POPPY GILL

LOOK 1

LOOK 2

LOOK 3

LOOK 4

LOOK 5

LOOK 6

LOOK 7

LOOK 8

I decided to accompany my brand boards I would do my own look book. This was really to showcase my primary imagery and CAD skills. Overall I think the look book matches my brand and my brand boards really well as well as showcasing my improved CAD skills.

This is the front cover of my lookbook. I think the imagery used is very simple and effective and visually communicates what is to follow in my lookbook. 

Here I have edited the images by changing the colour and adding the logo onto the bum bag to represent my brand's identity. I placed a background of the ground and blended it into the other images to add an acid wash effect.

For this image, I decided to change the position of the models and place the logo as a background. I think this looks cool with the graffiti in the background. i also added the logo to the bumbag again to show my brand. 

For this page, I decided to only use one image of the models and mute the colours giving an earthy, grungy effect. Next, to it, I layered an image I took from my walk in Digbeth showing the remainders from a rave in Birmingham. I placed the logo on the side to avoid negative space. 

Due to the image on the previous page is quite small I opted for two larger images both accessorised with the high vis jacket. I added small hints of branding with the logo on the shorts and bum bag to show future product ideas for the brand. I changed the colour of the photo on the left because originally it was very colourful with the graffiti in the background and the reflective jacket however the models face is quite moody and I wanted to replicate that through the use of colour. For the second image, I decided to make it grainy and leave the logo bold. I think naturally this is what people are drawn to when they first look on the page. 

This page caused some conflict amongst me and my lecturer however I decided against her advice and to keep the page as it is. I felt a lot of the images in the lookbook had a similar feel to them and for this page, I thought I could create something that would remain in peoples heads. The 2 images on the right are zoom in’s of the outfits the models are wearing. I focused on the texture and laying in the bottom right image and the styling in the top. I like the contrast in the colours of the white, black, yellow and red. And I overlayed an orange background in the second image which I think captures the texture and movement of the fabric really well. The image on the left was one of my favourite looks to shoot. It was in a carpark and the sun made the image really bright and didn’t give a rave edge to it so I decided to have a blue background. I think this contrasts really nicely with the other images and is one of the stands out pages in the whole lookbook.

For the page next to it I wanted to keep things really simple so I used the last image shot from the shoot. It is my favourite shot from the whole photoshoot and really tells a story giving me “morning from the night after” vibes. I turned down the brightness to give a vintage look.

For the back cover, I kept the look simple with an image of the models and the website linked. I can see now that the website text is wonky but this error I have only just noticed. The blank space on the page really draws the effect of the greenery on the image and the models poses are in my opinion a perfect way to end the lookbook.

Overall, I would say that this lookbook has definitely showcased my improved CAD skills which is the main thing for me. I have begun to show an understanding of layout and an eye for images. I think this is the perfect component next to my brand boards.

When it came to composing the brand boards I was super apprehensive; it felt like a massive step out of my comfort zone. When researching what to include in my brand boards it seemed that the boards were designed for a business pitch and not for a uni module so I put my creative skills to test. In the brand board design, it was really important that I was able to show an improvement in my CAD skills from the last couple of modules as I personally felt like it had set me back. 

For my first board, I wanted it to be an introduction to my brand, so I placed a quote from WGSN which related to the trends in my brand. And for the second piece of text I wanted it to be the voice of the brand it simply says what the brand is about to any of our customers. I decided to go for a black background because I had established that is what looked best against my logo. I selected a range of primary and secondary images which related to my brand and visually represented XEXE, I also used a font which I thought looked a similar style to a newspaper. It contrasts nicely against the black background. The dash of colour between the text and images breaks them up nicely but making sure there isn’t too much empty space.

For my second board, I decided to talk about brand identity. What I like the most about this page is how it visually represents all the visual parts of the brand and that the only text on the page is labeled showing what everything is. I decided to put the swing tags on an orange background instead of black to help break up the page from looking too dark and also so they will stand out more. 

