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DOCUMENT

CONCEPT

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S INTRODUCTION 3 The MediaLAB Team 4 The Assigner 5 Concept phase 5 Goals 5 CONCEPT METHODOLOGY 6 5 W’s+1H 6 Requirements Development 8 Brainstorming – Divergent and Convergent Phases 9 Qualitative Research 10 Interview 10 Passive participant observation 10 Concept 1 12 User requirements & qualitative research insights 13 PROS 13 CONS 13 Concept 2 14 User requirements & qualitative research insights 15 PROS 15 CONS 15 concept 3 16 User requirements & qualitative research insights 17 PROS 17 CONS 17

CONCLUSIONS 18

APPENDIX [1]: 19 APPENDIX [1]: 21

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I N T R O D U C T I O N The project has since its conception revolved around developing a solution to the following research question: “How can the narrative of fashion culture be revived in the context of the iNDiViDUALS brand?” The question focuses on narrative as a specific means of storytelling made possible by media. The fashion brand ‘iNDiViDUALS’ presents a collection twice yearly that represents the five months’ work of approximately twenty-one students of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) working collaboratively as branders, managers, and designers. The brand has shown fourteen collections to date, each representing a chapter of an overall brand story. Despite the carryover of brand identity through collections, it’s clear that each generation of students add unique identifiers to the garments as well as their presentation on the catwalk. Insights gathered from the research phase are diverse and sometimes conflict with one another. Firstly, it’s clear that the catwalk is a fixed format that won’t be disappearing soon. Preparing a catwalk fashion show during a corporate-sponsored fashion week is a milestone for both new and experienced designers, especially as it’s expensive and complicated to use the platform as a successful selling tool. Other methods such as museum exhibitions and street-side pop-up presentations are being used, but appeal to audiences different than those of the traditional catwalk. Perhaps due in part to the conformist nature of the catwalk, new media has been used for its own sake, as a spectacle rather than a means to extend or convey the narrative of a fashion brand. Furthermore, the adoption of smartphone technology as well as social media has drastically altered the way the public at

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large interacts with fashion. The iNDiViDUALS brand has a unique position in the Dutch fashion market as a minor program because it straddles the line between educational expectations and professional expectations; between experimentation and standardization. Finally, the Amsterdam Fashion Week is a platform that is particularly receptive of young Dutch talent, one that garners enough buzz and legitimacy that participants can use the results of their catwalk presentation to increase networking opportunities in the international fashion industry. This document builds on these insights and combines them with a variety of other inputs from methodologies deployed in the concept phase. Each concept begins with a short use case, the details of how it works, the pros and cons of its implementation, and finally technical requirements. A conclusion section is presented that outlines the responses from the assigner about the concept and reveals a direction for the design phase.

T H E M E D I A L A B T E A M The four members of the team from the MediaLAB Amsterdam are students from the University of Amsterdam, University of Utrecht, and the Vrije Universiteit, respectively. Hired to work in the creative interdisciplinary environment offered by the MediaLAB, their solution for the assigner must utilize digital/new media in an innovative way and must be developed within prescribed methodological process. The process (or perhaps more aptly, journey) to producing a working prototype of a solution has evolved through the phases of research, concept, and design. Each phase has been accompanied by a distinct set of activities that produce cumulative knowledge.

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T H E A S S I G N E R For the last seven years, the Amsterdam Fashion Institute has operated a Minor program called iNDiViDUALS. The program accepts eight students from each of the Institute’s departments, Fashion, Branding, and Management who collaborate to design and produce a full-fledged fashion collection and forms a “reality school”. Previous collections have been presented at Amsterdam Fashion Week twice yearly. The AMFI and iNDiViDUALS seek an innovative solution to involve new media in the presentation of their collections in a way that preserves and supports the core values of the brand and also expresses the concept of “reality school”.

C O N C E P T P H A S E After finishing the research phase and the research document, the next step towards creating a prototype is development of multiple concepts that meet the requirements and evolve from research insights. The MediaLAB protocol expected the team to develop three different concepts. Protocol dictates that the assigner must choose which concept to have the MediaLAB team pursue as a design and prototype.

Concept development naturally involves the continuation of the research phase in terms of technical, financial and temporal possibilities. Synthesis of insights from the previous phase as well as new facts that emerge from this research will inform the development and strategic presentation of the concepts to the assigner. At the point where a concept has been definitively chosen, the design phase can begin. At the end of the design phase, the MediaLAB team must deliver a product to the assigner.

