12
FASHION
ISSUE 88 / 2016
STOP ASKING YOUR FRIENDS FOR FREEBIES!
Let’s talk about supporting our friends and family with the same passion as we support the celebrities that we don’t
even know.
If you started your own company, who
would be the ideal first group of 20 people
to share, advertise and advocate your
brand? And we’re not talking about the
most influential and richest companies
and brands, we’re talking about the people
that you would genuinely love to love your
brand. We all know the deal; Kanye West
or some other multi billionaire shares a
picture of their new T-shirt, jeans, trainers,
who gives a fuck. Hundreds share the post,
begging their friends, “OMG BABE, check
out these jeans, seriously, so cool”. And
share, they will. Buy, they will. Support,
they will.
But hold up. The other day we saw a
post shared along the lines of, “Hey guys,
starting my own clothing brand would be
super happy if you guys could like, share,
comment etc, share the love!!!”
Guess how many likes, shares, comments
and love it got?
Zero. That’s what’s up. Zero.
Um, but why? Why are we so quick to
share a new t shirt launched by a man who
demotes the very idea of originality yet so
hesitant to support a good friend who has
worked themselves to the bone to try and
make something of themselves?
Because fear. When our skill level is
low, our fear is high. The higher your
skill, the lower your fear and vice versa.
So when we’re looking at a man whose
turnover is more than your mind can even
comprehend, where d’you think your
money’s going?
When you fund a friend who’s just
launched his/her new business, where do
you think your money’s going? It’s going
to funding, to testing, sampling, packaging,
advertising, social media and much more.
It’s going to… wait for it....
Your fucking friend and their new
aspiration.
Some people don’t seem to enjoy seeing
the success of their friends though. We
don’t like seeing the people we apparently
love (as long as they’re free for a night out
and willing to turn up with us any day off
the week, it’s calm) prosper. What a sad
thought. In 2016, let’s all try and face our
support towards the ones close to us. If you
know somebody trying to make it into the
music scene, go to their gigs and buy the
tickets. Don’t ask your friends to give you a
mates rates on their product or service, pay
the full price and support them. Promote
them. Don’t tell your aspiring artist friend
that you need some art done (for free)
and that it would be awesome exposure
for them. Commission them. Don’t ask
your photographer friend to take pictures
at your wedding (for free) and definitely
don’t act as though you’re entitled to it all.
Support your friends the same way you
support the celebrities that you don’t even
know.
And if you need another reason to
support the ones around you, don’t forget
that people remember the ones who
supported them. If we work together,
support each other and help each other
with no expectations, we’ll all come out on
top.
More @guestlist.net
IRON MAIDEN ARTIST GETS IN ON ZAYN
MALIK’S CLOTHING LINE
Ex-One Directioner Zayn Malik has released a new
clothing line to go along with the release of his
debut solo album, Mind of Mine. The clothing line,
like the album, is Zayn-centric, and features his name
sprawled across T-Shirts and hoodies, in English and
Urdu.
Unusually for fashion featuring Arabic script, Malik’s line avoids cultural
appropriation as Malik has Palestinian heritage, having sung in Urdu on his album.
On one T shirt, Malik teams up with the artist behind some of the album artwork
of Iron Maiden to create a parody of the classic Iron Maiden T shirts. The artist,
Mark Wilkinson, also designed art for Judas Priest.