Drowning in Clothing - Earth 2030 - Exhibition/Research book introduction

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Olivia Buckley 1901813 Exhibition Book (1600 words) Level 5 Contemporary Fashion Communication AD5604 3

R A Y R O F P M

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CO N T E

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C A T IO N NI

N O I H S A COM M U

CONTENTS6-9: Introduction-Reflection of forecast 10-11: Renascence 12-13: Target Market 14-15: Storytelling 16-17:Contemporary Communication 18-23:Fashion Film 24: Social Media 25: Conclusion - Plan/ Intentions 26-27: References

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reflection

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2030

Triquetra To start this communication project I reflected my forecast, Triquetra 2030. Split into three sub trends, Triquetra explores how consumers will adapt to the new environment they are faced with in 2030. As continued pandemics, climate change and landfill pressures force further duress on a fragile world, humanity must learn to protect not just themselves but the planet. In this trend protection is paramount, both physically and psychologically. Fashion will be influenced by the need for defence against a new environment, the want for comfort and reassurance, as well as sustainability.

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I have decided to expand the narrative of ‘Renascence’. Meaning the ‘revival of dormant clothing’ this section focusses on three sections, surrounding protection of consumers in 2030: sustainability, nostalgia and the environment. Firstly in 2030, sustainability will be a huge issue for consumers with ‘eco-anxiety’ rising. It is said that by 2030 there will be a household waste capacity deficit of 6 million tonnes due to the amount of clothes discarded from the last decades.

(Clothes Aid, 2019) This will create many issues socially and environmentally that will affect consumers directly forcing them to view their clothing in new ways, looking for ways to re-use what they already have to protect the planet.

Secondly, nostalgia, nostalgia is an emotion that provides comfort and familiarity that consumers will cling to for psychological protection in 2030 due to the unnerving surroundings. Using clothing to promote this emotion, sensory items that have a heritage and story that remind consumers of the past and the security that comes with it will be more important. Despite nostalgia being a longing for the past my project aims to bring it to the future acting as a reflection of the environment as nostalgia is a distortion mechanism – it is the brains take on reality rather than truth. For many years consumers have been largely ignoring their impact on the environment and its natural state however, in 2030 the reality of the devastation and distortion from Climate Change will start to show with consumers feeling the brunt of it. This will inform how they choose to interact with the new landscape they are surrounded with – using clothing to protect themselves.

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RENASCENCE 11

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TARGET The target market for this trend is the luxury market. Luxury exudes the longevity, heritage and authenticity that consumers in 2030 will cling to in an unnerving environment. The security of luxury products will appeal to the Gen Z consumers of this trend as their world feels less and less secure. The storytelling and heritage of luxury brands will have a new place with consumers in 2030 as they adapt to new environments both real and virtual. Currently, the luxury sector is in the midst of a huge shift due to the Corona Virus Pandemic, especially in how they market their products. Without fashion shows, brands have had to adapt to digital spaces to reach and communicate their brand and values to consumers. The digitizing of fashion and its communication has made the luxury sector more accessible and escapist, although some may argue that this undermines the purpose of luxury by

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democratising it, as the Gen Z consumer comes to the forefront demanding transparency, digital experiences and a renewed connection with authenticity, luxury brands are using new digital landscapes to their advantage.

Gucci is one luxury brand that has adapted well to the new virtual environment over the past few years, seen as the digital leader when it comes to luxury fashion, their knowledge of their consumer (millennials and gen Z) has meant that they have kept up with the changing cultural codes. Infusing its heritage and story-telling process into a digital landscape they are paving the way for the future. Their online experience “[Brings]to life their world — it’s curated in a way that it represents the life of the Gucci woman, while still making the consumer feel that they want to live in this world.” (Schatzberg, 2019) Through visually rich content mixed with videos Gucci doesn’t bend over backwards to prove it’s a digital brand yet its 43.1M Instagram followers prove its doing something right.

Suggesting creating a multi-faceted way to connect with consumers alongside strong visual communication is making Gucci forward-thinking and well equipped for the future and next consumer.