G O A L S The aim of this concept document is to reveal and record the thinking processes of the MediaLAB team. Documentation is essential in

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order for future project groups who work at the MediaLAB to understand this team’s implementation of MediaLAB protocol in practice and its outcomes. Furthermore, this document also describes which methods were used to develop the concepts and how these methods were utilized. Finally, this document describes in full detail how each of the three concepts work, what the pros and cons are, and what requirements each fulfills.

C O N C E P T M E T H O D O L O G Y

The following descriptions explain in what ways the team was able to develop at first a wide range of ideas and then the process of culling these down to something workable. Each method was deployed by the team in a particular context and was used in a particular order, which affected the outcomes.

5 W ’ S + 1 H Through two workshops of Charlie Mulholland, lecturer Communication and Multimedia design at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, the team learned ‘creative idea generation’. First, Mulholland introduced the ‘5 W’s and 1H’ method, which would assist the team in redefining the problem from the perspectives of each stakeholder to the project. A key factor in using this method was that the team had to implement it live, in-person, rather than alone and silently. What’s more, one of the team members was participating remotely via Google Hangout. It was important to use the method of 5W’s + 1H before coming up with ideas to define the boundaries in which ideas would and could be useful. This would be useful during the convergent thinking phase in understand if an idea doesn’t answer the question and is useless, or if the idea could be extended in order to do fit the answers. The five W’s and one H are: “Who is this for, What are we being asked to do, Where is it going to be used, When is it going to be used, Why is this innovative, How is it

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going to solve the problem?” Using this method was a challenge for the team because it asked critical questions of the project activities as well as forced the team to think of new perspectives on how others would see the problem.

S T A K E H O L D E R D E F I N I T I O N Immediately following the previous method Mulholland’s instructions were to rework the problem statement, as the stakeholder would define it. The team was first tasked to identify each and every stakeholder to the project, even if that stakeholder played only a facilitating role. Next, the following questions needed to be answered: “How does your client define the problem? How do stakeholders 1, 2 and 3 see the problem? How do you think the user might see the problem?” The outcome of this method can be seen in Appendix [1]. The team wrote a description of each of the stakeholders is identified, as well as bullet points of how the questions listed above were answered. The team was then instructed by Mulholland to use the commonalities between these answers to develop a list of requirements that would apply to any concept that was developed.

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R E Q U I R E M E N T S D E V E L O P M E N T The team was reminded to remember that the concept must be a solution to the research question: “How can the narrative of fashion culture be revived in the context of the iNDiViDUALS brand?” should be answered. After examining how each stakeholder would answer the problem statement, the team discussed what each stakeholder would have to gain and have to lose if the project succeeded or failed, respectively. The requirements generated can be seen in Appendix [1].

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B R A I N S T O R M I N G – D I V E R G E N T A N D C O N V E R G E N T P H A S E S During his second workshop, Charlie Mulholland introduced the team to “Design Thinking and Brainstorming” a brainstorming method of Marc Tassoul, a lecturer at the Technical University Delft. If clustering and categorization occurs directly after a divergent phase, it will lead to a more efficient and more valuable selection of ideas. During a three-hour divergent thinking session, the team generated as many ideas for concepts as possible. Using this method, over 250 ideas were generated. Keys to this outcome were absolutely no positive or negative judgment of any team member’s contribution. The next step was to cluster and categorize all of the ideas that were generated. The team had used individual Post-It notes to write down each idea, which made it easy to re-stick the notes into themes or categories, which emerged as “Conservative; Rebellious; Non-digital; etc.” Categorization also helped the team to realize that some of the ideas that were developed by individual members in fact overlapped. Finally, the team was forced to choose which ideas would then be fit for development into a concept. This required some impulsive action on gut feelings as well as justification to other team member why an idea would be worth pursuing further. The team ended up with seven ideas that could be combined in producing three concepts as required by MediaLAB protocol. It was crucial to brainstorming to have a convergent phase; otherwise, all the ideas that came out of divergence are essentially useless.

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Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H To further define the requirements of users, the team conducted several types of qualitative research. Designed to be exploratory and associative, this helped the team to find reasoning and justification for phenomena and to in some cases answer tough questions. Also, these methods helped to define and understand the needs, behaviors and attitudes of users of the final solution. The team used interviews, contextual inquiry, visual data collection, and participant observation.

I N T E R V I E W According to the ethnographic technique of Karen O’Reilly, the interviews were conducted in an informal semi-structured fashion. Each interview was pre-arranged and most questions were open ended. This type of interview allowed the team to construct questions during the interview. The lack of structure allows flexibility in the nature of the interview and provided information the team wouldn’t have thought to ask. A sample of a semi-structured interview can be found in Appendix [2] .

