3D-Printed Fashion?

(Hiscott, 2014)

By now, we’ve all heard of 3D printers. For instance, even Stephen Colbert had a guest make a 3D print of his face on The Colbert Report. No matter how you’ve heard of it I think we all can agree that the chance to use one would be great. But now, 3D printer users have found a new use: fashion. Fashion Designer Francis Bitonti has begun utilizing 3D printers, called MakerBots, to design and distribute intricate bowls, sculptures, and more. These are all a part of Bitonti’s Cloud Collection, which includes four housewares products: a plate, a vase, a bowl, and a serving bowl. Consumers can even customize the surface noise or relief of the product. While the line itself is interesting and innovative, its distribution is even more so. Instead of buying any of these products in a store or online, users who own MakerBots buy the code for $1 and print them at home. If a customer does not own a MakerBot, they can join a 3D Hub, and print it for more. Bitoni said: “We tried to make something where the consumer could engage in the narrative of the object and be part of the design, but not necessarily have to become the designer” (Hiscott, 2014). Using 3D printing allows the designer to customize a delicate structure that couldn’t be made by hand.

(Hiscott, 2014)

But this new, innovative mode of production doesn’t stop with housewares. Bitonti also designed a gorgeous 3D printed gown for Dita von Teese in 2013. He also designed the Bristle Dress and a belt called ‘Winter Froze You Away,’ both pictured above. (Hiscott, 2014) However, some argue that as cool as designs like these may be, they reduce the role of the designer far too much. Instead of giving the designer a chance to choose material and decide how it will be put together, they are reduced to being a simple ‘sketch artist.’ Personally, I love the idea of technology and fashion fusing, but I absolutely agree that it could have some seriously negative effects on the designer’s profession. What do you think? Will this innovation lead way to more creativity?  

Works Cited

Hiscott, R. (2014, April). The future of fashion is code, not couture, says designer. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2014/04/04/francis-bitonti-3d-printing/

Target Opps

Body image is a topic that is very relevant in todays society. Girls look at models in magazines, pictures, videos, etc… and compare themselves to them thinking that they are a realistic view of what “beauty” is. Recently, Target released their swimsuit models with Photoshop gone wrong. This topic has been heard all over the internet and within my circle of friends. In the image, a girl in a bikini is posing and their is a very obvious gap between her legs showing where the photoshop was done. Also, on the back between her arms you can also see how they tried to photoshop her in order for her to look skinnier.

When editors heard about this, they immediately took the picture off the internet. Target did not know about this image until a women’s bloger Jezbel, saw it and make people aware of it in her blog after she published the image. Although everyone knows that the majority of companies use Photoshop to enhance the visual image of their pictures for them to be more appealing to the eye of the audience, we can all agree than when they advertise their product, they want it to look its best so more people want to buy it.

After removing the image, Target issued a statement in which they apologized by saying, ““In response to your query about the swimsuit image on Target.com, this was an unfortunate error on our part and we apologize. We have removed the image from our Web site” (Feldman, 2014). It seems as if they wanted the incident to go away and did not give it much attention. Even though they tried to put the issue aside, it makes me wonder what the model actually looked like and how she feels about this. I would be extremely embarrassed if that had happened to me and I was being exposed all over the internet because of Targets mistake. It will be interesting to see Target’s comeback and if this will affect their sales.

References 

• Feldman, J. (2014, March 11). Target’s latest photoshop fail looks pretty painful. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/11/target-photoshop-fail_n_4940819.html
• Staff. (2014, March 12). Target apologizes for ‘thigh gap’ photoshop fail. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2014/03/target-apologizes-for-thigh-gap-photoshop-fail/

 

 

 

Toms

In one of my classes today, we were discussing which were the campaigns that have been the most successful. After reading over different campaigns that revolutionized society, TOMS shoes continues to be one of the most prominent and impactive campaigns today. “One for one” are three words that influenced me into buying TOMS. TOMS was first established in 2006 after Blake Mycoskie, the founder, traveled to Argentina and was stunned by the necessity for shoes in this poor location. After this trip, Blake Mycoskie’s goal was for people to buy their shoes after being subject to the campaign “One for one”; “with every pair your purchase TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One” (One for one movement). Different public relations techniques were used for targeting the audience and helping them understand the concept of TOMS.

