Today I pitched my final major project to Sheelagh, Dennis and Pat.
To begin with I had two ideas. To create a street style/fashion history book. The basis of this publications was to photograph street style, including informational pages detailing the origins of iconic garments which have been adopted into subculture and street fashion. This idea was really a safety net in the case of rejection at my main idea....
My main idea for my final major came to me whilst at home for Christmas. Going home to the Island used to mean seeing all my friends together all in one place, but over the last three years graduation and jobs has left everyone dispersed across the country. This made me realise and perhaps appreciate that these people weren't my friends from school anymore, but now professional people within industry that I grew up with. I obviously associate my friends with their personalities whereas others now connected them with graphic design, event management, music, photography, writing and business.
This realisation prompted me to look outside of my immediate friends, everyone knows everyone on the Isle of Wight and it's quite common to hear "ooh, guess what so and so's doing now" etc etc. Although I've always recognised that the island boasts a spectrum of creativity, having to think about the pitch made me realise just how many talented people have grown and been inspired where we live.
The Isle of Wight provides a unique and harmonious environment where by talent and ideas can evolve and be inspired resulting in a identifiable originality in lifestyle, music, fashion and the arts. Despite this, opportunities on the island are few and far between, people tending to either finish school and stay put forever, or leave as soon as possible with the intent to return once careers are solid and fortunes made. There is something insular and charming about Island life and I for one would not have left if there were any means of a career to be had there.
Taking these point in to account, I realised that I knew many of these successful and creatives, because of the nature of the Island and people with shared interests seem to gravitate to the same venues. The IOW can also be very cliquey, friendship groups form in separate towns, each group knows one another and may occasionally mix but on the whole there is a "clique" representative of each town or village. This is a shame and is what has perhaps led to a lack of networking.
For some reason, Ventnor, a small town on the south coast of the island has become something of a hub for creativity. I think this is perhaps due to the idyllic coastline and rolling hills that surrounds the tiny seaside town combined with a distinct lack of things to do. There are no chain stores, no labels, no commercial businesses. Ventnor is essential charity shops, craft shops, a few gift shops and rustic pubs and swarve tapas bars on the esplanade. This innate lack of anything has led to young people making their own entertainment. There are countless bands, photographers, artists, surfers and crafts people inhabiting V.town and most put their hand to all of the above. As a result, Ventnor has become something of a "scene", everyone dressed in rustic scarecrow-esk vintage ensembles, plenty of curly hair and some kind of vintage camera hanging from around their necks. This "scene" like any subculture, has also attracted its hangers on, kids from other towns copying the style and following similar interests. As well as this growing "subculture", there is the Ventnor Blog. This, in my opinion, is the only diverse and contemporary news source available to the island community at this time.
For all these reasons, I started to feel there was something needed to bring awareness not just to the Ventnorians, but all those who have talent and creativity across the Wight.
Current publications available on the Isle of Wight are;
- THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY PRESS-
I recently underwent work experience at the paper and I must say it was the biggest waste of a weeks wages. My role during this week was going to court every morning and take notes on the antics of a host of delinquents and their cases. Any story of interest could not be reported due to children being involved or they weren't even from the island.
This week was most degrading also, I had to sit at a desk and read the paper everyone morning to make sure I knew the style(it is weekly so on the first day I'd read it and I also read it before I went to make sure I was up on everything if they asked me questions...they did not ask me questions.) I then had to wait to be collected and go to court every morning, sometimes they would go without me. A few of the journo's acted as though they were editor and chief of a high flying tabloid, when the reality is the papers most hard hitting stories are write up's about school fetes. It was awful. I also choose to do this work experience over Cowes Week thinking there would be lots of exciting thing going on, perhaps I could follow a reporter out in the field. No. I sat at a desk re-writing press releases for the week. Every time I wanted something to do, I would have to walk over to the editor, in front of everyone where she would dress me down and tell me my style of writing was too elaborate. I knew this having spent the past hour an a half trying to drag out an interesting tale about a man who'd been given a ticket for double parking because his wife was disabled; in avoidance of constantly pestering her. If she had bloody given me something to do, the story would have been the brief four lines it was good for. I say to all budding writers, NEVER do work experience with this paper, it is a waste of time, a point address by even the journalist's I shadowed.
