SYNOPSIS
OF
THE
CONCEPT.
GENDER AND FASHION HAVE, AND WILL ALWAYS BE, INTERRELATED AND INEXTRICABLY LINKED. IDENTIFYING A GENDER FLUID NARRATIVE WITHIN INDUSTRY, GENERATION GEN INTENDS ON USES CONCEPTUALISED ARTISTIC SENSE TO PRESENT A NICHE GENDER NEUTRAL CAMPAIGN AND TASTER ZINE IN RESPONSE TO AN ANDROGYNOUS/GENDERLESS CONCEPT. GENERATION GEN HAS EXPLORED AND RESEARCHED A GLANCE INTO SOCIETIES FUTURE AS A NEUTRAL CULTURE AS CONSUMERS BECOME MORE AWARE OF A SENSE OF EXISTING OUTSIDE OF THE TRADITIONAL PARADIGM. GENERATION GEN IS A FIRST IN ASKING THE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED SURROUNDING THE TOPIC OF GENDER AND FASHION.
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IDEA
GENERATION.
IDEAS HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTED SURROUNDING THE HUMAN FORM, MASCULINITY, FEMININITY AND ANDROGYNY AS A RESPONSE TO GENDER FLUIDITY AND GENDER STEREOTYPES.
G N
E
O
N
D
E
U
1
R N .
THE STATE OF BEING MALE OR FEMALE (TYPICALLY USED WITH REFERENCE TO SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES RATHER THAN BIOLOGICAL ONES). “TRADITIONAL
CONCEPTS
OF
GENDER”
VISUAL. SENSES. TO SEE. TO FEEL. STYLING EXERCISE. EMOTIVE RESPONSE. ENLIGHTEN. DISTINCTIVE AESTHETIC. SOFT APPROACH. STRIKING COMPONENTS. FRESH CONCEPT. FLUID COLOUR PALETTES. AMBIENCE. PECULIAR. PASSION. CREATIVE. INSPIRED.
THE PSYCHOLOGIES BEHIND COLOUR HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED ALONGSIDE THE RESPONSES COLOUR STEREOTYPES RECEIVE AND PROMOTE. NUDES, BRIEGE (BROWN AND BEIGE) WILL WORK BEST WITH THE NEUTRAL CULTURE AESTHETIC OF GENERATION GEN. WHILST THE CAMPAIGN IS A FOCUS ON GENDER BLURRING, IDEAS SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRAINED TO CONFORM TO TRADITIONAL UNISEX COLOURS TO GREY/BLACK/WHITE/CREAM ETC.
DO YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE TO WAKE UP AND BE ABLE TO LIVE THE LIFE YOU HAVE ALWAYS HAD VISIONS OF IS NOW YOURS TO LIVE JUST LIKE YOU DREAMED YOU CAN LOOK ANY WAY THAT YOU WANT TO BE AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU IMAGINED YOU COULD BE WEAR COLORS AND STYLES ONCE FORBIDDEN BUT NOW WAITING FOR YOU TO SLIP IN YOU CAN LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND SMILE NOW FOR YOU TRULY FIT INTO YOUR SKIN IT’S AS THOUGH A LIGHT SHINES ALL AROUND YOU ALL BECAUSE YOU CHOSE NOT TO FIT IN. BY LJ MARK 2015
ABSTRACT AND PECULIAR SHAPES/POSES HAVE BEEN RESEARCHED FOR THE STYLING ASPECT OF THE GENERATION GEN EDITORIAL SHOOT THAT WILL BE PLACED INTO THE TASTER ZINE. THESE POSES HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS THEY WILL TRIGGER MORE INTEREST INTO THE CONCEPT BEHIND THE PHOTOGRAPHS. - PORTRAIT SHOTS COVERING THE FACE - FACING AWAY FROM THE CAMERA; CREATING THE ILLUSION OF GENDER IDENTITY BY NOT SEEING THE FACE - DISTORTING THE BODY; LYING ON THE BACK, BENDING AND ARCHING - SHOWING SOME SKIN; LIFTING GARMENTS, BACKLESS - USE OF GARMENTS TO COVER THE FACE AND DISCLOSE IMMEDIATE GENDER IDENTITY (WE DETERMINE SOMEONE’S GENDER BY THEIR FACE)
MARKET/CONTEXT
RESEARCH:
TRENDS.