P A S S I V E P A R T I C I P A N T O B S E R V A T I O N The team was invited by the assigner to attend the design classes of iNDiViDUALS during the fitting and examination of the garments they’d created. The team desired to conduct observation by only taking notes in a field journal as opposed to taking video or audio recordings (as was done with some interviews). It was believed that the presence of the observers was enough to alter the behavior of the iNDiViDUALS. The outcome of the three two-hour observation sessions was a not only

The outcome of the

three two-hour observation

sessions was a not only better

understanding of the students’

creative process, but lead to

the full development of a

concept meant to augment this internal process.

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better understanding of the students’ creative process, but lead to the full development of a concept meant to augment this internal process. The team also sought to understand the types and the messages of the physical and digital artifacts produced by iNDiViDUALS. These artifacts are not only producing a history and a future for the brand, but they signal to the team what types of content that any solution should support. Through observation and desk research the team compiled a digital moodboard that included professional photographs from previous catwalk collections, photographs of hand-sketches seen at the fitting class, as well as color representations. C O N T E X T U A L I N Q U I R Y ( U S E R - T A S K - C O N T E X T A N A L Y S I S ) Based on the data collected from interviews and from the observations, the team conducted an abbreviated version of a contextual inquiry (also known as UTC Analysis). Typically used in the design of interfaces, the team attempted to uncover what the users of a concept were trying to accomplish. The influence of the physical elements of the work environment as well as users attitudes;’ towards their job were considered. The idea behind using this method was to combine the outcomes of each method that had been used to date. The outcome of the Contextual Inquiry can be found in Appendix [ ] .

C O N C L U S I O N The variety of methods resulted in a very diverse set of ideas. Results from the observation, for example, changed the nature of the ideas as originally generated during the brainstorm. In hindsight, the team could have more concretely documented decision-making processes. No one concept met all requirements or served the needs of all stakeholders. The final concepts as presented to the assigner are described in full detail below.

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1 C O N C E P T S

Reviewing the research question and the insights from the research phase has helped sincerely in getting back down to earth from the idea generation phase. The three concepts that the team has come up with, will be pitched during a peer-presentation and finally to the assigner. In order to proceed with the Design phase, the MediaLAB team requests approval for one of the following three concepts that were developed in response to the problem statement:

C O N C E P T 1 “Creating a buzz on mainstream media by giving the fashion show audience a digital goodie bag with exclusive content.” This concept offers a one-of-a-kind social media feed overlaid on a desktop live stream video of the show. The social media content stream is fed by a ’share’ function on static detail content being pushed show through the AFW app to users at the live show. What makes this concept innovative is that instead of a text-based social media feed, the content stream is mostly multimedia by design. Rich content entices desktop users to click on and further interact with the content. Interactions with the content cause it to ‘bubble up’ more visibly in any one users’ content stream. Another innovation point: it’s multichannel social media integration, as opposed to a feed from a singular platform. Other fashion brands have integrated textual Twitter streams into live video feeds, they have been Fashion week apps are no stranger to exclusive content, but it’s never been done in the fashion industry that content is simultaneously pushed from phones at a live location and accessed remotely by a broader international audience through a desktop feed.

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U S E R R E Q U I R E M E N T S & Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H I N S I G H T S The insight that drove this concept was that most every attendee has and is using their mobile phones during a catwalk show. Instead of having them being distracted all over the web, incentivize them to stay in sync with the brand’s exclusive content. The added benefit to this concept is that it offers traceability; the brand has the ability to pinpoint key influencers on social media and understand what social media channels matter for the brand.

First, people who sit at the fashion show have phones with them at all times. Rather than letting them travel all over the web to share their experience– keep the attention of the public focused on the presentation of the new collection. They’re going to be using social media anyway. Think of this experience for the live guests as gift-wrapped information packages.

P R O S ✚ Partners can help share costs ✚Teach students how to manage social media ✚ Failure doesn’t affect show experience

C O N S

- Content must be prepared

- Mainstream solution

- Technically complex

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C O N C E P T 2 “A highly visual portal to store and share parts of the creative process” This concept is a digital toolkit that makes it possible to render student-submitted digital artifacts of the creative process in a 3D space timeline. Digital artifacts are any piece of material such as a video, a sound clip, an image, or digital representations of things in the physical world like a swatch of fabric or a handwritten note. This system would allow the artifacts to be approached real-time collectively and re-arranged, filed, or even just simply perused. By uploading media that represents the pieces of the creative process, you can save these pieces for future use. The idea is that by working in this environment, students can keep the mission in mind, be able to look back at the work of previous generations, get feedback from teachers and learn from it all. Using this tool will facilitate collaboration between the departments – needing and feeding each other. The team believes that enhancing the inner narrative will contribute to making outward messages clearer. What this system is essentially doing is enabling creation of narrative elements from which to craft a common story.