For my customer board, I decided to include a chunk of text which speaks about the chart above. I decided to use a pre-existing chart for my customer board because as spoken about in a previous blog post my primary research did not unveil the expected result and as I wanted to show the broadness in my target customer I decided to use one from another study and edit parts to make it authentic. The chart comes from primary research collected around subcultures in rave and dance and it ties into my research nicely. The images on the right are visually communicating the expected customer of the brand. I used a pop of orange and changed the colour of the chart to make the pages corresponding and that they fitted together. 

http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/11594/volumes/e05/E-05

For my final board, I decided to choose the promotion. I like the use of the posters on the page and in comparison to the other pages they stand out really well. I also used the social media images as they are a part of the promotion for the brand. I included some secondary images which included laser lights. I really felt that laser lights are a big part of the rave setting and they were missing from the brand boars and by including them on this page I also continue to add my pops of neon green and orange on the page.

Altogether I think my brand boards have turned out hugely successful with a range of primary and secondary imagery and layouts altogether they suit the brand perfectly. They all follow the same uniform and so when exhibited will look professional and well thought out. 

Once printed I mounted my boards onto foam board. I have experimented with layout style which can still be experimented with when exhibited. The boards have a white border which I am yet to decide on whether to cut off or if altogether it makes the individual brand boards look like a whole board, I am however disappointed I didn't choose boards with a black background as I feel these would have suited the boards more. 

REFERENCES:

Board 1(Top Left):   https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/748230925570819749/ https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/748230925571680494/

Board 2 (Top Right): NA

Board 3 (Bottom Left):   https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/748230925570819842/ https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/748230925570819764/

Designing packaging for XEXE was super fun because you could really start to piece together all of the physical elements for the brand. In my head I wanted the packaging to be super heavily branded and as sustainable as possible due to customers not being able to shop in store then they would receive part of the experience from ordering and receiving their goods. 

Here is the box we designed for the orders to be shipped in. When sending it’ll be sent in protective postage so that it doesn’t get stolen but the idea was for large orders the garments would be folded and placed in tissue paper and put inside the box with the slogan on the inside with a black shiny slogan behind. On top of the box would be the logo. 

Here is a mock-up of the tissue paper for the brand. In my opinion, I thought it would be good for the brand to have a uniform and whilst originally only having plain black tissue paper I thought it would be more fun to have the logo scattered on the paper. Also, some people like to keep packaging afterward so this could be used after.

Here is the sticker that the tissue paper would be stuck together with. Simple but fun.

For smaller orders or alternatively to using boxes I thought about the idea of placing garments in re-sealable plastic pouches. This is a similar style to Supreme but the bags are restrictive in sizing and aren’t sustainable so could take away from customer experience and could be more suited to a beauty brand which is where I got the concept from but could be a cool alternative to standard boxed packaging.

Here are the swing tags for the garments. It was really important that the swing tags matched the brand's identity and whilst I wanted to keep them as simple as possible I also wanted to add an extra fun edge to them with the neon colours. The care instructions have a fun twist which helps create a voice for the brand whilst providing info for the product.

Finally, we have the label for inside the garment. I decided to keep the logo really large and in the future could even have it printed onto the back of the garment and not as a label however this is something the brand should consider in the future and the font for the size is of a font used in other aspects of branding.

When it came to looking at the promotion I would use for my brand I wanted to use an alternative form of promotion for my brand. I know these days that a lot of new brands start by sending PR, organising events for influencers and using social media to promote their brands however for XEXE that just didn’t seem to fit into the brand identity. Looking at brands such as Collusion and Supreme they seem to get a lot of attention and hype over time from customer loyalty which is what I wanted to create. Being a brand based around raves I decided to take an old school approach and with the inspiration from the Instagram page @Fauxflyers create my own flyer, placing them around areas where raves take place and in rave venues in the hope of catching the attention of potential customers and spreading our brand name. 

