Category: Portfolio

Gucci Subverts all Gender Norms in Pre-Fall ’18 Campaign

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Gucci’s Pre-Fall 2018 Campaign is far from the conventional fashion advertisement. While the discussion of gender pervades almost every advertisement, Gucci skillfully diffused the norms surrounding gender. Firstly, the ad campaign lacks color—thus eliminating the distinction between “girl/boy colors” (i.e. soft colors for girls and heavier colors for men). The focus is on the woman (bottom right) sitting on the table, facing a diverse group of people—many of whom take on an androgynous appearance, including the woman in focus. The woman wears a baggy t-shirt, along with wide legged jeans and heeled shoes over stockings (reminiscent of European 17th century aristocratic males’ dress)— a subtle, yet profound female empowerment move. Moreover, the woman sits with her legs situated in what resembles a “man spread”, and yelling into a microphone; this might have been a comment on the modesty a woman “should” typically present. This campaign was featured on WWD’s slideshow Best Fashion Ad Campaigns of Spring 2018: proof that hyper sexual imagery of stereotypical genders is not needed to make a lasting impression for sales. According to the campaign art director, Christopher Simmonds, the imagery was inspired by the 60s French New Wave film that connotes freedom, equality, and sexuality— so there is no doubt that an advertisement of this sort would subvert traditional gender norms. As Susan Kaiser states in her text Fashion and Cultural Studies, “The late 1960s…witnessed resistance against older stories of gender, ‘race,’…”^1 . The revival of this decades-old cultural movement points at the idea that our society continues to face such issues that the crowd is protesting in the advertisement. 

Footnotes

1. Susan B. Kaiser. Fashion and Cultural Studies (London: Berg, 2012). Pg 18

Subject Positioning and Intersectionality

Posted on Posted in Year 21 Comment

Link to Full PDF 

  1. Gender

I identify as mostly female, as almost everything is a point on a spectrum. Though I embrace the attributes that make me a female physically, my personality can sometimes be more masculine. Some traits of mine that can be deemed “unwomanly” are my interest in sports, a dominant personality, I have more male friends than female, and I sometimes dress gender neutral. This impacts my life in a variety of ways. Many times, I find myself somewhere in the middle where I cant fully relate to females nor males. Since gender and the norms surrounding gender are so deeply engrained in society, it affects every other subject position listed in the map from the way that I dress to the way that I interact with other people. Often, how much I identify myself as a  female or male depends on my mood, which in turn is affected by where I am (place), what aspect of my career I am focusing on that day, how mature I feel in relation to my age, whether I am more interested in a man or female (sexuality), and which of the two interests I delve deeper into. Many men do not like a dominant woman, so I struggle with having to reconsider who I should be dating or adapt myself to how a man would like a woman to be or look. For instance, I would dress “sexier” for a date with a male I know would like someone who is more feminine. That means, tight fitting clothing that reveals my curves, light scented perfume, makeup, and heels. Other times, I am more gender fluid in how I dress. I could wear converse, ripped baggy jeans, and a nirvana shirt on a day I skate to class. Sexuality: Bisexual, more heterosexual

Neyman, Leana. I am a Lady. April 2018. New York, NY.

  1. Sexuality

My sexuality is very much connected to my gender identification—that is the reason for why they are neighboring each other in the intersectionality map. As I identify myself more as female, it only “normal” to assume that I am more interested to the opposite sex (i.e. heterosexual). Nonetheless, I believe that love comes in all shapes and forms so I do not limit myself to liking only one sex. I am aware of this mostly when I find myself developing feelings for someone of  the same sex, since this is something that is considered out of “the norm” and “out of context”. However, living in New York I am able to express this more freely than I was back in my community in Brooklyn. My age also allows for curiosity and experimentation, as well as in my career where most people are liberal sexuality. My interest in spirituality and science also allows me to learn about love beyond labels (like spiritual connection, and homosexual love exhibited in other species). My sexuality affects how I dress similarly to the way my gender does. On a daily basis, however, I tend to show off my curves and female assets which may appeal more to heterosexuals but can still grab the attention of someone of the same sex. I’d say that my style is edgy, yet “sexy” as funny as that sounds!

Neyman, Leana. Prom. May 2017. Brooklyn, NY.

