Stussy x Rainne Evans.

XRainne Evans

This work has been produced by a student at York St John University as part of their university work and is intended as an educational output. Where necessary, the student has considered copyright and appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others

Proposal

In celebration of the Olympics, Stussy is releasing a new limited edition 7-piece collection that will be released at the end of June. The collection will be in collaboration with Rainne Evans, a UK skateboarder; the collection will honour the sport of skateboarding and have elements of the heritage and story hidden within the marketing campaign. Skateboarding is a new sport in the Olympics, and this year, which is based in Paris, 2024, will be the second time the sport has been a part of the sporting event (Skate Terminal, 2023).

However, the sport has existed for nearly 80 years (Foley, 2023). The primary purpose of this collaboration is to celebrate all that is skateboarding from the heritage and take the consumers back in time to the 1950s, to celebrate talented people like Rannie Evens and to inspire new people to try the sport.

The Olympics

The Olympics is more than a competition between countries. As the Olympics Committee states, "Olympism is a philosophy of life that exalts and combines the qualities of body, will, and mind in a balanced whole. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles" (International Olympic Committee, 2021). The Olympics in Paris 2024 has 32 different sports, some being wellknown, including gymnastics, diving and running.

Still, there are also fewer known sports, including skating (skateboarding) and breaking (break dancing) (Olympic, 2023). As the Olympics are in Paris this year, the difference between the UK and Paris is one hour. This makes it much easier for people to watch in the UK compared to other years where the time difference has been much more significant (Time and Data, 2024).

The outsider

Lori (a customer of Stussy) said that the Olympics help unite the nation and make her feel proud to be British when watching the games. Sports have many advantages. One of the most significant benefits is the impact it can have on people's mental health. There is much evidence that physical activity can hugely improve people's well-being (Sport England, n.d.). This is due to the decrease in illnesses such as anxiety and depression, leading to a much better-balanced lifestyle.

Skateboarding

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, skateboarding made its debut and the sport will continue to make a presence in Paris 2024. This has gained more mainstream recognition, which has led to funding of skate parks in local communities (Skate Terminal, 2023). This means more young people can get involved with skateboarding, and all these elements will help with the growth of the sport. Consumers are embracing and supporting companies that care and help to improve communities, showing that customers and brands can be more than just a transaction of money for goods (Mintel, 2018).

Skateboarding culture has influenced fashion trends with graphic T-shirts and loose-fitting clothing. Compared to other sports, including equestrian competitions, golf, and fencing, skateboarding is much more affordable (Ndetei, 2024). This means skateboarding is much more accessible, so more people have the opportunity to try the sport. Skateboarding is seen as a professional sport and has grown in popularity among the youth, with an emphasis on individuality and creativity (Hawk, 2019).

Skateboarding emerged during the 1950s in California; it was started by surfers who wanted to thrive even when the waves were flat. Skateboarding was born so that when the sea was calm, the passion of surfing could happen on solid ground (SkateDeluxe, 2014). The sport became very popular between 1959 and 1965 in the US, then moved over to the UK in the early 60s (SkateDeluxe, 2014). Skateboarding as a sport has maintained its popularity for generations; however, the skateboarding culture has gained in popularity in recent years as it has impacted fashion and the unique style (Skate Terminal, 2023). Since the start of the sport, it has been rooted in self-expression.

Streetwear

Streetwear is different from other fashion categories as brands never pushed it; instead, it is sorted by the consumers wanting to be part of the culture, as streetwear is not a trend but a cultural phenomenon (Andrine, 2020). Furthermore, nearly half a century later, from the start of streetwear, it is still popular, particularly with people who want to be a part of the culture. The streetwear category is set to reach over £340 billion by 2025, as it went mainstream in the mid-2000s and with the help of social media platforms, it evolved from a micro to mass adoption (WGSN, 2020). Streetwear is different from other fashion categories as brands never pushed it; instead, it is sorted by the consumers wanting to be part of the culture, as streetwear is not a trend but a cultural phenomenon (Andrine, 2020). Furthermore, nearly half a century later, from the start of streetwear, it is still popular, particularly with people who want to be a part of the culture. The streetwear category is set to reach over £340 billion by 2025, as it went mainstream in the mid-2000s and with the help of social media platforms, it evolved from a micro to mass adoption (WGSN, 2020).

Streetwear has also seen popularity in the festival scene, as streetwear was voted the highest category of apparel that attendees intended on wearing in the festival season, as seen in Figure 1 (Statista, 2023). Streetwear brings much diversity as it blurs the lines between traditional gender norms and moves away from masculine and feminine aesthetics (The Big Smoke London, 2023). Some luxury brands have moved away from streetwear to more tailored clothing, including Balenciaga and OffWhite (Miller, 2022). However, other brands have seen increased success with classic streetwear-style clothing featuring graphic prints and logos for their loyal customers.

Figure 1 - festival clothing (Statista, 2023)

Stussy

Stussy was established in 1980 in California, starting with Shawn Stussy's love for surfing (Hip, 2020). Originally making surfboards that incorporated hand drawn graphics that combined elements of new wave music, punk and reggae, the brand expended to design and sell clothing to fill a gap in the market. This style of clothing was later adopted into the hip hop and skateboarding scene (Hip, 2020). The brand is referenced as the original streetwear brand; it has iconic campaigns as Stussy collaborates with unknown creatives early on in their career to create a unique perspective and iconic imagery (Brown Thomas, n.d).

In the past, the brand’s advertising campaigns used black and white imagery that relate back to 1980s genre and creates nostalgia (Quinn, 2016).

Nostalgia can help create an emotional response and make the brand more memorable to attract the target audience. This can be done through the brand's imagery and provides an emotional connection the customer (Yagnesh, 2024). Through its campaigns, Stussy has connected and communicated with diverse cultures and has positively affected consumers' attitudes towards the brand.

The graphic prints became popular with a younger demographic, and although the brand started off in the surfing scene, it did not take long to transition to the skating and music scene (Couverture & The Garbstore, n.d.). The brand never anticipated success, nor was it looking for it; the founder, Shawn Stussy, wasn’t looking to make Stussy a big name and originally was just worn by a small group of friends (Graduate, 2019).

Stussy is a global brand in the top 4 countries, including; the United States, the Korean Republic, Canada and the United Kingdom, making over £50 million in annual revenue (Similarweb, 2024). The brand continues to grow in interest as millions of people visit the site every month, as shown in Figure 2. The brand sells a range of products on its website, including tops, shorts, denim, and eyewear (Stussy, n.d.). There is also a wide range of accessories, including incense, candles, dice, and lighters, all with the signature logo on them.

Figure 2 - Stussy visited website rates (Similarweb, 2024)

The gender split of Stussy's customers globally are nearly evenly divided with females taking up 48.81% of sales and males taking up 51.19%. The largest age demographic is ages between 25 and 34 years old making up 34.3% of sales with 18 to 24 year olds making a close second with 31.5% of sales (Simiarweb, 2024). Furthermore, Stussy’s target audience are interested in lifestyle, fashion and apparel. As streetwear and skateboarding have strong links to each other, the target consumers will have a love and respected for the sport and fashion.

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Social Meida

Social media has allowed people with a love for fashion to show others their own personal style identities which can empower them and create a community online (Aina, 2024). Streetwear has become popular with social media as users can use social media as virtual runways, particularly with street style enthusiasts on a global scale. Clothing is more than just getting dressed, it has meaning and can be symbolic for consumers in their identity and take meaning in social and cultural elements (Oe, 2022).

Rianne Evans

(Girl Skate UK, 2021)

Rainne Evans is a 28-year-old skateboarder based in Bristol; she has a strong engagement rate with her audience on Instagram resulting in with 4.8% (Gogolan, 2021; Corq, n.d.). Annie (a social media content creator) voiced that having good engagement with the audience is one of the most important aspects of social media, she went on to say that someone who has millions of followers, but over low engagement rates is less impactful that someone who has much less followers but has a high engagement rate. Evans audiences on her social media (Instagram) have a mix of both genders as shown in Figure 3 (Corq, n.d.).

Figure 3- Rainee Evans audience (Corq, n.d.)

Rainne Evans is a skater through and through and started skateboarding when she was 14 years old (Wasted Talent Magazine, 2020). In the beginning, she would go down to the skate park at 6 am when no one else was there, teach herself how to skate, and sit down or leave when someone else came. Furthermore, Evans expressed that she felt a lot of emotion, but as soon as she made friends at the park, she felt like she was a part of a community. Community in this sport is a common theme. Evans works with other skateboarding-based brands and fashion brands, including Nike SB, Spitfire Wheels and Blue Flowers (Instagram, n.d.). Wasted Talent Magazine (2020) stated that Evans is ‘naturally both wholesome and endearing’ after the magazine spent three days with her.

Evans stated in an interview with Girl Skate UK that there has been a change in how females have been perceived in the sport. The gender gap has changed in the last 5 to 10 years, from females being over-sexualised on the covers of magazines to people taking women seriously in the sport (Girl Skate UK, 2021).

Stussy X Rainne Evans

To celebrate the Paris 2024 Olympics, an exclusive collection featuring a limited-edition product range will launch in June 2024. It will embody the essence of the Olympics, celebrating the sport of skateboarding. The collection will deliver a unique blend of fashion and the sport's heritage. Acknowledging a brand's heritage can be an essential tool to connect with the customers as it provides trust and emotional connection; it can also help have an advantage over the brand's competitors as a heritage cannot be created without a historical back-story and this is valued by consumers (Houraghan, 2021).

Stussy and Rainne Evans is a collaboration that benefit both parties; as they are an organic fit, and both have a mutual link to skateboarding (Hip, 2020; Corq, n.d.). Evans's gain within this collaboration is the opportunity to increase following on her social media, which can lead to more business growth. In this collaboration, Stussy celebrates skateboarding and partners with Evans who is known to be a very wholesome person (Wasted Talent Magazine, 2020). Annie stated, 'collaboration must be organic as the consumers will know when something does not fit and feels forced; this can put off consumers’.

The target market for this collection will attract both male and female individuals as Stussy, Evans followers and skateboarding are all unisex that are aged between 18 and 34 years old. As this demographic not only represents the largest customer base for Stussy (making over 65% of customers) but also aligns closely with Rannie Evans as this age bracket is the largest demographic of hers on social media (Similarweb, 2024; Corq, n.d.).

The launch will be a limited edition collection as this can trigger the FOMO, leading to an excitement for the anticipation of the products (Imagine, 2023). The collection will feature a 7piece range that mixes t-shirts, hoodies, water bottle and a skateboard, combining the past and the present. Although Stussy sells a range of products, this collection will be going back to the brands' roots with a focus on streetwear and skateboarding (Stussy, n.d.). The 1950s will influence the colours used, going back to the period of time that skateboarding was born (SkateDeluxe, 2014). The colours will consist of reds, yellows, pinks and black; many colours were used at that time as ready-to-wear came in (Vintage Dancer, 2015).

Examples of the collection

When marketing for this new collection, storytelling through the imagery will be used. Traditionally stories have been told through words and verbally however stories told through advertisement and storytelling has become a popular marketing method (Väre, 2014). Storytelling creates a bond between the narrator (Stussy) and the reader (the customer), as the principal idea behind good storytelling to grip the audience interest which can build more of a personal relationship and adds to brand loyalty (Bendoni, 2017).

For this collaboration there will be a social media campaign and one of the biggest benefits of using social media to promote a new launch is the volume of consumers that it can reach in a short period of time (Baum et al., 2019). With the growth of social media, the popularity has accumulated to over 3.7 billion active users worldwide, with an average of new social media users very second, meaning that the scale and opportunities social media campaigns have is on a mass scale (Kim, 2020).

Social media has become a global phenomenon, transcending generations. A staggering 89% of people aged 18-29 and 82% of people aged 30-42 years old are active on social media, dispelling the notion that it's only popular among the younger generation (Heggde and Shainesh, 2018). It's the preferred platform for information and communication for many, reenforcing the urgency for brands to utilise these platforms. They provide unique and crucial insight into customer behaviours which can be critical for effective brand communication (Heggde and Shainesh, 2018).

To build engagement with customers for the new launch, there will be a competition that will run in the first 2 weeks in June, for people to design a skateboard, and the winner will win the product range in the new collection. For people to enter, they will need to post a photo of the skateboard on Instagram with the hashtag StussyXRainneEvans2024, whether it be a physical skateboard or vital using Photoshop. Evans will pick her top 3, and the top 3 will be posted for the public to vote for their favourite. The use of hashtags is a great way to spread awareness, both for brands and products on social media (Knapp and Baum, 2015; Furini et al., 2017). The impact of social media is also evident with the outsider Lori, who commented that she got into streetwear because she saw it on social media platforms Instagram and TikTok and fell in love with the graphics and the boxy fits. Lori further went on to say that the best way to promote to her would be to see the products on social media, either on skateboarding influencers or on Stussy's Instagram, as she already follows them.

In honour of the launch, there will be a event on Saturday, 29th of June, at 7pm in Liverpool at the Ramp Worx, which is one of the largest indoor skate parks in the UK (The Snowboard Asylum, 2024). Tickets will be at £5 each, and all proceeds will go to The Skateboarding Foundation. To ensure that the event is inclusive, it will be livestreamed on the Stussy Instagram page for people who are not able to attend. People will be able to buy the collection and have fun on the ramps, and Evans will be there to show off her skills. The event will be advertised on both Stussy and Evans's Instagram page with links to the Stussy website. The music at the event will be a mix of 1950 remixes and current music so that people can enjoy the past and present and revive the skateboarding heritage.

Community

Community involvement is very important for brands and giving back to communities is integral to a company’s purpose and it’s important for a company not to be perceived as purely chasing profit (Mintel, 2018). The Skateboarding Foundation is a charity in the UK dedicated to helping young people learn how to skateboard and to fulfil their potential (The Skateboarding Foundation, n.d.). The charity not only helps young people to skate with little or no fee but also help identify themselves (developing a positive sense of belonging and being part of a community), develop confidence (the programme helps with boosting the confidence and self-esteem) and builds commitment (helping teach the child to reach a goal as it take commitment, perseverance and dedication).

Potential benefits and potential risks

Collaboration has both potential benefits and potential risks; some of the benefits that can occur are a broader reach of people, knowledge and information and a competitive advantage (NCVO, 2022).

However, there are potential risks that need to be considered, including damage to an organisation and waste of resources, damage to the brands image and stakeholder confusion. The risks in this collaboration are lower as Evans is a natural match to Stussy when it comes to the brand image.

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