As I am in the final weeks of this project I wanted to reflect on the creative progress and roles that I have undertaken to contribute towards the creation of Ever Magazine. I think Annabelle and I have taken the most appropriate tasks for our skill set and the layout of the finalised magazine is reflective of our brand and purpose as well as our Instagram page.

 

Annabelle and I work well as a team and I am thankful we created this project together with the defined roles that we had.

 

To plan for the Film still shoot, Annabelle and I walked to wild park and wanted to select several different specific locations to shoot in. Wild park was the final decision for location as we are restricted to Brighton due to national restrictions, and Wild Park is an open space that could also be anywhere, it is not aesthetically specific to Brighton. The location reflects the initial inspiration and has several places to shoot and direct consistent shots.

For this shoot, I Annabelle and I asked Belinda to shoot as she has previous photography experience and I directed her, Art directed the shoot and Annabelle focused on womenswear styling and I focused on menswear styling.

I wish I had photographed this shoot too as the original images are compromised by the light and composition of each shot. Belinda is a great photographer however I think for specific concepts such as this one it is better for myself as the director to take the photographs. This is something I will consider when moving forward with the magazine. Despite not being overly happy with the quality and composition of each piece, I do think the photographs capture of concept well, and the intimacy and ‘relationship’ taken from the poem was captured very well. The location also enhances this as through many of the photographs the open space and the two models being the only subject in frame besides nature really shows the idea of negative space and interaction – the main focus of issue 1. I started to make rough edits to send to Annabelle with my idea of the concept and how to lay the images out. I cropped and focused on specific interactions and parts of the models body and then I added yellow captioned text that I text matched from my old film inspiration as I thought this format was appropriate to present the poem narrative. (inspiration in sketchbook.) I started with white text, however when reflecting on my research and comparing the two formats, the yellow text is more striking and directly reflects the inspiration and has association with it.

 

I then forwarded this experimental work to Annabelle, who is the main photograph editor of the magazine to edit further and ensure it is consistent with the magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After shooting the final large collection of clothes for the catalogue, I wanted to reflect on the process I have taken for each edit and how I think they are working for their purpose. I am aware that when taken in the studio the images are more professional and clear than the home studio, however this was unavoidable at the time of creating some of the imagery due to lockdown and moving forward I would like to strengthen my skills with the home studio so that I can create work still of a professional standard after university. In terms of the composition and lay out of the products, I am aware that all of the flat lays would not be appropriate for commercial ecommerce however, as we are not a ‘online shop’ and we I  only presenting the clothes to influence our concept and highlight brands for the capsule wardrobe I think they are appropriate and visually are interesting. When accompanied by a QR code to shop the look/brand I think it is an interesting format to present the clothes and also has the potential to be more engaging for our target market as it is different to a ‘conventional shopping page.’

 

As the orange edit also showcased our model Tom who identifies as a cis male, for the orange edit I have combined ‘menswear’ and ‘womenswear’ to be inclusive of all gender identities, and I do not personally think they need to be categorised separately. When moving forward and considering the second issue of Ever, I want to ensure that I combine more menswear and womenswear so that the whole catalogue is inclusive and also reflects my own brand and styling identity further too. I am non-binary and despite this, I feel more comfortable styling womenswear as this is something I have focused on with myself, all of my life and throughout my projects at university; I think to challenge myself and move the catalogue into a space that is more accessible for gender identities and the idea of capsule wardrobes this is something I would like to explore and also present as a ‘new normal.’

Sunflower and Mint are a Brighton based collection whom create sterling silver jewellery with found materials, most notably sea glass.

Sunflower and Mint promotes positivity and fun and the flower and herb represent the friends in relation in their star signs. Sunflower and Mint was born out of lockdown, and two friends wanting to make the most of what is already on the earth.  Natasha and Chloe have been friends since college and wanted to put their values into product throughout their time in isolation. With the aim to produce nothing new, their ethos stands to realign with our natural environment. Moving away from the consumeristic culture and gravitating towards a conscious and sustainable way of living. Understanding that sustainability is hard, especially in a modern world, Sunflower and Mint strive to be as sustainable as possible, and ensure their production and packaging process is transparent. From starting up the business they  have had to constantly question their approach and materials.

The seagrass used in their jewellery is found by the team on their lovely costal beaches within Pembrokeshire and their packaging is 100 percent recycled and plastic free.  Alongside their main collection, Sunflower and Mint also create custom orders and take commissions upon request allowing you to have your own, unique statement of sustainability for your collection.

When reading these two articles on Vogue Business and The Fashion Law, two things stuck out to me in the importance of creating a brand, and identity to hold it down. You have to be relevant and ethical. Believing in what you do, and the purpose of it really drives your market to want to be a part of your ‘group.’  Tapping into this idea and ensuring that Ever is doing what we said we would, and ensuring the influence of capsule thinking is accessible to all is important and it is shown through our catalog and the relevance of our contributors. We understand all of our target markets may not be able to buy Vejas sustainable vegan leather trainers because of their price point, however, we show that capsule wardrobes can be made up of a combination of, or just highstreet and high-end brands. It allows versatility in our influence and also in our products.

https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/how-ethics-went-mainstream

 

From Ikea and Oatly to Aldi and Telfar, “Cultural Impact” Isn’t What You Think It Is