Pre Arrival Task

Before I arrived at university this September, I was asked to complete a pre arrival task to get me thinking about the course and what I’m interested in. The task was as follows: Identify examples of what you feel are some of the best Fashion Communication and Promotion touch points. Who in your opinion is translating, projecting or exploring fashion codes and messages in an innovative and exciting way? What are you reading, watching or following? Keep in mind emerging technologies, new platform hybrids and social networking advancements. We are interested in your perspective, introduce us to your current preoccupations and fashion favourites! Select, print, photograph or collect the following: Three digital examples Three printed examples Three retail examples

At first I found this quite confusing to unravel, not knowing where to start, but after some serious thinking it became clear to me what it was that I found interesting to read and watch, and while looking deeper into brands I was able to notice their use of new technology. I also noticed I was drawn to brands which had something worth saying about the relationship between society and fashion.

For the printed examples I looked at I-D and Paper magazine as their approach to fashion is more diverse and culture led than that of Vogue or Elle. I also included Elle Collections, as I loved the interviews with designers and the trends within the magazine.

I then took a closer look at Pretty Little Thing and Missguided, commenting on their brand identity and their techniques on staying current and desirable to their customers. I also added a page about two of my favourite blogs to read, ManRepeller and Front Roe. These both appeal to me as they are full of different lifestyle and fashion tips including how to style trend pieces and street style from fashion weeks.

I also felt it was important to mention Rihanna’s new beauty line FENTY Beauty. Although it is not strictly fashion, makeup has become a huge part of the fashion industry and beauty, just like clothes has become a very important way in which people are able to express themselves. Rihanna’s brand new Beauty line ‘Fenty Beauty’ has been highly anticipated and widely advertised through her campaign video and promotion platforms such as Instagram. Rihanna launched her own beauty line “so that women everywhere would be included,”. The makeup collection is yet another brand aiming to spread the message of female empowerment and body positivity, allowing women to feel confident and sexy within their own skin. The makeup range has been praised for its diversity and is very inclusive with products suitable for every race and skin type. The collection boasts forty shades of foundation ranging from very pale to very dark, covering every skin colour, ensuring everyone can feel beautiful and find their foundation match.

The campaign video featured Rihanna herself along with models, Halima Aden( famously wore a hijab on Kanye West’s catwalk), Paloma Elsesser ( a plus size model) and Duckie Thot ( a very successful black model) just to name a few. These models from different backgrounds and ethnicities encompass the brands message of inclusivity, aiming to reach a wider group of consumers allowing everyone to relate with the brand and be able to use the whole range of makeup products. This is a really positive message from Rihanna, allowing more women to feel included in the beauty and fashion industry.

Finally I looked closer at H&M’s Autumn campaign for this year.

H&M recently released their latest Ad campaign promoting their upcoming Autumn collection for later this year. I found that this advert really resonated with me because of the strong message of female empowerment and female independence the advert promotes. The video is full of “entertaining, opinionated, off-beat and fearless, badass, independent and free willed” women promoting a healthy positive body image and strong sense of self throughout the video. The models within the advert are all comfortable within their own skin. Body hair, race, shape and size are all varied within the advert to portray the beauty and confidence of the women, with their independence shining through. More and more brands are beginning to challenge the rigid rules and codes of the fashion industry by using plus size models, models of different ethnicities and race, promoting and praising all different types of women and challenging the norm of what it is to be beautiful. This in turn allows a wider spectrum of consumers to feel more involved In fashion, giving them confidence in themselves and part of a movement empowering and appreciating women. This in turn allows brands to become more approachable to consumers and promotes a more positive and appealing appearance to customers.

The focus on female independence and confidence within the video reflects the basis of the collection, which is inspired by the energy of New York. The collection includes lots of strong tailored pieces mixing femininity with power dressing. H&M have also now made another video promoting the collection with Naomi Campbell as the face of the campaign. ‘Power, Glam, Sass’ is the message of the campaign, inspiring the collection of power suits, polka dot blouses, slogan T’s and bright bold knits. The video set in the streets of vibrant Tokyo shows the models lip-syncing to George Michaels ‘Wham Rap!’ the lyrics of the song, once again promote the importance of living life to the fullest and can be seen as a song of defiance. This is exactly what the new collection encompasses and H&M have created something which really portrays this message in a modern and enticing way.

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