceptance and survival as well as understanding the importance of the consumer through promoting honest brand values.
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5.
BRAND INSPIRATIONS
The next step in understanding and developing my personal brand was to research what influences me and my vision as a creative. There were various themes that I wanted to delve into and bring forward within my brand, initially I researched into luxury and streetwear brands combing the two together to get my perfect mix. I noticed that I gravitated towards menswear throughout my research. Brands that individually influence my work are Off-White, Palm Angels and Supreme which I will explain the reasons why as I go along.
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Creative Inspiration:
Palm Angels When I think about brands, I would like to work with Palm Angels is most definitely up there. I remember I first crossed paths with this brand on a family holiday to LA back in 2015. I remember visiting Venice Beach and being enthralled by the skateboarders wearing palm tree tees on a beach surrounded by palm trees, fourteen-year-old Hannah found it ironic and was one of my very first interactions with a luxury streetwear brand. A Los Angeles skateboarding culture with an Italian flair for luxury has become a new obsession within the industry. Fun is the key element of Palm Angels levelling up to the streetwear we are accustomed to. With its daring colours and bold prints it is a perfect blend of luxury and streetwear. Palm Angels has influenced my brand because it is a pioneer for acceptance and being true to yourself which are amongst my core values.
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“A STAR WAS BORN”
“THIS IS MY BRAND” “HANNAH SOPER”
2022
Creative Inspiration:
“Off-White Off-White is another brand that has influenced me. With its guided principle of “everything in quotes” being the brands main recognisable design element ties together the off-white community. Virgil Abloh, the brain behind the foundation is undoubtably considered one of the most historical figures as the most prolific designer of his generation. His creativity has left a mark within the industry. The Off-White X Nike collaboration where Virgil cleverly reinvented 10 different pairs of trainers for the Ten project, including Air max, Air Jordan, and Vapour Max based around two different themes: Revealing and Ghosting. His signature avant-garde style merged with his expert knowledge of design to produce a capsule that has references to 1990s influences. This is evident of how the brand explores culture and how and how by brining cultural references from the 90s to convey a conceptual brand. Off- White has influenced my brand with its cultural appreciation and acceptance to everyone which is my aim to carry through in my own personal brand.
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Alongside this the designer also collaborated with Ben Ghorman the founder of perfumery Byredo. The capsule collection launched in 2018 featuring not only fragrances but unisex denim, t shirts, and bags and connotes the exploration of the relationship between products and human perception. This is another example of how the brand has combined luxury products to streetwear.
SUPREME “A STAR WAS BORN”
ME Creative Inspiration:
SUPREME Famous for its worldwide box logo’s Supreme is another brand I chose to explore, although not considered as luxury compared to brands such as Off-White and Palm Angels, I researched into how the brand has collaborated with more luxury designers such as Louis Vuitton as well as street artists such as Kaws as I wanted to look further into how luxury can impact a smaller streetwear brand. I found it interesting as it is an example of how streetwear can collaborate with luxury fashion to appeal to Generation Z who care more about the brand they are buying into as opposed to what products they are buying. This is the process of two contrasting creative aesthetics merging into one pushing the boundaries of their conventional means. “For luxury brands it’s also an opportunity to innovate with the creation of a capsule collection alongside their main ranges. You reach a new audience, too.” (Brooke, 2022) which I thought fit my brand as I aim to portray a strong message to Generation Z through pushing the boundaries in a similar way to Supreme.
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6.
GENERATION Z
As growing up as part of generation Z I wanted to direct my brand towards them. Throughout my research one thing that was clear was that luxury brands are specifically targeting Generation Z. Having grown up in a world of ever evolving technologies we as a generation have become very influential as conscious consumers. From the increase of social media platforms to other digital platforms. One of the biggest rises in consumer culture has namely been Instagram. In fact, 92% of all interactions with luxury brands happen on Instagram. Social media has democratised luxury, taking power from the editors and handing it to the people, or the influencer.” (Dalziel,2022) so to me it was evident that generation z to be my brands chosen consumer. Many luxury streetwear brands have evolved their values as the world has gone through a pandemic. Generation Z have paid more attention to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion than ever before. I believe that my brand will best suit generation z as my brands infuses acceptance and pushes the boundaries of luxury streetwear.
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ACEPTAnCE.
7.
MY MESSAGE
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my mesag
The message behind my brand will be looking towards the future of the luxury streetwear market and how acceptance push the boundaries of stereotyping the luxury streetwear market and moving away from those conventions. Creating a more modern approach towards luxury brands. My message will be empowering, strong and over all accepting.
