1
2
3
4
INTENTION TANK x END.
6-7 8-79
MOTEL MEDIA
80-91
PINK SPRINGBOARD
92-111
CONCLUSION
112-113
REFERENCES
114-115
5
6
THE INTENTION OF THIS PART WITHIN MY JOURNEY SERIES, IS TO SHARE THE D E V E LO P M E N T, RESEARCH AND PROCESS OF MY FINAL OUTCOMES.
7
The first media package I’ve decided to build in order to showcase what FOR ANGEL STUDIOS can offer, is a collaboration between TANK magazine and the retailer END. This part of my journey intends to piece together key research, and to show how it transcends into a viable, visual outcome.
8
9
INTRODUCING TANK
10
Tank Magazine is an independent magazine, which was first launched under Masoud Golsorkhi the editor-in-chief and art director Andreas Laeufer back in 1998, discussing topics such as fashion, culture, technology and architecture. The magazine “…was started as a response to what we saw at the time to be the demise of traditional magazines due to losses in quality and increasing homogeneity due to falling readership and shrinking advertising revenues” (Golsorkhi, 2011). The magazine was “facilitated by a revolution in desktop publishing technologies” (Golsorkhi, 2011). The magazine itself was, “…started back in ‘98 during a period of crisis, so we’ve seen crisis as an opportunity for renewal,” (Issa, BOF TEAM, 2020)
The publication has always valued forward thinking and a sense of longevity, with its intentions being to be “…a cross between an art book and a magazine” (Golsorkhi, 2011). Similarly to the idea behind FOR ANGEL STUDIOS, editor-in-chief Masoud Golsorkhi says that the magazine takes on “…commercial work mostly for luxury fashion companies and consult on product development and branding” (Golsorkhi, 2011)
As well as aligning with FOR ANGEL STUDIOS views on longevity and value, the individuals behind the scenes at Tank are also vocal about support for new creatives, with Caroline Issa (chief executive and fashion director for the publication) getting involved with mentorship within Polimoda, a fashion school based in Italy, “The idea of accessibility through digital education coming to these venerable, traditional fashion institutions offers students a truly globalised opportunity to access fashion experts.” (Issa, BOF Team, 2020).
11
INTRODUCING END. FOR ANGEL STUDIOS finds it vital to embrace the brands hopes, beliefs and values when building media for them, as it helps to shape the outcome, so a quote I found to be of relevance was from Caroline Issa, stating, “My hope is that there is a future in the future and we don’t pretend to change, but embrace the new qualities and use the strengths we’ve just discovered we have as societies.” (Issa, BOF TEAM, 2020).
TANK’s expansion into digital media (for example, TANK TV) means the consumer is open to print and digital. There was a demand they were feeding into. This is something I’ll have to consider moving forward, building two types of content.
12
13
14
END. is a “Newcastle-based menswear retailer” (O’Connor, 2020) (but have since expanded their consumer to womenswear also), searching onto their website I found that it was, “Founded in 2005 by Christiaan Ashworth and John Parker, END. was created through a shared passion for fashion, design, art, and music. Through this passion for culture the collective vision was to bring world-renowned names, emerging designers and unearthing brands from all corners of the globe to northeast England’s like-minded community. 15 years later and END. is now a leading fashion, sneaker, and design destination, offering its global community unique experiences via physical concept stores and digital touchpoints.” (END., 2022)
The retailer experiments with drops and collabs, being a staple store amongst the streetwear community. The term “hypebeast” comes to mind when describing their consumer, this by definition means “A person who follows a trend to be cool or in style. A person who wears what is hyped up” (Anwar, 2015)
Brands such as Arc’teryx, Adidas Terrex and Epperson Mountaineering are some examples of the many Techwear brands that the retailer has on offer. This rise and representation of Techwear is something of which hasn’t been a secret, having had my social feeds flooded with its community and curation accounts. I decided to build my TANK x END. package with this trend in mind, due to its consistently rising relevance to the retailer.
15
16
TECHWEAR
As a starting point for understanding, Techwear is an abbreviation of the term “Technical Wear”, and “…is used to describe clothing that is made with breathability, durability, and functionality in mind.” (Cheung, 2021). Whereas gorpcore, “named after the colloquial term for trail mix (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts) – is a style focused around wearing utilitarian, functional, outdoors-inspired gear“ (Richardson, 2019). So essentially, Techwear is the term for the clothing whereas Gorpcore is used as the phrase surrounding the style of clothing of which Techwear is.