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U S E R R E Q U I R E M E N T S & Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H I N S I G H T S The insight that led us to developing this was that the necessity of documenting the physicality of fashion’s creative process is afforded in the difficulty of repeating it. Currently the artifacts or the products of the creative process are mostly analog. They’re literally “stored in a closet” in a decentralized way that’s not as easily accessible as a digital representation would be. It’s difficult for the students to record their progress in a way that represents an ongoing flow. On your iPad, on your laptop, or your smartphone - you can access a portal we call a digital memory environment. What makes this concept innovative is that the environment in which the digital artefacts exists contributes to their usefulness. It’s not only archiving in the same way you could say Dropbox does, this concept creates a HIGHLY VISUAL environment that is easy to work with. It’s also innovative because it offers real-time interaction it between different groups of students and teachers. Lastly, this system makes it easier to decide which pieces of the story should be made public to the fashion industry.

P R O S ✚ Open communication between disciplines ✚ Can look back at documentation of former generations

C O N S

- Complicated programming

- Not directly linked to the fashion show

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C O N C E P T 3 “Telling the story of the brand through sound.” If you were to close your eyes at a fashion show, it would be hard to get a basic feeling of what the clothes are intended to make the seer wearer feel. With this concept, members of the catwalk audience would be able to create another layer of meaning for the visuals through carefully designed sound. Ideally this concept would also allow any soundscape that was created to be repeated in other locations, like at a fashion school’s open house day or at a retail store location. Perhaps also those tuning in from home via a live stream could also experience elements of the created soundscape as well. The concept is innovative in that the process of creating the sounds to be played back live at the show will involve sound design and engineering techniques that haven’t been deployed at a show before. The insights that drove this idea to an actual concept is that sound is a member of the new media family that is often downplayed to the favor of the visual sense. In fact, what most people don’t realize is that sound is creating a large majority of the emotional experience of looking at an image. A similar use of sound combined with music hasn’t been used at the live catwalk. This concept is sustainable because the experience of the catwalk can be recreated in other locations, allowing people to relive it, for example at the By AMFI store or at their desktops. For example, an IMAX theater has hundred of individual speakers that are used to create a 3D soundscape, so the use of headphones is another way to create such an experience. The possibilities with sound are increased through the use headphones, especially because they can create a 3D sound landscape.

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U S E R R E Q U I R E M E N T S & Q U A L I T A T I V E R E S E A R C H I N S I G H T S The team realized that you have to address the senses; Emotion by appealing to the auditory sense. Catwalk shows are very visually focused, but this concept is focused on triggering a real. Furthermore, in the field of new media sound is underuse. This concept is not based on using new media for a spectacle’s sake – thus the concept blends real sounds with pre-recorded sounds. This concept allows the audience to create another layer of meaning about the visual presentation through sound. The process of creating the sound effects themselves is also innovative in that they are conveying emotion in new ways.

P R O S ✚Never been done before ✚ Mobile and sustainable ✚ Many creative possibilities

C O N S

- Problem with headphones

- Newness wears off quickly

This concept allows the

audience to create another

layer of meaning about the

visual presentation through

sound.

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F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N :

W W W . M E D I A L A B . H V A . N L / I N D I V I D U A L S

C O N C L U S I O N S The presentation of the three concepts of the assigner took place at the MediaLAB Amsterdam. Each concept was pitched as meeting a distinct set of needs for a specific group of stakeholders. Overall themes that were made clear arose from insights generated during the research phase. The team specifically identified to the assigner which aspects of the concepts were innovative. The financial and temporal feasibility of each of the concepts was discussed by the assigner and the main stakeholder to the solution, the creative director of the iNDiViDUALS brand. Despite that the feasibility factors played a large role in the decision, the creative director also suggested that the potential impact on the general public would carry the most weight. The discussion following the presentation centered around doing something that both the fashion and general audience would not expect. Although the business value of the social media concept and the archiving system were recognizable, the cultural and creative value of a pursuing a sound concept was the most valuable. In the design phase the team will begin by researching ways to create an intimate and immersive soundscape using prerecorded sound effects and music.

