Category: OUCP702 Research Methods 1

After receiving the itinerary for the Fashion Conference Symposium at Manchester Art Gallery on Working in Industry (Friday 14th Oct) I came to realise that the event was aimed more at Fashion Design Graduates and how to start their own businesses post HE opposed to discussing the working Fashion Industry as whole, I decided to not attend as I did not feel I would gain enough out of it to miss a day of lectures. I also feel that now knowing the full itinerary I wouldn’t of been able to aquire all of the information I originally had noted or expected.

I felt that Annabeth’s lecture on Technologies, Video and Animation along with her practice would be of more benefit in advance to the Professional Context presentations. In addition, this would allow me to understand different technologies more which has since helped with further analysis and critique of new technologies in the fashion and beauty industries in relation to my practice. I wouldnt of been able to obtain such relevant and important knowledge had I of missed this lecture in return for the Working in Industry symposium.

This is working towards objective 1.

Below shows notes taken from todays lecture with Annabeth regarding new technologies and how she uses them within her practice to produce, exhibit and curate pieces of Animation, Film and Video.

This lecture made me realise that even though recently I have been researching different technologies within the Beauty and Fashion Industries, that many of the topics discussed could be relayed back to my research question, allowing me to think further about how technology can help with research, whilst also allowing for platforms to experiment with ideas, processes and techniques. It also made me think about how through my current projects I am engaging with social media to showcase my work, reaching a specifically targeted and tailored global audience, and how this instant access to other cultures for example, is quite a recent development.

I also realised that many of the technologies Annabeth discussed have already been used in someway in both the Fashion and Beauty Industries, therefore allowing me to create a more developed mind-map for this specific topic. I have also shown examples in context below. The main technologies which came to mind were the rise of apps, and social media use allowing for a constant stream of ‘virtual gallery experiences’ as Annabeth also noted today, combined with the idea of Live-Stream Video, Integrated Video (within apps and websites for example), UI and UX design, Augmented Reality, VR, Film and Video, CGI and Face Recognition. In regards to my practice and research question, it is important for me to understand the uses and benefits of these technologies as well as the negative impacts they may have over time. Each of these noted technologies may have benefits to the brand using them and may encourage todays current climate of consumer culture, however, in which ways do these effect the self-perception of the audience? For example, the use of CGI to create Avatars, or Apps to digitally edit our photos. Overtime as technologies become even more embedded in our lives how will this affect us? How will this contribute to societal changes? I also noted from discussions from the class today, that some people still do not part take in new technologies, and don’t have mobile phones, therefore how do these technologies exclude some members of society through presuming that everyone is up to speed and aware of such advances?

Thinking about technologies also allow me to understand how important it is to access the right platforms to reach a cross-cultural audience.

Furthermore, this lecture opened my eyes to the amount of events and lectures which take place regarding technologies in the digital age, which may be of benefit to me to really understand the current societal needs to be so dependant upon technology, which in turn may help with my research and understanding of my research question. This have been noted on the second page of my scanned in notes that are shown below.

Industry Examples

• “Misha Nonoo premiered her Spring collection on Instagram, told Vogue Runway Director Nicole Phelps earlier this week: “That’s the beauty of digital; somebody has a front row seat while sitting in their armchair.”
• “YouVisit is a platform that creates interactive virtual tours of occasionally hard to access places (namely of restaurants and universities, though it has also showcased festivals and sporting events). YouVisit aligned with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia with this mission in mind: The result, Mirror to the Soul, is a five-minute whirlwind that gives the viewer a full picture of the event, from backstage to the front row to the street style scrum and an Uber in between. “Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia has always been tech-savvy,” said its founder and president.”

• “YouVisit worked on a VR “lookbook” for some Moscow-based designers to allow a viewer to survey runway looks from all angles, immediately access more information, and, ideally, eventually have the possibility to place an order. “It could be much more fun than browsing websites, and more useful for marketing,” he added.”
• “Topshop held a three-day flagship VR experience back in February 2014” – different interpretation of LFW at the same time as the show happening live – allowing for the general public to access an exclusive event in a unique, engaging and interactive way.

Image Source

• “Dior presented a headset backstage at its February 2015 show; this past August, Rebecca Minkoff sent out a VR mailer to watch the label’s Fall 2015 runway; and the VR production company Jaunt distributed a cliff-jumping video it made for outerwear-minded retailer The North Face in April.”
• “The retail climate is increasingly dire, and customer engagement is at an all-time low. The trade papers are full of the news of one of fashion’s premier PR firms picking up a geo-social app primarily used for “cruising,” with the hopes of marketing fashion and beauty brands to its audience. The concept of submerging your desired demographic into your branding does have a certain ring to it. “We can offer that kind of immersion and intimate access that’s delivering that next-level potential to the industry,” said YouVisit CEO Abi Mandelbaum. “We’re excited to bring that to life.” Whether runway shows cease to be relevant—or which brand will be the first to jump—remains to be seen, but there’s one thing for certain: The arms race is on.”
• “In the me-me-me millennial world, virtual reality has the possibility to be all about you.”
• “Jae Suk Kim, an illustrator who has worked with Bulgari, Cartier, and Louis Vuitton, who you watch snap runway looks on his iPhone until his illustrations come alive as animated GIFs on the runway.”
• “VR — an experience beyond that which you might have gotten in person … One thing that I’ve noticed is that fashion is about a lot more than just the designs,” said Mandelbaum, “it’s about what’s happening in the world, and it’s about the models, the designers, their inspirations, the stories behind them, and that’s what VR allows them to do, to tell all of that in an interesting way. That’s the power of VR; it goes way beyond just what’s happening in the room.”

