Here I have created an influencer timeline, the purpose of the timeline is to establish how ‘influencers’ have developed over time in association to social media app inventions. You could say that ‘influencers’ have been around since the 50s, with icons like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Jane Mansfield. In the 1950s, an hourglass shape was one of the most desirable.
The type of influencers trending in the early 2000s, were reality tv stars such as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. These types of influencers urged the trend towards relatability. Reality TV offered a sense of authenticity, this is why many of reality TV stars become so popularised due to followers resonating with ‘real people’. Reality TV stars essentially paved the way for social media stars.
In the 1980s, icons like Twiggy inspired a change, pioneering a trend for slender figures. This became even more so apparent in the 90s with models like Kate Moss supporting the shift to a more androgenous style. The ‘influencer’ trend in the 90s was referred to as heroin chic this term was characterised by pale skin and emaciated features. This is a trend that seems to be resurfacing in 2023, due to the rise in popularity of ‘nepo baby’ influencers.
In 2009, the term ‘vloggers’ was established by youtubers who merged the video and blog to create the word vlog. Vloggers regularly post short videos mainly revealing parts of their day-to-day activities, similarly to reality tv stars, vloggers offer a sense of normality. However, during this time vloggers aspired to project a ‘squeaky clean’ persona, almost sugar-coating their normal lives to appear perfect.
In 2014, the beauty trend of the curvaceous hourglass figure resurfaced due to celebrities like Kim Kardashian. The big boobs, bums and lip craze created a rise for plastic surgery, I would say during this time a lot of insecurities began for young girls in terms of conforming to the male gaze. The Kardashian trend also supported the whole idea of appearing perfect to the eye.
In 2015, the social media platform ‘vine’ was created, the purpose of the app was for content creators to create short videos mainly from a perspective of humour. This is when celebrities began showing more of their personal lives online, in attempt to not take themselves too seriously. Kylie Jenner was a celebrity notorious for vine videos with her friends, revealing a side to her that no one had seen.
2020 was the year of TikTok, a platform for regular people to create content for either themselves or others. Due to the pandemic, TikTok was the main form of entertainment for most. The platform also gave the opportunity for normal people to gain huge success overnight, for example influencers such as Charlie D’amelio, her sister Dixie and Addison Rae. So many regular people’s lives have changed just because of TikTok!
What is next for influencers? Because of platforms like TikTok, people are more exposed to relatable creators so craving long overdue reality due to the facades of digital personalities, consumer wants have changed. So, I think that the future of influencers is hugely determined by their ability to provide realness that doesn’t seem forced.
Influencer marketing is one of the main marketing methods currently, thus being the most successful. There is no doubt that consumers will attach themselves to brands who offer a reputable face as opposed to those who do not. However, it is important to note that as effective as influencer marketing is, it can also attract backlash if the correct influencer is not chosen for the brand. This is why there is a clear difference in how each market level utilises influencer marketing. in order to create a successful campaign, I must explore previous successful and unsuccessful campaigns to gain a sense of what to/not to do. Kendall Jenner has received extensive backlash for most campaigns she has been involved, thus being because she is not an influencer who consumers can relate to. Her collaboration with the skincare brand Proactiv drew a lot of critiques from consumers deeming that it just did not feel genuine. Another campaign that did not go to plan for Kendall Jenner was the 2017 Pepsi advertising campaign that had no choice but to discontinue the advert, stating ‘we missed the mark and we apologise’. The campaign was being accused of making light of serious, political issues and openly apologised for putting Kendall Jenner in the position to receive so much backlash. this just shows how vital it is to choose the correct influencer.
The relationship between Harry Styles and Gucci, demonstrates the perfect example of how to utilise brand and celebrity attachments. With Gucci being part of the luxury designer market, they tend to be extremely selective in who they choose to be the face of their brand, in comparison to the likes of the fast fashion market. Fast fashion markets often choose micro influencers who are gaining the most engagement during that time. whereas the luxury designer market, selects influencers who they can create a long-lasting relationship with. Harry Styles is the perfect face for Gucci as he continuously pushes boundaries within his style and is known for his ‘soft’ demeaner and playful personality. Harry has been able to divert the attention towards a new target consumer for Gucci. Harry’s Gen Z fanbase associate him with the brand, therefore are more willing to buy into it or keep up to date with their latest campaigns. Harry Styles involvement with Gucci produces more engagement with a new consumer, and this is something I will consider when creating my campaign strategy. How can I establish engagement through my 360 campaign?
Originally when trying to grasp as to why Gen Z are faced with so much pressure regarding their physical appearance, I found that I have been putting a lot of the blame onto social media and the negative effect of influencers. However, after researching into Love Island I realised that social media and influencers is just a small minority in the pressures of Gen Z, and that there is a much bigger subject to blame. So, I decided to explore the negative effects in which reality TV shows such as Love Island are having on Gen Z females. It came to my attention how the show perpetuates stereotypes, selecting the contestants via pre-determined stereotypes. Each year, the contestants unknowingly mimic last years, and as the show progresses, they are beginning to resemble each other more and more. Love Island is creating clones… not literally. Love Island plays on typical stereotypes in a way to entertain our mainly misogynistic society and is probably why the show is so addictive. Stereotypes, have and always will influence the self-esteem of our society as they set unrealistic standards of perfection or vice versa promotes the pressure of being categorised as a negative stereotype. For my campaign, I am interested in creating a concept that goes against stereotypes, a campaign to restore the confidence lost within Gen Z to ensure that Gen Alpha are not heading in that direction.