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A P P E N D I X [ 1 ] : Results contextual inquiry STUDENTS - Within the iNDiViDUALS program, third- and fourth-year students’ experience goals are to have a chance to organize, run, and debrief from a successful professional exhibition. During brainstorm sessions as well as asking the iNDiViDUALS students the outcome was that they are not capable of creating a fashion show with the implementation of new media. The students desire for a “wow” factor in their fashion show, created with the use of new media as well as a desire of the students would be a way to get name in lights. TEACHERS/DIRECTOR AMFI - Out of all the hundred teachers who instruct the students of the AMFI, only a select few direct the students of the iNDiViDUALS program. Their attitudes about the presentation itself are hopefully to be recognized by other fashion educators for their work within the program. The director of AMFI Souraya Bouwmans Saraf as well as the teachers desire for a buzz about the iNDiViDUALS program. In particular Bouwmans Saraf desires for a workable platform for students with the help of MediaLAB. CELEBRITIES - These can be famous Dutch or international celebrities who are invited to attend the show by the managers of the brand itself, or those who earn a form of social gain by making an appearance at the fashion show. Standards that dictate their expectations at the fashion show are to receive special treatment, get paid, or recognized by the press for their personal style. PRESS AND BLOGGERS - The press and the blogger’s interpretation of the designer’s fashion are wholly based on his or her experience of the fashion show. These assumptions distinguish between press being professional writers who engage with fashion on

behalf of a commercial publication, and bloggers who engage with fashion as a hobby. Their main experience goals are to produce as much content for their medium as possible. Bloggers and press normally do not have a clear vision of the “story behind” iNDiViDUALS and they have a lack of original content to write about. RETAILERS - Retailers are the link between the team at AMFI and the end customer, acting as a creator of a point-of-sale for the garments themselves. This research estimates that the attendance of these users at the live show of iNDiViDUALS is limited, considering the collection is not focused on generating commercial sales. OTHER DESIGNERS AND FASHION HOUSES - Beyond the designers who work specifically for the iNDiViDUALS brand, there are usually others in the audience who work directly with major label fashion brands and smaller, up-and- coming labels. These users may attend the show for inspiration, or merely as a measuring point of their own design/fashion show. The experience goals of attending an iNDiViDUALS show would be to source up-and-coming student talent for an internship project or a potential employment opportunity. Standards for the experience are derived from the designer’s experience. Professional designers can have the opportunity to scout for talent during the fashion show, the difficulty is though that iNDiViDUALS consists of twenty-one students. BROADER PUBLIC - Although it’s rare that these users get to interact with the live show of the designer, technological applications such as live streaming, brand pre- and post- show visual content, as well as user created content on third-party services such as Pinterest and Instagram are bringing the experience closer. Their interactions with the ideals of fashion design through these formats perpetuate not only their admiration of fashion culture, but

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provide a foil to those who embody the more elite ideals. The broader public could be desiring for a more democratic fashion show, where everyone is welcome to see the new collection. Until now this has not changed in a sense that the broader public does not normally visit fashion show in reality, but rather read about it on the internet or check the video stream online.

R E Q U I R E M E N T S • Educational • User • Buzz • Tell story/statement of individuals • Impactful in 15-20 minutes • Creative • Emotion • Innovative • Cost-conscious

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A P P E N D I X [ 2 ] : Interview Holly Serret 24/04/2013 D: Ja, dus ze zitten in een best wel unique posititie. Ze kunnen expirimentenen ze kunnen van alles doen, het maakt toch niet uit als de collectie mislukt als het ware dat het commercieel niet aanslaat want ja tuurlijk het is niet leuk voor de designers, alleen het merk zal er niet aan ten onder gaan. Dus ze mogen wel vrij ver gaan H: nou dat vraag ik me af. Ik denk dat binnen de project leiders en de leiders bij amfi, wij werken nauw met ze samen, dan word het merk echt wel heel streng geleid, van ok zo komt het er uit te zien. Daarbinnen is wel variatie mogelijkheid, maar ze gaan echt niet het merk dat nu is opgebouwd helemaal overlaten aan de vrije wil van studenten. D: Peter heeft een vrij sterke vuist in het Ontwerp proces H: Peter is een leuke vent. Individuals is onwijs unique, volgens mij kunnen ze veel groter worden als ze nu al zijn. Maar het is wel echt een kledingmerk dat opgebouwd is ookal is het een leerschool er zit wel gewoon zegmaar associaties van een merk of succesvol merk een bepaalde handschift, het collectioneren en het opbouwen ervan en dat is iets dat zich ontwikkeld aan de hadn van peter en lesley. Studenten kunnen daarbinnen wel wat dingen, maar het is een merk dat opgebouwd is en een follewing heeft. Iets heel anders doen kunnen ze zich niet permitteren. Zeker met de winkel die ze hebben en de producties K: toch heeft elke generatie wel een eigen verhaal H: een eigen verhaal binnen het stramien van het merk denk ik. Maar ik vind het heel goed hoor heel positief. Maar hoe zijn jullie dan bij gekomen? K: profiel op linked in, zagend at je een project leider en managers was bij AFW en green fashion competitistion. Wij vroegen ons af hoe je dat hebt opgebouwd. H: hoe is dat dan gelinkt aan narrative van fashion culture en nieuwe media en individuals

