As part of the IDEO-U course that I’m currently doing (Storytelling for influence) I have had to identify a research question to use in my course assignments. It’s the 4th course I’m doing in this series, and I have come up with the (what I think is rather nifty) practice of incorporating my ideas/dreams around building a clothing brand into the course assignments. In this way I’m working towards learning new skills through the coursework and simultaneously I’m able to build on my thinking for the clothing brand concept.
Introduction assignment: Identify the story you want to tell
I want to tell a story about the clothing I make so that I can stimulate cross-cultural conversation and acceptance (intercultural dialogue)
What is Intercultural Dialogue via UNESCO e-Platform Intercultural Dialogue (ICD) offers an opportunity for meaningful engagement for participants who are committed to global values and willing to consider different perspectives. As a transformative form of communication, ICD can contribute to increased acceptance of others, thus satisfying the goal of a peaceful coexistence between various cultures and identities.
Since I was a teenage boy, exploring music for the first time, I have been into hip-hop and rap. At first not understanding the lyrics as my English wasn’t at all developed yet, it was the beats that grabbed my attention and spoke to me profoundly. And although I’m more and more opposed to the nastiness in the lyricism within this genre, I can’t seem to disconnect myself from this deep inner connection I have with the strong beat that hip-hop is inextricably linked to.
We always cycled to the library in my hometown, my mum brother and I, on a Saturday morning. In an era when the internet was on the cusp of bursting into the mainstream, the library was still the main source of inspiration and exploration. I loved the CD section, which was a prime source of music exploration. I picked albums with covers that spoke to me and asked if I could listen to them (always grabbing the 10 cd’s maximum allowed at a time). But also the floor for kids and teenagers, which had books on a wide array of topics, and books often contained lots of pictures, speaking strongly to my dyslexic self. Here I browsed, letting myself become into contact with unexpected and new subjects. I strongly remember a book on skateboarding (a sort of step by step guide to learning how to skateboard, but in this fluor 90’s style) and comic books (which I got sucked into deep as well). It is in this library where I first came into contact with the book “The Gentleman”, which became a seminal piece in my understanding of style, clothing and dress. The book explains early on in its pages that “we can’t teach you how to behave like a gentleman, but we can show you how to dress and compose yourself like one”.
Next came my interest in fashion. Through this library book I started to understand the role clothing plays in expressing one-self and what (personal) style meant. Heritage brands and their products also were featured in it and spoke to my imagination strongly (like Louis Vuitton or Ralph Lauren). Through an exhibition in the local art gallery (Groninger Museum) on/by Marc Newson, I became aware of design in a wider context. Marc Newson worked with G-Star and had his own collection there, broadening my view of what design in clothing meant.
Since then I have build on these early moments of inspiration and have had many moments more, too many to describe here (only mentioning Blend, CODE and Fantastic Man magazines as they have played mayor roles). Fashion is one of my main creative interests in this world and hip-hop is still one of my main sources of music, both classic and modern interpretations of it.
Pharrell & Nigo’s LV
Watching the LV FW25 show and collection was very exciting, inspiring and moving somehow. It brings together these early sources of inspiration and memories of moments that mattered to me in my life journey. It speaks to me even on two more profound levels; as I dream of creating a brand which connects to different cultures and backgrounds, the collaboration between these two man strongly speaks to that. Seeing this brotherly friendship between Pharrell and Nigo reminds me also of my own friendship with Nathan (RIP) as we both had different cultural backgrounds too, but found each other in the things that inspired, motivated and moved us. There was always a certain joy and pleasure in our friendship and our way of connecting on things like music, skateboarding and style, something I see reflected in Pharrell and Nigo’s friendship and miss a lot for myself.
A couple of things in my thoughts are coming together; recently I have been reading the Virgil Abloh chronicle “Make it ours” and the book Abloh-isms. In it you find reference to his 3% rule. Separately have I been working on migrating all my Instagram saved posts to Are.na. “Mooooooooodboard”, something Loïc Prigent always says in his videos (of which I have watched this recent one) and apparently is also a website of his. Also did I watch this video tour of Diplo’s Jamaican house (mansion), making me think of Major Lazer and its graphic record sleeves.
“Abloh became even more committed to his belief in a 3-persent principle – the idea that an object altered by 3 percent becomes something wholly new. […] By touting his 3-percent philosophy, Abloh spotlighted fashion’s reliance on reiterating what had come before.”
