My zine theme is about embracing the differences of fashion. The main message I wanted to achieve is that fashion is not a one-and-done decision. I've recently seen online, especially on social media like TikTok and Instagram, that people desperately want to fit into one image of themselves and base their lifestyle, look, and personality around that one "core aesthetic"; so desperate in fact, that they are troubled by the simple idea that they could be interested in more than one type of fashion style. It's understandable that these people, usually teens and younger adults, will need that feeling of belonging in a group but I want to express the opposite through this zine. Fashion styles or aesthetics can be molded and mixed together to whatever degree that your heart so desires.
I started this project with the general idea of drawing different outfits and making collages about each one, and for the most part my idea didn't really divulge too much. I did have some ambitious plans to have some ways to make my zine more interactive like making each aesthetic a Spotify playlist with songs that match the mood/tone or creating a little dress up game at the end of each zine. However, with the amount of work that I had to put into each collage and illustration, I realized that I wasn't able to do something as complicated as that for my zine. I instead decided to replace those ideas with an easier waterfall card, where you can pull to reveal images, which I decided was a little easier to make and still interactive.
Beginning my project, I really wanted to have a more detailed centerfold, which I achieved through having a collage/illustration combination representing the 'cottagecore' aesthetic. Everything else, I mostly followed the process that I laid out for myself from the beginning.
For inspiration, I searched through images on both Google and Pinterest, looking at what types of images, the color schemes (for example, the 'soft girl' aesthetic has many pastel colors), and popular associations came up whenever I searched for a specific aesthetic. I looked at collages that other people on the Internet had made and the outfits they created. Then, I began each aesthetic with the collage, so I could get the big picture of what the aesthetic really was.
For the most part, I really enjoy most of what I've created, bar the 'soft girl' illustration, which I ran out of time rendering. I really like the front cover of my zine, where I tried to recreate fashion magazine styles; I also really like the back cover, because I like the message that fashion is not for one specific group, it's for everyone to enjoy. I really hope that others can gain some inspiration from what I've created, and continue to find ways to express themselves through fashion.
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