The first time I heard about TOMS was through social media. A page dedicated to TOMS and its purpose appeared on my Facebook newsfeed and caught my attention. After reading the article, I decided to follow TOMS on twitter to learn more about the company; I learned about their motto and what they stand for. Through Twitter, I saw a link that redirected me to Youtube and saw a video about a TOMS campaign. The video that I saw on Youtube touched me emotionally by seeing their facial expressions the children portrayed when they received their pair of shoes.

With the help of social media I was able to navigate through the internet and find more information about TOMS from the different social media sites. Social Media is accessible to many people and is shared rapidly which makes it easier for TOMS to expand their company’s horizons.

Even though social media had an impact on my knowledge of TOMS, word of mouth, or personal communication influenced my opinion greatly. Although I purchased TOMS and knew about them I did not understand the concept and purpose. It wasn’t until the founder, Blake Mycoskie, came to my high school and gave a presentation on TOMS that I was able to truly grasp the idea of what TOMS were. The personal communication between Mycoskie and the audience was the most powerful technique used. Hearing Mycoskie’s personal experiences made the concept of TOMS more realistic and touching. By expressing his personal feelings and emotions, I was hungry to learn more. I felt a more personal relationship with the product and was persuaded into wanting to help the campaign by buying more of their products. I was able to gain more knowledge of the various problems that are occurring around the world and felt a desire to create change. Blake’s presentation made the TOMS campaign relatable and inspiring. At the end of the presentation, I remember telling my friends what I had learned and wanting others to support the company through purchases of shoes.

Through time TOMS has grown into a well-known organization whose main purpose is to help provide shoes for children in Argentina. Because of this, they have earned media publicity that inspires ordinary people to make a change. TOMS main way of advertisement is through emotion. It targets conscientiousness people who have a strong desire to help. I am one of the many people that felt good about myself after buying a pair of their shoes because I knew that a child in Argentina was benefiting from my purchase. TOMS’ has done a revolutionary AD campaign influencing people to purchase shoes and make a change.

 

References 

• Evolving our giving. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.toms.com/evolving-our-giving/l
• Carlin. (2010, March 28). Toms shoes campaign is the definition of success . Retrieved from http://jmc417.personal.asu.edu/wordpress/2010/03/toms-shoes-campaign-is-the-definition-of-success/

Ever Wonder Why Watches are Set to 10:10 in Ads??

What was one point in history the only way you could tell time and use for a purpose, now the watch has become more of a fashion accessory than anything else. After the invention of cell phones that have a clock available with the touch of a button, people have lost interest in buying a watch for the purpose of actually telling time.

Personally, I am one of those people who have watches for the sole purpose of wearing it as an accessory. Even if my phone is dead, I will still forget that I have a watch right on my wrist with the exact time on it. However, if you are looking at an actual watch, some of you may have noticed that almost of all of the old school analog wristwatches are ALWAYS photographed and pictured in advertisements with the time of 10:10.

Does this time have a special meaning or history? Nope! This is done purely for aesthetics. For what reason, you ask? Well, the manufacturer’s logo is typically right under the 12 o’clock position (e.g. Michael Kors, Fossil, DKNY, Gucci, etc.).

Strategically setting the watch hands to freeze at the 10 and 2 points makes sure that the hand will not be in the way of the logo. Furthermore, those exact locations even out the logo proportionally and focus the buyer’s eyes right in the center toward the actual logo.

I have heard rumors that the watch is set to 10:10 because that is the time that President Lincoln was shot and killed, however it is an old trick that is done all for advertising!

It’s really interesting that this tactic has been used since watches first came out on the market and is still a valid tactic to this day.

Although all watches for the most part look the same except for color, material and price, the manufacturers of these watches need to show off what makes the watch unique, which is the brand and logo. Placing this at the center of the watch makes it easier for people to zoom in on who is selling the watch and because of this, it sticks in people’s minds and they remember that the logo was the center image of the entire ad.

Did any of you ever notice this? Do you think it’s an effective and smart idea? Have you ever wondered why it was always set at 10:10? Do any of you use watches to actually read time, or is it more of a fashion statement like it is for me?

Yeezus Makes A Risky Move

 

For years, Kanye West has been a partner with one of the most successful shoe companies in the world: Nike. At first, in his career, he started off as only a hip-hop artists and nothing more. But more and more, he wanted to show off his passion for fashion and design. He has been partners with Nike for years, but there have been rumors for a long time that he cut ties with Nike for good. This weekend on his Yeezus Tour in New York, Kanye confirmed the controversial and shocking news that he did in fact drop a deal with Nike.