From ‘”Make it ours” – Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh’ by Robin Givhan
How can moodboards and the 3% rule lead to more creative creation and freedom
Combing these thoughts, I’ve had the realisation that a way to progress in my creative pursuit to create a fashion brand is to be more intuitive in the way I create. As I have been educated in my Bachelor to be able to come up with well formulated concepts, I now have the tendency to start not in the creation phase but in the explanatory phase of a creative project. I notice in myself that finding the explanation for why I’m creating (something), an idea, research reference or fully formed concept is how I want to start of my making process. The process of intuitive creation based on subconscious inspiration has been lost on my a little bit. Re-igniting that child like making and creating process is very important if I want to be able to progress in my creative pursuit as I imagine myself to be.
Moodboards Setting myself a challenge to make a weekly mood-board of inspiration, however (un)co-herent it may be. By setting aside half an hour to a full hour of free roaming on Are.na and printing out (part of) this mood-board and sticking it onto a foam board pannel.
3% rule Challenging myself to be more open to using found inspiration as a direct input for creation. Authenticity can come from how you reposition and repurpose. Freeing myself from creative limitations like this could help me progress towards a visual identity and style that over time I can make my-own.
Major Lazer Finding inspiration in different cultures can be a great resource towards making something new and inexistent. I want to relieve myself from the constraint that I’m not myself part of the cultures that inspire me, and instead use these inspirations to create things that relate and build on that which instigates my curiosities.
Major Lazer is a fictive character for an electronic dancehall project by two (white) producers. Although it raised some eye-brows in the beginning (as they themselves where not coming from a background in which the dancehall music was founded and created), they have kept going and are now widely accepted as a major group in the scene. It’s a prime example of not letting yourself be limited to only working within your own confounds (culturural upbringing/heritage). See also my own reflection cultural inspiration.
It’s not enough to come up with smart and interesting business models for a would be fashion business. Without designs, there is nothing to make and therefore sell. It’s important to push both of these aspects forward. As thinking about business propositions is something I do all the time and which is something I have started to draft here on this very blog, it’s time to also put energy into the “unknown” of creating my clothing designs. It’s easy to immediately start thinking in restrictions and hurdles, for example; Fashionary creates these Figure template cards that are very well made and would give a good sense of proportions and poses. However, I don’t NEED to have that to be able to create. It’s just me trying to come up with a reason why I can’t start right now.
My biggest challenge right now is stepping over these imaginary hurdles and to start creating/scheduling in time for myself to start making. And the scary part in that process is the unknown; not knowing what you will come up with and if you will be capable of doing so. But this is the process and something you have to learn and learn to enjoy.
What was useful after all, was finding inspiration in the work of Connie Lim who made the final illustrations to form an impression of how you can use the Figure template cards. Her style is free flowing but also clear and realistic in a sense. It’s something I’ll be looking at further for inspiration when I’m stuck with my own work in the coming months.
Good products deserve reasonable pricing. This works two ways; neither should a product be overpriced to create a false perception of value and quality, nor should a product be underpriced to encourage impulse buying and the idea of a good deal. A good product has a price that is linked to its production process and quality manufacturing. These days brands either work with economies of scale (Primark) or economies of exclusivity (Dior) to determine their pricing. When something seems too cheap or expensive to be realistic and fair, it probably is. Sales-discounts play a part in this too. When a product can still be sold for a significantly reduced price without a loss, it means the consumer has been fooled with the original product sales-price.
[BRAND NAME] wants to offer products that are priced fairly to sustain a good product quality and a reasonable and publicly communicated growth percentage (revenue). This means products shall be priced accordingly, and any devaluation in pricing won’t be possible nor necessary.
No out of stock items
Sales-drops and limited edition products have become a mainstay within the global (fashion)economy. They are a sales tactic with revenue as the prime incentive, not creativity. Why else would a great product design only be offered to a limited amount of people. This sales-tactic is used mostly to lure customers to a baseline product offering by creating the perception of scarcity and belonging. The scarcity is false, as it’s entirely within a brand’s power to make as many items of any product as they wish. The sense of belonging is created by making people think they are part of a select group of people that are “in-the-know” or these special editions/drops. Even if they couldn’t actually make a purchase of said item, by buying any other mainline product they feel connected to this urge they have to belong to the in-crowd.
[BRAND NAME] wants to offer products fairly and indefinitely based on people’s desire to purchase, through either pre-order listings, item inventory or archive reproductions. A product might be produced and launched in a specific quantity at first. Afterwards it might immediately be reproduced based on consumer demand or placed into a product archive from where re-runs and reproductions can be requested by prospect buyers (in active communication with the brand).
