COMPANY OVERVIEW

Who are you as a company and what do you plan to do

My company is an illustration-based fashion brand that has a focus on storytelling and uses it to
emotionally connect with the audience through its themes and visuals inspired by the genre of Film
Noir. My plan for this company is to create pieces that merge the worlds of cinematic narrative and
still illustrations, creating pieces of clothing that represent scenes of the story the brand is based on
and demonstrating it very effectively through visual forms.

Market analysis that gives industry overview

In order to understand the state of the current state of the fashion industry, I have looked at ‘The
State of Fashion 2021’ report on the Mckinsey and Company website that gives an in-depth analysis
of the current predicaments we are facing, how the industry world is changing and what to look
forward to. From this I hope to tailor some of my company’s direction to make sure it is going with
the flow of the industry and isn’t being left behind. I have bullet pointed my key findings from the
report that I feel matter the most to what I am doing along with how I will change my company
regarding it:

• Record-low economic profits - Balance speed against

discipline due to Corona disrupting a huge amount of
livelihoods, thereby also signifying demand for fashion is
unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels due to human
priorities – This signifies to me I should take my time to
develop quality and keep stock numbers low for the time
being
• Digital channels continue to lead the way and it is expected “more than 20 percent annual
digital growth in 2021”, optimise online experience and channel mix while presuasively –
Shows the importance social media will play in boosting my brands recognition so I need to
make sure I spend time developing this online presence to be as strong as possible as it will
be what I rely on the most.
• Offer more dignity, security and justice to employees as consumers are being aware of
exploitation the industry has – As it is just me creating work for the company there is no
room for this to occur and I will make sure whatever the company does in the future it stays
away from such practices, transparency is key as a company to help a closer relationship
with the buyer so this will be at the forefront of our values.
• Travel has disruption so local consumers is better – This is key for me to keep in mind as this
will also affect the sourcing of materials, not just the consumers, so I will attempt to get
materials domestically based. There are many issues currently regarding postal services, tax
etc. for international services due to issues like Brexit and Covid, so, to mitigate this the
company will only operate a UK base to begin with
• Covid has shown more products do not yield more profits, and that reduction in complexity
and a demand-focused approach will prove better – This again tells me I don’t need to focus
on mass production yet as there is a falling market currently present.
• Emphasise the importance of sustainability through the value chain. “Consumers (and
increasingly, investors) will reward companies that treat their workers and the environment
with respect, and the deeper relationships that emerge will bring benefits in agility and
accountability” – Sustainability is a massive factor that I need to tackle as I personally don’t
have a lot of money to pump into the company yet, so, I’m hoping upcycling garments will
 be a strong option for me to continue on. I will also hold this as a brand value and get
materials that are ethically and sustainably to make sure I’m minimising my impact on the
environment.

Sustainability and ethically produced

clothing are both values I aim to hold in my company and is a massive reason as to why I am
upcycling an item of clothing for this project. This is recycling and giving a new life to an item that
otherwise would be thrown away, as well as giving me a strong base to create work out of and make
my own. “Fashion accounts for up to 10% of global pollution, generating 92 million tonnes of textile
waste per year, consuming 1.5 trillion litres of water annually and contributing approximately
190,000 tonnes of oceanic microplastic pollution” This makes the fashion industry the second
biggest polluter in the world so it is clear why there has been a massive shift in companies on how
they operate and in where consumers choose to buy, especially along with the global warming crisis
we are currently facing. Seasonless fashion is now being employed by brands to help slow this down.

How competitive it is and where you fit in?

To abide by this, I’m going to have my brand as 1 of 1 upcycling brand (adding exclusivity to the
items which inherently drives higher price points and draws in audiences), this has put me in a
different market in terms of competition as I am not looking to mass produce like regular brands and
retailers. This does not mean however that my area isn’t as competitive, from looking at online
articles it is has been said that upcycling is the biggest trend for 2021 – meaning there are a vast
number of small designers out there also doing what I am. I have looked into a few of the ones I
have come across to see how they’re forming their brands, identify similarities and trends between
them, their audience and what platforms they use – this will help me identify where I fit in as well as
how my company aims to fill a gap in the industry.

