We Dress A Certain Way: an animator’s exploration of fashion and people watching. I found this article on It’sNiceThat about Jiaqi Wang’s street style based game, the project started out as a simple walking cycle with twelve characters wearing different outfits based on the animator’s observations of people walking down the street, but eventually transformed into a desktop game: “Sometimes it can be hard for us to connect to an audience with our art, but my making it interactive is like a warm invitation welcoming them into your world.” (Clarke, Y. A., 2024).
I messed about with the desktop version for a while to understand the game and came to the conclusion that it’s a fun and whimsical way to express the artist’s interest in street style, as well as a creative way to invite other people into her introverted world of passive observation over active engagement. I thought it was an interesting way to combine fashion and animation, and while I’m not planning on creating anything similar to this project, I recognise the importance of the starting point being something that genuinely inspires and interests me, while respecting my own limits with regards to engagement and technological ability.
Wang, J. (2024) JiaqiWang. [Screenshot] Available at: https://www.jiaqiwang.org/about/ (Accessed: 07/11/2024). My composition crowding my favourite outfits from the game together.
Yinka Ilori collection brought to life by Jon Frier’s unique stop motion basketball animation, where the basketball enters another dimension on its journey through the net. Ilori’s collection for Autumn/Winter 2023 featured this collection within a collection which was basketball themed, based on Ilori’s experiences growing up around the sport’s culture (Gorny, L. 2023). Stop motion makes sense as a creative choice for a fashion related animation, considering the ease with which textural elements can be woven into the production. I liked the silly character design of the basketball also.
On further exploration I saw that Yinka Ilori is also known for his pop-up shops, where he takes over a space with his full creative force in order to best showcase his design works for the right audience, and his use of bold, maximalist colour serves as an eye grabbing invitation to the uninformed passer by:
Ilori, Y., Reeve, E., (2023) Yinka Ilori Pop-up Shop. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/yinka-ilori-pop-up-shop-product-design-011222 (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Ilori, Y., Reeve, E., (2023) Yinka Ilori Pop-up Shop. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/yinka-ilori-pop-up-shop-product-design-011222 (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Bromley, J. (2023) Loewe X Howl’s Moving Castle. Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/inside-loewe-studio-ghibli-popup-selfridges-b1057158.html (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Loewe have been long time collaborators with Studio Ghibli to create dreamy ready-to-wear and accessories collections based on the animation studio’s most beloved characters, but also beautiful pop-ups around London to welcome these collections onto the scene.
Loewe. (2023) The installations mark the third and final collaboration between Loewe and Studio Ghibli. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/22/loewe-studio-ghibli-installations-selfridges-howls-moving-castle/ (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Loewe. (2023) Howl’s Moving Castle Themed Food is Served. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/22/loewe-studio-ghibli-installations-selfridges-howls-moving-castle/ (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Loewe. (2023) One installation features at Selfridges’ Corner Shop. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/22/loewe-studio-ghibli-installations-selfridges-howls-moving-castle/ (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
It’s not lost on me that these Loewe X Studio Ghibli displays are so effective due to the popularity and recognisability of the Studio Ghibli characters and scenery, but even with this in mind they are my favourite examples in this short research compilation. It’s not just the association with the Ghibli films, but their sheer commitment to bringing it to life, completely transforming the space to best feature the collections, and the whimsical juxtaposition of the titular moving castle against the cold, sterile interior of the ultra-modern Selfridges. The displays are more like set design than visual merchandising considering their scale, commitment and attention to detail.
References
Bromley, J. (2023) ‘Inside Loewe’s Studio Ghibli Pop-Up’, The Standard, 1 February, Available at: https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/inside-loewe-studio-ghibli-popup-selfridges-b1057158.html (Accessed: 07/11/2024)
Clarke, Y.A.. (2024) It’s Nice That. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/jiaqi-wang-we-dress-a-certain-way-game-illustration-project-130324 (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Englefield, J. (2023) ‘Loewe and Studio Ghibli Create Selfridges Installations informed by Howl’s Moving Castle’, Dezeen, 22 February, Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/02/22/loewe-studio-ghibli-installations-selfridges-howls-moving-castle/ (Accessed: 07/11/2024)
Ilori, Y., Reeve, E., (2023) Yinka Ilori Pop-up Shop. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/yinka-ilori-pop-up-shop-product-design-011222 (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Jon Frier (2023) Yinka Ilori – Ojukokoro. 15 November. Available at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp1wF7vjTas (Accessed: 07/11/2024).
Wang, J. (2024) JiaqiWang. Available at: https://www.jiaqiwang.org/about/ (Accessed: 07/11/2024)