I found the Shisido mirror interesting due to being the first of it’s kind, whilst being Japanese highlighting the international and cross-cultural context of my research question.

Image Source

Sources:

http://www.vogue.com/13375247/virtual-reality-future-fashion-week/, Last Accessed: 14th October 2016

• participating in government advisory panels to tackle body confidence issues
• bringing in experts to train our employees on body image and health
• ensuring our own Model Welfare policy and guidelines on digital manipulation are fully applied, to protect our models and our customers
• enabling customers to post images of themselves wearing the clothes they have bought through our #AsSeenOnMe feature
• publishing articles on diverse and inspirational young women in our ASOS magazine, focusing on their achievements not their looks
• working with anti-bullying charity, The Diana Award, recognising that online channels and activities are having a huge impact in the area of bullying and self esteem
• continuing to fund the charity, B-eat, which provides online support for young adults with eating disorders

HOW WE WORK WITH OUR MODELS

We use over 100 models employed through 21 modelling agencies. The models we work with reflect our dominant customer, that is, twenty-somethings who wear size 8 – 10 (women) and medium (men). Our Curve range is for women’s size 18-30, and we use agency ‘plus size’ models for this range. We have had challenges in finding agencies who supply ‘plus size’ models above a size 16 but we are beginning to make progress in this area.

OUR MODEL WELFARE POLICY

Our Model Welfare Policy states that we will:

• not work with models who are under 16
• provide free lunch and snacks to models
• closely monitor our models and raise any concerns about their health with their agency
• employ models who are a healthy weight and shape

DIGITAL MANIPULATION

Our internal guidelines on digital retouching dictate that we do not artificially adjust photographs of models to make them look thinner. When we retouch images, it is to ensure that the image looks more like the real product, so usually involves aligning the colour more closely with the real product.

The catwalk videos that we include alongside product descriptions on our website depict the models exactly as they are.

FASHION FOR A WIDE RANGE OF BODY SHAPES

Our garment technology team constantly work to improve the fit of our garments and to ensure that we can deliver the right fit, first time to every customer. We aim to make our fashion fit the customer, not the other way round. To serve our diverse customer base therefore, we offer fashion in over 30 different sizes, including clothing, footwear and jewellery.

• our Petite range fits people of 5’3″ or less
• our Curve range fits people of size 18-30
• our Tall range fits people of 5’10”
• our Maternity range fits people of size 6-20
• our Wide Fit footwear range fits people show size 2 to 9

Our ASOS Curve range has been successful with strong sales, and has won several awards:

• Reveal online award: Best plus size for ASOS Curve September 2015
• Body Confidence Awards – Responsible Fashion (ASOS Curve)
• Fabulous for Curves at the 2013 Fabulous High Street Fashion Awards
• Best Online Retailer at the British Plus Size Fashion Awards in 2013
• nominated for the Campaign for Body Image in the Body Confidence Awards 2012

EMPLOYEE TRAINING

We are raising awareness among our customer care employees about potential health problems related to body image. The eating disorders charity Beat has provided training on body image health to our customer care team leaders. This will help them to respond sensitively to questions we receive from customers about body image and eating disorders, and direct them to appropriate help where required.

ONLINE SUPPORT GROUPS

In the past 3 years ASOS joined forces with Beat to fund Online Support Groups, which offer a safe and supportive environment for discussion between those with an eating disorder, or between carers, families and friends. Support Groups were trialled in late 2012, and launched in February 2013 to coincide with EDAW – Eating Disorders Awareness Week. With the support of trained staff and Beat volunteers, online Support Groups offer an addition to the Beat Network face-to-face groups, as well as an alternative for people who may not be geographically close to a physical group. They also provide an anonymous space for people who may not feel comfortable meeting others.

Each group has a volunteer facilitator, who is trained by Beat, and a Beat staff member moderates the discussion as well as signposting users to other sources of help, if appropriate.

Find out how to join a Support Group

ENGAGING WITH GOVERNMENT

ASOS participated in the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image (APPG) in early 2012. The group’s objective was to uncover ways to promote a healthier body image in the wider community.

The conclusions of the group’s final report were critical of the roles of the media, advertising industry and cosmetic surgery. The report also suggested one recommendation for the fashion industry, to set up a roundtable to discuss body image issues. We met with the Government Equalities Unit to discuss how we can explore some of these issues further as an industry and as a result ASOS took part in the Equalities Ministers Advisory Group on Body Image

BODY CONFIDENCE

Body image dissatisfaction in the UK has never been higher, and a huge amount of young people struggle with the issue. ASOS does extensive work to harness its influence among young fashion-lovers to promote healthy body image.

ASOS and the Diana Award aim to work together to launch the #MySense ofSelf programme to equip young people with the tools to challenge social and cultural attitudes towards body image, and to provide a safe environment to discuss body image issues.

The Diana Award is scaling up its anti-bullying work into a full campaign that incorporates raising young people’s self-esteem and body confidence. We will use our reach across the UK and Ireland to provide a resource that addresses the issues.”

Source:
http://www.asosplc.com/corporate-responsibility/our-customers/positive-body-image.aspx, Last Accessed: 14th October 2016