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K: onze opdrachtgever, souraya, wil sustainability als thema, door behulp van nieuwe media mogelijkheden voor studenten en aan de fashion wereld. Wij willen weten hoe het nu zit binnen de industie maar ook binnen de amsterdam fashion culture. Want het is tot nu toe twee jaar geleden gedaan, green fashion competition H: ja, klopt. D: Het lastige is dat we geen concrete vraagstellingen hebben gekregen. Het liefst word er door ons een platform ontwikkeld. Dat sustainable is op een manier dat het kan worden hergebruikt H: ok, leuk! Al ik anders vertellen hoe is bij fashion terecht ben gekomen. D: graag H: Ik ben in april 2010 bij fashion week begonnen. Op een project in samenwerking met landbouw cultuur en voedsel om duurzaamheid in de modeindustire te stimuleren. Onderzoek naar op welke manier je een duurzaam maar niet zozeer groen, maar langdurig verandering creeren. Al snel ondernemerschap gekozen. Als startpunt gehad, we willen ondernemers stimuleren. We willen ze tools en kennis geven zodat ze verstandige keuzes kunnen maken. Toen is het businness plan competitie idee geboren. The green fashion competition. Juli 2010 gelanceerd tijdens Fashion week met de presentatie van een ontwerper. De wedstrijd liep van juli tot januarie met inschrijving tot en met september. We waren overompeld, 300 inschrijvingen. We bedoel ik ik. Fashion week is klein team. Nog kleiner als nu. We waren met zn 3e. Ik wist niet wat ik met die 300 aanmeldingen moest doen. Wel onwijs gaaf. Gewlijk gezien dat hier internationaal vraag naar was. Daar waren we niet eens mee bezig maar het werd gewoon opgepakt. Traject van juli tot januari eerste editie. Volgende jaar 2e editie. In de tussentijd ben ik ook programmaleider geworden van het zakelijke programma van AFW, daarme willen we ondernemersschap stimuleren binnen de industrie. En daarmee de kloof willen overbruggen tussen wat je leert op school en wat je echt nodig hebt als ondernemer. 6:00 Ook waren we uitgenodig om de green fashion comp uit te breiden. We zijn gaan kijken samen met EZ hoe kunnen we niet alleen binnen de mode verandering teweeg brengen maar binnen de gehele creative sector. Samewerking met dutch design week en nederlandse architectuur instituut. Dus zo zijn 3 wedstrijden ontstaan. Wat we snel zagen was dat liepen goed. Goede ondernemers, maar datgene wat we stimuleren. Innovatie en interdiciplinarie samenwerking waren we niet zelf aan het doen. We hadden 3 verschillende projectleiders en we deden zelf samen. Dus toen hebben we het collectief gestard. The green collective en de 3 wedstrijden en het collectief is een samenkomst van creatieven van allerlei verschillende industrien met de overtuiging dat het anders moet. Een shift naar een ecologische industrie. Sinds juli 2012 hebben wij een expositie gedaan van mode design en argitectuur. En daarna is de subsidie kraan dichtgedraait. Het idee was dat de wedstijden allemaal zouden blijven doorlopen. Dat het jaarlijks terugkeren was maar nu is de stekker eruit getrokken. Afgelopen vrijdag laatste subsidie aanvraag ingediend. Als sinds juli 2012 subsisie proberen te krijgen. We hebben de resultaten de verslagen en netwerk met honderden mensen een database met meer dan 50