After scrolling through their page looking for inspiration with font, imagery, and colours I finally took to photoshop to create my own posters. Obviously, as a brand I wanted my posters to be authentic and not to copy or send out any messages which a younger audience could interpret in a bad way as I don’t want to be a brand known for promoting the use of illegal substances or alcohol.

I used bright colours and vintage fonts to appeal to my target audience and match my brand's identity. The picture helps to stand out and breaks up the bright background colour of the poster.

Once I was happy with the appearance of the poster it was time to place them in the correct setting. 

Here I edited the photo onto an existing image I took on my walk around Digbeth. Whilst the colour appears different on here to how it did on Photoshop I think this is a successful promotional flyer for my brand.

Here are the flyers again dotted about in Digbeth in different settings. Overall I think my promotional flyers for the brand are highly successful in terms of matching the brand's identity and being authentic in it’s approach to promotion in comparison to social media sponsors or PR.

Whilst we like to keep the promotion for the brand to flyers and posters we also have an Instagram page which we use to post our products and brand information on. Whilst we use this to keep in touch with our more modern audience we think that those flyers are a useful source of promotion for anybody who doesn’t use social media targeting all of our customers. 

“Party culture has heightened thanks to the youth addiction to documenting nights out on social media, bringing attention to style and status at the same time”. 

Y2K stands for the year 2000

“Partywear is bold and flashy, accessories are designed with a vintage feel to them, resell websites such as Depop and Heroine are amongst some of the popular sites to purchase vintage, one-off garments. Reflective garments and embellished pieces give an edge on streetwear classics. Bold prints, bodycon styles, and geometric cuts are a playful twist on a garment. Animal print is bolder than ever, varying from lion to leather. There’s a mix up in pattern and material to the little black dress making it the little dress, easily styled with layers or clashing prints for the party stand out”. 

These are just some of the up and coming trends to watch out for on the catwalk when researching this trend I did feel as though a lot of them interlink with rave wear and whilst rave wear didn’t have its own trend on WGSN it easily could be interpreted from Y2K. As the decades are so closely linked it could be seen that Y2K trend stemmed from the ever-popular 90′s hence why there are so many similarities. Overall this trend helped me to have a look at what designers are capturing from popular fashion.

I decided to research designers who have been influenced by the 80′s rave culture in their collections, it appears over recent years several high-end designers have taken influence from rave culture and allowed it to appear in their collections. The designers have often drawn upon personal experience whether it be being around during the peak of the rave scene or from attending them themselves. I also find it funny how designers are taking inspiration from the rave scene and interpreting it in fashion as a trend. I’m going to share some of my favourite designer who has incorporated rave aspects into their collection. 

PRADA FALL 18

Here you can see Prada taking on the 90′s vibes with this collection through the use of the logo font, the splash of colour which doesn’t quite fit in with the other colours on the jumper and the actual jumper itself, the in your face print collides nicely with the stand out font. The model is also sporting a bucket hat which still to this day is a signature accessory spotted at festivals and raves. 

The prints used on the shirt here are giving me all the 90′s vibes with the signature orange flame, here you see hints of where Prada has reminisced back to the early 90′s with this outfit. Overall the outfit is very loose, relaxed fit with the layering of the jumper underneath the shirt all in colliding prints. The shirt reminds me of every boy I’ve ever seen at a festival before. The model is sporting giant sunglasses and again the infamous bucket hat. This outfit reminds me of boys at festivals and how my dad used to dress (although the dodgy shirts remain)

The neon green sheer shirt is giving me rave vibes with the neon pink and orange bag and the touch of orange on the clean white trainers. The two-piece reminds me of utility touch with the awkward cut length, the belt, and strapless top. There is retro labeling across the front which appears to be of completely opposite in colour to the jumpsuit and undergarment. The chunky trainers remind me of Doc Martens with the chunky sole and high ankle, very utility style and sturdy although I’m not sure how long that colour would last for at a rave.