DESCRIBED AS ‘A GLANCE TO THE FUTURE’ THE CONSUMER TREND NEUTRAL CULTURE, DISCOVERED ON LS:N GLOBAL, DISCUSSES HOW BRANDS SHOULD STOP RELYING ON OLD STEREOTYPES OF IDENTITY TO SPEAK TO THEIR CUSTOMER. GENDER NEUTRAL RETAIL IS MOVING BEYOND GIRLS BORROWING FROM THE BOYS, BUT RATHER A DEEPER INTERROGATION OF SHAPES, COLOURS AND SILHOUETTES THAT SUIT ALL. GENERATION GEN WILL IDENTIFY AS AN ‘EARLY ADOPTER AND INNOVATOR’ OF THE NEUTRAL CULTURE MACRO TREND. THE CAMPAIGN IS ONE OF THE FIRST OF IT’S KIND WHOM UNDERSTAND THERE’S NO ONE WAY OF ‘BEING A MAN’ OR ‘BEING A WOMAN’, BUT GENDER FOR ANY ONE PERSON IS FLUID ACROSS CONTEXTS.
LINKING TO THE LS:N MACRO TREND ‘NEUTRAL CULTURE’ I THOUGHT THAT THE POLARITY PARADOX MACRO TREND GOES HAND-INHAND. PEOPLE ARE RE-APPROPRIATING MEANINGFULNESS INTO THEIR LIVES, AND THIS IS THE VEHICLE THAT GENERATION GEN CAN PROVIDE BY LOOKING AT THE WORLD IN A MORE SENSITIVE AND GENDERLESS WAY. THIS TREND IS ABOUT DEFINITION, IDENTITY HAS BECOME CONFUSED. ‘SENSITIVE BRANDS’ HAVE ALSO BEEN IDENTIFIED WITHIN THE POLARITY PARADOX MACRO TREND. BRANDS ARE HELPING CONSUMERS TO DEAL WITH EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS BY ACTING AS FRIENDS (AND NUDGING THEM TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS); GENERATION GEN CAN ALIGN WITH THIS CONSUMER TREND AS A SENSITIVE BRAND WHO WILL ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF GENDER FLUIDITY AND APPROACH IT IN A WAY UNIQUELY VARIANT FROM OTHER TONES BEFORE.
ANOTHER AFFILIATED TREND THAT TIES IN WITH THE IDEAS SURROUNDING GENERATION GEN IS MISSION MEDIA. INTERPRETED ONLINE AS ‘FUTURE-FACING COMPANIES ARE COMMITTING TO POTENTIALLY POLARISED BELIEFS WITHOUT FEAR OF ALIENATING SUBSETS OF SOCIETY’ LS:N HAVE FOUND HOW INDEPENDENT MEDIA BRANDS ARE NOW TAKING A STAND. PUBLICATIONS ARE NOW BECOMING DEFINED AS UPSTANDING VEHICLES FOR OUTSPOKEN ENGAGEMENT, AND THIS IS A FACTOR THAT WILL BE ACTIVELY USED WITHIN GENERATION GEN. IN THE FORM OF A ZINE I WILL LEND THE MICRO TREND MISSION MEDIA TO GUIDE THE CONSUMER GROUP CULTURALLY, PROVIDING A PUBLICATION THEY CAN ENGAGE AND ASSOCIATE WITH.
MARKET/CONTEXT RESEARCH: COMPETITORS.