It was a very surprising announcement because he spoke strong feelings against Nike, which implies that Mr. West ended his relationship with Nike in a bad way. He even spoke against Nike CEO Mark Parker and said kept repeating that Nike would not let him be himself or express himself the way he wanted to in a creative way.

Kanye always complains and rants about things, but when he was talking about why he left Nike, he also confirmed that not only is he ditching the brand, but he signed up with Adidas, which is Nike’s main competition. In between songs, Kanye said ““The old me, without a daughter, would have taken the Nike deal because I just love Nikes so much. But the new me, with a daughter, takes the Adidas deal because I have royalties and I have to provide for my family.”

His main reason for leaving Nike is to better provide for his family and better express his freedom of creativity. I love Kanye and do think that he is a big icon for fashion worldwide, but I do think it is ridiculous that part of his decision to leave Nike was to better support his family. This is crazy to me because Forbes recently just marked Kanye as being worth $100 million dollars.

I loved all of the shoes that Kanye made with Nike called the Yeezy’s and I am worried that the shoes he makes with Adidas will be uglier in comparison to the Yeezy’s. Yet his other reason for leaving was because he did not like that Nike did not give him freedom to design. However, this makes sense because Nike is a shoe for athletes and professional fitness people, not a purely fashion shoe. I think that Nike and Kanye just had different visions for what they wanted in a shoe, so maybe switching to Adidas will be a better match. Even through countless Kanye meltdowns… I STILL LOVE KANYE.

 

Related articles

• Kanye Officially Leaves Nike, Joins Adidas. (urbanhash.co)
• Bye Bye, Red Octobers! Kanye West May Be Severing Ties With Nike For Adidas (DETAILS) (earz2dastreetz.wordpress.com)
• Kanye West Announces Sneaker Deal With adidas (slamonline.com)

Fall Fashions Filtered Faster with Social Media

Fashion designers and brand are beginning to adopt the social media craze to boost advertising.  High end fashion such as Oscar de la Renta and ready to wear fashion, such as Forever 21, and Nike use FB and twitter. 

When Fall comes around, everyone looks forward to the premiere of fall fashion lines.  Normally in fashion magazine such as W, Vogue.  Anyone ever here of the September issue? It’s a big deal.  But this year Oscar de la Renta took another route.  Weeks before the fall fashion are typically shown, Oscar de la Renta previewed their line on Instagram!

 

Oscar de la Renta used their Oscarprgirl Instagram to show looks and fashion styles covering everything from shoes and jewelry to clothing. 

 

What a fun way to make fashion available to a much wider audience, and to grow the excitement of fashion, creativeness and design.  

 

I do want to point out that it is a bit of bummer for print media.  Print media normally gets all the excitement and these fall issue are normally their biggest selling issues.  Here food for thought, is this fashion fall release hindering fashion fall print issues?  

Thoughts?

 

Dress, Click N Pose!

Dress, Click N Pose

 

Who knew snapping pictures could become such a fad? Mobile technology has taken the industry of photography by a storm with user-friendly applications like Instagram, Pinterest,Vine and now Pose!

This new app, which was, launched on the Apple iPhone nearly two and half ago recently reported with more than 2 million registered users.

 

Pose is essentially an online and mobile community that allows users to swap photos and videos of their outfits, makeup and shopping accessories. Some call it the future of fashion photography or Instagram for fashion. It surely has a lot to offer.

 

More than the fashion itself, there is a greater audience of people who are interested in what people wear and how they wear it. Users find Pose as an accessible platform to search the latest trends. Many of the clothes are often tagged in the pictures, which makes it easier to track down and or directly purchase the item. The app also features a pinterest-like clipboard where you can save your favorite styles. Another reason why Pose has been so successful is due to the fact that it brings fashion bloggers to it’s site further attracting mass of followers. Unlike many other fashion apps like Fashism and Lucky at your service, Pose is available on several platforms including apple and android devices both online and mobile. Pose uses the concept of geolocation to target consumers that live specific urban markets where the product is readily available.

 Pose founder and CEO, Dustin Rosen describe the app as “a fashion magazine but on a phone, a great way for women to spend five minutes on their commutes.”

 This app is actually quite beneficial to the creator and the angel investors involved in the project. Every time a user purchases an item from the app a small fee is included in purchase. Pose serves as an online monetizing merchant. The app continuously seeks for creative ways to attract advertisers to better serve its community. They want to refrain from traditional advertising techniques as they feel they are often ineffective. In an Interview with Mashable, CEO Dustin explained that, “the vision was to build advertising into the stream, to make them more integrated and actionable.”

