This periodical is a free, although you can only get them from ordering a shirt from the Cupcakes store, & is a monthly mini publication that provides comprehensive coverage of the Johnny Cupcakes brand & lifestyle. It features: updates, games, puzzles, recipes, trivia, product news, contests & event listings.
In the past three issues, it also gives extensive coverage on upcoming collaborations between Johnny & Looney Tunes & Hello Kitty.
In each issue, is a letter from Johnny keeping you updated in not only the brand but delves a little bit deeper into what Johnny has being doing himself, it highlights topics he’s being posting on his blog over the last month but condescend down into a few hundred words, but there’s something satisfying about taking a break from flicking through his online posts and having a pleasant, different, physical read.
‘The fashion industry is sensitive to visual communication & understands & values it’s importance in order to create & develop a look, a feeling or a brand.’ Jansson, J
‘The fashion industry is sensitive to visual communication & understands & values it’s importance in order to create & develop a look, a feeling or a brand.’
Acne is an ackronym for ‘Ambition to Create Novel Expression.’ Not to be confused with the skin condition, which if is their intention, to create play on words it could relate back to the image conscious fashion industry?
The Acne Art Department team, based in Stockholm are key to the Acne & Acne Jeans brand management & are responsible for all of their creative branding. Although the brand is not quite up with the luxury brands like Gucci or Prada, the visual language they deploy reflects their balance between sophistication and commercial realties.
Six years ago, AAD launched their seasonal fashion magazine called ‘Acne Paper’ that is released along side their collections. The paper without a doubt is a highly effective piece of self promotion for both the brand and their studio, but it also acts as a mood-board of inspiration based around their collection, displaying concepts, development stages & thought processes rather than specific products that have been released.
It seems their aim is to enrich their followers in the intelligence and self-awareness behind the brand & the collective.
The Summer 2011 Issue, (pictured below) with a title like ‘Youth’, Acne could of easily focused on today’s fickle generation of ‘LIKE OMG HOT SCOOP’ model SLASH actors SLASH DJs SLASH bloggers. But instead they have written profiles & researched/ interviewed young filmmakers, classic musicians & performers that are very much how I imagine a young Kubrick or Beethoven to of thought like back in their prime.
In short, what is prominent in this issue is that Acne Paper are focusing on artists that are becoming maligned with less of a media forum to have their talents promoted. The emphasis is on the younger generation involved in the arts of ‘traditional’ sense.
There’s also a few editorials dotted about in between the interviews & case studies, with a heavy emphasis on a mood, a persona or on the way the clothes interact with the model rather than the clothes themselves.
This is a strong showcase for all of those involved for all of those involved & under the ‘Acne’ umbrella.
You can read the whole thing online, or if like me you would like to buy this issue follow the links below.
On my second meeting with Jethro at ‘JJ Marshall Associates’ he talked me through a few campaigns he had been working on recently, one of which was the paper lookbook for Wrangler titled ‘Mark Your Territory.’
Marshall is establishing Wrangler as a rising exceptionally ‘cool’ premium denim brand, the campaign with a hint of attitude reminds me of Diesels past marketing campaigns: models posing against stone grey cement wall backdrops, denim-on-denim combos recurring with wash styles for both genders.
Customization is their season’s concept; the brand is challenging their consumers to mark their own territory on their own jeans.
“The Mark Your Territory collection develops the We Are Animals brand signature. We are encouraging our consumers to really own and personalize their Wrangler jeans. We’re looking forward to seeing some wild creativity when this collection hits the street.” Alessandro Vigano, creative director.
Alongside the A/W 11 lookbook Stinkdigital London have been commissioned to create an on-line experience that showcased Wrangler’s range.
This digital short depicts the huge variety of ways that human beings mark their territory. The ways we leave our stamp may be more sophisticated, but we remain animals at heart.
We Are Animals encourages us to escape the routine, and live life at the extreme, with heart pumping and adrenaline flowing.
i-D counts more than fashion. Make a statement, originate don't imitate, find your own ID' Baker, C.
i-D magazine is probably best known for it’s innovative use of both typography & photography, & over the years has developed a strong reputation for showcasing fresh creative talent.
Turned on its side, the i-D logo resembles a winking smiling face that has featured on every issue since Terry Jones launched i-D back in the summer of 1980. This coherence has given the magazine such a strong visual identity that much like the rabbit silhouette for Playboy has become something of an icon for the brand.
Since the beginning i-D has approached their content as a catalogue of almost street-style photographs of real people wearing real clothes. Nowadays with editorials shot by Nick Knight, Terry Richardson or Juergen Teller, it could be easily assumed that this ‘straight-up’ instant documentation style has been bleached out over the years, which is not the case at all i-D will always be about the people.
With more than enough instantly forgettable fashion / culture magazines clogging up the shelves & aimed at every & any time of demographic, it’s easy to forget that when i-D was born, similar material didn’t exist & for the last 30-something years has maintained a status bridging the space between high-fashion & street savvy.
When I was walking to work in Spitalfields one morning last week, I noticed Dr Marten’s had found a new E1 base on the outside of Spitalfields Market. Needs to say I was excited to see the brand making a come back in the area after an abrupt departure of their store from another part of the market back in late 2010.
With their shiny new store came an inviting set of promotional materials including: A S/S 12 lookbook, a map to their store, a invitation to a dr marten’s party, a loyalty card, a key ring, a box of matches & a iPhone case.
Their S/S 12 lookbook titled ‘First & Forever’ fronted by models Agyness Deyn & Ash Stymest, styled like a still taken straight from Shane Meadow’s ‘This is England’ set in 1980’s northen England. And like Meadow’s film the new Marten’s campaign is very much reminiscent of the heritage of British skinhead culture.
The new campaign invites people to share their first experiences of doing something new - be it discovering a crush, going to a gig for the first time, or, the moment they bought their first pair of 'DM's'. Dr Martens will collate a social map of 'Firsts' in a digital setting to bring the campaign and experiences to life.