PRUE STENT, AN AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHER, FOCUSES ON CONCEPTS SUGGESTING FEMINISM, GENDER EXPLORATION, FERTILITY AND THE HUMAN BODY. PINK IS A STRONG FACTOR IN HER WORK. SHE HAS THE SAME AESTHETIC THAT WEAVES THROUGHOUT MAKING HER IDENTIFIABLE.
“THE MTWTFSS/HE CAPSULE COLLECTION IS A LIMITED SHOWCASE OF CLASSIC PIECES FROM THE WEEKDAY WARDROBE, RECONSTRUCTED WITHOUT A SPECIFIC GENDER ROLE. THESE ARE NOT ANDROGYNOUS CLOTHES BUT PIECEES THAT CAN MAXIMISE THE LOOK OF EITHER GENDER.”
HE, SHE, ME, A CAMPAIGN CONDUCTED BY SELFRIDGES, WAS RELEASED IN MARCH 2015. SELFRIDGES PROVIDED US WITH A ‘GENDERLESS SHOPPING EXPERIENCE’ WHICH IS JUST A GLIMPSE AT THE AGENDER FUTURE. THE AIM OF THE CAMPAIGN IS TO ENCOURAGE CONSUMERS TO BUY WITHOUT BEING RESTRICTED TO MEN’S OR WOMEN’S FASHION
COMPETITOR
SWOT
ANALYSIS.
GENERATION
GEN
AS
A
BRAND.
THE
BRAND
POSITIONING
MAP.
THE GENERATION GEN POSITIONING MAP DEMONSTRATES WHERE IN THE MARKET, IN REGARDS TO ‘LOW PRICE’, ‘HIGH PRICE’, ‘LOW POPULARITY/REPUTATION’ AND ‘HIGH POPULARITY/REPUTATION’, THE GENERATION GEN CAMPAIGN WILL SIT IN RELATION TO SIMILAR BRANDS
COMMUNICATIONS
THEORY.
AN EXAMPLE OF THE THEORY HAS BEEN CREATED TO SEE HOW THE MESSAGES PROPOSED BY THE CAMPAIGN COULD BECOME LOST/MISUNDERSTOOD. THIS HAS IDENTIFIED HOW THE NOISE (MARKETING INTERFERENCE) THAT COULD HINDER THE CAMPAIGN INCLUDES HOW CONSUMERS MAY CONFUSE GENERATION GEN AS A LGBTQ AWARENESS, RATHER THAN THAT OF A GENDER NEUTRAL ONE. ENSURING THAT THE GENDER NEUTRAL MESSAGE/MEDIA ASPECT OF THE CAMPAIGN IS CLEAR AND CONCISE WILL AVOID THIS. BRAND
ONION.
THE GENERATION GEN BRAND ONION ASSISTED GENERATION GENS’ OWN REALISATION OF THE CAMPAIGN; THE MEDIA OBJECTIVES, WHAT IT IS TRYING TO ACHIEVE AND CONVEY. THE BRAND ONION HAS ALSO ADVANCED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IMPORTANT BRAND ESSENCE IS, AND HOW THE ESSENCE OF THE BRAND SHOULD BE TRANSLATED INTO ALL ASPECTS OF THE BRAND.
CONSUMER
PROFILE
AND
PEN
PORTRAIT.
