Brand Me Visual Book

LUXURY STREETWEAR X DIGI COMMS

LUXURY STREETWEAR X DIGI COMMS

THERE IS NO

THE FINAL VOLUME.

THERE IS NO THE FINAL VOLUME.

TURNING BACK NOW.

TURNING BACK NOW.

For our Brand Me module, we were set the task to react and respond to fashion’s current climate and conceptualise our own brand from this. This book will read you through the journey of how I created my own brand, influenced by my childhood, education and family, amongst many other factors. I hope that everyone will begin this journey with an open mind and heart, as you enter the world of my brand, ‘Spoilt Prayers’, be prepared to never look back.

THE YOUNGER YEARS.

THE YOUNGER YEARS.

THE YEAR 2000.

THE YEAR 2000.

One of the most beneficial and positive tasks I think we have ever been set has been to reflect and respond to our childhoods and how this has affected our current daily lifestyles and beliefs. Conclusively, I think it has allowed me to evaluate how authentic and genuine my brand is, in accordance to my personality and values. Prior to this, I would have only applied my current characteristics to my brand however, being able to reflect on my upbringing and seeing how my views and beliefs have evolved over the years allows me to concisely unpick what is most integral to my brand and why.

So, to begin contextualising my work and my perception of myself I thought I would split my life up into four different stages; all of which, I think, were the most pivotal to my self-growth and development. First off are my first few years of being born. I was the first born into a very wealthy family and was immediately kitted out in all designer clothes. I was always surrounded my safety and security with my parents being happily married, owning 2 houses, in private education and getting practically anything I wanted. I was privately educated, which I think gave me a very warped sense of reality. I have learnt that my thoughts and belief system was manipulated by the higher, wealthier class which could have turned me into a very misogynistic and selfish person.

However, in my early teenage years this is when my eyes were opened to a broader audience.

I had friends from loads of different backgrounds, cultures, wealth classes which I think made me very empathetic and emotionally driven.

Learning this about myself allowed me to emotionally connect with brands’ history and narrative.

Over the summer, we were asked to take a step back and ask ourselves several questions that would shape our brand message and concept.

The first was ‘how safe are you as a communicator?’ My response to this question was quite confusing as however much I wanted to say I always challenge

myself and continually push the boundaries, I simply do not. I always like to have a good, solid plan and evidence behind me before acting upon something which can be timely and wise but can also be very disadvantageous and pessimistic. I always thought, during my time on the course, that journalism and academic writing was the route I wanted to go down. I did English Literature at A-Level and have always been naturally good at narrating and writing cohesively.

Yet, it was until the end of second year were I was encouraged to really push myself within illustration and visual communication. Now, I love it. This answered the question for me as to how safe I am in practice as I would have said, previously, I was more comfortable playing it safe but now, I will always challenge myself to try new software’s and platforms because you never know the outcome.

The questions that followed this were all amongst the same sort of line. The questions posed to us were: What colour am I? What building am I? What flower am I? Am I organic or am I structured? My first instinct when thinking about what colour represented my personality the most was red. I immediately thought that red was an accurate depiction of my character as I saw it is a fiery, burning colour which mirrored my eagerness and hunger to learn more about the world.

However, when surveying, I created a list of synonyms that I corresponded with the colour red and asked 18 people aged 17 to 24 what descriptions they thought fit best.

Over 80% agreed that the colour meant love, romance and femininity to them with only 54% saying it ignited thoughts of passion and enthusiasm. My next idea then took me a while as I really wanted to express my hunger to continually learn more and always nurture and protect others but couldn’t decide on a light, subtle shade to portray this. I, eventually, decided to strip it all back and look into the colour, beige but this was conceived as too shallow and plain for my brand that was supposed to be redefining digital communication within streetwear so this is why I chose black and neon.

After this, I answered the question of what building did I think most represented me. For some reason, I found it really difficult to pinpoint exactly what building I would be, but with the help of family and friends, managed to narrow it down to Buckingham Palace. The building is very close to home, being in our own country it is home to the royal family which aligned with my lack of independence and admiration for safety and comfort. I, then, began looking at my birth flower which is a Lily. The lily flower depicts sweetness, motherhood and hope which I think I do abide by. I would say I am quite bossy and stubborn, I like being in control which sometimes places me into a maternal role within my friendship group. Finally, I narrated that I believe my personality is very structured. I wouldn’t describe myself as spontaneous or laidback, I always like having a plan. I cant naturally let things happened, I always overthink which is why I would describe myself as more structured than organic.

