You, Me, Them & Us

Evaluation
The idea for my project was to create a high end fashion
magazine that focuses on animal cruelty taking place within
the fashion/cosmetic industry, and why more people
should be aware of what the real truth is behind their
purchases. After doing some research on fashion magazines
that inspired me such as Vogue, I was able to find a style
that I liked and influenced how I wanted the overall look to
be. I decided that I wanted the colour palette to be very
neutral with shades of browns and beiges, to compliment
the idea of animals and nature, I didn’t choose any crazy
bright colours as I felt it wouldn’t work with the more
serious theme and tone of the topic. I was then able to
come up with a name for my magazine, and I chose the
word ‘Definition’ as I felt the word represented well what I
wanted the magazine to portray, which is seeing things with
a higher definition, in other words “defining” things more
clearly and showing the truth behind what companies are
trying to hide.

For my cover I wanted to include a living animal posing

comfortably with the model on the front cover, as I felt this
was a huge statement that has a lot of meaning behind it,
other than just simply holding an animal. The idea was that
instead of wearing a fur coat or holding a leather bag as
some magazines choose to do, I was holding the possible
victim of their crimes, but the animal is alive and healthy
and can still be a beautiful part of the art that fashion
designers are creating, without their lives being taken for it.
I was able to use my own rabbits for this shoot and with the
help of my mum I was able to take enough photos to get
the perfect one that I had envisioned in my plan. Due to
Covid-19 I had to use myself as the model, as I couldn’t
involve anyone else as we were not allowed to be mixing
with other households. However in many ways it was a lot
easier, because I was able to spend enough time with my
rabbits to get a good photo without causing them too
much stress by having lots of other people involved. I was
able to get it done with them feeling as relaxed and safe as
possible, while surrounded by the people they feel
comfortable with. As well as that I was able to do my
makeup/ hair and plan my outfits and then decide which
poses were going to look the best for the magazine. I
specifically wanted myself and my rabbit to be looking
directly at the camera to make it appear engaging, so the
readers who are looking at the cover feel it’s more personal
and directed towards them, and they will then feel more of
a connection towards the subject matter. For the set of my
shoot I used studio lights for good lighting, and a white
backdrop which I later decided would be better to match
with the aesthetic, so I found a large brown bed sheet to
hang up behind myself and used it as the backdrop for the
photos. I also decided to do all the photos sitting down as I
felt it looked more professional and worked well with the
close up shots, as well as helping make more interesting
poses for the shoot. It was a bit more challenging working
with the rabbits. I tried to make sure they were always
comfortable while taking the photos, I wanted to be able to
get enough good shots done where they are looking in the
direction of the camera but still remain relaxed and happy
whilst I was holding them. Rabbits, as a prey animal, are
naturally fearful of being lifted off the ground, so it is really
important to make them feel secure.

The first double page spread encompasses the fashion side

of my magazine, so I wanted to demonstrate how fashion
magazines can incorporate cruelty free items in an
appealing way. It was quite difficult to find high end brands
that are completely cruelty free, and I wanted the outfits I
chose to appear as if they were designer pieces. I did the
best I could with the research for this, as it’s not talked
about enough for me to be fully confident that all the items
are entirely cruelty free. I included photos of me wearing
simple clothes and a faux leather bag. I still wanted them to
appear expensive and high quality without the use of
animal products involved as that was the goal of the project.

The research I did for distinguishing between the brands

that were cruelty free and not cruelty free, was quite
challenging as most websites had different responses and
results. Some say that brands are no longer involving
animals but others say they are, so it was difficult to
separate them as I wasn’t too sure how accurate the articles
were, if anything had changed recently, and whether the
full information was out there. However some did say that
there have been recent changes with luxury brands and
their involvement with animal cruelty and how they are
making changes with their brand for the better, and in my
magazine I wanted to highlight important details such as
these as it’s good to give a platform to companies that are
doing better and can lead by setting a good example.

For the magazine, I personally wanted to target wealthier

people who are most likely shopping from high end stores
that are not cruelty free, and then continuing to buy fur
and leather without realising the terrible effect this is really
causing, and this is mainly happening, as those with more
money feel entitled to buy real animal fur/skin as it appears
in society as being more luxurious. “According to a 2019
luxury market report, today's luxury brand target audience
is 25 to 44 years old. They comprise 64 percent of this
overall audience.” Therefore I wanted to create a fashion
magazine that would be able to advertise expensive brands
that are cruelty free, and show how you can still buy
tasteful things and not have to harm animals in the making.
Not only would my magazine advertise fashion but also
educate people on why this is such an important topic that
should be talked about more.

I chose to make it a December issue, because the 10th

marks international animal rights day, which is a day in
which people will raise awareness on these brutal events
that unfortunately take place more often than many think,
and a day to remember all the animals that have lost their
lives due to human brutality. I felt it was important to
include this as it’s a topic that many people will choose to
ignore, but I wanted to make it easier for people to
understand, by relating it to things that they use in their
day to day lives, and simple things they can change to make
a difference, such as buying from cosmetic brands that
don’t test on animals and buying clothes that don’t use
animal fur/skin and instead try out the alternatives, as it
won’t make any difference in their lives but could save
millions of animals lives instead.
With regards to my audience feedback, I have now shown
multiple people my magazine and from what they have said
they seem to like it a lot, as one of my peers said “it looks
like a real magazine” and my teacher said “That looks really
professional”. Along with this I wanted some constructive
criticism and they said that for it to have been better they
would have liked to have seen more photos on the inside
pages to go alongside the writing, and include more than
one model but because of covid they knew I couldn’t.
If I were to do something similar again, and was able to
work with a proper crew, with a big budget and
professionals such as famous models or celebrities and real
designer clothes. I would want to be able to use real cruelty
free designer clothes and make up and work with a
professional stylist with better props and accessories. I
would love to have had other animals such as cows,mink
and foxes, so my article could represent all the animals
caught up in the industry, which would have had a greater
impact on the reader.

I chose this topic for You, Me, Them & Us, as I felt it
related well with the given title, ‘You’ the customer/reader
buying from these brands, ‘Me’ raising the awareness by
writing the article, ‘Them’ the animals harmed in the
making of fashion/cosmetics, ‘Us’ the people that can stand
up to this and make a change for the better. It’s a topic that
everyone should be aware of, and something that could be
avoided in the future if everyone comes together and can
educate themselves and hopefully changes will be made for
a kinder future.