Our task for the project

Name:	Before project:	During project:
Mehraj Zaman	·      Research in celebrity endorsement ·      Photoshoped logo on David Beckham ·      Created questionaire	·      Record project video ·      Edit project video ·      Analyse overall results
Unal Azaoglu	·      Research on celebrity fashion income ·      Created logo ·      Photoshoped logo on ronaldo	·      Present brand to local people ·      Help edit video ·      Analyse overall result
Shakil Kalam	·      Research on brand influence ·      Photoshoped logo on Zain Malik ·      Created project poster	·      Present brand to local people ·      Help edit video ·      Analyse overall result

Stage 1 celebrity endorsement

Stage one of our project, letting people know our brand is worn by celebs. Tomorrow hopefully we will do this with better quality posters, which will include our instagram page: _mus_brand.

The plan for the video is also coming

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCPRVJeF62c

the following link gives examples of how different trends have set in over time and it makes you think the scale of influence a certain event or a person can have on an item for example air jordans introduced by the man himself, Micheal Jordan. 

Lost Notes?

Hi All

I have just heard from a very nice lady called Norma Parsad who contacted me to say that she has found someone's coursework and other documents on the ground area of Manor Gardens Welfare Trust (London N7 6LA ) on Monday 21 March 2016.  She doesn't have a contact name for the owner.  Has anyone lost notes? If so, please let me know and I will send you the contact details of who you can call to get them back!

Best wishes

bernadette

IMPORTANT! LOG REQUIRED

I'm concerned that not everyone is contributing equally to project work. Certainly, some people are not blogging.  For this reason, I am asking EVERYONE on the course to complete a LOG of their contributions to project work. You still have time to build up your contributions, if you have been a slow starter.  However, NO LOG will mean that you run the risk of getting ZERO for your project-mark so you must ensure that you provide full details of your contribution to the project. In particular, you will need to list the PRACTICAL things that you done to IMPLEMENT and realise the project.

You MUST INCLUDE THIS LOG WITHIN YOUR ESSAY, which, as you know, needs to be uploaded to the VLE on the assignment deadline date.

If you need to contact me about this, please do so ASAP.

Intervention plan

For our intervention we wanted to illustrate how and the extent of which people were aware of brands and if so, what sort of influence a specific brand had on an individual.

In order to go out this we will carry out an experiment in which we will create a fake logo and attempt to fool people claiming this is a new and upcoming brand endorsed by various celebrities.

Our experiment will involve the use of video cameras to film the responses we get from the public as well as the design of t shirts imprinted with our logo. Aswell as collecting data within the uni campus we will also look to gain some data from various parts of london, perhaps outside a designer outlet store or a retail area.

Another aspect of the intervention includes talking to people and finding out exactly what it is that entices someone towards a brand, how they feel when they wear it and whether or not if they share any of the same values.
This will allow us to identify whether the so called values attached to a brand is actually implemented onto individuals or if there is no correlation, why this may be.

Whilst  carrying out this intervention we will be looking to collect results from a variety of people including those who are very fashion concious aswell as people who are simply not bothered about designer clothes to get opinions from both ends of the scale.

Hopefully we will be looking to get all of our equipment sorted over this weekend and will be filming next week.

inside peak into being a good sales associate

an interesting training guide I was reading up on during work talking about branding and how we (as sales associates) can use specific brands to engage with specific customers and in turn make some money. 

I work in a jewellery store and we are constantly taught how to use methods of advertising to maximise our sales potential and thought this would provide as to how important and big of an influence this may have, 

enjoy :)

David Beckham wearing our logo

We inserted our Logo onto David Beckham Tshirt and we will see what reaction we get from the audience.

Ronaldo wearing our brand

Project: Logo

I designed this using photoshop, thought we could use it as our logo ?

Rationale for project

We chose politics of fashion because it relates to everyone and anyone. The politics of clothing is something we are exposed to everyday. whether it's choosing what brand to wear in the morning or seeing an advertisement on social media and television.

Expanding on this our aim of the project is to, express the price difference we pay for our clothes due to celebrity endorsement. we have shown from various research posts that celebs are paid a large sum in order to advertise or just wear the branded clothes. the question is if they was not to be paid this amount how much would the clothes cost ? so in other words, how much value do celebrities add onto clothing brands ? and do we comprehend this values added and feel it is a justified form of action ?
Whether we want to directly accept it or not we are all influenced.
Our aim of this project will show how deeply our consciousness towards fashion has been tempered with by the celebrity image. This is politically important as we pay a high price and is related to the choices we make on a daily bases.

Celebrities influence on our everyday fashion lives project

In western societies we are heavily influenced by celebrities on fashion and we pay the price.

In order to demonstrate this we have come up with a project. Firstly we will design our own brand and make t shirts. Photoshop these onto celebrities and see what people's influence on it will be. See if they are willing to pay extra just because a celebrity has also worn it.