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videos met workshops, manuals, tools voor biodiversity en ondernemerschap. Onderzoek in materiaal innovatie. Het is echt super goed gegaan maar het is toch stopgezet. En wij kunnen niet voortbestaan uit eigen financiering. Green is geen rendabel bedrijf we werken met klein team en heeft echt subsidie nodig. De status nu is dus gepauzeerd van alle initiatieven. Eind april zouden we, of nee 15, willen we definitief uitsluitsel. Om in juli weer door te kunnen. Maar dat weten we nog niet. K: spannend! H: businnes programma loopt gewoon door, met duurzaamheid geintegreerd. Maargoed de wedstrijden hadden echt impact en ook het buitenland had echt impact. In 2011 best international fashion week uitgeroepen vanwege van onze innovatieve aanpak ten opzichte van duurzaamheid. Dus dat is voor fashion week ook heel waardevol. We werken samen met dutch design week. Die is internationaal heel groot. En ook nederlandse architectuur instituut, maargoed dat bestaat nu niet meer. Maar dat is een instutuut an sich in de architectuur wereld. We waren echt wel ergens heel erg goed mee bezig. Maar dat is dus spannend of we nog verder kunnen. Omdat die projecten zijn gepauzeerd ben ik sinds afgelopen fashiuon week verantwoordelijk voor alle publieke events. 2 feesten van het fashion week die publiek toegankelijk zijn. Fashion weekend en door het jaar heen. Fashion weeken brengen we catwalk naar de sidewalk. Om de modebewustzijn in nederland willen stimuleren. We proberen voor green op andere manieren aan geld te komen. Privaat geld is een mogelijkheid maar we moeten onze objectiviteit behouden. Compleet gesubsidieerd is niet heel slim, want als het ophoud houd het op. Maar daardoor compleet objectief en neutraal. We kunnen me iedereen samewerken en alle kennis aanbieden. Met private partijen zitten er beperkingen belangen aan. We moeten er wel aan geloven. Het is ook misschien wel beter als het een combinatie is, maar toch. D: onze vraag: heb jij nieuwe media oplossingen gezien die zijn geintegreerd die inspiratie kunnen bieden aan hoe fashion word geinspireerd K: innovatie en materialen. 12:00 H: Als ik kijk naar de green collective. Het heeft heel snel een internationaal karakter gekregen. Iets waar we niet op voorbereid waren. De essentie ervan is dat het een platform is voor nederlands talent, maar daarmee sluiten we niemand buiten,. We zien ook kansen voor de nederlandse creatieve industrie om juist international partijen te betrekken. Maar omdat het ontstond was de vraag hoe doen we alle workshops en trainingen. Dus zo hebben we alles gelive stream en van alles video opnames gemakkt en is er nu een database van invormatie die geheel in het engels is.

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Het hing ervan af waar we zaten. Bij de openbare bibliotheek hebben we onze eigen filmploeg meegenomen. Maar ik weet niet hoe dat technisch werkt. Maar ook bijvoorbeeld firestarteds van vodafone heeft ons geholpen als partner. Die hebben ook documataire en de show mogelijk gemaakt van individuals. Dat boden we aan op de green collective website. We hebben een online netwerk ook. Dus dat is waar iedereen een soort profiel kan aanmaken en daarbij elkaar kan vinden dus ook van fashion design architecture maar ook ecologen en meer het zakenleven. Dat hebben we zelf gebouwd. Het is niet ingewikkeld hoor. We vonden het gewoon belangerijk, we wilden geen linkedin of facebook zijn maar we wilden een plek waar mensen elkaar konden vinden met dezelfde overtuiging. Het was wel gelinkt aan zulke profielen zoals facebook en linkedin. En allerlei andere platformen. Met fashion week hebben we app die alles live stream gekoppeld aan evenementen programma We wilden ook met qr gaan werken. Maar dat werd te kostbaar in verband om de contect echt te ontwikkelen. Afgelopen fashion week hebben we met AR gewerkt dat hebben we gedaan met people of the labyrinth in samenwerking met vodafone. Niet tijdens de live show maar we prbeeerden een crossover te vinden met het business programma en de consument. Dus in de winkel het merk was een AR verhaal met een link naar de show. Dat was echt fantastisch, zo was de consument en de winkel en de link naar fashion week. Dat deels besloten is, samenkomt. Het verhaal ging over de ontwikkeling van de collectie, persoonlijke visie. D: dat is jiust voor indivuduals, die samen een groep vormen goed om zoeits te doen te benadrukken wat van wie is. K: Weet je misschien hoe het zit met celebs en de fashion week? H: We hebben wel wat BN ers die naar AFW komen, volgens mij worden ze ook wel uitgenodigd door de partijen die bij ons showen. Maar celebs hebben wel heel ander appeal en impact als in andere landen. In engeland als je een tas geeft aan een celeb dan heeft dat direct impact op je sales. In NL werkt dat niet. Dat is ook met publicaties. Als je in NY elle komt dan merk je dat in je online shop. In NL echt niet. 20:00 In de VS is er echt een grote culture gap tov van NL, wat dat precies is kan ik je ook niet vertellen maar de NL mentaliteit tov van mode is best wel anders dan in andere landen. Ik denk dat het begrip mode an sich nieuw is nog steeds. Modebewustzijn leeft gewoon minder als in veel landen. En de eigen koppeling eraan. In frankrijk zijn de fransen heel erg trots en bereid om te zeggen dat franse mode echt van hun is. Nederlanders hebben veel minder associatie met Nl designers. Niet trots op bijvoorbeeld Bas kosters. Daar is nog veel werk aan gedaan worden.