 It was only recently that Pose landed their first successful ad campaign with Juicy Couture Fragrances to promote its Viva La Juicy Noir fragrance. The advertising technique is unique because of product placement with users.  The product can be seen in use as users post pictures posing.

 References

Indvik, L. (2011, 01 112011, 01 11). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/01/18/pose/

Indvik, L. (2013, 06 29). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2013/07/29/pose-advertising-revenue-model/

[Web log message]. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pose/id402272154?mt=8

http://pose.com/

PEPSI AD FAIL

 

 

Before reading what the blog post wrote about this ad, I saw it and was really confused and shocked that Pepsi would place this ad so largely for the public to see. The photo was publicized on Monday and is an Ad for Pepsi’s partnership with the popular clothing company from Japan, Bathing Ape. The line is called AAPE, but as seen on the ad it reads as “rape.”

When asked the Huffington Post reached out to Pepsi to ask about their interesting font choice, the spokesperson verified that the advertisement ran in Hong Kong. He wrote, “we regret any misunderstanding caused by the font used and we apologize to anyone who was offended. We will not use this design in the future.”

Although the banner was only placed in Japan, it still portrays Pepsi in a very negative light, because people traveling can understand English and misinterpret the four-letter word. I am familiar with the Bathing Ape brand and have always respected the quality and detail to their products. Whether it was Pepsi or Bathing Ape’s idea for the font style, I think that it was extremely poor taste in whoever decided that the font was the best option.

This is a great example of how bad the outcomes can be if you are careless with advertising. Anything as simple as font choice can change a good ad into a horrible misinterpretation. I think that other than the font, the ad is a great image: it has a simple color combination and clearly shows the icon for Pepsi, as well as the monkey icon for Bathing Ape. Also, the can is clearly portrayed in the image with the design of the iconic AAPE pattern. However, no one will remember these little details when they pass by, because they will all be too distracted with the big and bold word that looks like “rape.” Since the ad is running in Japan and everyone in the country is familiar with the brand Bathing Ape, maybe they will be able to decipher the true meaning of the word. However, I know that many Americans have never heard of the brand. Because of this, they will see what word they do know that pops up into their head, which is rape.

Not only does this make Pepsi look bad, it also gives people a bad first impression of the Japanese clothing brand. A Bathing Ape has always been a trendsetter in the hottest and best quality fashion, but when people see that they are a part of this horrible advertisement, they might be forever traumatized and never shop there again.

A Bold, Brave and Black Ad

Many people do not know, but Dunkin’ Donuts is a worldwide company and has many locations all around the globe. The “DD” in Thailand has recently had a 50% increase in sales and many say that it is because of a very popular, yet very controversial ad that was just released in the country.

The advertisement pictures a beautiful, smiling young lady, whose skin was painted charcoal black, wearing a bright pink lipstick and holding the company’s new “charcoal donut.” Obviously, this sparked some anger in people, but none of these offended people are Thai…they are American! The CEO Nadim Salhani says, “So what? It’s just paranoid American thinking.”

His daughter is the one who is the model for the ad. The CEO told the Associated Press that he did not understand why he is not allowed to use the color black to promote the new product, because if the donut was white and he painted someone’s face white, would it still be considered racist? He thinks not.

The American Dunkin’ Donuts posted an apology on its website and promised to take down the advertisement because of it’s “bizarre and racist sensitivity.” The Human Rights Watch even complained about the ad and could not believe how offensive and crazy the campaign was.

I have attached both the magazine/Facebook advertisement for the “charcoal donut,” as well as the commercial for it (sorry it’s all in Thai I could not find English subtitles). Personally, I do not think it is offensive and I believe that it is important to understand the global context of the situation, because even if Americans are offended, the ad is not running in the States. If it was broadcasted in America, people would obviously react in a negative way, but it is on the other side of the planet, so the people of America and every other country need to be more understanding and open-minded about global mindsets in marketing.

The Thai Dunkin’ did not create the advertisement with the intentions of offending people or being racist. They wanted an ad that would be appealing to the eye and of course a pretty girl with bright lips but a pitch-black face would make consumers curious.

I like the concept of the commercial, I think it makes people interested to know more about the donut and makes them want to go out and purchase one. I don’t think that it is insensitive in any way; it simply appears to be a creative marketing tactic.

Sorry America, I’m going to have to side with the Thai people on this one. Stop taking things so seriously!!!!!!!!! Take a chill pill, people!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQMKqeHgEEs