Within this styling book the written narrative of my ‘Beta’ 10X10X10 Brand Book is explained through primary source imagery in a styling focused lookbook format. The whimsical world of 2043 is presented in front of your eyes as you dive into the lives of Generation Beta, the children of Generation Z whose potential character and behaviour is calculated in an effort to offer us insight into the future of the youth market.
“EMPTY HOPES”
The “DEAD BEHIND THE EYES” illustration embodies young generations’ concern over the quality of life they face as uncertainty describes their foreseeable future. During the Covid-19 global pandemic many felt like they had to find ways to compensate for the lost time that they have lived through locked inside their home, as they turned to creature comforts to boost their levels of serotonin in those long, challenging months. “DEAD BEHIND THE EYES” paints a dystopian image of the wasted youth of 2043 who do not get the chance to live a full life as the outside world turns unbearable for humans as a product of rising temperatures and extreme weathers caused by global warming.
The planet, our economy, our political climate, even our fashion industry is broken.“NEVER GOING OUTSIDE CLUB” (image on the left) comments on the recent macro trend dominating the press and social media, in which creatives are coming up with manufactured digital realities with the aim to fix the problems we continue to face as we step outside of our homes. During the research phase of ‘Beta’ I found an irony in future generations designing a picture perfect life to live between four walls as the outside world continues in its total destruction. In “NEVER GOING OUTSIDE CLUB” we can discover a dystopian twist on imagery inspired by Alice in Wonderland, creating an unsettling picture of a potential future.
“IT’S ALL FUN & GAMES UNTIL THERE IS NO FUN OR GAMES”
“I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING!!”
The oversized teardrop unintentionally became an easily recognisable symbol of my final major project. The teardrop represents a universal symbol for an emotional state and sadness, a meaning which in this case is compromised by the size and fabrication of the teardrop shape. The cartoon-like, huge teardrop, the over-exaggerated facial expression of the model and the composition of the image has a camp quality that makes the action of crying seem performative. Depending on the viewer’s mindset there are a few layers of meaning to be detected from this teardrop image. My personal aim for this shot was to capture an image that acknowledges the rising cases of mental health related illnesses and communicating this message in a way that relates the project back to the dark humour of the Yami Kawaii art movement. The originally unintended or secondary meaning of the image would be to translate the symbolic codes as young generations reacting to their predecessors branding them as “snowflakes”. Either meaning is taken into a count, these portrait style photographs I believe to have enriched the quality of my final major project, adding in a sense of personality as audiences can connect faces and people to the story amongst the more abstract digital edits.
“RAINY DAYS AHEAD”
“BETA KIDS”
“NEARLY EXTINCT”
WATCH THE STORY UNFOLD ON INSTAGRAM! IG @beta___project___fmp
THE END. (literally)