Tuesday 11 December 2012

Jameela Jamil

Finally decided on my Fashion Promotion project! For my collaboration with Urban Outfitters I have chosen Jameela Jamil. I have just finished writing my piece on why I have decided she would be suitable for the collaboration, take a look;


"For my collaboration with high-street retail store Urban Outfitters I have chosen 23 year old TV Presenter/ Model Jameela Jamil, for which there are numerous reasons. One of the reasons being Jameela is within the age brackets of Urban Outfitters' target customer; meaning customers will find it easy to relate to not only Jameela, but the collaboration range too.
Jameela was born in London, UK and began her career teaching English to foreign students at the Callan School of English, Oxford Street, London. Whilst working at the Callan School of English she also worked as a model, photographer, and as a fashion scout for Premier Model Management Limited. Working as a model, photographer and model scout shows that Jameela has been heavily involved in the fashion industry for numerous years. This makes her suitable for a retail store collaboration due to her genuine interest in fashion and styling; she has a wide fan-base that would be attracted to a collaboration between her and the retail store Urban Outfitters. By already having a wide fan-base this gives me confidence that if she was to collaborate with Urban Outfitters, there would already be a lot of interest and excitement surrounding the event, without having to do a lot of promotional work.
In January 2009, Alexa Chung left the morning TV show 'Freshly Squeezed' that is featured on Channel 4's E4. Jameel took over as the co-host along with Nick Grimshaw. Jamil has also presented other E4 Music programmes, which entails interviewing celebrities on a weekly basis. She also presented the music festival T4 on the beach two years running. As well as numerous presenting gigs, Jameela also has her own show on BBC Radio 1, which would provide prime opportunities when promoting the collaboration.
 Jamil presented "The Closet", an online fashion advice show on the social networking site Bebo. Created and produced by Twenty Twenty Television, it formed part of the 'Bebo Originals' commission programme. The weekly shows began on 25 August 2009, running for just over four months, featuring fashion and makeup guides, insider interviews and celebrity gossip. Site visitors could participate in the show via the site, uploading photos of their ‘best buys’ of the week and voting in polls.

Jamil has featured in several magazines, she was photographed for a Vogue feature on 'British Editorial Class of 2010', featured in an editorial entitled 'How to impress Jameela Jamil' in the British edition of Esquire, and also had a shoot in InSyle Magazine. Jamil also has written a column for Company, the women’s monthly magazine. The fact that Jameela already has featured in magazines such as Company and Vogue show that she is familiar with taking part in editorial work, which would be helpful during the promotion aspects of the collaboration. It also shows that readers of these magazines may also be familiar with her name, image and her style. These magazines also regularly feature clothing from Urban Outfitters.
She started becoming noticed in the fashion industry in 2010 when she was reported as a “rising star in the fashion world, carving out her own niche in feminine grunge glam outfits”. Jamil does not have a stylist, as she chooses her own clothes from fashion designers including Olivia Rubin, D&G, Henry Holland, Urban Outfitters, Office, and high-street brand Topshop.
Her style has been described as “unique looks that both reflect and inspire the UK's young, fresh fashionistas”. She is fond of 1950s and 60s vintage dresses, styled after icons Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot.
Jamil has attended events such as London Fashion Week which shows she has a strong interest in trends and fashion. Jameela is noted for her unique style and quirky sense of humour, and is frequently praised for her natural beauty. I feel this will help customers to relate to her, I also feel her style and characteristics reflect the brand identity of Urban Outfitters well; Urban outfitters focus on funky fashion and the product line has evolved from vintage, retro, ironically humorous, apparel. They are known for catering to 'hipster' culture and fashion, which incorporates an influence from past decades, this kind of style is reflected throughout Jameela's own personal style, showing that she would fit in very well with the already established strong brand identity of Urban Outfitters. It is important to make sure that celebrity collaborations with high-street retailers stay true to the style of garments previously and currently sold in the chosen store that they are collaborating with; as the clothes should portray the brand identity. This helps ensure that the collaboration will be popular and of interest to the customers already shopping in store. But by choosing a collaborator (such as Jameela) that is slightly different, and unique to the brand, this will also help attract more customers, thus expanding their target customer.
Jamil has already collaborated with the popular online retail store www.very.co.uk, on which she commented, “I'm so excited to be launching my first collection, I've tried to think about what I want from clothes and how they fit, and I've had a lot of fun making you some great pieces”. The 49 piece range was very popular. Due to the target market of Urban Outfitters, I feel, by Jameela collaborating with the brand, the range would be even more popular than her range for Very, due to Urban Outfitters having a younger target market/ I think this because Jamil is of a closer age to their average customer, this enables the range to be more adventurous and would also fit the brand identity of Urban Outfitters very well, in comparison to Very.
Jameela is an advocate for the promotion of women appreciating their own beauty regardless of their body shape. Jameela's advise for women who struggle with how they look; “The most important thing is comfort. Don't force yourself to wear something that's two sizes too small. Wear something in the right size and that you feel good in. If your uncomfortable, it doesn't matter how stunning you are, you won't look attractive. If your comfortable you feel better and you project a better energy”. I feel this is a very important factor for Jameela collaborating with Urban Outfitters as it provides a positive message for both their brand and customer."



Please let me know what you think! :) 

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