I think it’s clear throughout this collection that Prada has taken inspiration from the 90′s with their collection, from the bold prints and contrasting colours to accessories there is an element of the collection that reminds me of raves.

Along with Prada Miu Miu have reflected some aspects of rave wear in their collection with mystical prints and bright neon colours and reflective material in their garments. Clothes again are baggy and oversized with a mix of materials.

It was highly important for me and the brand that I organised and operated my own photoshoot as the pictures I shot would be the face of my brand boards, lookbook, website, and social media. Having 0 experience in anything relating to photoshoots from directing to models anxious was an understatement for organising the shoot. I was also apprehensive about doing my own photoshoot as a starting brand I didn’t have any garments to shoot which meant some of the decisions I had to make regarding looks, makeup and styling were up in arms. 

I was fortunate enough to have a friend who could let me use a rave warehouse for the photoshoot. However on the day, we had to change settings which at the time really affected the photoshoot but in the end, I think the shots look equally as effective and we were lucky that the weather held up. 

In terms of photography again I have no experience (except for taking pictures of my friends upon request) I have never used a professional camera and I couldn't even tell you how to turn one on. After endless hours of digging into renting cameras, I decided to just use my phone, the camera is decent enough and if I broke it at least it would be mine to break. 

I was fortunate enough to have the offer of help for the photoshoot from my friends. I chose both a male and female model for my brand as I wanted to represent the inclusive aspect of it. As I didn’t have any garments to shoot I told my models to wear outfits that if they were going to a rave they would wear. I wanted them to feel free to wear whatever they wanted and they both represented that really well.

Overall the shoot was in my eyes a huge success. On the day everything turned out to be okay from the looks to the location and weather. I think I captured images which really represented my brand. However, if I was to revisit the shoot I would like to capture images in a rave environment and would research photographers who captured images at a rave, however, whilst this may have benefited my brand it also could have switched the focus from the brand being fashion focused to rave focused. 

Shane Meadows is a British film TV series maker. I recently researched him about the TV series This is England ‘90. Researching into the current rave scene in the UK is easy but when it comes to researching the rave scene in the late 80′s/90′s it’s difficult because obviously I wasn’t around and whilst I have my family’s recollections of what the scene was like through their eyes I don’t really have anything except my imagination which can help me take a step back to the rave scene kicking off here in the 90′s until I discovered Shane Meadows TV show This is England ‘90′s.

The show is the last of a series which follows a group of youth who have formed a gang and showing their lives during the 90′s. The final series shows the group embracing the rave scene along with ecstasy, “the summer of love” and the bleak of winter.   

Jeremy Scott is a designer I began to research due to his own collaborations which I’ve linked to rave wear and rave wear being an influence on designers collections. In particular his continuing collaborations with Adidas and his previous collaboration with Miley Cyrus. When speaking about Adidas he’s iconically known for his outgoing designs of trainers which have previously featured fluffy add ons, wings, bright patterns and colous but also his clothing designs. In the past when thinking about rave wear I always get images of Adidas tracksuits in bold patterns and colours pop into my head. The outfits are comfy, the designs are unique and so I could imagine that anybody sporting a Jeremy Scott Adidas tracksuit at a rave could feel quite at home. The tracksuits also feel like a blast from the past, when researching rave wear from the late 80′s/90′s there’s always somebody sporting an Adidas tracksuit jacket or outfit. More recently his collaboration with Miley Cyrus for her ‘Younger now’ music video and album featured a black leather outfit embellished with diamontes. 

When it came to designing the website for my brand I knew it was going to have to be an important one due to that being the main source for information for anything about my brand. 

It was important also that the website follows a similar aesthetic to my brand identity. This was so the vision and purpose would be evident to my customers and they would feel like the website ties nicely into the brand. 