- THE STYLE OF WIGHT-
I started thinking of typically British shoots using the many heritage locations the island as a backdrop, models kitted out with the finest wears from the many vintage shops and boutiques. However I was asked to organise a golf shoot. This is not something I personally associate with Britishness? More horses and rugby but nether the less I went ahead and Oscar May photographed, using clothes from Westridge Golf center and Visual Impact, a luxury niche boutique for men. On being commissioning for this shoot, I had more problems when I said I would be using young male models. The editor wanted 40 year old men, however I was under the impression he wanted this to be a contemporary and professional magazine with appropriate editorials. It turned out it was just another magazine again aimed at the middle aged, middle class island population.
I used the young models anyway, Jasper Rouse and Charlie Harris of Island band "The Majortones". I felt it appropriate then as I did now to give the young talent on the island a chance to be noticed. At the time the band was very popular, winning many competitions and making the main stage at IOW festival. The youth of the island could identify and aspire to want these young gentlemen were doing, and using recognisable faces within the shoot would generate a broader readership, especially amongst the 16-25 age range the Isle of Wight tends to ignore.
There is NOTHING available, acknowledging or aimed at this age group on the island and these people are with whom the talent lies. The adult population of the Isle of Wight tend to be one of two types, those who have lived there their entire living and working since school or successful professionals who have been educated and trained on the mainland and moved to the island for a slower pace of life and more house for their money. It seems no one has identified this point yet in regards to promotion of the Isle of Wight and continue to churn out these publications aimed at no one in particular with no continuity or style.
As well as the shoot I wrote a piece discussing the increased use of the Union Jack in fashion, this piece was in fact an edited and conversational adaptation of my dissertation pitch. I was quite happy with this article, it made a DPS and relevant Isle of Wight products were featured along side it. This was much more what I thought the aim of the magazine would be. The magazine is still is circulation but again seems to lack a distinct direction and style that can be associable with the magazine. Like many publications, the magazine has fallen to an older generation and seems to again lack a network leaving a distinct lack of continuity between issues. The art direction of the magazine itself it basic and uninspiring, much of the page is filled with irrelevant advertisments. This is a trait common amongst all the publications. I can never understand why the publications don't research into the businesses and tradespeople on the island and make the necessary adverts relevant to the piece and also create advertorial features instead of slapping a logo on a page. It is the same well known businesses featured weekly through all of the publications.
There is NOTHING available, acknowledging or aimed at this age group on the island and these people are with whom the talent lies. The adult population of the Isle of Wight tend to be one of two types, those who have lived there their entire living and working since school or successful professionals who have been educated and trained on the mainland and moved to the island for a slower pace of life and more house for their money. It seems no one has identified this point yet in regards to promotion of the Isle of Wight and continue to churn out these publications aimed at no one in particular with no continuity or style.
As well as the shoot I wrote a piece discussing the increased use of the Union Jack in fashion, this piece was in fact an edited and conversational adaptation of my dissertation pitch. I was quite happy with this article, it made a DPS and relevant Isle of Wight products were featured along side it. This was much more what I thought the aim of the magazine would be. The magazine is still is circulation but again seems to lack a distinct direction and style that can be associable with the magazine. Like many publications, the magazine has fallen to an older generation and seems to again lack a network leaving a distinct lack of continuity between issues. The art direction of the magazine itself it basic and uninspiring, much of the page is filled with irrelevant advertisments. This is a trait common amongst all the publications. I can never understand why the publications don't research into the businesses and tradespeople on the island and make the necessary adverts relevant to the piece and also create advertorial features instead of slapping a logo on a page. It is the same well known businesses featured weekly through all of the publications.
- THE BEACON-
- EXTRA-
- ISLAND LIFE-
The entire promotion of the Isle of Wight and the publications it produces are thinly washed and outdated. The islands image is controlled by an age group and class not in touch with what is going on on the ground and possibly not even from the place they are trying to sell. The Isle of Wights image is naff and tacky when the reality is far from this if anyone bothered to research and moved away from the attractions that were aged even when I enjoyed them as a child 20 years ago. This Christmas made me realise the Isle of Wight was in desperate need of a brand overhaul and I began to think I could perhaps take a step towards this change through the promotion of the current successful career of the people the island inspires but ignores.
Despite my knowledge of the island and the need for this image overhaul, I was concerned as to what my cosmopolitan London editor tutors would think, and also my fashion forward peers, hence the plan B..
This brings me neatly to my original pitch...
My aim is to create a contemporary magazine by which to showcase and promote creative talent on the Isle of Wight with an aim to move towards an updated tourist perception and Island image whilst simultaneously acting as a foundation for networking that is currently lacking.
*ESSENTIALLY TO RE-BRAND THE IOW*