Influencers are a huge part of the spending habits of Gen Z, as a consumer Gen Z value the review of an influencer before purchasing the product. However, the reviews are not always true. There have been many incidents in which influencers have openly admitted to recommending a product before even trying it themselves. I find this is because the original meaning of the influencer is slowly disappearing. Gen Z are not just looking to be ‘influenced’ by their favourite influencers, they are wanting to become them. I feel this is due to low self esteem being associated with this consumer and the excessive exposure to social media. Influencers are not to be blamed for the insecurities of their followers as they themselves are human beings, the blame lies with the pre-existing expectations and standards of society. A lot of the time, influencers are displaying only the parts of their lives that would pass as perfect rather than displaying their true authenticity in fear of being judged. This then tricks their followers into desiring a life that doesn’t fully exist. This unhealthy pattern will continue until society decides to stop conforming to the unrealistic expectations of society.
The future of the influencer is quite literally in the hands of Gen Z. Upon my research I have noticed that influencers are taking a new approach to how they best market themselves. We are seeing more popularity with influencers who are brave enough to show the real side to them disassociated with their digital identity. For example, actress Julia Fox has gained the approval of Gen Z for the way that she is so authentically true to her own self. A lot of influencers fear the judgments of their followers whereas Julia Fox coins in on the judgements of her followers. When being accused of faking her relationship with Kanye West for fame, she openly agreed to the statement and was confident in doing so. Consumers are tired of the facades created by influencers, this fake version of reality that makes us believe we must be perfect. Trends such as ‘the clean girl aesthetic’ also contribute to this idea of perfection and create unrealistic standards for viewers. This is why Julia Fox has been gaining so much recognition lately for her confidence to embrace her imperfections, on a recent Tik Tok video she said a big f you to the male gaze, stereotypes, and conventional beauty stating, ‘Fuck it, I want to be ugly at this point. Would that be the ultimate rebellion? For a woman not to be pleasant to the eye? Because in the end it’s our bodies but it doesn’t really feel like it.’ Her relatability resonates with a lot of people, and her ability to be honest with not only herself but her followers. I think the future of the influencer will switch from this utopian lifestyle perspective to a more real-life outlook. Viewers don’t want to feel like they are not good enough as their lives don’t match the life of influencers, they want to feel ‘normal’ and influencers who provide true authenticity can achieve this. However, the future of the influencer is also taking a completely different route and the next big influencers are in the form of an online presence like an avatar in the metaverse. For example, brands like Pretty Little Thing introduced their metaverse models, giving their consumers the chance to assert their name, to help build a relationship between the consumer and their new venture into metaverse marketing. I find that the success of a metaverse influencer is very slim due to the lack of authenticity because consumers would be essentially putting their trust into influencers programmed by the brands therefore this would not be a true representation of the opinion of their products.
The age of social media having a huge contribution in terms of how society is viewing the world. Due to endless exposure to the privates of their family, friends, acquaintances, and influencers, on platforms like Instagram, surfaces a lot of comparisons and in the end, comparison inevitably leads to negative associations with themselves. This often leads to consumers possessing a distorted view of reality. This is called cognitive distortion, whereby thought patterns cause people to view reality inaccurately and most of the time from a negative perspective. For my 360 campaign, I wanted to create an outcome that will help overcome the distorted view of reality, so that Generation Alpha do not adapt to these negative thought patterns.
My initial campaign idea stemmed from exploring Generation Z as a current consumer, looking at their negative perceptions of themselves to create a campaign that will inspire a new perspective for Generation Alpha as a future consumer. Currently, I am developing plans for a styling shoot as this will be the main outcome of my campaign. I created a visual mood board using printed-out imagery from my inspiration boards on Pinterest. I have done this to help capture what it might be that I want my campaign to look like so that I can start thinking of ways to achieve my visualisation.
One of my first ideas for my styling shoot was inspired by the idea of reflection, and how we see ourselves differently in each reflection for example looking in the mirror would have a different reflection to looking at yourself through the metal of a doorknob or a glass full of water etc. This concept originated from my research into Gen Z and how we must hold a mirror up for them to realise their loss of identity. My plan was to incorporate portraits in reflections, to create distorted features, which would emphasise the idea towards the new ‘ugly beauty’ trend. I would achieve this by selecting a variety of different objects in which we catch our reflections.
When researching the topic of reflection for one of my styling shoots, I came across a TikTok video that discussed the idea of how what if humans were never actually meant to see their own reflections through objects like mirrors as natural reflections such as lakes would not pick up on insecurities. I looked at the comments on the video to gain a sense of what others thought about the concept and it came to my attention that it originated from the poet Francesco Pessoa. The poem is finished with, ‘the inventor of the mirror poisoned the human heart’, in some respect this is true but upon further reading the comments I found an interesting response from an unnamed user. The response stated, ‘It is not seeing yourself that makes you unhappy, it’s seeing the face of others on social media.’ This made me realise that it is not our reflections that hinder our self-esteem, but it is the deep-rooted stereotypes set regarding unrealistic beauty standards.