Gorpcore as a concept was a phrase coined by Jason Chen back in 2017, not with the intention of creating something new but more so as an umbrella term, “putting a label on something that had been around for a while, but that nobody quite knew how to describe with a catch-all term” (Richardson, 2019)
Clothing built for the outdoors, and with everyone wanting to get out post-pandemic, and the rise of stay-cations its no surprise that the trend is on the rise. With interest climbing, it made sense to use this as a basis for a visual outcome.
17
18
19
20
From my research undertaken into the process of building the collaboration, I have built a collection of words as part of the 20 x 20 method to ensure the vision is clear.
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20)
END. TANK TECHWEAR GORPCORE NATURAL/OUTDOORS PROTECTION DINGYUN ZHANG ARC’TERYX NIKE ACG WHITE MOUNTAINEERING HYPER-REALISM HUGO COMTE FUNCTIONAL UTILITARIAN PHYSICAL HYPE STREETWEAR CELINE DIGITAL PHYSICAL
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
OUTCOME INTENTION
For the media built by FOR ANGEL STUDIOS, it will always consist of outcomes built from image capture. This makes it vital to capture as much imagery as is possible, to explore all viable routes for media communication when it comes to post production.
34
CONSUMER The consumer I would be communicating to with the visuals would be a hybrid mix of TANK’s consumer and an END. consumer. As previously stated, END., “is one of the pioneers of blending high-end luxury with streetwear” (BOF, u.d.) showing their expansive consumer margin. Selling both menswear and womenswear, the demographic is larger now than it previously would have been at the start of 2020. END. starting through a love and appreciation for design, fashion art and music is reminiscent of the offerings from TANK magazine, meaning their consumer would be similar in terms of interests.
35
36
As explored within my research, the styling route will be following a gorpcore utilitarian concept, with the intention of showcasing the brands END. has on offer to its consumer, aiding the differentiation to competitors. Starting this off with practicing ideas on a mannequin in order to build visualisations of what outcomes could be, through digital image manipulation.
STYLING
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
Outdoors and natural settings are part of my 20x20 collaboration interrogation, due to its relevance to the functional clothing genre. Two shoots are planned in order to create multiple editorial outcomes for the TANK positioning, and for variation of clothing suitability.
Coming from Anglesey in North Wales, I am very fortunate to have a large amount of natural landscapes on my doorstep, so my locational research focused heavily on the attractions of home. I visited areas such as Parys Mountain, the Snowdonia Mountain range national park and the surrounding areas such as Llanberis lake and Betws-y-Coed to capture landscape visuals to create digital shoot mock-ups to pinpoint the best options for location shoots.
I decided on a location close to home in Llandyfrydog, and up a mountain in Ogwen Valley.
44
LOCATION When planning a location shoot, weather is a big factor. To get the correct atmosphere for my visuals, I opted for days where it was predicted to be grey and gloomy (which for the reputation we have here in North Wales with rain, wasn’t difficult to achieve!)
Through visiting the chosen locations beforehand, I was able to assess the risk of the landscapes for taking a team up, and find the safest route to travel up and down. For my first shoot in Llandyfrydog it was just myself and Ben Taylor, my model, and on the second shoot the team consisted of myself as photographer, creative director and stylist, Llyr Evans as shoot assistant, and Luke Owen as my model.
45
46
47
48
49
TANK AND END. ARE COMING TOGETHER TO TELL THE TECHWEAR STORY. CELEBRATING THE LUXURY OF THE OUTDOORS, JOIN US ON THIS EXPLORATION OF GORPCORE THROUGH OUR VISUAL LANGUAGE.
