I was hit by the realisation that Coronavirus has changed the fashion industry in many ways. I was particularly interested in how publications were able to produce content through the ever changing pandemic. This lead to me to start some personal research into how fashion magazines have adapted their content and techniques to adhere to government guidelines whilst fighting to stay relatable and relevant.

I was able to compare magazines that I had saved from 2019 to new 2020 releases and analyse them to seek differences. I believe this has given me a great starting point returning to my final year of university. I will be taking steps to progress this research by experimenting with new Covid friendly techniques that I can develop into my own style. These techniques include fashion illustration, at home image making and still life photoshoots.

Arrivals and Departures is a large scale interactive instillation situated in the courtyard at Somerset House. The instillation explores birth, death and the journey in between. Created by artist duo YARA + DAVINA.

“Taking the recognisable form of a station or airport arrivals and departures board, the artwork invites visitors to share the names of people who have arrived and departed as a way to celebrate a birth or commemorate a death. As the effects of COVID-19, racial injustice and the environmental crisis continue to disrupt communities across the world, this artwork offers a timely platform to engage with birth, life, death, loss and collective grief, through the act of naming. ” – Somerset House.

“The interactive installation also honours the heritage of Somerset House itself, which was formerly home to the General Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths, holding the first comprehensive record of life events for the whole of the population for many generations!. – Somerset House.

I initially wanted to explore this instillation because I admired their creativity for producing exhibits whilst restrictions from Covid-19 are put into place. I think it was a great idea to bring the exhibition into the courtyard to encourage an audience to  view the piece without forming concerns. This has shown me that there are new creative ways to display work even working through a pandemic.

YARA + DAVINA have truly captured and been sensitive towards the feelings of the nation. While they continue to create work through a hard time for many they do so by accrediting the zeitgeist of 2020. I understand that any work I produce this year will have to be sensitive to ignore the issues that Covid has bought. In my research I will explore how magazines and  the fashion industry have had to adapt to stay relatable to their audience.

In 1969 Andy Warhol founded Interview magazine which is known for its intimate discussions with artists, actors and pop culture figures as well as its stylish photography. During Warhol’s time at the magazine there was a distinct visual identity featuring illustrated covers of celebrities. I was lucky enough to see these distinctive covers showcased at the Tate Modern.

In todays climate and with all the restrictions due to coronavirus I think that fashion illustration will become a key technique to be used in publications. Where photoshoots are not possible the somewhat lost art of fashion illustrations may become more popularly featured in magazines. Fashion illustration is not commonly seen in big fashion magazines where they usually feature glossy editorial photoshoots. I will draw inspiration from early Interview magazine covers and experiment how this technique can be used in more modern publications.

 

Andy Warhol most recognisable images are some that contain simple every day items of food and drink. Warhol is famous for producing the Campbells soup print in the same repetition technique he used in portraits. I was drawn immediately to these images because I was intrigued at how such a simple image is so striking. I was inspired by Warhol’s use of food and everyday objects throughout his work, in particular his work with the Coca Cola bottle. I would like to experiment with this idea within my creative research project.

“Warhol grew up eating watered-down ketchup with salt for soup. His images of consumer items such as Campbell’s soup cans are rooted in his experience of an emerging aspirational culture, selling the dream of economic and social progress.” – Kirsteen McSwein – Tate Modern.

Warhol continues to use the theme of food throughout his work. He develops this idea in his work ‘After the Party’ where he has taken a candid image of a table setting and applied his specialist technique of screen printing. I have always appreciated the nature of candid images, I like how they have such a strong narrative without people being present.

I was positively inspired by Warhol’s technique of repetition, this appears in the artists most famous pieces such as the Marilyn Monroe screen print. This duplication creates a narrative and an exciting piece of art to look at. As I have shown below he uses this technique in many of his early pieces therefore making them extremely recognisable.

“Warhol was eager to speed up the process of replicating his images, so in 1962 he adopted the commercial production technique of screen printing. He begun to use photographs from newspapers and magazines, often depicting serious or traumatic scenes. Screen printing meant he could reproduce photographs onto canvas multiple times. While the printing process removed the artist’s hand, Warhol often allowed his screen to be over and under inked, this created effects that disrupted the images.” – Kirsteen McSwein, Tate Modern.

Warhol continues this technique into some of his later work. He developed the idea to use in his photography work as seen in the Grace Jones image. There is a general theme to his work where he juxtaposes colours creating a true ‘Pop Art’ outcome. This makes for an extremely eye catching design with a relatively simple image.

I would like to explore this technique within my creative research, experimenting with over and under saturated repeated images just as Warhol created.

Before researching into specific areas of fashion communication I wanted to search around for general inspiration. Covid-19 has had great impact on the arts so many galleries were closed or moved to online viewing only. I was excited to see that the Tate Modern were showcasing Andy Warhol’s work in a physical exhibition.

“Andy Warhol reimagined what art could be at a time of immense social, political and technological change. While his work reflected the American dream of prosperity and success, it also challenged it. Warhol often kept the meaning behind his art ambiguous. His fame has overshadowed the impulses that drove this shy, gay man to be an artist. This exhibition examines Warhol’s subject matter, his experiments with different media, and the way he cultivated his public identity. It draws attention to Warhol’s personal story, and how this affected this view of the world and the art he created.” – Kirsten McSwein, Tate Modern.