THE CONSUMER INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING GENERATION GEN IS EXTREMELY ART ORIENTATED AND FASHION CONSCIOUS INDIVIDUAL. AN AVID READER ON ARTICLES ON ID, OYSTER MAGAZINE AND DAZED DIGITAL THEY ARE FULLY AWARE OF THE LATEST FASHION NEWS, ICONS AND TRENDS. AGING BETWEEN 22-35, SINGLE, AND LIVING IN LONDON, THEY HAVE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO TOWNIFIED LIFE AND CAN BE FOUND SPENDING THEIR SPARE TIME IN THE LONDON COCKTAIL CLUB, SOMERSET HOUSE OR THE CHICEST GASTRO PUB WITH THEIR PARTNER OR CLOSE-KNITTED GROUP OF FRIENDS. SHOPPING ONLINE AND BROWSING BRICKS AND MORTAR STORES LIKE TOPSHOP/TOPMAN, URBAN OUTFITTERS, VINTAGE BOUTIQUES, CHEAP MONDAY AND ACNE ARE RELAXED HOBBIES FOR THE GENERATION GEN CONSUMER, ALONGSIDE DABBLING IN MUSIC, WRITING, AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY OR MODELLING. CURRENTLY IN A CAREER IN MARKETING/ADVERTISING/ PR/JOURNALISM PATHWAY. EARNING A COMFORTABLE £25,000-£32,000PA, THEY ASPIRE TO EXPLORE THE WORLD DOCUMENTING THEIR EXPEDITION ON INSTAGRAM; A CLEAR PORTRAYAL OF THEIR FREE AND MYSTERIOUS PERSONALITY. DOVER STREET AND CAMDEN ARE DWELLINGS THEY COLLECT THEIR DRESS INSPIRATION FROM; REFLECTED IN THEIR DAILY LAYERED OUTFIT, OFTEN INCLUDING MONOCHROME, ALWAYS INCLUDE DOC MARTINS. THE CHEEKY, YET SENSITIVE, TYPE LOVES HOUSE PARTIES, LOCAL BAND NIGHTS AND LISTENING TO MUSIC LIKE THE SMITHS, ARTIC MONKEYS, GRIMES AND EVERYTHING EVERYTHING. THEY CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, AND STRIVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY SUPPORTING LOCAL CHARITIES.
FINAL ZINE
PHOTOS
:
TASTER SELECTION
SOCIAL
MEDIA:
INSTAGRAM.
INSTAGRAM WILL BE THE MOST USED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM BY CONSUMERS AS THEY INTERACT WITH THE GENERATION GEN BRAND. FOUND BY SEARCHING @ GENERATIONGEN OR THE DEDICATED HASHTAG #EXIST. THE INSTAGRAM FEED SHOWS BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOGRAPHY AND EDITORIALS BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF GENDER.
SOCIAL
MEDIA:
TWITTER.
HERE I HAVE SHOWN THE GENERATION GEN TWITTER ACCOUNT ON A IPAD/TABLET, MAC DESKTOP AND ALSO ON A MOBILE DEVICE, IN THIS CASE THE IPHONE. THE HASHTAG #EXIST HAS BEEN USED ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL. #GENERATIONGEN AND #NEUTRALCULTURE ARE OTHER HASHTAGS THAT HAVE BEEN UTILISED.
TASTER
ZINE
COVER
D E V E L O P M E N T
.
EXPERIMENTING WITH IMAGES FOR THE COVER OF THE TASTER ZINE IS PARAMOUNT FOR MY OWN UNDERSTANDING OF GENERATION GEN. THE FRONT COVER NEEDS TO BE MEMORABLE AND TO INSTIGATE CURIOSITY; UNLIKE ANYTHING BEFORE. THE USE OF NEGATIVE SPACE AND INTERESTING CROPS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED, IN ADDITION TO BRAND ESSENCE AND MESSAGE. BY CROPPING THE IMAGES ON UNUSUAL PARTS OF THE MODELS BODIES THIS ACCENTUATES THE SLANT I WANT THE ZINE TO CONVEY. I ALSO DON’T WANT TO GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY AT A FIRST GLANCE. THE COVER SELECTED NEEDS TO REPRESENT GENERATION GEN HOLISTICALLY; CAPTURING BOTH THE MALE AND FEMALE FORMS AND CARRYING THE NUDE COLOUR PALETTE.
TASTER LOGO
ZINE
COVER
PLACEMENT.