Another idea in which I had for one of my styling shoots was looking into how our digital identities are not true representations of ourselves as a lot of the time, people only post the good part of their lives leaving out the bad. The concept also explores how most time posts are edited/filtered to appeal perfectly to the eye, to capture this I would like to incorporate old TVs to represent the digital aspect, with the model posing next to the TV. This styling shoot concept would later support the development of the third styling shoot which combines both reflection and digital identity concepts.
My third concept is about combing the concepts of my first and second shoot ideas. I would like to capture this in a way that reflects the distorted images from shoot 1 onto the screens of shoot 2 as a symbol of our true identities being trapped/hidden within our digital identities. I have created this visual to visualise how I would like the shoot to look. I have enlarged the features of the model and distorted them onto the face and then overlayed the image onto the TV screen. These concepts I have established
for my styling shoots are just potential ideas. Before building a concept for my 360 campaign I must explore more areas within my research to contextualise my ideas.
How can we restore the confidence of Generation Z to ensure that Generation Alpha have a healthy relationship with their self-esteem? As a Gen Z’er myself, I am lucky enough as an individual to have a mindset that doesn’t really care what others think, therefore I think positively in terms of my self-esteem. However, I think this has a lot to do with my belief in the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction is a philosophy based on the idea that positive thoughts fester them into a reality and that negative thoughts manifest negativity in your life. This is something I am very conscious of, and I believe aids in the positive associations in which I have of myself. the philosophy has taken to TikTok, with its believers posting videos explaining the Law of Attraction, videos of people reading tarot cards, and videos teaching daily affirmations. This idea is something I definitely want to consider when creating a solid concept for my 360 campaign as I believe the Law of Attraction could be the answer to restoring Gen Z’s authentic identities and would be the perfect way to implement confidence for Gen Alpha as a future consumer.
informed consumers
lack brand attachement
personalisation
radically diverse
tech savvy individualistic
digital natives
socially aware
high expectations
‘loneliest generation’
short attention span mental health challenges
trust transparacy honesty
socially accepting
environmentally concious
defiant by nature
emotional branding engagement experience exclusivity
very aware/require ‘realness’
easily influenced
When researching the lack of individualistic identity, we are seeing in society today, I thought it is beneficial to research past fashion subcultures to recognise the difference in the type of subcultures we see in 2023. All the style inspiration we see today are inspired by past subcultures like Punk, HipHop, Grunge, Mods and Rockers but the subcultures we are seeing today are originating from TikTok and are just modernised versions of what we have seen in the past. Fashion is used to express our identities and subcultures utilise them to generate ‘authenticity’. However, consumers like Gen Z are heavily influenced by trends, so their style typically depends on what the current ‘It’ girl is wearing. Some TikTok subcultures that are currently shaping fashion include Maximalism, Scandinaviancore, E Girls and Boys, Balletcore and Grunge. Subcultures are not only a way to express individualism but also support the individual’s values. However, fast fashion and overconsumption of clothes, as we see in 2023, limit the idea of consumers utilising their style to create a cultural revolution. The fast-paced trends and accessibility of cheap clothing are making it harder for the youth to express their identity through their clothing due to their conformity to trends/influencers.
As my campaign comes from a perspective of female empowerment, I have chosen to explore female artists who touch on this and have had such a huge impact on the lives of our youth. Growing up, I was always exposed to female singers such as Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Amy Winehouse, and Pink, I think this has heavily influenced the type of female I am today and suggests why in each of my creative projects I incorporate aspects of female empowerment. A lot of their songs are centred around the position of females within society, hinting at how gender inequality is still very present. Their songs also explore notions of misogyny, the male gaze and how men have unrealistic expectations of women. I thought it is beneficial to explore these types of artists as I think incorporating musical influences into my campaign would be an effective method to help contextualise my concepts. It is surprising how much songs can alter the mindset of the listener.
10x10 RESEARCH METHOD
HOW ARE PRE-EXSISTING STEREOTYPES
EFFECTING HOW GEN Z VIEW THEMSELVES?
Stereotypes are so common in our day-to-day lives and are a subject that has been present from our very early stages in life. The consequences of stereotypes include mistreatment, bullying, hate crimes, social discrimination, and injustice. The pressure of being subjected to stereotypes often leads to self-consciousness regarding these biases. Due to this, we establish something called ‘stereotype threat’ this is when we become compelled to monitor the threat of being labelled, the paranoia then leads to the need to want to prove people wrong. This can be damaging to the authentic identities of our youth as they can become so wrapped up in the bias.
HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC CONTRIBUTED TO THE LOSS OF IDENTITY AMONGST OUR YOUTH?
Despite the pandemic being a time of reflection and a chance for our youth to spend time in their own company, there are many factors of the pandemic that have contributed to the loss of identity. it has been described that the way we define ourselves through our tribes, and the loss of face-to-face interactions made our youth feel lost and had them reassessing who they really are. During the pandemic, people also developed an attitude in which they felt they didn’t need to make an effort with their appearance due to socialisation rules, this led to consumers choosing comfort rather than expression.
10x10 RESEARCH METHOD
WHY ARE CONSUMERS LOOKING FOR COMFORT IN THEIR STYLE RATHER THAN EXPRESSION?