  1. Place

I was raised in Brooklyn, NY and recently moved to Manhattan upon entering Parsons. Though the majority of my life I have spent in South Brooklyn, I have never really fit in and spent most of my time escaping to Manhattan, where I felt I could truly be myself in a place with so much diversity. Therefore, I placed myself closer to the Manhattan side of the spectrum. As close as they may be, I become more aware of the differences and where I fit in more when I come to visit Brooklyn now that I live in the city. There are the typical Russian girls in my community who continue to wear their Ugg boots and Juicy Couture track suits. I then remember how I’d always be the “different” one who wore wide brim hats and sweater dresses. On the island, however, I seem to not only have my own style but also be up to date with the trends, finding many people who wear what I wear. Aside from clothing, I also fit in more with the liberal attitude of New York City, whereas homosexuality, gender fluidity, artistic careers, spirituality, and young age aren’t taken seriously— even looked down upon. Before visiting Brooklyn, I make sure to dress down and forget a great chunk of what makes up who I am as to not frighten anyone.  

Neyman, Leana. Paris School Trip.. March 2016. Paris, France. 

  1. Career

My career choice not only ties in with my interests and talents, but my gender, sexuality, and place positions were precursors for what I eventually would do with my life. Seeing as I am somewhere in between the masculine and the feminine aspects of each subject, it is no wonder that I would want to pursue a career in Fashion Design and Business. Like most of the other spectrums, I am found on the more feminine side, which is Fashion Design in this case—a quite  common assumption that fashion design is a woman’s profession. Albeit, my dominant personality requires a managerial, technical angle to be incorporated in my career. I am most of aware of this when working in group projects, where I almost naturally assume the role of a leader/organizer, while also offering creative input. When going for job interviews or dressing for a work environment, I tend to wear suits but add feminine features by the way I style them with jewelry, makeup, or my hairdo. Otherwise, my life as a fashion student allows me to explore my more alternative side!

Neyman, Leana. Darker Side. December 2018. New York, NY.

  1. Age

One’s age is pretty set in stone. As a 19 year old, I identify with Generation Z. Nonetheless, there is a difference between how old you are versus how old you feel. Growing up with an older sister, I have had much exposure to the previous generation’s style, fashion, and behavior. As a result I have assumed a much older persona. I am able to more deeply relate on an emotional level with people who are above the age of 24. Culturally, I relate to other 19 year old who are up to date with all the newest tech, fashion, innovations, etc. Living in New York, many people look towards the younger generations for the newest ideas and view on life. Also it is a place with a dense young population. Same goes for my career, where youth is admired but a professional attitude is still adhered to. My sexuality and gender fluidity is more accepted by people of my generation. However, my interests and philosophy are highly in tune with the older generation,  who is more adamant about connecting with others, taking their time to develop relationships, and focusing on mastery. People of my age are so engulfed in this idea of immediacy due to technology, that they find themselves jumping from person to person, and interest to interest so fast that they can hardly develop anything long-lasting or meaningful. Depending on who I surround myself with or my mood, I find myself either dressing older or younger (a-line dresses with tights versus crop tops with high waisted jeans).

 

Neyman, Leana. Chillax. May 2018. New York, NY.

  1. Interests

“Interests” is a vague word. To be more exact, it is how I like to develop my philosophy and perception of the world. My behavior is highly dictated by this balance I keep between spiritual and scientific ideas. Though they are contradictory in many ways, there are always intersections in seemingly opposite things given enough analysis and open mindedness. Due this necessity of having an open mind when merging spirituality and science, I have developed a greater security in my gender, sexuality, and age. At the same time, my interests have directed me to live in a place that is more open about spirituality than where I grew up, as well as aided me in developing my artistic vision in my fashion designs. Metaphysics is something that has long been part of philosophical thought, including the works of Aristotle. Susan Kaiser, author of Fashion and Cultural Studies, even draws much of her philosophies about fashion from the basics of metaphysical philosophy, which can be seen in her quotes like “Fashion materializes as bodies move through time and space”. While this is a philosophical phrase, it can also be perceived from a scientific standpoint: fashion as dress is a physical item that follows the laws of physics (space-time continuum) just as any other perceivable object. This is a huge influence in how I dress because it makes up a great portion of my value system in that everything in this world is a balance, down to the smallest molecule. In the grand scheme of the universe, who cares who or how you dress like: just be who you want to be in the present moment.

Neyman, Leana. Universal Energy. December 2017. Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

Defining Fashion

Posted on Posted in Year 2Leave a comment

 

LINK TO FULL PDF FILE OF RESPONSE

In Christopher Breward’s Foreword to Fashion Studies: Research Methods, Sites and Practices, he mindfully laid out a series of general truths, or aphorisms— as opposed to a manifesto of rigid points defining “fashion”, allowing room for interpretation. The fourth and last aphorisms resonated the most with me and how I direct my art.

