Professional practice report tia feng 2015
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK Linda Jones who was instrumental in making this internship happen, to Amanda Nakarmi for being a stellar showroom manager and mentor, and to the team at Showroom 22 for having me, and for the lessons and opportunities i have learnt and gained through these two months. - THANK YOU -
This research aims to discover New Zealand’s Fashion PR AND Marketing sector through an internship at Showroom 22, one of New Zealand’s leading PR AND Marketing firms. By identifying PR AND Marketing methods utilized in order to promote each brand it represents, in digital and publishing platforms as well as in a physical showroom environment, these findings will provide the foundation to devise a plausible plan of action to elevate and attract a wider spotlight on the New Zealand fashion industry. Showroom 22 exists as a mutually beneficial link between the designer and the stylist. Designers become the clients: Showroom stocks their new season product in their physical showroom on Wellesley St West, then presents the product to stylists and industry professionals to promote and display on a spectrum of platforms. The Showroom acts as a unified place for designers and stylists, a single location where multiple brands - both local and international - can be discovered. My internship allowed me to take on several projects while completing general intern work: loaning products to industry professionals, returning loaned products to their respective racks, maintaining a pristine showroom environment, and processing new season items and returning old season items to designers. These routine tasks are simple, but require diligence, efficiency, and accuracy. Showroom 22 represents many clients, and the loss of any product will only result in loss for Showroom and the designers,
not to mention the frustration in chasing up missing items. Amanda Nakarmi, the Showroom manager and the supervisor of my internship, required me to complete these tasks each day, but also assigned longtime projects as well. The first was an annual events calendar for Australian label Camilla and Marc. This calendar listed dates and venues for large, annual events in New Zealand with a wide press coverage and a focus on fashion; they were an opportunity for Showroom 22 to dress industry or event guests in Camilla and Marc clothing to gain recognition and exposure for the brand. The second project involved the rearrangement of the Showroom to create an intimate and exclusive space for Australian label Tigerlily’s new season presentation – the space created must evoke the mood and aesthetic of Tigerlily, without disrupting the aesthetics of the brands surrounding it. I positioned the walls to block off one area of the Showroom (the presentation space) and other brands’ racks were positioned beyond the walls, whilst maintaining a clear path around the Showroom and consistency among brands’ aesthetics. The Tigerlily space itself was adorned with beach towels, faux plants, seashells and beach-themed cushions, all done to communicate a fun, young, Australian summer. The third project was a fortnightly re-style of Showroom mannequins – each mannequin belonged to a certain brand, and the task was to dress mannequins in the brand’s new season product while strongly communicating the brand’s aesthetic, target market, and muse. The fourth project was for Top-
shop – compiling a month’s worth of features, on both physical/published and digital platforms, and sending the report to Topshop HQ in London. The work completed before this project allowed me to learn how to promote a brand, to help a brand gain exposure and how to best display a brand in the showroom environment. But this project opened my eyes to the vast influence of Showroom 22 – the number of features (of not only Topshop, but other brands as well) on a spectrum of platforms (publications, television, music, events) was astounding. It is also incredibly rewarding to see how I was part of putting these brands out there. Now it is impossible to miss how crucial PR & marketing is for a brand, regardless of the brand’s age. While it is important to design great product, it is perhaps
just as important to promote and market the product. The last project is a combination of tasks completed prior to NZFW: setting up presentation space for Lucilla Gray, model castings for Third Form, writing invites and finalizing seating plans for Twenty Seven Names and Hailwood, and loaning clothes to industry guests and professionals to wear and promote during NZFW. Showroom 22’s deep-rooted affiliation with NZFW allowed me to discover the organizational side of each brand’s NZFW projects, and assist the team in completing these tasks. To summarize, PR & Marketing in New Zealand is conducted through religiously promoting new product to industry professionals, who then puts
brand and new collection. Project Three targets the Showroom itself; the arrangement of racks to ensure equal spotlight on each brand, minimal aesthetic clash between brands, and creating a harmonious and visually pleasing space for stylists and publications to pick material for projects. The fourth project lets brands see their progress and outreach in the New Zealand market. By reporting where the brand’s product has been used, the brand has the opportunity to spark conversation for potential projects and also maintain brand exclusivity. (For example, Stella McCartney herself personally checks off which publications are permitted to use her product (Stella McCartney Lingerie or Stella McCartney for Adidas). The Showroom 22 team then notifies stylists which brands they are allowed/ not allowed to feature). Project Five assists brands in promotional events during NZFW, from dressing industry professionals, providing product for NZFW articles, holding events such as pop-up shops and after parties for local brands, to actual runway show preparation. In essence, all these projects are focused on promoting brands, both local and international, within the New Zealand market. However, my research is to create a plausible plan to generate a wider spotlight on the New Zealand industry. After these projects, and the knowledge I have gained, I believe the solution