Due to the pandemic, Gen Z adapted to the athleisure lifestyle, seeking sweatpants over their usual attire. Because of the prolonged time in sweatpants, people were choosing comfort before anything when it came to buying clothes. This meant that when lockdown restrictions were lifted, people were still so used to this idea of comfortable dressing so chose to jazz up their sweatpants with an oversized blazer rather than going back to feeling restricted in clothing like jeans. A study by Champneys revealed that 30% of people invest more in self-care because of the pandemic, leading to people prioritising comfort in terms of style. Comfort dressing has affected the identity of our youth a whole lot as the pandemic gave them the mindset that dressing up is ‘too much’.
10x10 RESEARCH METHOD IS OUR NEED TO CONFORM TO UNIFORMS CONTRIBUTING TO THE LACK OF AUTHENTIC STYLE WE ARE SEEING IN 2023?
In the very early stages of our life, we are programmed to strive for perfection, ensure that our uniform is neat, our appearance is tidy, and make sure we conform to the school rules… This continues if not worsens into high school life. Much like other generations, Generation Z is under so much pressure due to the expectations of this idea of perfection. Even in the workplace, you are most of the time given a uniform, alongside a set of rules regarding your physical appearance. Most workplaces do not allow any eccentric colour hair, tattoos, piercings, nail art etc. The little things that individuals choose to do to help them stand out or differentiate themselves from the rest are not allowed in typical organizations due to the need for perfection and conformity to conventional beauty standards.
WHY DO GEN Z LACK SO MUCH CONFIDENCE?
Being a generation strongly influenced by social media and with exposure from an earlier age, this can be harmful to the confidence of individuals. With loss of confidence, comes loss of identity. The age of the influencers does not help in the restoration of confidence for Generation Z’ers, as it provokes comparison. In the age of unrealistic Filters, Fillers and Botox how do Gen Z stand a chance in accepting themselves for who they are? While it is considered a positive thing that we now have the resources to physically ‘fix’ our insecurities through surgeries, procedures that are more accepted within society now, it should not get to a point where our youth feel like they need to ‘fix’ themselves to conform to unrealistic beauty standards. It is important that brands do not tap into conventional beauty standards and should break these boundaries, as it is becoming too damaging for our young consumers. I came across a quote that stated, ‘In a society that profits from your self-doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act,’ this is something I have taken forward in contextualising my final ideas for my 360 campaign.
10x10 RESEARCH METHOD WHY IS OUR YOUTH OBLIVIOUS TO THEIR LACK OF INDIVIDUALISM AND HOW CAN WE CHANGE THIS?
Generation Z is extremely trend-driven and with fast fashion brands’ overproduction of current trends, we have seen a huge decline in individualistic style. As a consumer who is hugely influenced by the opinions of others, it is hard for them to establish their own sense of style and without realising are slowly turning into clones of each other. An example of this is the viral Molly Mae biker jacket, in a recent sample sale for the brand Sisters and Seekers, someone captured an extensive number of girls wearing said jacket styled almost identically. The person titled the video ‘The Molly Mae Effect’ and captioned it as ‘Your sign NOT to buy the viral Zara jacket.’ The video gained over 6 million views and over 400k likes. People who own the jacket were shocked and embarrassed after the realisation hit them how it looks to base their style solely on trends. Owners of the jacket expressed that they would not be wearing the jacket anymore because up until this point, they were oblivious to their lack of individual style. It is through videos like this that we can bring about change by inspiring people to embrace their authenticity. This is something I am hoping to achieve within my final major project.
10x10 RESEARCH METHOD WHO ARE GENERATION ALPHA?
Generation Alpha are the children of the Millennials, born from 2010 – 2025, and by 2025, 2 billion of the global population will consist of this new generation, meaning that fashion market levels must grow and adapt to the demanding wants/needs of this group. They are the most educated, tech-savvy, and conscious group of all generations. Hotwire Global Productions conducted a survey in which 27% of UK parents revealed that they think their child values their iPad or iPhone more than anything else. it is no shock that most of the Alpha Generation already have access to social media accounts, this being potentially hazardous regarding developing any unwanted insecurities. This generational group are already pushing boundaries within society and as they live within a more modernised environment. Generation Alphas are very individualistic in character and are already exhibiting new behaviours. According to firstcry.com, “Conservative dressing is out the window as well. As they focus more on individual style and comfort rather than the societal norm, they are expected to be the most exhibitionist Generation ever.” While they tend to be more defiant by nature, and not easily persuaded, being described as a generation who is going to be able to sniff out the bs they will require realness when it comes to brands and marketing strategies, this makes Generation Alpha a difficult consumer to market to. However, this characteristic makes Generation Alpha the perfect consumer for my 360 campaign.
METHOD
WHAT ARE THE POSTIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF TIKTOK FOR OUR YOUTH?