• Brand – problem6oy/skoot
• Style and Narrative – illustrations inspired from gothic culture and
anime and this is the only thing relating the pieces, aside from this
there’s no narrative connecting the work
• Techniques – Screen-print mainly, paint/spray, patchwork (no
adjustment work to original garment aside from tears)
• Compositions – Oversized prints, repeating stacked text, layering,
hectic placements, repeating symbols, colour infused
• Platforms – Instagram and website
• Audience – Teens/Young Adults (figured through tagged pictures
showing clothing being worn)
• Marketing – Celebrity endorsement and social media features

• Brand – Plagueround
• Style and Narrative – illustrations mostly inspired from gothic culture
but there’s other styles present too, there is no narrative connecting
the pieces but there’s a common dark nature to the work
• Techniques – Paint/spray mainly and screen printing (no adjustment
work to original garment)
• Compositions – Oversized prints, repeating stacked text, layering,
repeating symbols, colour infused, based around imagery and faces, all
over prints
• Platforms – Instagram and website
• Audience – Teens/Young Adults (figured through tagged pictures
showing clothing being worn)
• Marketing – Celebrity endorsement and social media features
 • Brand – Nike_Wear
• Style and Narrative – illustrations are inspired from punk/gothic style
with anime influence, there is no narrative connecting the pieces but
there’s a common dark/deathly nature to the pieces
• Techniques – Acrylic paint, screen printing, normal and advanced
patchwork, added sewn pockets/straps/chains
• Compositions – Square/rectangle shaped graphics, large back prints,
mirrored sleeve patterns, sleeve logos, hood patterns, cut out shapes,
large front centrepiece
• Platforms – Instagram and Facebook
• Audience – Teens/Young Adults (figured through tagged pictures
showing clothing being worn)
• Marketing – Celebrity endorsement and social media features

Doing this research has been extra helpful as all the brands had the same age group target audience
as mine, meaning that what I’ve learnt and apply to my brand will aid me in targeting them. Through
doing this research I have realised the following about established 1 of 1 upcycling brands:

• They all have graphics and illustrations inspired from a punk/gothic style and this
continuation through their pieces is what ties them together – My company will fit in here as
the style I choose will also stay consistent with the pieces I put out, however, none of the
brands seem to offer a deeper brand story or narrative that flows through the pieces so that
is where I hope to fill in the market in this aspect. Film noir has dark themes within it so
seeing it be common with these brands that possess the same audience as I provides me
comfort that it will attract them, this nihilistic aesthetic/style seems to be a current trend so
will help massively in the deployment of my brand. Some have also kept the original brand
logo on there and mentioned it as the base in the description to signify that the garment
being customised is already of good quality.
• Techniques used seemed very similar, mainly revolving around hand paintings, screen
printing and patchwork, with only the final brand branching out to adjusting the garment
itself by sewing extra novelties like pockets and straps. The final brand also had
experimental fabric patches which I really admire as it makes the item seem much higher
quality and worth the money – For my brand I feel as though I will implement all these
techniques sooner or later however I particularly want to focus on seeing if I can implement
this premium form of sewn patches onto the garments as it gives the brand a higher end feel
with craftsmanship rather than just an item of clothing with added paint.
• The way illustrations have been composed on the items signifies to me what layout features
I should seek to adopt as it is my target audience that is purchasing it. All of them featured
large, oversized prints, centre pieces, and stacked layered texts/symbols – I admire this take
on presentation so will see how I could implement this although I need to make sure I
balance it with symbolising enough information on the piece, so it still signifies the brand
story. A lot of the compositions aren’t experimental with layers so I hope to fill this gap
through stylised applique.
• For the platforms being used, Instagram was the main ones present for the brand and one of
them also using Facebook. Instagram being the most present shows the importance of this
platform in developing an audience, especially looking at the follower engagement of all the
accounts and them using it to announce new drops, clothes, products etc. This platform will
likely be the key focus for me as it also has an inbuilt market option, negating the need for a
website for me as I am only selling one product at a time and don’t have the financial
stability at the moment to be able to support an online shop.
 • For marketing the companies have stuck to using Instagram and its specialised features to
advertise itself, such as stories, reels and promoting notification alert features. They have
also used celebrity/influencer endorsements in order to spread their presence, and it also
being the reason as to why some designers have blown up, so, this is an important
advertisement tool for me to look into.