You are about to enter the world of Spoilt Prayers. Enter at your own risk.

After much deliberation, I have finally came to a clear consensus as to what product or service I want to put out into the industry. In such a competitive, digital world, it is hard for brands now to gain a secure place within the market and excel, you really have to understand and emotionally connect with your brand message, consumer and market to ensure this safety. This is where ‘Spoilt Prayers’ comes into the industry. My brand ‘Spoilt Prayers’ is going to be a luxury streetwear brand focusing on digital communication. I want the brand to promote perseverance and integrity as these are core values that I learnt through my research have shaped me to be the person I am today.

When analysing my childhood and the most pivotal development stages in my upbringing, I acknowledged that reality and equality were two big factors that kept recurring. I wanted these to be the initial principles that founded my brand as this was what I was most passionate about. Before I came to the conclusion that I wanted to endeavour into the luxury streetwear market, I looked at many brands within this realm and noticed a similar pattern; androgyny. Many of the brands focused on genderless fashion and anonymity which I realised, early on, was what drew me to them. Therefore, ideally, when communicating ‘Spoilt Prayers’ I do not want to assign a gender, race, sex or anything else subjective to the brand. I want the consumers to perceive the brand as they wish, not as society wishes.

Initially, I was so uncertain about which market level I wanted to take on. I always knew I wanted ‘Spoilt Prayers’ to be accessible for all however, I always assumed this would then mean the brand automatically fell into the fast fashion category as many brands in this market pride themselves on accessibility and availability. A lot of these well-known fast fashion brands, such as Pretty Little Thing and Missguided, have a very quick turnaround on design and manufacturing to physically putting the products on site and selling them therefore, I believed my brand would also have to be fast fashion. However, after looking deeper, I found several luxury and visionary brands that have global accessibility. Show Studio is a digital content platform, founded by Nick Knight in November 2000. At the time, the brand broke the boundaries of fashion by taking a very anti-fashion move. Knight introduced the idea of politics in fashion by expressing this through moving image and video. It is a very visionary approach indeed yet, Show Studio’s content, at the most part, is available globally for everyone to watch.

No matter what your income, location, gender, anyone can watch Knight’s content and perceive the information as they wish.

Similarly, The Fabricant is another example of a brand that is freely shared on the internet for all to see. Thus, visionary art is conceptual and what one may think is visionary, another may not however, for me, I do not regard The Fabricant as a visionary brand, I would rather place them into the luxury market. I will admit that when I first came across The Fabricant, I loved their work and thought the innovation and modernism behind the brand was fascinating. However, upon further research I realised the brand collaborates with a lot of established luxury brands and showcases fashion in an artificial intelligence form. For brands who have no digital footprint, they are breaking the grounds for them and opening up new markets yet, for future entrepreneurs and creators, what they’re doing is fairly outdated and frequently used within the industry.

After observing each brand, I learnt that I was going to sit somewhere close to The Fabricant within the luxury market level as this was where I see best fit. I would always choose to collaborate with another brand over story-telling.

Moreover, once I had decided I was going to focus on the luxury market, I wanted to try and gain a better understanding of the space I was going to create in as most people, by this point, had already decided their market and started researching about competition and similar brands but I had only just came to the conclusion of which market level was best fit for ‘Spoilt Prayers’.

I delved into three luxury brands that resonated with me the most. The three I looked at were Maniere De Voir, Stussy and Palm Angels. It soon became apparent to me when looking at each brands history and values that all three brands aligned with streetwear and neutrality. But the question was is there a gap in the luxury market for another androgynous streetwear brand. The most beneficial way for me to figure this out was to take my research all the way back to the 1900s. In order to understand my competitors within the market, I needed to comprehend where streetwear and genderless fashion originated from. The trend of streetwear began in the 80s when punk and rock music was at its peak. This genre of music was widely associated with skaters and surfers which meant streetwear then became a by-product of this era. Similarly, the same thing happened with gender neutral fashion. Anonymity birthed from the decade of dandyism in the earl 19th century which has stuck around throughout the years but evolved with time. Charles Jeffrey is a prime example of using history to find a gap in the current market. Jeffrey took inspiration from dandyism with his queer positive brand ‘Loverboy’ however, the designer used his knowledge from the 19th century and adapted it to todays modern culture. This made me realise I must reflect and respond to my markets current climate to ensure success and long-jevity when trying to find a niche.