TikTok is one of the most downloaded apps to this day, it is a platform where users can create short videos to 10-minute videos displaying aspects of humour, lip-syncing, acting, talent, and story times. What started off as an app to create light-hearted videos, has turned into a new search engine for Generation Z, rather than asking their question to google they are using TikTok to find their answers proving they are engaging more visually than through text. 90% of the population uses TikTok daily. The positive effects of TikTok include entertainment, publicity, learning new skills and providing opportunities. Despite the many positives of TikTok, it is questionable whether the negatives outweigh them. Firstly, the app is created to be addictive due to the short engaging videos which makes it harder to get bored of the app. TikTok like most platforms can be used to bully/harass users. On TikTok, there are features like ‘duets and stitch which means you can react to others’ videos thus meaning that users can use these features to speak negatively. This ultimately can have a damaging effect on the mental health of all involved. TikTok has also been described as unsafe due to the no restrictions as to who can join and in terms of how the algorithm works in which videos show up on people’s for you page. TikTok has become such a normal part of the lives of Generation Alpha and has huge potential to negatively affect how they perceive themselves in the future.
10x10 RESEARCH METHOD WHAT DOES THE NEW SHIFT INTO THE METAVERSE MEAN FOR OUR AUTHENTIC IDENTITY?
So, what is the Metaverse? the metaverse is a virtual reality space which involves interactions between users in a computer-generated environment. The metaverse like most things has both many pros and cons. But in my opinion, I just do not see future success for the metaverse as I believe consumers strive for real-life connections due to the restriction and loss we were faced with during the pandemic in terms of human interactions. One of the most negative effects of the metaverse includes addiction to a virtual reality that does not exist in the real world could eventually lead to individuals losing their authentic selves in their facades. While users are given the ability to adopt new digital personas and given the freedom to act in any manner they wish to, this has the potential to be hazardous to humanity. Possibly resulting in digital reality becoming more predominant than the real world. Having endless resources to reinvent themselves digitally the outcome can result in harming their own self-image in the real world.
10x10 RESEARCH METHOD HOW CAN I INCORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY INTO MY 360 CAMPAIGN?
With sustainability being a priority for generation alpha this is something I must be conscious of within my 360 campaign. The fashion industry accounts for a huge percentage of greenhouse emissions and is one of the main culprits for overflowing landfill. The fashion industry produces over 100 billion products per year, but in 2023 consumers are looking towards more sustainable alternatives choosing to either shop or resell on platforms such as Vinted and Depop. There has also been a huge increase in rental shops in which consumers can purchase a dress for the period they need it, this produces less waste in the long run. Sustainability is something I wish to incorporate within my final major project, I will do this by exploring the idea of upcycling, utilising second-hand clothes and effectively working with what I already have in my wardrobe.
‘Culture shifts derive from the experience of encountering new ways of doing things that challenge the basic belief that your way of doing things is the ‘correct’ way.’ To develop a campaign with the intention of inspiring a new perspective for Generation Alpha it is important that I future-proof any culture shifts which will contribute to the development of my final major project. As we are seeing so many new technological advancements it is all becoming a little too much for our consumers, and digital exhaustion is kicking in. We have recently been introduced to new AI technology that consumers are finding concerning and frightening. This will result in consumers’ desires to go back to life before technology and this is something that I will hugely consider within my final major project. I will focus on creating shared in-person experiences rather than focusing on incorporating a technological aspect that is inevitably becoming oversaturated.
As a creative storyteller, I am always looking for new ways to capture visual narratives within my work. So, after discovering that we are expecting to see a resurgence of in-person social interactions this is something I wish to hone into for my final major project. I have looked back on the topic of the metaverse and how it is a virtual world of social interactions with the ability to create your own digital identity. A virtual world in which consumers feel free to express themselves without the fear of judgement, due to hiding behind their digital persona. I want my campaign to create the security that consumers need to freely express themselves in our real-life world. To translate my ideas into visual narratives I plan to delve deeper into creative storytellers who inspire me through thei unconventional ways of capturing visual narratives.
Martine Rose is a London-based designer particularly specialising in menswear. She is most famously known for her unconventional way of displaying her collections through imagery and film. Martine Rose has a distinctive style of work, that represents authenticity and celebration of ‘normality’. it is evident in the type of models she selects to wear her collections; they are typically middle-aged men whom you would likely see in your local Tesco. In an industry that is oversaturated with conventionally pleasing-to-the-eye models, it is refreshing to see a new take on this. Her collaboration with Nike in 2022 has played a huge part in the inspiration for my FMP as the collaboration campaign came from a perspective of female empowerment, paying homage to the women in football. The art director for the campaign was one of Martine Rose’s close friends Tamara Rothstein, upon the initial developments of the campaign, the two discovered that many women footballers play for free, and those who play pro don’t receive a reasonable wage resulting in them having to take up another job, this is something they found unbelievable as the divide between women and male footballers was so huge. I found that the most effective feature of the campaign was the text across the screen of a simple sentence, with their list of jobs below because it captivates the attention of the viewer leaving them wanting to know more.
I have always been a huge fan of the talent of Jeremy Scott, most known for his creative director status at Moschino. After now stepping down from this role at Moschino, Jeremy Scott has built a reputation as “pop culture’s most irreverent designer”, and “fashion’s last rebel”. His work includes a lot of reinterpretations of pre-existing brand stories such as Barbie, McDonald’s, and Coke etc, elevating them with elements of humour and irony. He chose to work for Moschino as the brand already had a similar approach with the founder of Moschino viewing fashion as a form of protest. A lot of Jeremy Scott’s work with Moschino relates back to the 1950s housewife reimagined in a feminist approach. Sugary pastels and pop colours are used throughout his work and are executed in a wacky comic sense. His ability to create stories that are so apparent, and literal is something I wish to take forward into my final major project.