Breward introduced the fourth aphorism stating, “Fashion moves in space and time.”  Fashion is a paradox— like almost everything. Despite being inanimate, fashion (i.e. trends) has a life cycle. When fashion is materialized and met with a body, it can physically move through space and time while also transcend those same illusory constructs. It can exist beyond the material world as a semiotic tool. I related to the part of the aphorism regarding merging science and fashion. Instead of abandoning my love and curiosity for physics upon entering design school, I delved further into it in order to inspire designs that are beautifully informative and innovative. 

The tenth and last aphorism declares, “Fashion does not define. It is a term that demands definition.” Over the years, I have conducted research on what makes up a brand’s identity and how people can self-identify via fashion. I believe an error within many large fashion companies is the over-marketing of false lifestyles, thus blurring the line between defining their customer base and the individual in society. I liked this aphorism for its simplicity and ability to cut across the notion that an individual should be a certain way to fit in and obtain pleasure. Due to the subjectivity and versatility of fashion, an individual can always project their inner world onto their clothes.

 

String Theory

Posted on Posted in Integrative Studio 2, Portfolio, Year 1Leave a comment

Concept

String Theory was based on the concept of revealing and concealing. As I delved into the research of the theoretical physics’ String Theory in Seminar II, I realized that there is so much more than what meets the eye… that true beauty lies in what you cannot see. The String Theory is “based on the existence of cosmic strings,” as defined by Google Dictionary. It involves the notion that there are 10 extra dimensions to the universe. These strings of energy, called superstrings,  are what formed the basis of my design through the exposed stitching. I wanted to emulate energetic vibrations and the connectivity of the whole universe, while also portraying the freedom of becoming yourself. In the end we are all part of the same universal energy, but unique in that we can use it to be who we want to be. The issue is that people have a tendency to go against their own nature in order to fit in. Thus, by melting away of the plastic layer of the bodice, I am showing how the not-so-pleasing superficial layers of a person can be stripped away (after awakening and seeing the grand scheme of the world for the first time) in order to free the supreme and organic self.

Method

I first developed the pattern digitally through Adobe Illustrator for the first time. After printing, I cut the pattern pieces out of the fabric and water soluble interfacing. I stitched on top of water soluble interface, lined with regular interfacing for rigidity while sewing, in a grid-like fashion for the bottom 3/4 of the bodice and randomly on the top 1/4 of the bodice. After doing so for all pattern pieces of the bodice, I removed the regular interfacing grid by grid as to not rip the stitching. I did a two layer skirt for more opacity and more flow. I used silver and blue-silver decorative thread for the rolled hem and overlocking to give a starry appearance to the navy blue skirt. I attached the skirt and bodice together using a zipper.

Materials

Product

Visual Essay- String Theory: What is Real?

Posted on Posted in Academic Orientation Fall 2017, Integrative Seminar 2, Portfolio, Year 1Leave a comment

For the Visual Essay for Seminar II, I initially wanted to focus on the aspects of friendship and how it has been affected by technology. However, upon knowing that I would have to stick to this topic till the end of the semester, I decided to focus on a topic in which I was deeply interested and in what I already had background knowledge. Thusly, I decided to talk about what we perceive to be real and the true reality of our world. This topic gave me the leeway to delve into spiritual, scientific, and personal subtopics that form this big idea. By sourcing information from various first-hand accounts, personal accounts, and secondary sources; I was able to not only develop my visual essay but get the chance to expand my own knowledge in my true interests rather than being prompted to write about something in particular. This insight that I have gotten allowed me to more deeply analyze my own perception of the world, as human beings tend to forget the impacts such knowledge can have on a person. The visual essay evolved from a powerpoint presentation with graphics to eventually a small book. The book cover is of a detail photo from the the garment I made in Studio II. I inverted the colors to make for a cosmic-like web to compliment the concept from which it was derived.

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STRING THEORY BOOK COVER op-20pmi6z

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Visual Essay- Evolution of the Human Body

Posted on Posted in Integrative Studio 2, Portfolio, Year 11 Comment

This assignment consisted of the deconstruction of an item or concept with a significant prevalence throughout history. I concentrated on the concept of transforming the human body by means of adoration, clothing, accessories, etc. This interest was sparked by a trip to Thailand, where I saw many Kinari statue in the Grand Palace wearing ear cuffs. I later found out that these ear cuffs were known as Kaffas and are part of the traditional Thai dress. However, seeing such accessories on a statue hundreds of years old made me wonder how the far into the future the human mind perceives, and how there has always been some desire in humans to elevate or reconfigure the body through accessories, clothing, and even surgical procedures. I first created the mood board below to convey this concept to the class. I later expanded on the history, present, and potential future course of this concept in a visual essay format in order to study how this is so heavily engrained into humankind. For the mood board, I used Photoshop to cut the subjects from the backgrounds, and to adjust the tones. I then processed and laid out all the images into a collage on Illustrator and used various tools to add accents such as lines and paint. For the Visual Essay, I used InDesign and created my own layout using a grid to make sure all pages are consistent.