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We zijn een heel jong fashion week. We bestaan in janurie volgend jaar 10 jaar. Echt een foetus tov van andere fashion weeks. Daarnaast hebben we als organisatie 4 programmas. Ipv alleen een catwalk programma, daar zijn we in onderschijdend. We werken toe naar een bepaalde identiteit voor de nederlandse mode industrie. Als je dnekt aan britisch fashion bestaat er een bepaalde assosiatie, net als NY parijs milaan. Wij willen in NL het imago van innovatie duurzaamheid, alles nieuw! Wij zitten niet vast aan die rijke fashion herritage, dat is een nadeel want dat zie je direct terug op straat. Laag modebewustzijn. Ook een voordeel want je bent vrij om alles te doen. Dat loont ook direct in de vorm van green fashion, en de prijs in 2011. D: in copenhagen zijn ze ook vrij nieuw als fashion week. Zij hebben 5 locaties wat er voor zorgt dat ze die locaties makkelijk kunnen verbouwen. Ze hebben veel creatieve vrijheid om de catwalk te verbouwen. Hier zijn er twee hallen en daardoor is het heel lastig om in die tijd te kunnen verbouwen. Daar is geen tijd voor. Juist om innoverent te zijn is het misschien een idee om meer locaties te vinden en dit mogelijk te maken. H: ja. Ik weet het niet, er is wel een verschil tussen innovatie en de totale industrie en allen in de presentatie wijzen. 23:55 Ik zou wel hopen dat alle ontwerpens compleet vrij zijn om iets neer te zetten wat ze willen. Wij zijn daar ook wel flexiebel in. Jacob kops heeft met de sims zijn presentatie gedaan. Dat was geen vast catwalk stramien. Dat moedigen we ook allen maar aan. Ik weet niet wat precies haalbaar is voor ons om meer ruimtes te hebben als wat we nu hebben. We hebben lang lopend contract met westergast terrein. D: hoe vrij zijn de studenten. Wat doen ze zelf aan de show,. Ze maken zelf hun colectie, loreal doe make up haar, volia filmt, vodafone film en doet de live stream. Waar zorgen de studenten zelf nou voor in de show, muziek? Licht? H: ik ga over 3 van de 4 programmas van de FW, ik ga niet over de catwalk. Ik kan je niet het beste antwoord geven op deze vraag. Of wij benaderen of wij worden benaderen. Er word dan dus gekeken of de designer past binnen ons platform. Vervolgens word gekeken naar financiering, kan je niet betalen maar we vinden het wel belangrijk. Dan zoeken we sponsors. Vodafone sponsord individuals en people of the labritnh volledig. En loreal en volvo sponsoren ook. Zij ondersteunen talent. Dan dienen de ontwerpers concepten in. Uit ons netwerk kunnen ze expertise krijgen van onze parters. Licht geluid choreografie fotographie. En dan word het neergezet. Hangt heel erg veel af van budget. Als je hologrammen wil, moet je gewoon zelf betalen. En dat is de structuur. K: wij wisten niet dat de ontwerpers feedback krijgen van jullie netwerk.

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H: maar ook van peter stichter, onze huisfotograaf die adviseert ontwerpers ook of het haalbaar is om bijvoorbeeld mooie foto’s te kunnen maken bij hun catwalk concept. Maar in principe behalen wij niet de invulling van de show. Wij zijn alleen het platform. Wij bepalen ook niet wie in de zaal zit. We hebben een eis dat je met een pr bureau werkt zodat er goeie media vertegenwoordiging is. Verder word de zaal zelf gevult. 28:30 Wij worden niet volledig gesubsideerd. London krijgt 3 millioen pond. Dat krijgen wij dus niet. Dus wij werken met sponsoren die ook inhoudelijk wat in te brengen. Vodafone denkt bevoorbeeld mee, en ontwikkeld een app en zorgt voor wifi op locatie. Live streaming. Word steeds door ontwikkeld. Op de front row willen we opladers. AR. Technisch was live stream niet helemaal goed gedaan, maar zij doen dat dus. Maarten kariks moet je hebben van vodafone. De app was voor de 2e keer dit jaar. Er is nog veel meer potentie. GPS gedreven is super leuk. Maar het moet nog iets meer landen. We doen nu maandelijkse evenementen. En de app moet hier ook op inspelen. Afgelopen januarie hebben we 6 pop up catwalk gedaan. Dat was letterlijk op locatie een paar autos modellen stappen uit, doen een show en stappen weer in. Op museum plein op de ijsbaan een kneuterige fashion show met schaatsteers. Modellen op een catwalk en schaatsters met lichten eromheen. Beeld op de site. We zijn nu bezig met ludieke locatie voor volgende fashion show.