TOILETPAPER is a magazine and creative studio founded and run by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari. It is most known for its unmistakable irreverent style to approach different realities. Alongside art director Micol Talso and the team at TOILETPAPER, they have conducted creative work for several projects such as multimedia advertising campaigns for Kenzo, OK Cupid, SK II, Lavazza, Costume National, Nike, Diesel, Galleries Lafayette, and MAC Cosmetics. I think I resonate with this magazine so much in terms of storytelling as they involve no text throughout the publication, leaving the images to speak for themselves. As a creative I find it difficult to put into words everything that I am trying to get across so place more emphasis on my visual work to communicate my thoughts. The imagery used throughout TOILETPAPER is fearless and questionable. The publication is like an outburst of chaos, creating an experience that will make you think twice. The unconventionality of the publication is what attracts me to it the most. The way that TOILETPAPER fixate on concepts and builds strange imagery to support their idea in a way that no one could possibly imagine is remarkable to me.
Dazed & Confused Magazine is another publication which inspires me as a creative storyteller. in 1992, Jefferson Hack and Rankin launched the publication as an alternative style and culture magazine. Dazed ‘champions radical fashion and youth culture, defining the times with a vanguard of next-generation writers, stylists and image makers.’ Again, Dazed is another magazine that puts more fixation on how they display the imagery throughout the publication as opposed to the priority of the text. The aesthetic of the imagery associated with Dazed magazine portrays aspects of imperfection, honing into the unconventional. The imagery always has an unfinished look about it and this is refreshing to see in a time of fixation on all things airbrush, filter and perfected. This is something I wish to take forward in terms of the photography for my campaign, I want it to display a sense of imperfection.
Throughout my research, I have been on a journey to discover what makes our female Gen Z’s feel insecure and to implement a plan of action to resolve this for Generation Alpha. So going back to the whole idea of perfection, this is something that we have strived for since a very young age due to the exposure to organisations such as Disney. It is argued that Disney can have negative effects due to the promotion of consumerism, negative female gender stereotypes, toxic masculinity, and unrealistic body standards. It is very evident that children are being brainwashed to perceive beauty through an unrealistic lens creating princesses that do not resemble any sense of normality and princesses that hint towards a more unconventional look never seem to be as popular as opposed to those that do. This is proven in the way that Disney paint their villains to have features that are associated with common insecurities such as facial moles, and wrinkles, to appear either cubby or extremely thin, and this is proof that Disney princesses are portrayed to be more valued for their physical appearance. The negative associations Disney created with our natural beauties were more apparent in the earlier productions, as they are developing a more modernised perspective. However, research shows that the damage has already been done and is potentially too far to be undone. For example, the more ‘progressive’ female roles may not be viewed as a princess due to their pre-existing perceptions of what a princess should look and act like. Studies conducted by Sarah Coyne revealed that four to five-year-old children who were exposed to movies involving princesses displayed more stereotypically feminine behaviours focusing more on their appearance. Researchers expressed concern over this as adhering to stereotypical gender roles may leave young girls feeling limited as to what they can do in the future.
What is the male gaze? The male gaze ‘describes a way of portraying and looking at women that empowers men while sexualising and discriminating women.’ From a feminist perspective, the male gaze is considered to limit and define women in ways that are harmful and demeaning, in a way to maintain the patriarchal structure of women never being on the same level as a man. The male gaze stems from years of visual objectification of women purely for the pleasure of men. The male gaze also relates back to stereotypes, as examples include, fetishising the hair shade blonde as a ditsy airhead, sexualising glasses as they appear to make women more feminine, and anything that is associated with young girls such as pigtails. I recently stumbled across a TikTok of a girl explaining why she chooses to not shave and stay hairy. She expressed that she often finds men staring at her creepily and when they notice the hair on her legs or armpits, they immediately cut the gaze and show a look of disgust. This is because men project unrealistic expectations onto females, associating hair as ‘manly’ rather than something that is completely natural for both genders. The topic of conforming to the male gaze also got me thinking back to my research regarding the metaverse and how video games also play into the sexualisation of women, having big breasts showing cleavage, blonde hair, and glasses etc as their main features. this also got me thinking about the way the same thing happens in in-person games such as poker. From this, I developed an idea regarding the potential execution of my final major project. My idea involved transporting the images from my photoshoots onto a pack of playing cards as a symbolic way to free ourselves from the male gaze. This was something I chose to investogate further in the development of my FMP campaign
At this point in my research, I had so many ideas but had not yet managed to finalise or structure them into a concept for my final major project. During my 1-1 tutorials with my tutor Tracey Hall, I decided to create a presentation of my final major project proposal to clarify any ideas that will support the development process of transforming them into brand management. From this, I was able to gain feedback before completely establishing my final ideas.
After my scheduled 1-1 tutorial with industry mentor Christopher Shannon to discuss my potential ideas for my final major project before the development stages, I was able to receive some knowledgeable feedback. Christopher Shannon expressed that I had some strong concepts and had explored a vast number of topics, but he felt that I needed to really delve into unconventional beauty as the people I had looked at he felt were not a true representation of this. So, taking his advice on board I developed my research further by looking into celebrities such as Doja Cat, and Lady Gaga and how their beauty is perceived as unconventional. I also watched the three documentaries which he recommended I watch. He recommended the documentaries so that I would get a real sense of what it means to display an authentic identity to help gauge more of an understanding of what I want to produce for my visual outcome.