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8.
MY VALUES
BE K IND.
“A STAR WAS BORN”
my values
my lues My aim is for my brand to portray all the key elements that I have focused on throughout my research. My brand will be positive, conveying a strong moral message to the consumer. It will also be empowering and strong. My focus is to show that Streetwear is for everyone and to step away from the stereotype. Often streetwear can be considered more masculine, but my aim is to switch that focus. Focusing on how streetwear can in fact be for everyone.
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9.
CONCLUSION
Brand me has opened my eyes in many ways, especially in terms of my future as a creative. It has made me aware that I am more of a marketer than anything else. It became clear to me that gravitate more towards creative problem solving and although may be minimalistic I have a strong attention to detail along with social media. It has been brought to my attention that acceptance, empowerment, passion, and survival are my main core values as a brand and that is what I aim to carry forward through in the future. Along with allowing me to understand what market level my brand sits in: Luxury streetwear. Moving forward, my next step is to use this research I have done and expand upon it to build up a stronger depiction of my brand. I would like to explore the conventions of luxury streetwear to generation z and how we as an accepting society can push the boundaries of stereotyping the luxury streetwear market.
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10.
REFERENCES
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REFERENCES Brooke, S. (2022). The explosive success of luxury streetwear. Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.raconteur.net/retail/luxury-streetwear-collaboration/ Why accessible luxury is winning over Millennials and Gen Z | News. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.dalziel-pow.com/news/accessible-luxury-millennials-gen-z (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://milled.com/hbx/new-releases-8-monclerpalm-angels-byredo-and-more-95WTPIQiFgRPdtLP Craig Green. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://craig-green.com Tim Walker. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.timwalkerphotography. com Palm Angels: What to Know About the Clothing Brand | Highsnobiety. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.highsnobiety.com/tag/palm-angels/ The Business of Fashion. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.businessoffashion.com/tags/organisations/off-white/
IMAGE REFERENCES Image 1: The Fashion Search Engine - TAGWALK. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.tag-walk.com/ en/look/213752 Image 2: The Masters: Craig Green - 1 Granary. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://1granary.com/designers-3/schools/central-saint-martins/craiggreen/ Image 3: Vogue Italia by Tim Walker. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.irisvanherpen.com/news/ vogue-italia-by-tim-walker Image 4: (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/525654587736500754/ Image 5: Phaidon Press Supreme Hardback Book - Farfetch. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.farfetch.com/uk/shopping/women/phaidon-press-supreme-hardback-book-item-16963763.aspx?from=kelkoo&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwv-2pvmq9QIVmK3tCh34RgegEAkYBiABEgLwC_D_BwE Image 6: Off-White Long Sleeve Airport Tape Tee Black | END. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www. endclothing.com/gb/off-white-long-sleeve-airport-tape-tee-omab001s201850031088.html Image 7: (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.luisaviaroma.com/en-ch/p/palm-angels/women/ hats/74I-AI9013?ColorId=MDMxMA2&SubLine=accessories&CategoryId=53&lvrid=_p_dJRV_gw_c53 Image 8: (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.artsy.net/artwork/kaws-small-lie-open-edition-black Image 9: KAWS Companion Flayed Open Edition Vinyl Figure ‘Grey’Default Title. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.kickgame.co.uk/products/kaws-companion-flayed-open-edition-vinyl-grey?variant=41242301399229&currency=GBP&gclid=EAIaI QobChMIxoKj8vuq9QIVI4xoCR2BNAv6EAkYAiABEgI4s_D_BwE#fo_c=1153&fo_k=2fbda8de73e57fe6d7a538f69ce8b0b3&fo_s=gplauk Image 10: Palm Angels May Be Collaborating with Inter Milan - KLEKT Blog. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://blog.klekt.com/fashion/palm-angels-may-be-collaborating-with-inter-milan/ Image 11: (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.ymeuniverse.com/en/product/9830/palm-angels-axl Image 12: (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.nike.com/id/t/off-white-t-shirt-zB3dM2 Image 13: Image 14: 240 Treat people with kindness ideas | harry styles wallpaper, harry styles, harry edward styles. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/geporter02/treat-people-with-kindness/ Image 15: Homeless numbers on the rise; need could be greater this winter | Montclair Local News. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://www.montclairlocal.news/2018/11/03/homeless-numbers-on-the-rise-need-could-begreater-this-winter/ Image 16: Palm Angels Debuts Eyewear Collection – WWD. (2022). Retrieved 9 January 2022, from https://wwd.com/ accessories-news/eyewear/palm-angels-launches-eyewear-collection-1234828473/