Posting and rationale

Ok guys, good to see you starting to post a bit more.  You're starting to gather a lot of materials about different aspects of the fashion industry which is good and will help to get ideas flowing. I'd like to see you start to generate more discussion about your research findings too. Remember  that the project is not just a research project - it's not just about finding out about the politics of fashion But also doing politics in some way - realising an event/action in public space - prompting a shift in other people's thinking. So you need to focus more now on how you will realise the project in the public realm. Are you sticking with a street survey? If so why - what do you want to achieve by doing that? 

Today is the deadline for posting the project rationale so you need to agree that and do it ASAP today.

Also bear in mind that the essay will need to develop that at greater length by situating your project in relation to other issues but also actions, activist projects/ artworks/ essays.  If you check out Google Scholar, you'll find quite a lot about the politics of fashion in general, to help support your arguments and rationale. 

In the meantime, here are a couple of proJects that might help you consider activist responses to fashion/clothes production. 

It's worth checking out YoMango - I mentioned them in class at one stage - they are an anti-capitalist activist group that designed a special vest to enable people to take clothing from big chain stores. They've also staged impromptu fashion shows on the street using 'appropriated' clothing. http://www.joaap.org/1/yomango/index.html

Here's another interesting use of fashion to question the politics of the fashion world. It features clothing designed by Sharif Waked, for use at checkpoints. It's called 'Chic Point: Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints(2003)' http://www.shubbak.co.uk/a-prologue-to-the-past-and-present-state-of-things/

The point is to situate your own project in relation to other projects, writings, fashion, popular culture etc. Hope that's helpful and see you later today for more discussion!

Cheap vs expensive

https://sangelus.wordpress.com/tag/brand/

cost to make Prada handbag

Prada makes nylon handbags that sell for $900+. They have fairly average construction (mainly in a developing country with some finishing done in Italy) and nylon costs, give or take, about $1 a meter. Let's say Prada has some leather detailing on top of the nylon. Max, they probably spend $5 on the fabric. It takes a couple of hours to cut and sew a handbag, most of which is done by extremely low-wage workers. Then, there is often a "finisher" in Italy who sews a couple of pieces together, which allows them to use a "Made in Italy" appellation. Let's give them a generous $35 to construct the handbag. As a point of reference, that's about what my company could pay to make a comparable bag in America.Total Cost to Make: $40. Cost to Consumer: $995

101 ways to save money on clothes

http://www.wisebread.com/101-ways-to-save-money-on-clothes

Why do People buy brand names

Confidence in Experience

Consumers generally buy a product for the first time in hopes that it provides a quality experience. They hope a computer works efficiently and helps them perform personal or work tasks effectively. They buy food hoping for a quality taste or nutritional value. Recognized brand names typically have shown a consistency in product quality that has contributed to the evolution of the brand. Often, consumers rely on prior experiences or public word-of-mouth when selecting brands.

Social Acceptance

People have a desire to fit in, whether at school, work or in social circles. For this reason, people sometimes buy brands because they believe the brands will contribute to greater social acceptance. This is especially true in fashion. Consumers often buy clothing brands that are either perceived as fashionable, trendy or high class, or that fit into a particular subculture or peer group. The "Keeping up with the Joneses" mentality epitomizes this brand buying motive.

Loyalty

Over time, consumers develop loyalty to brands that provide a consistent, high-quality experience. Loyalty is essentially an emotional attachment to a brand. Some car buyers have a strong affinity for the Ford brand, while others have a similar commitment to Chevrolet. Brand loyalty causes customers to inconvenience themselves or spend more for a particular brand. Developing a strong company brand or carrying desired product brands leads to more customer loyalty and long-term business benefits.

Personal Image

Just as company or product brands have identities, people do as well. Some people buy certain brands to support their personal or professional image. Cutting-edge, tech-savvy consumers buy Apple technology to correlate with a desire to be perceived as "techie." Buying a Lexus or other higher-priced car brand or Armani suits can contribute to your image as a high-class, well-to-do or sophisticated professional.

By Neil Kokemuller to read more http://smallbusiness.chron.com/people-buy-brand-names-69654.html

Why do people buy Yeezys?

http://bossip.com/1247210/you-wont-believe-the-prices-of-kanye-wests-yeezy-season-clothes-that-are-actually-selling-out/4/

On this link it shows Kanye West Yeezy brand, they are very expensive and for a plain sweater it cost £1,200, why do people buy this where they can get the same sweater for about £20. This link also shows people comments about Yeezy most of them are negative but still people are buying.

'Why doesn't someone prominent in Rap call this clown out?!! He's selling crap clothes and he knows it.'

