Native Nomads: Story so far

As I'm past the half way point of my summative project (scary or what?) I thought it would be good to do a reflection type post on what I've discovered so far. 

I know I've said this before already but honestly I have grown to love this project more than I ever thought I would, I love researching the trend, designing mood boards and creating exciting collaborations.

Initially I just thought Native Nomads was about Western Americana and thats it, but this project has taught me that it's about so much more than that. Before this project I would never have guessed that the Wild West & American Pioneers were interlinked. Yes they are two completely separate parts of American history but like all history their paths crossed. I've explored tribes such as Navajo, seen the beautiful landscapes places such as colorado have to offers, I even managed to include my passion for makeup in this project in the form of tribal facepaint.

I have begun noticing this trend in shops, and even on the street when I'm out and about, it's crazy how this trend is so apparent in fashion right now, and I didn't even realise up until recently.
I was scrolling through the 'What's new' section on Boohoo's website a few days ago, and I noticed that quite a few new things that are coming into store have some kind of reference to Western heritage. 

At the beginning of this project I would have said, you would never catch me wearing this trend but the way "Native Nomads" has been modernised here by Boohoo has made even myself want to invest into the trend. Particularly the white shirt is a simple twist on the trend, yet you can still clearly see the nomadic reference.

I've looked into the history of the 'Wild West', it was interesting to find out that it only happened over a period of 30 years. I was expecting the era of cowboys to have been a lot longer than that. When I did my primary research survey it was no surprise that it revealed people think of the 'Wild West' when they thought of the trend Native Nomads, that led me to look into it further in the first place.



When I saw the word Pendleton, I thought 'oh what's a bike got to do with the trend'  turns out it's actually an American textile company based in Oregon, USA, they're famous for their native inspired blankets. The role of the blanket is woven deep into the history of Native Americans. For centuries they have been used for warmth & comfort, for artistic expression, as an important part of tribal communities.



Although it wasn't required, I did a bit of research into SS17, to get more background on the Native Nomads trend. Personally I don't regret looking at SS17 because I felt it helped me to identify what is classed as part of the Native Nomads trend for AW16.



A key aspect of research, was looking into the various print designs and colours used.
I ws surprised and very interested to find that within tribal communities different colours signify different strengths/ weaknesses. Particularly useful when in wars between tribes.



Previous projects inspired to look into editorials, I wasn't expecting to find anything at all to match my trend but I actually found quite a few. This Harper's Bazaar one really stood out to me from the off set, I just love how the pictures have been taken, the mountainous elements really brought the Native clothing back to life.



In my sketchbook I did a quick moodpboard to have me identify where the retail market was taking the trend, brands such as Zara & Mango are whom I expected to invest into this trend because it's along similar lines to what is already in store. I also found the American brand Macy's to have some good takes on the trend, this is something I will investigate further in New York.



Moving on from the research/ context stage onto the big idea was a bit of a struggle at first.
But researching into my given brand, Trespass and my given product, head torch helped me to generate some ideas that i'm pretty happy with.




Currently I have come up with my collaboration idea between Trespass & head torch, and I'm moving them on further in the creative concept stage. Initially I think I will draw out a mind map for each of the 3 mood boards required as this will help me to zone in on each visual interpretation.
I'm excited to see how they'll look! I already have some good colour palettes ideas that I've taken from the context stage.



I'll be sure to keep you all updated with how I get on!
Let me know what you think of what I've found out in the comments below. 
Did any of it surprise you?

Take Care & See You All Very Soon.

X

With the exception of the Boohoo mages, images are all my own.