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Landscape Collage with Figure

Posted on Posted in Drawing+Imaging, Portfolio, Year 11 Comment

As the class stepped into the unit of perspective drawing, we started out by making collages that gave the illusion of depth.

The first step was to make tonal drawings of a model using “boxy,” “mapping,” and “naturalistic” techniques. This step was important in getting students familiar with shading and how contrast of light should be treated in a drawing. For instance, the lighter side of a subject should be accompanied by a darker background, whereas the darker side could havea lighter background. These are some examples of my tonal drawings:

We were then asked to choose one or more of our figure drawings to include in a landscape collage. We worked with various materials like decorative paper, textures, and mark-making to create a collage that conveyed a sense of 3-dimensional depth. Since this project was basically a study of how we see space, I literally thought of space and decided to base my collage on that idea. I wanted to create a sense of infinite space by repeating the same image of the large figure at bottom in smaller figures above, and using different decorative papers and prints to make the moon and planets. I reduced the size of the upper figures and planets and placed them in an S-shape to evoke a sense of depth.

 

White and Ambiguous Figures

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This project consisted of a multistep process that integrated physical and digital work. The object was to make two compositions, one with a white figure on a black background and one with an ambiguous figure/ground relationship. Both compositions were to use the same negative shapes from a montage combining drawings of stools and a nude model.

The first step in the process was to draw the model and the stools. By doing so, the students strengthened how well they translated what they saw onto paper. We used a helpful method to scale the various components of what we were looking at by using a pencil to compare the sizes of various parts. Also, it helped to first draw a mini version of the objects before beginning the actual drawing. Afterwards, we scanned the drawings and edited them in Photoshop to clean them up and make the negative spaces white. Below is the edited image of the stools… unfortunately there is no image of the figure alone but you can view it in the composition of the stools and the figure in the next step.

Next was to combine the edited images of the stools and figure into an Illustrator file in an interesting way that would create at least 15 decent-sized shapes out of the negative space. We “carved” out the negative spaces using the pen tool and added a white fill to them. Here I’m showing the negative shapes with a colored fill to make them more visible.

The final step was to create two 10 x 10-inch art boards in Illustrator with black backgrounds. Once that was done, it was time to start laying out the white shapes from the stool and figure composition to create new compositions. The two images had to use the same shapes, at the same size, with minimal overlapping. It took a lot of experimenting to make both images properly fit within the frame size and be appealing with such restrictions. However, doing so improved our skills in working with restrictions, which are often faced in real-world situations. Below are the final figures (left is the “white figure” and the right is the “ambiguous composition”).

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FREYA: Branding- Perfume Bridge Project

Posted on Posted in Integrative Seminar 1, Integrative Studio 1, Portfolio, Year 11 Comment

 

 

The second studio/seminar bridge assignment entailed creating a dream brand and designing a product (a scent as the standard for this project) in order to build on our artistic skills. Not only did we have to create a brand that was targeted toward a particular audience, but we also had to conceptualize what kind of scent would appeal to this audience. Seeing as I was working opening my own clothing brand prior to the project, I had an easy time deciding upon the type of brand I wanted and the intent of such a brand. I knew that I wanted to focus on empowering the public, maintaining a meaningful message behind every design, and leaving a positive imprint in the world. All of this can be reduced to faith and spirituality which I like to see from various perspectives by studying different mythologies and belief systems. The one that I grew greatly fond of is Norse Mythology for its incredible stories and deities that are meant to resemble humans. Thusly, I named my brand after the Norse Goddess Freya, who represents love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, magic, war, and death. I included all of these ideals and spiritual context into my manifesto which is meant to relay that sense of power even in the most dainty beauty.

I abstracted my logo from the Valknut, a Norse symbol of folk-remembrance, sacrifice, honour, dedication, and love for those who die in battle for our people. This is considered to be the truest act of love. Of course I do not want people to think that you must die to show your love. Rather, I took a more metaphorical and modern take on this act of dying for the greater good, where one is destined to endure many struggles on a mission to bring beauty to the world. In an aesthetic sense, I made the Valknut in my logo look less ancient and rugged to fit more with my brand. Once I was satisfied with my branding, I started on my product.