TASTER
THE 3 VARIANTS OF THE GENERATION GEN LOGO, (BLACK FONT NO BACKGROUND, TRANSPARENT FONT WHITE BACKGROUND AND WHITE FONT NO BACKGROUND), HAVE BEEN PLACED ONTOP OF THE 2 IMAGES THAT I DECIDED TO DEVELOP FURTHER. THE 2 IMAGES HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS ONE REPRESENTS QUIRKINESSS AND MINIMALISM, WHILST THE OTHER CONVEYS GENERATION GEN BRAND IDENTITY BY DEPICTING BOTH SEXES TOGETHER. THE WHITE TYPEFACE OF THE LOGO VARIANT CARRIES THE NEUTRAL CULTURE ASPECT OF THE PROJECT AND WORKS WELL AS AN OVERALL IMAGE WITH THE PHOTOGRAPH UNDERNEATH.
ZINE
COVER.
THIS TASTER ZINE COVER FOLLOWS THE BREIGE COLOUR PALETTE. THE NUDES OF THE SKIN, THE GARMENTS, THE GEL-LIT BACKGROUND AND THE WHITE FONT BLEND TOGETHER REALLY WELL. THIS IMAGE ALSO TRANSLATES THE ESSENCE OF GENERATION GEN - TO HELP RAISE AWARENESS OF GENDERLESS FASHION AND THE MACRO TREND NEUTRAL CULTURE. THERE IS NO OBVIOUS SEX BEING FAVOURITISED HERE AS THEY BOTH HAVE EQUAL SPACE ON THE COVER. FACES HAVE BEEN CROPPED OUT - TO ENTICE THE AUDIENCE TO OPEN THE COVER. THE LOGO CAN BE READ CLEARLY. NUDITY IS INVOLVED IN A TASTEFUL MANNER, FOCUSING ON THE BEAUTY OF THE HUMAN FORM RATHER THAN SEXUALISING IT.
THE FONT ON THE LAUNCH EVENT POSTER HAS BEEN KEPT WHITE SO IT MATCHES THE TASTER ZINE, AND ALSO SO THE PHYSICALITY OF THE GENERATION GEN BRAND IS CLEAR. THE POSTERS CONSIST OF THE LOGO, WHAT THE POSTER IS FOR AND WHERE. THIS INTERPRETATION OF THE LAUNCH EVENT POSTER INCLUDES THE PHOTO THAT HAS BECOME AN ‘ICONIC REPRESENTATION’ OF THE CAMPAIGN. IT IS SUCH AN UNUSUAL IMAGE AND VERY MEMORABLE, SO USING THIS AS A POSTER WILL BE EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.
CAMPAIGN EVENT
LAUNCH
POSTERS.
I TESTED THE POSTER LAYOUR LANDSCAPE AND WAS UNSURE OF IT, BUT BY USING THE NEGATIVE SPACE OF THE IMAGE THIS WORKS WELL AGAINST THE BALANCE OF THE BROWN TONES. THE TEXT IS EASIER TO READ ON THIS POSTER THAN THE OTHERS. THIS POSTER TAKES YOU ACROSS THE PAGE; BY FIRSTLY LOOKING AT THE MODELS FACE, THEN ACROSS TO HER BACK WHERE THE INFORMATION IS LOCATED.
CAMPAIGN EVENT
LAUNCH
INVITES.
THE INVITES FOR THE LAUNCH EVENT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO HAVE THE BANNER EFFECT LOGO ACROSS THE WIDTH OF ONE SIDE OF THE A5 CARD, WITH THE DETAILS ON THE REVERSE. THE GENERATION GEN TWITTER HANDLE AND INSTAGRAM HAS BEEN PLACED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE REVERSE SIDE, SO THIS IS THE LAST THING THAT THE GUESTS WILL SEE.
TASTER
ZINE.
HTTP://ISSUU.COM/KATHERYNWATSON/DOCS/TASTER_ZINE_ GENERATION_GEN
FINAL
IMAGES.
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