'JD x depop'- Critical Journal

BRAND RESEARCH | JD

JD is a sports fashion, multichannel retailer of branded sports and casual wear, combining globally recognised brands such as Nike, adidas, Puma and The North Face, with strong private labels such as Pink Soda and Supply & Demand to provide an elevated consumer experience. JD is an industry leading retail business which combines the best of physical and digital retail to give a compelling consumer proposition which enables its customers to shop seamlessly across all channels. (JD Group)

Competitors for the retailer JD follow; Footlocker, Foot Asylum, Adidas, Sports Direct, Schuh, Office, Next. The following concept would enter JD into a new and attractive retail space.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT | ATHLEISURE

When researching JD’s ESG storis and reports it is clear to see they are taking responsibility by committing to increase their sustainable sourcing capability and performance across their sustainability chain (JD Group).

Today consumers are making conscious choices about their purchases therefore this being another reason why brands should be thinking forwards about the transparency of the brand. Consumers in the age range of the JD consumer group (under 25s) are a large proportion of the sustainable fashion generation supporters therefore JD introducing a concept of marketplace is a step in the right directing in appealing to existing and new consumers.

CONCEPT | ATHLEISURE

INSPIRATION | ATHLEISURE

“Athleisure- a combination of the words “athletic” and “leisure” is more than just a fashion fad. Athleisure is an aspirational lifestyle and a global phenomenon. And it is here to stay. The fashion athleisure category, defined as casual clothing designed to be worn both for exercising and general use, spans beyond just sneakers, however. Athleisure now includes yoga pants, jogger pants, tank tops, sports bras, hoodies, and so on. Each item is increasingly designed to be worn for everyday wear rather than just for the gym.” (Sweers.C.)

Using Pinterest as a platform for inspiration, a lot of images in the style of paparazzi “model-off duty” came up on the home feed page. Mainly featuring celebrities such as Kendal Jenner, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, who all have a great influence on recent fashion trends. These celebrities are wearing thrifted and one-of-a-kind pieces featuring brands such as Nike, Adidas Originals, Levi’s, New Balance, Guess, plus more. All which JD stock, therefore launching a marketplace or collaboration with an online selling site would marry the trend of Athleisure in relation to this concept. The “model-off duty” paparazzi look blends athleisure in a new way where it is now a trend to wear sweats with jeans and leather and rather than the usual trainer combination it is becoming more common to see loafers and heeled boots as a footwear choice.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Trend reports according to WGSN show how nostalgia continues to inform trends: from hyped rereleases to influencers developing an affinity for certain vintage shops and styles, specific eras captivate consumers. In addition, advanced styling brings it all together: by mixing and matching old with new, vintage styles are recontextualised as integral parts of modern design. In response to WGSN reports, for the theme of Athleisure a collaboration with a social marketplace retailer would be a great way for JD to widen their target audience. Attracting a consumer group where sustainability is an important factor in their purchases.

BRAND RESEARCH | DEPOP

Depop is an online marketplace used as a platform to buy and sell items. Depop penetrates a target market of 16–24-year-old mobile fashion buyers across the US and UK. Sourcing and selling second-hand fashion also help contribute to a circular economy and extends the life of our clothes, reducing the amount which ends up in landfills.

Depop have previously collaborated with Vans with a six-piece capsule collection that included footwear and apparel designed by artists from the Depop community. Also collaborated with Olivia Rodrigo for “SOUR shop,” where she brought exclusive items straight from her closet that were featured in the music videos. All of which are tactical collaborations for Depop, however a collaboration with JD as a major retailer would be a great marketing move to expand the brand.

COMPETITORS

Depop faces challenges

Vinted, Tradesy, Rebag, Grailed, thredUP.

Potential competitors to this collaboration include Asos Marketplace, an online resale site and Urban Renewal (by Urban Outfitters) online and instore. Both of which are successful in selling vintage items at ease, however, fail to make large impact on social media platforms. To differentiate and stand out from the competitors, the ‘JD x Depop’ collaboration will use social marketing techniques to appeal to a wider audience from the already established 16-25 sportswear consumer.

from competitors such as

COLOUR PALETTE

The color palette for this collaboration will follow the one already existing from JD and Depop of black, white and red through the branding and campaigning of the collaboration. When it comes down to the products and garments in the collaboration there is no specific colour palette as the items are vintage one offs. Keeping to the vintage theme, a retro grain in the style of a film camera is the desired aesthetic throughout branding and marketing.