Obviously, in the top left corner, I decided to place my logo and slogan on the page. I didn’t want the logo to be placed in the middle of the page or to be too large or small because of the colours used it would look too overbearing for when anybody else views it. For the welcome and info text, I decided to do these in the same colours to the colours used in the logo. I think this helps to bind together all the visual aspects of my website as well as creating a fun vibe and not boring. However, I did decide to keep the slogan in capitals and white alongside the home and shop page. Whilst I could have again used the same colours as used in the logo I decided the home and shop buttons would look to sore for the eyes in the mish-mash of the colours and due to the black background I think the white is an effective way of breaking up the text, whilst the pink “W E L C O M E” is inviting to any customers when visiting the website.

I decided before I launch into the information about the brand that I would include a picture before I launched my website I did a photoshoot collecting primary imagery that I can use on my brand boards and lookbook. This is by far my favourite image from the shoot and I knew I wanted it to be the centrepiece for my website. The colour and models in the image really make the website in my opinion. I know to some people the image doesn’t scream out ravewear due to the location, however, I think the garments that are being worn with the models along with the accessories give it the ravey edge. It’s also important that whilst my brand is a rave wear brand that it can be interpreted differently by customers and they may enjoy the clothes but not raves. When shooting this picture I remember thinking that the vibe I was going for was “just left the rave early in the morning, waiting for a ride” and I think I executed this correctly.

This was the part of the website where I just gave some back story to the brand. I wanted the website to have an inclusive feel and family vibe and I have achieved this with the included text. I also think from experience people would rather invest in a brand where there is more of a story behind it as it creates an emotional connection between the customer and the brand. I chose the same colours from the logo because it’s a large chunk of text and I think the colour choices make the text more appealing and hopefully not hurtful to any customers eyes. 

I decided to include the brands Instagram page. With social media such a big deal with brands, I wanted to create a space in which customers can interact with the different products the brand has along with other social aspects of a brand. 

Finally to end the home page of the website I included some contact information which is useful for the brand followed by another image I shot of the brand shoot with a map with the location. Although I don’t have a physical store for my brand I put the location of where the images were shot. 

I first heard about Rineke Dijkstra when researching photographers who captured the rave scene in the UK. More specifically I am talking about her video titled Rineke Dijkstra “The buzz club” it was this video that gave me a short glimpse into not only how different the nightlife used to be across the UK, of course, but also how people dressed at the time which shocked me as today's nightlife dress code looks quite the opposite. I know from experience that when going on a night girls especially my age (19) like to dress up in tight-fitting, glamourous clothes which compared to how Rineke Dijkstra captured it; there were girls dressed liked that however they differed from the boys who attended raves and in fact what they were polar opposite not just in sex but also clothing styles. Also at the time, it was less common for people to be dressing for how they would appear online which in my opinion has a massive influence on what people wear on nights out because they will be capturing their night online.  

 Another thing was that I enjoyed her video and how she captured the night from another media perspective. It, in my opinion, would be much harder now to capture a night out in video form  due to everything being posted on social media, however, the snippets I can find of her video “The buzz club” have given me a depth into not just what people wear in nightclubs but also their behaviors.

The video showed the contrast in the boys and girls behaviors in the different nightclubs but also what they were wearing. The boys opted for a more loose attire with retro rave windbreakers as their stand out attire. Also, the recording shows the different dance moves the boys and girls have but in an interview,  Dijkstra says this is due to the influence of drugs and alcohol.

When creating my brand it was important for me to collect some primary data to find out who my target customer was. I asked them a variety of questions all linked back to raves and festivals. I decided to include questions about festivals in my survey as in my personal experience when talking to people about raves not everybody agrees with them and so by including festivals I was more likely to get a wider response.

I decided to start with some pretty generic questions such as age and gender. I think because of the platforms I used to get my survey out to the public the results were predictable. I used Instagram and Snapchat to promote my survey and the majority of people I follow and have on both platforms are female and the same age as me so I am disappointed I did not use other platforms to collect a wider range of answers, however this has helped me in my brand creation because I can tailor my products, promotion and other key aspects of my brand to the correct audience.