What is unconventional beauty? This is the term used to describe someone who does not fit the ‘normal’ beauty standards but rather displays unique features. Unconventional beauty reveals all elements of their authentic self. Beauty is subjective so is it hard to define what unconventional beauty looks like, but I have chosen to investigate artists Doja Cat and Lady Gaga as they are known to go beyond the norm. Doja Cat is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer, who predominately curates her songs around female empowerment. At the very early stages of her career, Doja Cat appeared to conform to traditional beauty standards in the way that she projected herself on red carpets, in music videos and magazines. However, recently, Doja Cat has been on a journey into disassociating herself from traditional beauty expectations and has begun experimenting with what we call the ‘ugly beauty’ trend, shaving her hair and brows. This newfound journey has also been present during her red carpet looks in which she has been experimental with Avant-Garde looks that she has received huge amounts of backlash for. Online trolls and even her fans have been making accusations that the way she is expressing herself is an indication that she is part of a satanic cult. God forbid women to not conform to conventional beauty stereotypes, otherwise, they will be accused of selling their souls to the devil! This just proves how brainwashed we are into believing that perfection is the only beauty standard that is valued.
Lady Gaga has been the blueprint for experimenting with unconventional expression, more predominantly in the early stages of her career. Lady Gaga is a singer, songwriter, and actress. She has never been afraid to express herself
authentically and this is something in which she presents throughout her work. not only is she unconventional with her looks she is also through her views and opinions. Again, her confidence to embrace her ‘weird’ rather than conforming to the idea of perfection caused a huge number of accusations. In 2009, she was accused of being a hermaphrodite, this is when an individual possesses both female and male sexual organs and/or sexual characteristics. I was 7 years old when the accusations were made and this is something I can still remember so vividly during my time in primary school, it was the hot topic of the school playground. How far gone of a society are we to accuse an evident female as a male just purely for the fact that her expression is considered unconventional? And for it to be a topic discussed by 7-year-old children, just proves how damaging the negative connotations surrounding unconventional beauty can be. She hasn’t always had the confidence to embrace her authenticity as she expressed, ‘I was called horrible, profane names very loudly in front of huge crowds of people, and my schoolwork suffered at one point. I didn’t want to go to class. And I was a straight-A student, so there was a certain point in my high school years when I just couldn’t even focus on class because I was so embarrassed all the time. I was so ashamed of who I was.” But now she is an advocate for honouring your unique identity, “Through honouring your identity and really fighting for who you are every single day of your life, down to your core, you can have more faith and more hope in life and in the future.”
Rebellion is a word society uses to describe an act that stands in opposition to authority. When we use the term rebellion in association with a person, we are asserting a stereotype of them. People who choose to go down a more authentic path are often labelled as ‘rebels’ this can have negative connotations and limiting factors associated with the term. Those who choose to embrace non-traditional cultures then feel like they must react to authority. This topic was discussed on a podcast called The Hardcore Humanism by Michael Friedman (clinical psychologist) and in his article he stated, ‘The next time we see someone who is being authentic and following their own unique path, maybe we can think twice before reflexively seeing them as defying authority and labelling them a rebel. Embrace their authenticity and support them wherever their path may take them. And if someone calls you a rebel, you can tell them: “I’m not being a rebel. I’m being me.”’ I continued my research into individuals who are labelled as rebels for expressing themselves as what is deemed unconventional. Vivienne Westwood is one of them. She is most known for her responsibility for bringing new-wave fashion into the mainstream. Vivienne Westwood is someone who embraces the rebel stereotype, stating, “I’ve always been a rebel … punk was a protest, [the clothes] said we don’t accept your taboos, we don’t accept your hypocritical life.” She knew that it was more than just clothes and demonstrated her societal views and beliefs through her work. this is something I wish to achieve for my final major project, I want to create something that reflects me as an individual.
Upon my 1-1 tutorial with Christopher Shannon, he advised that I should develop more research regarding unconventional beauty. He recommended three documentaries that he thought would benefit my research development to finalise my ideas for my final major project. I first watched Poly Styrene: I am Cliché, the narrative of the documentary is about her daughter travelling around the world through her mother’s archives. Until this documentary, I had no idea who Poly Styrene was, so I am glad for the recommendation from Christopher Shannon as I am in complete awe of her fearless authenticity. One of the things that stuck out to me the most from the documentary was her song ‘Identity’. The song explores the way the media paints an image of what a person is supposed to look like. The song’s purpose is to represent that feelings are normal, as the media are only displaying idealistic expectations of perfection, so how are we supposed to accept our identity when there is so much comparison? The lyrics are so simple but so effective,’ Identity is the crisis, can't you see? When you look in the mirror do you see yourself? Do you see yourself on the T.V. screen? Do you see yourself in the magazine? When you see yourself does it make you scream?’ I then watched the documentary Sinead O’Connor: Nothing Compares, this was a very captivating, emotional film. Again, I had only heard vaguely about Sinead O’Connor, so I enjoyed exploring how she expresses her identity. Her features are androgynous and the way in which she styles herself is very plain. When asked if the sexist names she was told had had a toll on her emotionally? She replied that ‘I never let guys dictate to me about what I should say in songs, or what I should wear, or whether I should cut my f---ing toenails.’ The Pamela Anderson documentary showed the life of a woman sexualised by men and her feeling that she is not valued unless perfect. It also shows the clear difference between gender roles, in the way that Pamela was treated when her sex tape was stolen. The tape was titled ‘Pamela’s Hardcore Sex Tape’ with no mention of Tommy. It was the reputation of Pamela Anderson that was tarnished not the man in the situation. It is always the woman who receives the judgement while men receive celebration.
