FRAGRANCE EDITION
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Presents NAUGHTY ALICE BIG IDEA PERSONA CREATIVE CONCEPT MUSE HAIR DRESS HISTORICAL THEME FASHION EXECUTION TECHNOLOGY
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2/BIG IDEA
NAUGHTY ALICE Words by Katie HAMILTON Vivienne Westwood is a household name. Her brand has evolved over the decades on ideals of heritage, wit, creativity and rebellion. Her clothing collections are theatrical, playful and feminine and this has translated into her fragrance campaign ‘Naughty Alice’. The perfume itself having notes of ylang-ylang, carnal violet and black rose. The Big Idea behind this campaign is the concept of persona. The consumer choosing an alterego to become a part of Westwood’s creative imaginary universe. (Perfume, 2010). Alongside this campaign, there is also ‘Sunny Alice’, ‘Cheeky Alice’ and ‘Flirty Alice’ adding to the idea that each perfume represents a different mood or personality. In this essay, I will analyse the big idea, creative concept and execution and evaluate how successful it is in portraying Westwood’s brand values as well as how is connects with the consumer.
4/CREATIVE CONCEPT
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“So many women don’t seem to even understand what sexy means. Sexy is about looking powerful and important” -- Vivienne westwood
Betty Boop and Jessica Rabbit play the roles of muse, both of which are famous animation characters known for their glam, sexualised personas. Although both characters emit a certain stereotype they are far more complex than that. Boop as well as being a promiscuous character is also described as seen as pure and child-like whilst Rabbit’s character is often described “self-less” and “moral”. Mary Ann Doane, who specialised in film theory, feminist theory and semiotics, suggests that these characters express an over-exaggerated femininity, as a means to masquerade themselves; by becoming an object of the male gaze, they are able to disguise themselves (Raymond, 2013). This theory adds to the Big Idea of personas and that being sexy and attractive is only part of the overall personality. Alice’s long, wavy hair in a fiery red tone is reminiscent of the Hollywood hairstyles seen in the 1940’s (Buxbaum, 2005). This style was made famous by actress Veronica Lake, which was known as the peeka-boo, characterized by a deep side parting, voluminous waves and “peak a boo” fringe
covering one eye. Interestingly, Veronica Lake was also the inspiration for Jessica Rabbit’s hairstyle (Rayner, 2015). The use of red in the hair creates associations given to the character such as passion, love and sexuality. Arguably the dress could resemble a design from Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’ collection with the padded bust, clinched in waist and large circular skirt however the shorter hemline and off-the-shoulder design gives the dress a sexier appeal. Westwood’s interest in history has played a huge part in the identity of her brand as she often takes inspiration from historical periods for her clothing. It could be interpreted that the clear 1940’s references highlight the beginning of the new woman. The 40’s saw the societal roles and expectations of women change. Employment during the war meant women were more independent, capable and important than they’d ever been. In 1947, Dior’s New Look created a new appreciation of femininity and what it means to be a woman. Both these ideals of rebellion and femininity relate to the essence of the Vivienne Westwood brand.
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6/THEME
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
SPRING/SUMMER 2010
“PUFF SLEEVED DRESSES IN COLOURFUL PRINTS HAD AN ALICE IN WONDERLAND INNOCENCE THAT WAS UNDERPINNED BY A DARKER STORY” The use of blue and gold in the background has connotations with luxury, trust and quality. This could relate to Westwood’s own beliefs as she says consumers should “buy less, choose well, make it last. Quality not quantity” (Westwood, 2014). The reflective sheen effect background and gold, innate
object resemble a mirror, a symbol that is often used in fairy-tales. It’s argued that mirrors in fairy-tales represent the protagonists or antagonists desires, fantasies and transformations. (Schanoes, 2009). It could be deduced that the name ‘Alice’ was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Another interpretation is that the name Alice symbolises the everyday girl as Alice has been among the top 10 names given to girls in the past 5 years (NameBerry, 2012). By using a common name it creates a neutral identity for the consumers to relate to. At the time of the advert, the fairy-tale trend was just beginning, reports WGSN (WGSN, 2011) with increased fairy-tale inspired media, particularly film. Whilst Tim Burton’s remake of Alice and Wonderland came out 7 months before the
release of Naughty Alice, it was subsequently followed by fairy-tale re-creations such as Red Riding Hood (2011) and Hansel and Gretel (2011) Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). As well as this, Westwood’s Spring/ Summer 2010 collection had a fairy-tale flair embedded. Vogue describing her collection as having an “Alice in Wonderland innocence” and a “gold dress fit for Cinderella herself.” (Vogue, 2009). She also explored this theme in her A/W 11 collection. This idea of fairy tale links in with the concept of personas and alter-ego’s suggetsing Westwood is exploring beyond what is considered normal and escaping into fantasy. Within the campaign words like “magical universe” are used furthering proving Westwood’s aim of creating a world besides reality.