Market Research After surveying a number of people, I soon realised that my target consumer would sit within generation z. I surveyed 15 people between the ages of 16 and 23 years old and asked them a few questions regarding my brand execution to see whether they would buy from a brand similar to this. I put the name ‘Spoilt Prayers’ out there and asked all of them what they thought of the title as a luxury streetwear brand name. 85% of surveyors believed the name was already an established brand and agreed the name was fitting for a streetwear brand. I, also, asked if they thought streetwear was gender neutral or, if not, which gender did they think it belonged to. When surveying I asked 6 boys and 9 girls, all of which, apart from 3 girls, said that they thought streetwear was more a masculine type of clothing.

Following on from this, I then asked all of the girls if a brand advertised their streetwear clothes with only male models would they still buy from the brand, all responded yes. This made me rethink how I would market my brand as I initially thought it would be gender neutral however, upon further investigation, I believe I will communicate my brand will mainly male models to keep in line to what generation z find most appropriate.

BURST SOCIETY’S BUBBLE.

WRITE YOUR OWN FUTURE.

BURST SOCIETY’S BUBBLE. WRITE YOUR OWN FUTURE.

I chose my brands colour palette to be underlined with a rich, monochromatic shade to depict intensity and strength. Therefore, this is why Spoilt Prayers’ main colour is black. Throughout my branding, I have kept to this basis colour as I believed black is a very forever colour. The pigment never goes out of style and resonates with a lot of people. Similarly, I wanted a colour to represent the shy, very sheltered side of my personality where I feel as if I wasn’t very aware of societal differences and didn’t wholeheartedly appreciate all of the luxuries handed to me.

Then, I wanted to integrate splashes of neon into my branding as I thought this represented a new light and a blazing yearning to learn about new prospects and values. Although, I was happy with my decision on using black and neon as my colour palette for my brand, I didn’t know how aesthetically convincing it would be for my target market. So, once again, I went back and surveyed them to see what they thought about the colouration.

18 out of 18 of those surveyed admitted that they thought the black mixed with the neon was very on trend and fit in line with a new and upcoming brand within this digital age. Feedback from 78% of them also said that they couldn’t name a brand that already uses this colour palette within their branding. The feedback was successful and I decided to move ahead with my research with this colour spectrum set in stone.

As mentioned prior, I looked at a number of different luxury streetwear brands to identify where they sat within the market and to try and find a gap that I could position my brand on. The first brand I looked at was Maniere De Voir as this is one of my favourite brands ever. Their genderless take on modern athleisure and everyday fashion is futuristic yet realistic. The brand focuses on minimalism to ensure that their garments and accessories don’t seem to out of touch with reality. With a very basic colour palette of warm, neutral beige tones and cool blues and muted greys, the brand is very consistent with their narrative and story-telling. MDV mainly focus on athleisure which allows the brand to keep in line with their emphasis on gender neutrality.

Correspondingly, the next brand I chose to delve into was Stussy.

Founded in the 80’s, the Californian brand was created as a subculture to surfers at the time. Shaun Stussy, the founder, used his brand as a way to network and communicate his joy for skating by travelling and creating links with fellow skaters all around the world. By doing this, Stussy was able to create ambiguity and exclusivity around his brand as, at the time, it was a very niche activity.

Now, people all over the world wear streetwear but would have never stepped foot into a skatepark or a surfboard. I was drawn to the brand because I loved their brand message, the brand feels like home to many with a warming and unpretentious approach to advertising their products.

The final brand I looked into was Palm Angels, once again this is a luxury streetwear brand that identifies androgyny and minimalism. Out of all of the brands I looked at, by far, I preferred Palm Angels’ visual branding. With my dad growing up in London, he is a big fan of British rap music and from this, I have always been fond of it. I first saw Palm Angels as many British rappers were wearing the brand in music videos and photoshoots. Knowing that it was British clientele wearing the brand made it feel a lot more obtainable and therefore, resonated with me more. This made me realise this is what I wanted from my brand. I wanted it to be seen as luxurious and opulent yet attainable and accessible. Moreover, I had to question whether I wanted Spoilt Prayers to be a homage to Brit culture or do I want it to travel worldwide.