The reason why celebrities are used

According to a University of Arkansas research study (in conjunction with Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom), the reason we see so many celebrities in product advertisements and endorsment situations may be that marketers are keenly aware that “a range of consumer-celebrity relationships conspires to allow consumers to form a personal identity that matches who they want to be.” These messages (which can be multiple ads for one product/brand from a celebrity, or even multiple different brands that rely on the same celebrity), “help consumers develop a portfolio of relationships that allow them to function as creators of meaning for themselves.” The study authors call these relationships “celebrityscapes” or “celebrity bricolages.” In other words, if you eat/smoke/drink the same as David Beckham or Brad Pitt, you might also think you emulate their other (mega) more desirable traits, too. In the case that you don’t want to emulate them, but rather are attracted to them, you’re still more likely to purchase those products in some strange psychological attempt to attract that (type of) person into your life. (That is TOTALLY NOT why I would buy anything Brad Pitt’s worn or accidentally grazed.) It’s a little bit magic…yes, but mostly just misspent money.  

Link available at http://www.organicauthority.com/sanctuary/how-much-influence-do-celebs-really-have-on-our-purchasing-decisions.html

Red Carpet Royalty

A really short article showing how much celebrities get paid to wear certain dresses on the red carpet. Just goes to show how highly brands value celebrity endorsement.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-much-celebrities-paid-to-wear-dresses-on-red-carpet-2015-6?r=US&IR=T

‘High quality’ cheap labour

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/opinion/23thomas.html?_r=1

People wear branded clothes for various reason, they go about putting them on every day without knowing how or where they were produced. The majority of clothes we wear within the western world have some form of cheap labour involved. This cheap labour usually occurs in the third world. As this online article by the NY times shows, we cannot be fully reliant on the labels on the clothes to know where they were actually produced. Consequently it can be said that people falsely claim they wear clothes for better quality due to the place it was produced.

Looking at production costs of designer goods gives a clear explanation of why designer brands have high gross net worth’s. Taking Gucci as an example the article shows how most people perceived it to be a good quality brand, with primary reasoning that it was made in Italy. This perception has been proven to be wrong as there is evidence that some of their designs are partly produced in China. 

Adidas contract with stormzy

http://disruptltd.com/heres-how-adidas-won-big-with-stormzy-in-2015/

This article shows how designer clothing brands advertise there clothes successfully with the use of well know and respected people. Seeing that grime is a growing market in the music industry, Adidas invested in Stormzy by offering him a branding contract. Meaning alongside getting free clothes Stormzy gets paid to wear the brand, as stormzy became more and more successful the brand got higher sales. The reason for this could be that the grime audience see stormzy wearing these branded clothes and buy it for themselves. If this wasn't the case I highly doubt the contract with stormzy would remain.

Quality Control

Quality control

We have seen how a brand can influence an individual with the choices they make, with the way they are perceived and how it makes ourselves feel.
But is there actually any difference between designer clothes and their unbranded counterparts?

I looked to investigate into the subject and do some digging around products that may be very similar in the materials used to make them and their appearance. Yet one is only but a fraction of the price of the other.

Lets take Ralph Lauren for example; a worldwide notorious brand, Ralph Lauren has been around since 1967. The company produces a wide range of garments including home furnishing and fragrances. For this blog post I will be specifically focusing on their line of men's polo t-shirts costing at around £70 a piece.

So what is it that makes Ralph Lauren's polo t-shirts so expensive?
below is a screenshot illustrating the features and materials used in the t-shirt:

and here is another screenshot of a navy blue polo shirt of my choice costing at £7.99. the only difference here is that there is an absence of the logo in item number 2.

as you can see here there is firstly no difference in the materials used to create both items; both are 100% cotton. furthermore both t shirts have a taped or ribbed neck collar featuring either a two button or three button placket. aside from the minor differences the only feature lacking in my £7.99 polo is that it is not important and the 'signature polo logo' is not embroidered into the clothing.

Relating celebrity endorsement to everyday life

This is not the only influence celebrities have, they also increase the brand awareness so if I see a celebrity promoting a particular product I will remember that product as I will remember the famous character that was involved in it.  

This affects everyday life because people will be influenced to wear these clothes without any direct knowledge of the brand and  they will imitate the celebrities sub consciously .

Celebrity Endorcement

why celebrities are used to promote a brand?

This is also known as celebrity marketing where they use a famous individual to promote there brand. For example Ryan Reynolds for Hugo Boss clothing. By using Ryan Reynolds this would influence consumer purchase because people may have the attitude ''If the product is good enough for him, it's good enough for me." By using Ryan Reynolds it also gives you an idea that if you wear the same clothes as him you can be similar to him. If Hugo Boss used an ordinary person it wouldn't have a huge impact as using a celebrity because if I saw ordinary person used for the Hugo Boss advert it wouldn't make me go and buy it as I would see nothing special about it whereas having a celebrity it makes the brand extra special.