Customer Segmentation - Outline your ideal customer and target audience

The audience of people that I am creating this production for are teenagers and young adults, as this
is who my brand will be targeted at as they are the main group that consume fashion and are up to
date with the latest releases. It is also my age bracket so I feel I have quality personal input that I can
utilise for the brand. The secondary audience that I am creating this item for are people that are fans
of the classic film noir genre. As I am creating this product to be a promotional tool for my brands
identity and story based on the genre, I need to make sure the content produced aligns with interest
of those who already support the genre and are very fond of it as they will be wanting to see more
of the classic style and personality that it holds.

Marketing Plan - Strategize how, when and where you’ll be reaching ideal customers

After looking at the competition and seeing that Instagram is the most popular platform for
established brands like mine, I looked further into why this was so. I found an article on Social Pilot
explaining why Instagram is now the preferred medium for businesses, listing reasons
such as being the most effective for growing engagements, it is visual features and
incredibly high traffic, which are excellent for new start-up brands.
It is also the most used by my target audience so my top priority will
be creating for and pushing
content on this platform.

As society is ever evolving with

new trends and ideas following
constantly, it is also important for me not only to stay up to date with the current situations of social
media, but also to stay up to date with devices that are working their way up to be the next best
thing. Instagram has been present for a long time and is proving a strong method for an established
consumer base hence why it will be my main focus, but, there is a newly popularised app that is the
current becoming the trend for teenagers and young adults called TikTok. It’s had over 2 billion
downloads making it one of the leading apps on mobile stores worldwide, and the main reason why
this is relevant to my brand is not only due to its usage but it being my target audience
that makes up 41% of this platform, meaning it is definitely in my interest to utilise the
platform to reach my audience. Tiktok has developed its
own native trends through video, music and other sorts,
which are aspects I can utilise and capitalise on to reach
my specific audience. The platform has a unique display which involves a
‘for you’ page, an algorithm based page that shows users videos based
on their interactions and information the app has on them – directing
associated specific videos from random users to them. This has given users with low follower counts
an insane amount of traffic allowing them to boom off one video, perfect for new brands and
designers. After finalising my product I will look into how I could use this app to push my own
content and ride the trends to pump my brand to my demographic,
BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Sharma, G., 2021. Why Do Brands Prefer Instagram Over Other Social Media Platforms.
[online] Socialpilot.co. Available at: <https://www.socialpilot.co/blog/instagram-over-other-
social-media-
platform#:~:text=With%20more%20than%203.5%20billion,out%20to%20its%20target%20au
dience.&text=But%20if%20we%20consider%20the,over%20other%20social%20media%20pl
atforms.> [Accessed 25 January 2021].
- www.mckinsey.com. (n.d.). The State of Fashion 2021: In search of promise in perilous times
| McKinsey. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-
insights/state-of-fashion#.[Accessed 25 January 2021].
- future Net Zero. (2020). Fashion industry branded “second-largest polluter after aviation.”
[online] Available at: https://www.futurenetzero.com/2020/04/08/fashion-industry-
branded-second-largest-polluter-after-aviation/. [Accessed 26 January 2021].
- Impact Magazine. (2020). Upcycling: The Biggest Trend Of 2021? Or A Fashion And
Environmental Revolution? [online] Available at:
https://impactnottingham.com/2020/12/upcycling-the-biggest-trend-of-2021-or-a-fashion-
and-environmental-revolution/. Accessed 26 January 2021].
- Radin, S. (2019). What’s Behind the Rise of Upcycled Garments? [online] Fashionista.
Available at: https://fashionista.com/2019/01/upcycled-clothing-sustainable-fashion-trend
[Accessed 26 January 2021].
- Mohsin, M. (2019). 10 TikTok Statistics That You Need to Know in 2019 [Infographic].
[online] Oberlo. Available at: https://www.oberlo.co.uk/blog/tiktok-statistics.
- Statista. (n.d.). Topic: TikTok. [online] Available at:
https://www.statista.com/topics/6077/tiktok/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20TikTok%20was%2
0downloaded [Accessed 30th January 2021].