INTENTIONS • Attract interest to the techwear & gorpcore scene via a genuine narrative • Bring attention to TANK magazine, in a time where print media magazines are on the decline • Drive sales at END. through increasing brand & product awareness
50
MOCK UP WITH LOCATION VISUALS
51
When I had collected my content, I went on to looking at unique ways I could tell the story of the collaboration, to the individual forat Whenwhilst I hadremaining collectedtrue my content, I went onnarratives to looking eachways brand. unique I could tell the story of the collaboration, whilst remaining true to the individual narratives for each With the content, I pinpointed some ways I could offer brand. the story to be communicated, which would resonate with each brand. I reworked imagery to fit as editorial TANK, built a selection stickers from items Withwithin the content, I pinpointed someofways I could offer the within the shoot and wrote out a plan for a couple of story to be communicated, which would resonate with each articles. These would to translate into TANKwithin magazine, brand. I reworked imagery fit as editorial TANK, whilst also translating into a mini, print and digital built a selection of stickers from items within the shoot out inofEND. orders.These would and zine wrotewhich out awould plan be forsent a couple articles. translate into TANK magazine, whilst also translating into Something was of zine interest maps the out big,in a mini, print which and digital whichwere would be -sent fold out ones you can get. I looked into different END. orders. types, and explored leaflet layouts too. Something which was of interest were maps - the big, fold outcome as mocked here: out The onespackage you can get. Iislooked into up different types, and explored leaflet layouts too. * Editorial content for print and digital. This content is also available to either brand to use for promotional value or for further product development. For example, optimisable for website promotion, or imagery could be printed on a product like a mug or T-Shirt. * Free print zine for END. orders * Sticker sheet adapted for TANK, whereas stickers could be enlarged and distributed singularly for END. orders * Fold out leaflet as a smaller extension of the zine, taking inspiration from outdoor attraction leaflets and fold-away map
OUTCOME CONCLUSION 52
53
SOCIAL POST MOVING MEDIA
54
55
SOCIAL POST MOVING MEDIA
56
57
COVER MOCK UPS WITH SHOOT IMAGERY
58
59
LEAFLET MOCK UP SIDE 1
60
61
LEAFLET MOCK UP SIDE 2
62
63
SOCIAL POST MOVING MEDIA
64
65
To conclude the TANK x END segment,I’m really pleased with the outcome. I’ve assessed all the possible and viable media outcomes, building a final outcome zine and lookbooks to show what FOR ANGEL STUDIOS is capable of.
PHYSICAL ZINE MOCK UP
66
STICKER PACKS
67
WEB ASSET MOCK UPS
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
In order to show how FOR ANGEL STUDIOS can navigate and transcend multiple market levels, I decided to investigate a lower level than the luxury & streetwear markets of which TANK x END. belonged to. I opted to choose brand Motel Rocks, a label I shop with myself.
INTRODUCING MOTEL ROCKS
80
In order to show how FOR ANGEL STUDIOS can navigate and transcend multiple market levels, I decided to investigate a lower level than the luxury & streetwear markets of which TANK x END. belonged to. I opted to choose brand Motel Rocks, a label I shop with myself.
Motel Rocks is an online clothing retailer which sits between fast fashion & high street in terms of price point, and is a brand which was established back in the 90s, created, “…after the brand founders set out on a road trip of freedom, discovery and fun across the west coast of America. Inspired by the indie vintage shops and various thrift stores dotted along the Californian coastline” (MOTEL, u.d.). This appreciation for the vintage looks drove Motel to be what we know it as today, their intention being to bring the essence of what they saw to the “…British consumer and carved a unique niche in the marketplace”. (MOTEL, u.d.).
Today, Motel prides itself on being “…renowned for offering unique prints, form fitting silhouettes and trend-setting styles that are loved by fashionistas, style icons and celebrities across the globe.” (MOTEL, u.d.)
Because of their inception and unique selling point, Motel Rocks is very different to their contenders within the market (identified as Princess Polly, Missguided and PrettyLittleThing). They make emotional connection through having built the brand off of personal experience. They share on social media the making of their clothing, showing the process of print making in Bali for example.
81
82
The Motel consumer focuses on Gen Z, and younger Millennials. Social media is a large driving force for their communication strategies. On a report put together by ‘TikTok for Business’, it shared that Motel’s advertising solution on TikTok was the use of Spark Ad’s. This type of advertising on TikTok acts as “Plugging the gap between traditional ads and organic smash hits, Spark Ads boost native videos as either TopView or In-Feed Ads to a highly targeted audience, from the brand’s own content or a collaborating Creator” (TikTok for Business). Using Spark Ads meant that Motel was “…able to create authentic, organic content that was then repurposed for ads to run in the For You feed… a truly native experience the community would go on to love.” (TikTok for Business)
SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANCE
83
Working through visuals for MOTEL entailed utilising primary imagery through my own clothing. Due to time spent on the END and TANK collaboration, I feel like I wasn’t able to do this justice, but moving forward it has shown me the importance of developing my time management and strategy building for ensuring that time is spent more wisely and evenly.