Direct to consumer. Describe what that means for this brand and for me. Make a diagram in which you can see how currently my income is fully made up of my paid job, and my brand is secondary to that. This means that time spent on the brand is limited but income from it also will be, so product costs can stay relatively low as they mainly need to support production instead of generating a living wage. A projected diagram can show how shifting the time spend and income earned through each channel can affect creative output and pricing, although it doesn’t necessarily have to mean products get more expensive. Maybe it’s more about the profit being used to support different things (at first it’s about stimulating growth and R&D, and once that has been achieved, income can and will support wages).
Think about a business model of funding, where a product will be released/produced once there has been enough backing in place. This can be done with time limits in place; if not reached before so-and-so the fund will be refunded.
Describe why these models are important to the brand’s ethos; forever growth is hurting the planet, our quality of life and our pockets too. There are different ways to undertake a business endeavour and this is one of them. Production in itself doesn’t have to be the problem, over production at the wrong cost can.
In the background I’m slowly working, building on this concept of a clothing brand (and sometimes an online gallery/store). Fleeting thoughts get stored away into a section where they brew until they have formed into a more substantial idea. Soon, I will have to capture some of them, for I can’t risk loosing them. But I have also realised that for me to actually progress towards these concepts of entrepreneurial endeavours, I have to mostly create and action things. It is important to get my thinking straight (and formalised into writing), but it shouldn’t stop me from progressing with intuition. The next steps are therefor not in order, but give a general overview of things to finalise and start semi-simultaneously;
• Write down core business manifesto/principles • Ideas for business operations (how things are sold) • Ideas for brand identity
• Start designing (print-out inspiration, create mood-board and draw designs)
• Educate myself on clothing making • Pattern drafting course
One big change has been that my almost decade long ‘obsession’ and main focus on China as an inspiration and reference point, has made way for other wider arrays of interests and inspirations. This, to be honest, has been a big step in the right direction for my ideas of starting up the clothing brand that I keep envisioning. To be able to have a broader range of inspirations to work from, gives me a wider scope and that is something I needed right now. It is motivating and I’m looking forward to see what I’ll be looking at for inspiration and will come up with in my designs.
One of my favourite places in London is Dover Street Market (probably my No.1 favourite place to be honest). I have been going there for many years to soak up the vibe and gain immense inspiration from the store design/layout, clothing designs on display, people that go and work there and Rose bakery. The complete package makes it’s worth visiting with frequency because there is always something new to discover or gain creatively.
The DSM logo has come to represent this experience and memory I have of this place. When I look at their logo, I feel connected to my inspired self. Analysing the logo further;
The shape is a sort of primal drawing shape, representing a house. This simplicity creates a sort of open platform for the diverse selection of brands and styles within the store.
A home which represents the family, which is very suited to their store concept; a group of brands together under one roof, some united by brand origin (Comme des Garçons) some related to it and yet others invited in as new friends.
“Dover Street Market” as a form of an adres places it in a space and time, a location*. Variations of the logo add the city name underneath “Market” (NEW YORK, LONDON, GINZA).
“Market” signifies a collection of sellers/retailers and a certain temporality to what’s on offer. It also brings up an image of a lively and communal atmosphere.
*Dover Street Market London, which was the first location of all DSM locations, was located originally on Dover Street in Mayfair, London. This is where its name originates from. Although the London store has since moved to Haymarket, its name is still linked to the first store location, rooting it in a place and linking it to a certain time.
Clothing design creates garments that may or may not be trendy.
Trend is based on community, on mass; when a majority considers something of a new/unique (design)style and want to associate themselves with it, you could see a trend appearing of appreciation for this certain style.
When a garment or style is in trend i.e. trendy, you could also say it is in fashion.
A trend being constant would mean it at some point becomes the norm to some extend. When a trend increases for it to degrease at a later stage, you could say it is a fashionable trend. For example; it has come into fashion to be associated with this trend (A), but trend A subsequently becomes surpassed by another trend (B), thus A is not able to sustain itself to become the new norm.
Fashion design therefor is a rather misguided term as it is not the designer that creates fashion, its the people that decide what is in fashion (which in tern is based on trend).
Something can be fashionable when it is designed to go along a certain trend that is currently in fashion. However, it is very unlikely that a designer creates something that will become fashionable, if it is not linked to a current trend within society. The term fashion designer therefor merely means that the designer is designing something that follows a currently fashionable trend (which either can be on the rise or decline, depending on the foresight of the designer). Success as a designer, or the success of their designs, is somewhat dependent on a variety they can bring within the boundaries of a current trend and on the suitability with a currently fashionable trend.