This is where digital communication comes into my brand. From the get go, I have wanted my brand to be accessible and available to all as I wanted to promote equality and fairness but seeing all of these luxury streetwear brands concentrate on their own local niche made me debate whether I wanted to depend on hyper-localism or reach a wider market. Being hyper-local means focusing on the primary concerns of the population within a local community. Social media platforms have recently taken up the hyper-local approach by introducing features such as ‘neighbourhood groups’ and ‘close friends’ to their channels. This allows users to explore active people and services that are located near to them. Hyper-localism became very popular and useful during the pandemic as citizens were prohibited to a small social bubble with far travelling banned therefore, local businesses had the opportunity to shine. I thought that if I built Spoilt Prayers on social media channels, that I could focus on locality but naturally, as the brand grows, so will its following and so will its reach to wider markets. Focusing on being niche and local will also allow me to focus on a smaller, loyal consumer base therefore, letting my brand grow naturally when its ready. In uncertain times, such as Brexit and Covid-19, businesses are under temperamental pressure and burden as they don’t have the resources they would normally be able to access therefore, I wouldn’t want to spread myself too thin when creating my own brand.

Moving forward, I had a clear idea in my head that I wanted to collaborate with a local graphic designer, who goes by the name of Rosa Kusabbi.

Rosa’s art follows themes of feminism and liberation, paying homage to women’s rights and activism. Using bright colours and overly enhanced figurines, Kusabbi abandons the idea of society’s ideal woman by promoting freedom and equality. I was very sure, at the start of my project, that I wanted to collaborate with the graphics graduate to marry together her strong, bright art style with my brand message of justice and power. However, Spoilt Prayers creates a futuristic fantasy that projects a strong digital footprint yet, Rosa’s work takes inspiration from the 1970’s and unfortunately, is not art that is new and innovative. I communicated with Rosa regularly and she agreed that her style has always been inspired by popart and minimalistic conceptual art which was almost opposite of what I wanted to achieve. My work and visuals have always ran with a similar theme of metallic and grimy colour palettes using a lot of texture to exhibit depth and destruction of boundaries within my work. Spoilt Prayers doesn’t follow rules set by society, it defies them, as should my aesthetic.

So, we started off with a young, very fortunate girl growing up with the best life she could’ve been given. Growing up she had a tough time adapting to societal differences but was able to open her mind and heart and realise that not everybody is treated the same. Inequality is an ongoing issue and has been for decades and decades. Time and time again, she would feel so useless and upset that she couldn’t make a change. Yet, here we are today, understanding that every little helps.

The first step to change is Spoilt Prayers. Spoilt Prayers is a brand that hones in on equality and helping others. A brand that does more than just sells and advertises. Spoilt Prayers cares.

KIERA SAHOTA. 1800587.

AD6605.

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Sahota, K. (2020). Edit of my conceptual brand image.

Sahota, K. (2020). Childhood photo, in relation to my research.

Paglia, A. (2018). Metallic Inspiration for pen drawings. Retrieved from: https://thecoolhunter.net/alessandro-paglia-pendrawings/?utm_source=sendicate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-1115+The+Cool+Hunter+Newsletter+(15+Oct,+2017) Kngwarreye, E. (1996). Collection of texture paintings. Retrieved from: https://arthistoryproject.com/artists/emily-kamekngwarreye/ Kngwarreye, E. (1994). Paying homage to Emily Kngwarreye. Retrieved from: https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/utopia/emily-kame-kngwarreye Fuss, A. (1999). The Ghostly Collection. Retrieved from: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/283738?rpp=20&pg=1&rndkey=20140310&ao=on&ft=*&who=Adam+Fuss&pos =9 Sahota, K. (2020). Edit made by myself in relation to my research.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit made by myself in relation to my research.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit made by myself in relation to my research.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit made by myself in relation to my research.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit made by myself in relation to my research.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit made by myself in relation to my research.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit made by myself in relation to my research.

Hendry, I. (2008). Chromatic Installation. Retrieved from: https://www.twenty75.com/projects/3d-chrome/ Takuya, H. (2019). Work inspired by Tokyo. Retrieved from: https://mundourbano.blogspot.com/2019/08/hagiharatakuya.html?spref=pi Burchardi, I. (2018). Avant garde plastic realism. Retrieved from: https://lemanagement.dk/model/ida-burchardi/ Mcleish, R. (2017). Romanticising our toxic enviornment. Retrieved from: https://mcleishartistry.com/plastic/fantastic/series/463928302 Sahota, K. (2020). Edit of my conceptual brand image.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit of my conceptual brand image.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit of my conceptual brand image.

Sahota, K. (2020). Edit of my conceptual brand image.

Don’t be alarmed. This is the future. There’s no looking back now.