Again this was another generic question; I was going to narrow down the results however when creating the survey I wanted it to be quick for people to fill in and also although the survey was anonymous that people didn’t get turned off by all the personal questions they would have to fill in.  

I decided to ask this question because I wanted to see what the majority of people were saying. In my head, it made sense because if my target audience and my market for the most part only attend festivals once a year my products would only really sell at certain times of the year so would help me in developing my business plan.

Here I looked at whether people attended raves or not. I knew from personal experience with talking to people about raves that most people don’t attend them so I wanted to investigate into why and whether being a predominately rave wear brand if that would damage any potential customers who may not attend raves because of the culture. I think a lot of the responses were very brief and perhaps people like myself weren’t entirely aware of the rave scene in the UK.

Here the purpose was to get the gist of my potential customers; especially those who don’t attend raves or festivals to see what kind of live music venue they would be interested in. However, I feel music taste and social aspects of going out could be viewed as separate things; you may listen to Rock music but enjoy going to venues which play pop music, it was really for me to help understand my future customers. 

I asked this question because of the people I know who attend festivals abroad they tend to go abroad during peak season which is from mid-May until early November and also to work not just to attend festivals. It may also mean that the demographics of my customers are different and so in terms of opening a store it may not be as ideal for my customers.

I also saw the need to find out why people attend raves and festivals. This taught me that whilst most people attend for the music but the influence on what type of music they are into may affect what they wear, the only difference between raves and festivals and is that more people don't attend raves. 

It was important for me to research what people wear to these kinds of events because ultimately these are my targeted customers and I want the product that I’m making to appeal to my customers. The responses between festivals and raves in terms of clothing differed only in numbers; because fewer people attend raves, the important thing for customers wasn’t what they were wearing but more the experience of being at a rave and that clothing overall wasn’t the most important thing to them which reassured me and my brand. Whilst ‘something on trend’ for festivals didn’t surprise me as festivals are seasonal so certain trends won’t be in fashion whilst others are. By asking these as separate questions I learned about the different attitudes between ravers and festival goers. 

The final two questions were only asked for my own branding benefit. Although it seems to be becoming more common (which is brilliant) a lot more brands are unisex and sustainable which takes away the USP for a brand; however, they should still remain important factors if I want my brand to have a future. 

For my brand, it was important that I had a name that matched the style of my brand. I went through Instagram picking out all the names of the rave wear brands I liked the look of. Some of the names of brands that I liked the look of were House of funk, Jl.bits, Moody cow clothing, Groove studio clothing, Sassy pants the label. It’s hard to find a brand name that you think reflects your brand and so I had to go through and just start generating names from the top of my head that I thought would suit my brand. 

The names with a box around them were the names I liked the sound of the most. Looking back now the name I eventually chose was one that wasn’t boxed. I think when it came to designing the logo some names meant I could be a lot more playful and creative with the logo design. In the end, the name for the brand that I chose is XE.XE. It struck me as a standout name and one which was simple but rememberable. As my brand is unisex I thought the name tied in nicely and didn’t come across as too biased for a gender. As my brand is focused around unisex rave wear I decided that the colors for my logo would be neon. There are slight issues in printing with neon colours onto fabrics and paper so I will have to either adapt the colours when printing or for things such as a lookbook or zine keep the documentation digital. For the first product launch, the plan is to release t-shirts in a variety of neon colours with the logo printed onto them and then shot in a lookbook. There is a possibility that the colours from the logo may clash with the colours of the t-shirt but it is still part of the experimentation process. 

This was the first draft of my logo, with the slogan “made to stand out” underneath. Whilst I enjoyed the two tone colours I didn’t feel as though the font of the logo or slogan matched my brands image.