MARKET

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STORYTELLING

With, fashion content moving online, storytelling (a key part of communication) is also evolving to meet digital consumers. Defined as an ancient form of human expression, storytelling for brands often stems from a brand’s heritage, showing a brands authenticity – key for consumers. “Creative Directors are now telling stories and building universes and worlds around a product.” (Lau, 2020) This implies that fashion is now more than just a garment, it is an experience and narrative that consumers engage with to build a relationship with a brand. Consumers want to buy into something because it makes a significant impact on them –informing marketing and communication greatly. With consumers becoming more socially aware and technologically savvy, more is needed to pull them in to interacting with a brand.

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CONTEMPORARY

COMMUNICATION

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Fashion communication is the way in which products are advertised and promoted; innovation and originality are fundamental to this. (Dillon, 2018) With the future of fashion drastically changing enhanced by the COVID Pandemic, traditional forms of communication such as billboards, visual merchandising shop windows and logos themselves are simply not viable enoughalone f o r the

future. Consumers are moving into a digital space with a different vison to how brand loyalty can be established, in the ‘new normal’ brands must stand for something more than just a logo ‘establishing an image that consumers can adapt to their own individuality.’ (Ralph Lauren) Therefore communicating over a multitude of platforms using innovative media from film to gaming to social media engaging customers will be crucial to fashion promotion in 2030.

As aforementioned, Gucci are one brand exploring new virtual ways of promoting their new collaboration with The North Face. The collaboration was promoted via a film on Instagram and a team up with PokémonGo, allowing players to dress their avatars up in the collab clothing.

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This is not the first foray into gaming fashion has had, with Moschino collaborating with Sims in 2019, and most recently Balenciaga have pushed boundaries further, creating ‘Age of Tomorrow.’ Set in 2031 the game follows 3D-scanned avatars journeying through an immersive future. ‘Today’s consumer is gaming. It’s an important luxury consumer base. It is a parallel world.’

(Gvasalia, 2020) It is this escapism that consumers are connecting with, allowing themselves to feel safe in an online space when the outside is less secure. Goldman Sachs estimates that VR/AR technology will be worth more than £65 billion by 2025.

(Vogue, 2020) Suggesting, a recurring theme of escapism in the future as consumers go outdoors less, their virtual identity will increase in value giving huge opportunity for luxury 17 brands to capitalize on. .

FASHION ASHION FILM FIL

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FASHIONFILM

EVOLUTION OF FILM.

Similarly, the escapism evoked from fashion films and videos is gaining momentum as a way to connect with consumers and express concepts visually over digital platforms. Cisco estimates that by 2022, video content will account for 82% of internet traffic globally, implying the continuing reach film will have in the coming years.

(Cisco, 2019) Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio has been one of the most powerful and creative hubs of fashion film giving brands a projection of meaning layered with commercial, cultural and even political messages. ‘Fashion films [are] an important tool for experiential marketing, a multimedia, multisensory experience through which, they can show the human side of the brand together with core values,” creating conversation and engagement quickly and memorably. (Cavalli Etro, 2020) Over the years fashion film has evolved from sales-based adverts to more conceptual and cinematic approaches be that long or short. From Chanel’s ‘Reincarnation’ (2014), a musical sharing the history of the infamous Chanel Jacket to Erdem’s storytelling in ‘Secret Life of Flowers’ captivating a visual portrayal of its romantic aesthetic with H&M in 2017 to YSl’s ‘Self03’ that had an eerie and dreamlike narrative.

Since the Pandemic brands use of film has grown hugely reflecting on their brands and using a mixture of heritage and technology to adapt to a changing situation eg: Moschino created a childlike ‘puppet runway’, Virgil Abloh presented a multi-disciplinary artistic performance combining poetry, dance and music traditions for Louis Vuitton shown via Instagram, Marine Serre used CGI to create surreal and futuristic landscapes for her models to walk through and Wales Bonner expressed her heritage and overlooked culture via ‘Thinkin Home’ in 2020.

These variations show how versatile film is becoming, progressing to surround story-living as opposed to storytelling, putting clothing back into everyday life means fashion is no longer static, it is ‘content that takes [you] somewhere intellectually.”(Ulita, 2020) As digital landscapes and technology advance further into the future, film will have endless creative opportunities.

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‘Fashion films [are] an important tool for experiential marketing, a multimedia, multi sensory ex p e r i e n c e through which, brands can show their human side together with core values.”