As part of my primary research, I decided to conduct a poll via Instagram, that explored the different types of beauty and how they are perceived across a variety of generations. To achieve this, I displayed an image of two different celebrities and had my followers vote who was their preferred beauty type. The purpose of the research is to prove that our brainwashed perception of beauty is defined by perfection and how different generations respond to this. First, I created a post explaining to my followers the basis of my campaign and then listed the reasons why I am conducting the research and expressed that I needed their help. I finished the post with a ‘Let’s celebrate all kinds of beauty’ as I didn’t want my research to be considered as putting two girls up against each other or to be comparing the two. I was tactical in the choice of female celebrities, I chose two with similar positions within the industry but with almost opposite kinds of appearance, as I thought it would be interesting to see how they are judged for their outer exterior. The response to the poll was exactly how I imagined. Those celebrities who fit the stereotypical beauty standards were chosen in comparison to those who display a more unconventional perception of beauty. However, in particular my Gen Z followers were more lenient in regard to choosing those more unconventionally beautiful and I feel this is because we are growing up in a society that has become more socially accepting. . It was still very evident that our brains still strive for that perfection that we have been seeking since we could walk and talk, but when will we realise that perfection simply does not exist?
Almost everyone is guilty of applying a filter before taking a photo, but how damaging can it really be to our self-esteem? Filters on social media include photo editing tools that alter facial features. The purpose of filters initially was to capture fun moments with friends distorting their faces, but it has now turned into a case of correcting insecurities. Filters have the power to correct one’s face to the ‘ideal ratio’. A study conducted by the City University of London revealed that 90% of young women between the ages of 1830 use filters because they feel pressured to look a certain way on social media. However, the use of filters is now trickling down to Gen Alpha children as this is becoming the ‘norm’ for them. I know firsthand, as my 9-year-old niece will not film a TikTok with me unless we use a filter! The study also revealed that 70% of the participants felt pressure to showcase a ‘perfect life’ on social media, while 86% admitted that their digital identities were not true representations of their real lives. Filters are further reinforcing the negative associations related to beauty that does not meet the unattainable criteria of idealistic beauty. Matilda Djerf, business owner and influencer discussed, that when she began to gain a huge following, she decided it best to stop using filters completely, as she wants to try and be as authentic as possible for her following to keep a healthy relationship between both. This is something that other influencers should start to implement to help detach this need to establish a ‘perfect life’ for social media users. Another way to tackle the unhealthy attachment to beauty filters is to embrace our authentic selves, this is something I wish to achieve within my final major project campaign.
Thinking about ways in which we can establish a healthy relationship between ourselves and our authentic beauty, as someone who believes in the Law of Attraction, I began to investigate positive affirmations and how they can help transform our self-esteem. So positive affirmation is a statement that is said as if it is already apparent for example, ‘I am powerful.’ You can relate the affirmation to something that you feel that you are not to manifest into your life, as you start to believe you are then you will become. Positive affirmations can be used to stimulate motivation, encourage positive changes, and boost self-esteem.
Neuroscientific research reveals that there is ‘MRI evidence to suggest that certain neural pathways are increased when people practice self-affirmation tasks. I personally think that positive affirmations would be the perfect method to tackle society’s negative association with their own beauty due to the endless topics that have contributed to destroying the confidence of our youth. From this research, I developed the idea to incorporate my interest in creating playing cards and combining them with positive affirmations, essentially creating ‘affirmation playing cards’ as the main outcome of my 360 campaign
I recently attended a Lizzo concert and everything about the entire night confirmed the concept for my 360 campaign, as I witnessed first-hand everything that I have been researching. Lizzo is a singer who is predominantly known for her ability to embrace her true authentic self. As someone who doesn’t meet the pre-existing conventional beauty standards, she does not let this get in the way of her shining confidence, low self-esteem does not exist in her world! If I didn’t love Lizzo enough already, her concert completely changed my perspective of everything. It was the realisation that every single person in that room have once felt not good enough due to the unrealistic beauty standard that society has implemented onto us and that it only takes one person, one concert to help change the way we view ourselves. There was a moment in the concert in which Lizzo read out a fan’s sign that stated, ‘I am so done with being insecure, I cannot be letting Lizzo down anymore.’ I just thought it was so magical to witness how one person has the power to help restore the confidence of a stranger. Throughout the entirety of the concert, positive affirmations were intertwined between each song. Lizzo had an entire room of 21,000 people chanting positive affirmations and I have never felt so empowered in all my life, I had goosebumps. This night was real clarification for me that everything I am creating within my campaign is something that is needed to inspire a new perspective for generation alpha as future consumers. It clarified that I am doing something right.
Throughout this book, I have visually outlined all the topics which have inspired the concept for my final major project: The Chaos within Conformity.