lies outside our shores. the product on platforms for public viewing. This gains exposure for the brand and also gives industry professionals material for their projects. Showroom 22 is crucial in introducing international brands, such as Stella McCartney for Adidas and Camilla and Marc, to New Zealand shores, as well as raising brand awareness for domestic labels such as Harman Grubiša and Isabel Starnes. Through the projects and tasks completed during my internship, I can now identify and assess the methods Showroom 22 uses to manage and market the brands they represent. The first project focuses on discovering or creating opportunities to promote a label outside the Showroom, at real life events through dressing industry/event guests/celebrities. Project Two promotes the label within the Showroom – the environment is malleable, transformative; it is not difficult to arrange an intimate and accurately themed space that focuses solely on one
First, a crucial area of promotion lies in product endorsement through industry professionals and celebrities. While it is credible to dress influential people at domestic events, it would create greater awareness for New Zealand brands if they were worn at international events. We may start small – bloggers and industry guests at fashion weeks such as Mercedes-Benz Australian Fashion Week – but the essence of the idea is to begin promotion outside New Zealand, physically or digitally. Through social media and other web-based platforms, it is now easier to gain an international following, with I Love Ugly being a prime example of this. I believe it is also worthwhile to look into international boutiques to begin stocking small selections of our local brands, as Showroom 22 has links to fashion-forward cities around the world through the brands they represent. Similar to how specific selections of international designers such as Rick Owens, Raf Simons, and Acne Studios in the
Zambesi store do not look out of place and actually quite fitting of the Zambesi aesthetic, the same concept can be applied to international boutiques stocking our brands. That way, we can simultaneously introduce New Zealand brands to a greater audience, raise awareness about the high quality of our clothing, and align our brands with exclusive international labels, all attributing to generating recognition for our fashion industry and hype for our labels. In the publishing realm, it can be beneficial to be featured on international sites and magazines whose ideologies and aesthetics are compatible with certain NZ labels. Websites like iD and Trendland, and alternative design magazines feature a kaleidoscope of global design work, and through their wide monthly viewership, these designs are showcased to a much greater audience. Furthermore, continuously ‘making sure fashion is the conversation and New Zealand is on the map’ (Nakarmi, 2015), is a strong method to ensure the attention is always on the clothing and the brand; this further helps raise brand awareness. ‘The showroom is the heart of the company and we have nearly 10,000 loans a year’ (Nakarmi, 2015). But what if the Showroom was mobile? Let us entertain the idea that perhaps, one day, the Showroom can be taken overseas, opening another port for NZ brands to stock and loan their products to an international industry. This method is brings physical products to other shores, possibly exposing the represented brands to a greater audience. Nakarmi continues, ‘regardless of size, each label receives a unique, carefully thought-out approach to maximize their visibility. Other methods include events, gifting, dressing, tactical and strategic planning.’ These existing methods could be amplified if the Showroom was international, exposing NZ brands internationally, raising awareness about NZ fashion, and elevating the industry as a whole. Reflecting upon the internship, I believe the outlined professional and personal goals have been sufficiently achieved. The first professional goal aims to understand as extensively as possible New Zealand’s Fashion
PR & Marketing sector. The daily tasks at Showroom 22 have provided the foundation for this knowledge, but the crucial learning was gained through the assigned projects. Not only did these projects educate on the organizational and business aspect of a fashion label, but also were influential in changing my perspectives on the importance of PR & Marketing. The second goal aims to develop professional relationships beneficial for the future. During my time at Showroom 22, I have met and interacted with influential industry professionals – editors and stylists from top NZ fashion magazines, local designers, journalists and photographers. Frequent run-ins with these professionals helped me understand their work and their contribution to the industry, as well as broaden my perspectives on the possibilities of my own career. The first personal goal was to understand the current domestic fashion industry landscape; my previous knowledge was limited as most of my time is focused on significant fashion cities overseas. Now, I realize New Zealand’s fashion industry is not only small, but also young and matures slowly. There is a strong need for a new generation of designers to define this decade of New Zealand fashion, but also be the first generation to gain real traction internationally. The second goal aims to learn the appropriate methods used to market/ promote a budding label. This knowledge was gained through observing the work Showroom 22 does, as well as the work completed in the assigned projects. There is no doubt this internship undertaken at Showroom 22 has further increased my knowledge on fashion PR & Marketing, but has also clarified the current New Zealand fashion scene to me. While there are still many aspects to learn, I now understand the importance of PR & Marketing for any fashion label, regardless of size. My time at Showroom 22 has been incredibly enjoyable and valuable. The teams is supportive and has taught me many things about the New Zealand fashion industry, but has also provided information and advice to devise a plausible plan to elevate the industry.
CREDITS: Images from: ETUDES STUDIO, PARIS Anatole By SavvyStudio THANK YOU TO SHOWROOM 22 FOR THE OPPORTUNITY