XLOGO DEVELOPMENT

The logo development for this collaboration wasn’t the most adventurous as the featuring brands have strong logos already. During the experimental design development for this collaboration the logo was taken into Adobe Fresco on an iPad using a ‘stitch’ pencil tool to give the JD logo depth. However, the outcomes weren’t the desired aesthetic for this collaboration therefore a more simple and minimalistic logo design is most suitable as the existing brand logos already carry a strong presence.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Inspiration for the social media content to promote the ‘JD x Depop’ collaboration came from the official Depop account in Instagram. Using users’ images on social media allows consumers to get involved and feel a part of the brand, ultimately increasing brand loyalty and increasing sales. This word-of-mouth marketing when the users’ followers see the #jdxdepop will increase interaction on social media and increase social media exposure of the collaboration.

SHOOT 1

To achieve this look of users’ images for the Instagram content, ‘Shoot 1’ was carried out using an iPhone 14 Pro Max, predominantly using the 0.5 Lense to achieve the same look as the users’ images that they post. On the day of shoot 1 a digital Nixon camera was planned to be used however from the results of the iPhone 0.5 Lense; this suited the social content a lot more. When putting these images into an Instagram feed it turned out as desired in the style of the original Depop Instagram. This in addition to the image outcomes from ‘Shoot 2’ with inspiration from the Depop app where accounts use flatlays of their products in order to sell them.

SHOOT 2 | OUTCOMES

SOCIAL MEDIA

HOLLIE FERNANDOS

The photographer that inspired the shoot for the collaboration’s Lookbook campaign is Hollie Fernando. The variation of portrait images Fernando uses with different subjects, e.g., solo shots, group shots, use of objects. The way Fernando has edited her images or used a particular camera in order to achieve a grainy retro effect is the aim of the third shoot to be carried out as it reflects the collaborations’ vintage theme of secondhand fashion.

LOOKBOOK DEVELOPMENT

When researching lookbook styles, there was a clear retro image vision for this collaboration.

Stories Collective is an online & print platform filled with inspiring fashion stories that showcase beautiful content created by photographers, stylists, art directors, filmmakers, designers and models from all over the world. Inspiration for their issues comes from subjects that permeate our daily lives, a logical and precise study of form, a critique, a tribute, or simply a succession of beautiful imagery. When creating edits in the style of Stories Collective the layering and cut out details was useful for experimenting with. However, the outcomes were not as desired therefore more research went into other lookbooks such as Buffalo Zine, with an ever-changing aesthetic identity.

BUFFALO ZINE

The reasoning for a lookbook is that it is a fun element that excites the consumer. During the design process in the style of Buffalo Zine, the outcomes started coming to life using Adobe Photoshop, editing the images by adding noise to create a grain effect and using the adjustment tools to make the image warmer giving the look of a film camera. Using the magic wand tool to precisely cut out the silhouettes from the images taken in shoot 3 and then laying them to elevate the original images. Throughout the final lookbook for this collaboration there is a common theme of layering as Buffalo Zine uses, in addition to the colour bars which feature on numerous pages.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

A campaign for the JD x Depop collaboration will be carried out in the style of a pop-up which will be seen on Instagram ads and high-street billboards. The pop-up store will be known as the “POP-UP BOX”. This popup store allows businesses or sellers to bring their items to sell in the JD x Depop container and allows consumers to come and buy the secondhand pieces in the flesh if they wish to make a purchase other than online. This is where the lookbook for the season can be picked up.

Small businesses selling with JD x Depop can register online for a chance to grow their business exposure by being invited to create their own lookbook campaign for SS/23 with access to design development and behind the scenes on set and in the editorial process, offering something that no other resale retailer has offered in the crowded market.

CONCLUSION

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Overall, the design development and social media campaigns that have been creat-

For future development on the JD x Depop collaboration, it would be useful to see what the ‘POP UP BOX’ would look like inside to get more of a feel for the atmosphere that it would create and the extended target audience it would attract. Reflecting on the photography carried out in this shoot, it would be beneficial to use the studio to further experiment with the Depop style flatlays to make them look more professional, however, the textured tiles floor used in the shoot does reflect how anybody can sell their secondhand items on this platform. Another recommendation for the future development of this collaboration would be to use a wider variety of media for the shoot, for example an actual film camera to achieve the retro film aesthetic. In addition to this, to be more conscious and support the concept of being more sustainable, in the design process it would’ve been good to add a tote bag for consumers to reuse, ultimately reducing waste and it will also help promote collaboration.