7/EXECUTION
AUGMENTED REALITY By JANINE STROMBERG
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The campaign ensured consumer engagement by creating an augmented reality. Crossing platforms between digital and print, the campaign used a special symbol seen in magazines such as Look and InStyle. The symbol, once held in front of a webcam, can be used to unlock an animation to ‘make Alice naughty’. The animation sees an outline drawing of a girl all dressed in white who sprays herself with the fragrance and turns into a fiery red character, theoretically implying the consumer can too unlock their ‘naughty’ alter-ego by using the fragrance. Having the same character on the multiple Alice fragrance adverts and animations creates a consistency in the branding and means consumers create a relationship between the product and the story. The campaign itself uses words like “unleash” inviting the consumer to play a part in the fantasy, the tone of voice in the advert being playful, sensual and light. At the time of the advert, augmented reality was a growing macro trend, being named as part of Time’s top 10 tech trends for 2010 (TIME, 2010). Whilst the concept had been around since the 1990’s, 2010 saw the start of augmented reality harnessing the use of webcams and smart phones to integrate it into everyday life. The use of technology promotes the product to a younger audience who have a knowledge and interest in new and up-andcoming technology, such as Instagram, with #naughtyalice having over 150,000 active posts 5 years after it’s launch, proving the power and importance of social media.
The advert successfully communicates with it’s target consumer, using references, language and technology that speaks to them and creates a relationship between them and the product. As for anyone who understands Westwood’s brand and essence it’s clear to see that the advertisement does her name justice.
Illustrations Front Cover – McDean Craig, Interview Magazine [editorial] At: http://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/ vivienne-westwood-tim-blanks/# Fig 1 – Westwood Vivienne, Naughty Alice (2010) [advertisement] At: http://edparfum.ru/woman/vivienne-westwood/naughty-alice/ Fig 2 – Betty Boop ‘Classic’ [poster] At: http:// www.popartuk.com/tv/betty-boop/classic-betty-pp31813-poster.asp Fig 3 – Jessica Rabbit [poster] At: http://www.popartuk. com/tv/betty-boop/classic-betty-pp31813-poster.asp Fig 4 – Dior Christian, New Look [photograph] At: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/525443481498398021/ Fig 5 – Veronica Lake (1952) [photograph] At: http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_Lake Fig 6 – Westwood Vivienne, Spring/Summer 2010 Catwalk Show (2009) [photograph] At: http://www.vogue. co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-2010/ready-to-wear/vivienne-westwood/full-length-photos/gallery/422276 Fig 7-10 – Stromberg Janine, Naughty Alice campaign (2010) [animation] At: http://janinestromberg.com/ naughtyalice3.html Fig 11 – Westwood Vivienne, Naughty Alice promotional advert (2010) [press] At: https://www.creativeclub.co.uk/ fs.aspx
References Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Jessica_Rabbit Buxbaum, G., 2005. Hollywood sets the trend.. In: Icons of Fashion: The 20th Century. s.l.:s.n. Hart, J., 1999. The Art of the Storyboard. s.l.:s.n. NameBerry, 2012. All about Alice. [Online] Available at: http://nameberry.com/blog/classic-girlsnames-all-about-alice Perfume, N., 2010. Now Smell This. [Online] Available at: http://www.nstperfume.com/2010/08/05/ vivienne-westwood-naughty-alice-new-perfume/ Raymond, T., 2013. [Online] Available at: http://classicbutnew.com/2013/11/09/afeminist-analysis-of-who-framed-roger-rabbit/ Rayner, K., 2015. Movie Pilot. [Online] Available at: http://moviepilot.com/posts/2015/02/25/ the-woman-who-inspired-jessica-rabbit-is-even-moreprovocative-than-her-cartoon-counterpart-2727575?lt_ source=external,manual Rhodes, Z., 2010. Vintage Fashion. s.l.:s.n. Schanoes, V. L., 2009. Book as Mirror, Mirror as Book: The Significance of the Looking-Glass in Contemporary Revisions of Fairy Tales. 20(1). TIME, 2010. Augmented Reality. [Online] Available at: http://content.time. com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1973759_1973760_1973797,00.html Vogue, 2009. [Online] Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/ spring-summer-2010/ready-to-wear/vivienne-westwood Westwood, V., 2014. The Guardian [Interview] 2014. WGSN, 2011. Fairytales: film analysis trend, s.l.: s.n. Wikipedia, n.d. [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Boop
Katie Hamilton N0563195 FASH10106 Creative Networks Word count 1063