The consumer would be Gen Z as stated earlier, and I was fortunate enough to receive a print zine from them for an Olivia Neill influencer collaboration. I would intend to involve influencers in the collaboration, as they are a prime form of reach for Gen Z. My initial plan was to put together a zine, so it was confirmed to me there is a demand for physical evidence from the brand, keeping thrue to their appreciation of vintage. Their use of TikTok is also something I would have intended to move forward with, exploring other similar mediums.
84
BRAND NARRATIVE • • • • • • • •
MOTEL Olivia Neill Colourful Youthful Gen Z Vintage Social Media Sharna Osborne
85
POTENTIAL COVER FOR ZINE
86
87
88
89
STICKERS FOR ORDERS
90
91
92
PINK SPRINGBOARD Whilst FOR ANGEL STUDIOS can build with a brand, I felt it important to broach the industry with a multi-faceted approach. This meaning that we also have a catalog of concepts of which can be adapted to a brand should they wish to pursue a “preset” concept.
Pink Springboard is an example of this, built with two different styling concepts, once is visually louder, similar to that of Bimba Y Lola whereas the second is reminiscent of Simone Rocha and Susan Fang.
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
INFLUENCE
108
109
110
111
112
CONCLUSION FOR ANGEL STUDIOS is something I intend to make a reality post-university. The growth and process that it has already travelled through I hope is merely the beginning of something even bigger to come. Creatively, I’ve already succeeded in finding my niche, and building a framework for the studio, developing its own unique selling point and personality. Storytelling through visual communications is something I’ve made clear to be a passion of mine, and seeing how data collecting driving success has resulted in a loss of quality within fashion media.
Throughout this journey, I have disclosed how the path to where I am now was far from linear, showing initial inception, different problems with different solutions. I have built a marketing strategy for the media studio, creating a very much so 360 scope of it as an entity, whilst also successfully showcasing ways it would work.
My Tank x END. media collaboration is perhaps the outcome I am most thrilled about, and I believe I managed to tastefully capture the essence of both brands in a complimentary way. Not all concepts went to plan as I had hoped, but I am still overjoyed at engaging with a taster of what those concepts could become further down the line. One thing is certain, and that is my final major project has solidified to me where my path lies post-university, and I cannot wait to see what creative endeavours lie ahead for myself and for FOR ANGEL STUDIOS.
113
114
REFERENCES Anwar, M. (2015). , from https://www.bustle.com/articles/97047what-is-a-hypebeast-5-important-aspects-of-the-hypebeastlifestyle. BOF. Christiaan Ashworth & John Parker are part of the BoF 500. The Business of Fashion. , from https://www.businessoffashion.com/ community/people/christiaan-ashworth-john-parker. Cheung, A. (2021). Techwear: What It Is And How To Style It | The Sole Supplier. The Sole Supplier. from https://thesolesupplier. co.uk/news/what-is-techwear/. END. (2022). | END. (UK). END. , from https://www.endclothing.com/ gb/purpose. Golsorkhi, M. (2011). Inside Tank Magazine | نیالنآ دیدج. Jadidonline.com. from https://www.jadidonline.com/story/22122011/ frnk/tank_magazine_eng. Issa, C., & BOF TEAM. (2020). Caroline Issa on Finding Your Opportunity for Renewal During a Crisis. The Business of Fashion. from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/ caroline-issa-finding-opportunity-for-renewal-during-crisiscareers-advice/. Issa, C., & BOF TEAM. (2020). Meet the Mentors Leading Digital Learning at Polimoda. The Business of Fashion. from https://www. businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/mentors-digitallearning-polimoda-caroline-issa-laudomia-pucci/. MOTEL. ABOUT US. motelrocks.com. from https://www.motelrocks.com/ pages/about-us. O’Connor, T. (2020). Report: End Clothing Explores Stake Sale, Seeking £700 Million Valuation. The Business of Fashion. from https://www. businessoffashion.com/news/retail/report-end-clothing-exploresstake-sale-seeking-700-million-valuation/. Richardson, M. (2019). What is gorpcore?. Grailed. , from https:// www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/what-is-gorpcore. TikTok for Business. Tiktokforbusinesseurope.com. from https:// www.tiktokforbusinesseurope.com/inspiration/motel-rocks.
115
116