LAUREN/ TYSON
01
Is Narrative in Fashion Short Film Imperative When Used for Promotional Purposes?
This written piece was about pursuing an ongoing fascination with film and fashion’s involvement and evolvement with it. I continually keep up to date with the new developments with fashion and film, in particular those that are regarded as short films. This study focuses on how fashion films are used as a promotional tool, particularly honing in on the presence, or absence, of narrative and how successful they are in delivering the right message to their consumers. It looks at the differing market levels and techniques used to create these films and touches on how receptive consumers are on this relatively new addition to promoting fashion as digital technologies rapidly develop as the competition heightens. I found this module to be extremely motivating and I look to further my passion in researching fashion as an academic subject.
CASE/ STUDY
ABSTRACT/ This study explores the developing genre of fashion short films, whilst analysing consumer engagement with fashion film as a branding tool, it investigates the characteristics and differences of narrative and non-narrative structures within these moving images when used for promotional purposes. Previous research suggests that brand experience itself could be seen as a narrative. Consumers react in different ways when receiving manipulated texts as part of marketing strategies, these reactions include, but are not limited to; engaging to act – consumers who are inclined to buy the product, seeking identity – emotively connecting with the text, transportation, actively engaging with the story and finally, the act of immersion, a consumer that omits admiration and appreciation for the aesthetics and creativity that has gone into the image. Storytelling is an important element of marketing and it is suggested that brands reach optimum consumer awareness when their brand is instantly recognisable, presenting an aesthetic that is synonymous with their brand. To assess the rise of fashion short film and its impact on its consumers, this case study looks at the many different creative outlets that are used to promote fashion, film and the product within it. Through analysing and conducting primary research on four short fashion films; Chanel’s ‘Train de Nuit’, Free People’s ‘Roshambo’, H&M’s 2015 Sport Collection film and Rhys Frampton’s fashion film for Haizhen Wang’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection, consumers gave their perspective on how well they understood and were likely to buy into the brand after viewing each text. The films represent different market levels for similar consumer profiles to obtain a more accurate result. Findings from this research highlights positive attributes of both narrative and non-narrative structured texts, contrary to initial thoughts that narrative structures were more favourable. The results outline that the absence of narrative is similar to that of an advertisement and this is a familiar text that consumers engage with. Films with narrative were attractive to the consumer although it could sometimes result in getting lost within the story detracting from the products the brand was promoting. As a result of this study, the findings confirm the interest of fashion short film as an emerging genre when used both as a promotional tool and as a creative medium for image-makers. It also confirms that as a newer type of image it is still in its experimentation phase and it is leading to exciting new developments in the fashion industry.
LAUREN/ TYSON
02
I had a real interest in the food aspect of our magazine so I took the reins of this section by planning and producing much of the content and writing this feature.
Eden Magazine
For this group project we proposed a monthly lifestyle magazine that incorporated; health, fitness and fashion. It provides a community of like-minded individuals who are committed and passionate towards their well-being. This magazine motivates the reader into a positive state of mind and offers a down-to-earth guide to a busy lifestyle to ultimately become an enjoyable part of our readers’ life.
The advantage of working in a group was being able to draw on each other’s strengths, inspire and motivate one another to produce this publication. My specialist role was creative director, where I mainly handled the planning and production of fashion editorials as I felt my experience and interests suited this position well. I had a strong influence on the layout aspect of the magazine as well as writing a feature surrounding the idea of how it has become fashionable of being a healthy eater.
Magazine team members: Katie Calvert, Bethanie Lane, April Shannon
MAGAZINE/ PRODUCTION
An editorial I produced for the magazine, a liberating shoot inspiring our consumer to have confidence and maintain a healthy, confident, happy lifestyle. Contributors Photography Styling MUA/Hair Model
Catherine Booty Lauren Tyson Katie Calvert Rosie Jones Anna Kowalczyk
LAUREN/ TYSON
The main branding components are recognised through the web site, the inter-changeable logo and the concept guidelines. The website I put together features all of the content I produced as well as content I sourced from contributors. Alongside these branding components, I produced content pieces representative of the theme Fashion & Nostalgia in order to show the different mediums of content that might be found on SeeSaw. These pieces are; an opinion article that asks the question of whether we are too wasting and unappreciative of developments with modern technology, an essay exploring postmodernism and the designers linked to that era, a fashion editorial revisiting the 1990s and an interview with an interior print designer.
03 SeeSaw
SeeSaw is a subscription based, digital concept that explores fashion as a subject, offering a unique slant on contemporary fashion opinion. It is a web site that brings together creative and academic mediums of fashion into an online presence that challenges ideologies and stereotypes. As a community it provides a platform for individuals to be expressive and immersed with fashion in a subjective capacity as opposed to how fashion can be thought of as commercially influenced or as frivolous. The concept take aspects of art/fashion magazines, which have a more investigative take on fashion, and trend forecasting websites for their use as a resource.
The logo is a vital component to this project as it not only identifies the brand, it identifies each individual theme release making it simple to navigate. I enlisted the help of a freelance illustrator to use my ideas and produce a professional themed logo.
SeeSaw releases a topic every six months with a view to gain a wide range of content that encompasses each theme. SeeSaw invites its members to contribute toward each theme, and in turn amounts to building a dynamic archive of material for future reference. The reliance of contributions is vital in keeping SeeSaw a collective of voices and opinions shaping fashion’s future. The education sector plays a substantial role as the alliance with SeeSaw nurtures fashion as research from where it first stems, in turn, SeeSaw offers a community of like-minded individuals and an opportunity to make contacts and propose collaborations for both SeeSaw’s archive and their own portfolios.
FINAL MAJOR/ PROJECT
Logo by Louise Banks
The editorial I organised, inspired by the 1990’s adhering to SeeSaw’s Fashion & Nostalgia theme
SeeSaw Homepage
http://see-saw.businesscatalyst.com/
LAUREN/ TYSON
04 Whistles Trend Exploration
This cartogram outlines one of the final trends I brought together as a result of my research
Our brief required us to research and forecast future developments for a high-street company and evaluate how it will impact its futures. The brand I chose to base my project around was Whistles and brought together a variety of research methods to produce cartograms of possible trends and a booklet reflecting these. The cartogram was the foundation of the project which involved collecting imagery and articles from magazines, newspapers, and ongoing events such as exhibitions. This was then interpreted into a final trend booklet exploring trend drivers, consequences, and futures.
TREND/ FORECASTING
Excerpts from my trend handbook for Whistles