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKT TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKTOK . INSTAGRAM . TIKT Furthermore, the rise of shorter more personal videos such as behind the scenes videos and unseen footage on Instagram, as well as Tik Tok has had a huge impact on fashion and how brands show authenticity to Gen Z consumers. Social media and the fashion industry are highly dependent on each other with ¾ of Gen Z adults actively using Instagram (Marketing Charts, 2019) and 52% of Gen Z saying social media influenced their last purchase giving the impression that Social Media is key to communication (Retail Wire, 2019). Brands are innovating how they connect with consumers over these platforms, investing time in Instagram Q&As and livestreaming shows on TikTok providing a personalised and accessible experience.

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PLAN Given this research, it has become clear that communicating over digital platforms will be critical to engaging with digital consumers in 2030. With my trend encompassing heritage, re-use and nostalgia as a multi-sensory experience my outcome will aim to express these more traditional concepts in a digital sense to reflect how the luxury market adapts in future.

Storytelling and escapism are key themes to communication at the moment alongside consumer values of sustainability and most importantly authenticity. This will be something I will aim to meet within my outcome, using imagery and film to implement this. I feel that fashion film will be important to expressing concepts in 2030 due to the meaningful and escapist nature of them, moreover with consumers looking for more than just clothing in 2030, visual communication that delivers a connection to consumers will be crucial.

With film putting clothing back into everyday life, my outcome will aim to show consumers the future of the environment and how they and fashion will adapt to it.

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REFERENCES Cavalli Etro, 2020 – Retrieved from - https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/fashionswitches-from-runway-to-film-1203636631/ Cisco, 2019 -The Key to Gen Z is Video Content- Retrieved form https://www.forbes.com/sites/ jessicabaron/2019/07/03/the-key-to-gen-z-is-video-content/ Clothes Aid, 2019 – Facts on clothes recycling – Retrieved from- https://clothesaid.co.uk/aboutus/facts-on-clothes-recycling/ Dillion, 2018. The Fundamentals of Fashion Management. Second Edition.

Gvasalia, 2020 -With Balenciaga’s New Gaming App Afterworld Demna Gvasalia Makes the ‘Quantum Leap’ the Industry Has Been Waiting for – Retrieved from- https://www.vogue.com/ fashion-shows/fall-2021-menswear/balenciaga Lau, 2020 - Disney on the Power of Storytelling – Retrieved from- https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/business-of-fashion-and-disney-on-the-power-of-storytelling Marketing Charts, 2019 -Why Do Different Generations Use Social Media? – Retrieved fromhttps://www.marketingcharts.com/digital/social-media-110652 Ralph Lauren, 2018 – Retrieved from - The Fundamentals of Fashion Management, Dillon, 2018 Retail Wire, 2019 -Nearly half of online shoppers say social media inspired their last purchase- Retrieved from- https://www.retailwire.com/discussion/nearly-half-of-online-fashion-shopperssay-social-media-inspired-their-last-purchase/ Schatzberg, 2019 – The digital strategy driving Gucci sales growth – Retrieved from- https:// www.monigroup.com/article/digital-strategy-driving-guccis-growth Ulita, 2020 – Fashion switches from Runway to Film – Retrieved from- https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/fashion-switches-from-runway-to-film-1203636631/ Vogue, 2020 -How Fashion Got The Gaming Bug – Retrieved from- https://www.vogue.co.uk/ arts-and-lifestyle/article/fashion-and-gaming 26

IMAGE REFERENCES Figure 1 - Coat on Rocks - Retrieved from - https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/9880/ grace-wales-bonners-collaborative-approach-to-streetwear Figure 2- Gucci ecommerce- https://ecommercechinaagency.com/role-digital-luxury-sindustry-china-gucci-case-study/ Figure 3 - Three Women - Retrieved from - https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/gallery/23985/0/nehera-aw17 Figure 4 - Moschino 2020 Puppet Show - https://www.elle.com/fashion/trend-reports/ a34174697/jeremy-scotts-moschino-collection-puppets/ Figure 5 - Tim Walker x Moncler -https://www.vam.ac.uk/shop/illuminations-by-tim-walker-poster-159000.html Figure 6 - Balenciaga 2020 - https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/balenciaga-fw21/ Figure 7 - YSL - SELF 03- https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/05/20/films-by-fashion-brands/ Figure 8- Prada S/S 19 - https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2019/05/20/films-by-fashionbrands/ Figure 9 - IGTV Images - https://ewhabrandcommunication.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/ adapting-the-luxury-industry-to-this-era-of-digitalization-jacquemus-a-success-story/

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