As a child, I was always intrigued by the Harajuku Lovers perfumes and how each scent had its own character. At the same time I wanted to work with the celestial aspect that comes with spirituality and Norse mythology. As I looked to the stars, I remembered the Pleiades Constellation (part of the Taurus horoscope and also my sign) has an alternate name: “Freya’s Hens”. I integrated ancient-old Greek myth of how Zeus transformed 7 nymphs, also daughters of Atlas (Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope), into stars to mourn their father after he was sentenced to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I then married all of these disparate inspirations and ideas into one: I chose the 4 brightest stars in the Pleiades constellation, researched the traits of each mythological character with which it is associated, and created 4 different scents based on their traits. Then came the bottle design. I found an image of Freya online where she wore a winged helmet and her wings were also extended in a semicircle. After many iterations, I used a semilunar shape to represent her wings and the feathers on her helmet. I carefully chose the colors of the bottles based on the characteristics of each “star” as well. Though I created labels for the bottles, they seemed to take away from the overall “look” of the bottle. So, I decided to have the bottles engraved with the names of the scents. I also chose to name the line of scents “M45”, another name for the Pleiades constellation, to give a more prestigious ring to the name.

I continued the semi-circle shape into the design of the box. The construction of the box is when I learned many valuable skills including practicing intermediate techniques in wood-making, planning for every failure accordingly, and maintaining an unfaltering confidence that everything will work out as imagined. The same goes for the process of creating my display. As time trickled away with life bringing many unprecedented distractions (like the horrific flood in my dorm and late material shipments), I knew I had to let my ambition sizzle down and come to terms with areas in which I would not be able to excel as far as I had hoped. Nevertheless, I did my best to make my vision come to life and was still glad that I got to experiment with a new material—plexiglass— and laser cutting. Now I know which mistakes not to repeat again, such as always measuring and remeasuring, taking precautions to ensure a clean end result, and researching any new material before working with it.

Last but not least, I created both a magazine and billboard ad that would capture the essence of the brand. At first, I had a messy, unprofessional edit of an aurora in the background of a not-so-great picture. With more rummaging through the pictures from the photoshoot, which also took a lot of planning and coordinating, and help from my peers I found the perfect set of images that I chose to edit. The slogan for the ad campaign pretty much came to be from the top of my head and I stuck with it because it felt most right. This time around while editing the photos, I made sure to not edit out the nature background and keep it as high-fashion magazine as possible and eventually I was ecstatic at the results. To elaborate more on the photoshoot process, I first had to find the perfect models that would encapsulate the image of each Pleiades star. Then, I made sure to plan with a lot of time ahead in case of any weather issues- which in fact did occur and the girls were more than willing to accommodate on different days. Throughout the days leading up to the photoshoot, I worked on the models’ costumes in order for them all to fit the aesthetic of Norse goddesses even more so. I searched up many inspirations for makeup and hair beforehand and by the time the day of the photoshoot came, everything was ready. I got everyone dressed and made up just in time for the “golden hour” for photo-shooting. Overall, I impressed myself with the amount of work I was able to get done and obstacles I overcame with so little experience. This was my first true test at what still awaits me in the future.

Observing Life

Posted on Posted in Academic Orientation Fall 2017, Portfolio, Time, Year 1Leave a comment

For this video, I focused on the idea of people dwelling on the past and how living your memories can take a toll on your mental and physical health. This something that has been engrained into society- to think and rethink about past events- and something that we almost innately impose onto ourselves. Often times you see people lost in thought- where their mind is at is not always clear but somehow thinking of the past often leaves a person melancholic, fearful, and disappointed. Though memories are not always bad, they can become that simply by overthinking and letting current emotions weigh you down so that joyous moments become memories you never want to visit again in order to save yourself the pain of having those times slip away.

https://vimeo.com/240598822

My first iteration of the video focused on a complete different aspect of life. It was meant to be about the feelings and sensations that one experiences throughout his or her workout.

Neyman_Leana-storyboardraft-28ww3rb

Then, I changed my entire concept to make it more widely-relatable, whereas the prior idea would only appeal to athletes. While thinking of how I would relay the messaged I described earlier, I experimented with various effects and filming angles to capture just that. In my final storyboard, I wrote out all the effects I would use such as the strobe effect and transparency to create a distortion in time, an overlapping of the past and present, and revival of old memories that almost seem to flash through or linger within your head.

NeymanLeana-Storyboard-1zv4uro