Here I simply removed the slogan and sharpened the edges of the text. I also began to play with the size of the text and decided to break up my brand name instead of using a bullet point or circle I would use the unisex symbol as my brand is going to be unisex so I thought it would help target our potential customers and give us a strong brand image. 

Here I began to add the colours I desired for my brand to the text. I think this is where my brand identity starts to become strong and my vision for my brand is represented in my logo.

Here is some more experimenting using shapes on the logo. I knew I wanted to print either the logo or the brand image onto t-shirts and by using a shape in the logo it would be easier for my customers to associate my brand with the product. 

I decided to collect some primary images from Digbeth where a lot of legal raves take place in Birmingham. I wanted to see whether I was able to capture the essence of raves and Digbeth during the day. 

Walking around Digbeth I noticed how this part of the city was so different from other parts of Birmingham, it was kind of escapism from the cranes, office blocks, the constant traffic. Digbeth for me definitely was a breath of fresh air, it was refreshing to see a part of the city not follow the norms in tower blocks and department stores. Parts of Digbeth looked thought out and considered with the art on the walls and the night lights and quirky shops and cafes but as I continued to walk around I also began to notice the remainders of Digbeth rave scene. The rave venues in Digbeth are completely legal so the local residents were aware of them, but walking past them during the day there was no sign of life inside the building it’s almost as if you couldn’t imagine the illegal ongoings inside and the heavy sound of electronic house music. But as I walked away from the venue I could begin to see the leftovers from the weekend before; empty bottles and cans of alcohol discarded onto the pavement nearby, broken glass and empty bags where drugs had been. 

I can imagine that the local residents of Digbeth either love the rebellion of the constant visitors of these streets or they can find themselves getting annoyed that the constant leftovers of drug bags laying around; how it can be seen as selfish of the visitors to treat the true essence of this part of a city in such a way.

Walking from Selfridges Birmingham to Digbeth is a two-minute walk but it’s like stepping into a different world. The rave culture still felt present despite my visit being at lunchtime on a Wednesday afternoon. The media portrays raves in such a negative way but I feel as though Birmingham is representing that raves don’t always need to be seen as this illegal, drug-ridden working class party. Even just Digbeth, in general, seemed to be celebrating this freedom that this part of the city was portraying. 

Hissyfit clothing is an independent brand specialising in unique rave/festival wear which is designed and manufactured in the UK. They want to “offer an alternative place to spend your money, and in return receive something completely unique, exclusive and professionally made”. Just like Supreme Hissyfit offers a unique shopping experience to customers and the brand feels more inclusive and membership like. The company was set up by an existing Fashion Design student and is ran locally in Birmingham. After beginning to attend raves in Birmingham I started to notice a lot of girls especially wearing similarly styled pieces and after plucking up the courage to ask one of my friends who wear them she finally told me it was Hissyfit. I was in awe of how my friend had managed to style a swimwear styled piece into a fabulous rave outfit. Now I will confess whilst she and many other people who wear Hissyfit look totally fabulous it is definitely not my style of clothing for any occasion despite begging my brain for the confidence to rock some of Hissyfits pieces I could just imagine the look on my grandmas face if I was too walk down the stairs in some of their clothes. Needless to say, Hissyfits clothes match the brand identity; Danielle the owner of Hissyfit says “Shopping should be fun, you shouldn’t be treated like robots & life is way too short to wear thigs because the mass market tells you too”.

I recently attended a sample sale pop up store at the Hissyfit studio. There they had loads of new and existing pieces at discounted prices for customers to come and shop, as they are an online only business at the moment it was super exciting for the owner to see how customers would respond to her product being on a shop floor. It was super interesting to see the diverse selection of people attending especially age and people were coming to purchase product who didn’t attend raves or festivals but enjoyed this style of dressing either on holiday or in the summer. Overall the event and Hissyfit as a brand, in general, has helped me in showing the evolution of ravewear for women and starting up a business from scratch that doesn’t follow any trends.