All photo credit to Jessica Ayton.
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This week I've decided to take a different approach with my zine, my theme is remaining the same although I'm thinking it's a one off in a wider collection of multi-themes, snazzy way of keeping things fresh.

The downside to this is design issues. Do I change my zine logo each issue to fit the theme? Do I choose something that stands out but is generic enough to fit multiple style tribes and concepts?
That's something I? really ned to iron out before I pick some definite fonts. At least I know the inside content can be tailored to my themes.

Neon lights are a form of typography that I'm instantly drawn to, albeit it's not really suitable for my work, it's eye-catching, interesting and has a cool vibe to it.


In terms of my style tribe, this is something I see a lot of on Pinterest and Tumblr. We all love something that stands out and draws us in, whether it's bold lettering or handwritten font, it oozes personality and somewhere in my zine I want to feature this style. Now the debate is what will I use it for?

I've been playing around with multiple fonts to see what I think would work best, and whilst I'm unsure on all of these, I think they form a good base for potential lettering somewhere in the zine.
Overall, as controversial and poorly decided it may seem, I want to stray more away from a really dark and black theme. Although there is an emphasis on grunge, I'm showing an updated and current version on the subculture within my work, so I'm pretty sure that means I get all the creative license I want. Plus, it's made for the creative by a creative.

It's only gonna go one of two ways, right?

SB

I've had the tragic task this week of compiling a list of names for my zine, you think it's easy? You're so wrong. I used to struggle to name my teddy bears as a child, so naming my own mini publication is likely to leave me with sleepless nights. I'm a stress-head.

With this form of print media, there seems to be more freedom with titling, you're not a limited to creating something punchy, or impactful, like an actual magazine. It can be one word or eight words, and I'm still in the deliberation period about where I think I want to sit within that scale.

I shan't bore you with the growing list of titles I've been jotting down, however I can share a little bit about how I've managed to put pen to paper and scribble some ideas down.

Magazines are always a standard go-to point for inspiration, it's fact. I've pulled a tonne off my shelf and thumbed through them all, page by page to try to pull something from it that may work. Anything. 

Something I did notice though is how all photoshoots tend to be titled, it gives you an insight into the story being told through the editorial and also doubles up as some interesting names. Take the image above for example, that's titled Golden Girl, doesn't that already sound like a good zine name? It can also come from a phrase, a heading, a sub-heading or even a slogan on a garment. 

Grab a handful of print and scan it, you don't have to read them cover to cover, just pick up on certain words or phrases, you'll fid yourself with a full page of ideas within fifteen minutes.

Keep searching, it's likely to twig something in your mind.

As a teenager I was obsessed with anything grungy/rocky/punky/edgy/straight up alternative, it was the music, fashion and general attitude that intrigued me and definitely left me with a mixed identity, but it was exciting.

When I thought of Grunge as a subculture I immediately thought Here we go again, how many times can we talk about it and rehash it?, it's almost punk level at this stage. But over time we experience multiple incarnations of trends like 2010's Tumblr Grunge recreation Soft Grunge. 

SG is viewed so negatively but it's interesting and spawned from the what we know of the alternative grouping and Japanese Kawaii culture. It's dark and light, a complete clash of interests that works in the most bizarre way. Sadly, for some, it's as subculture slowly dying out so I want to combine it with the grunge we all understand and focus on both, whilst mixing it with something else entirely different.

As a (and I use the term loosely) fashion blogger myself, I naturally have an interest and like to explore that medium as a whole as often as I can to gain inspiration and really understand this world I'm immersing myself into, so what better way to do that than combining both elements together for my zine?

My favourite element of personal style blogging is, it's just that. Personal. We can use our own style of influence others and how they view certain trends. 

In terms of Grunge, it can be taken as literal or as loose as you want and that's mostly what I want to showcase with this project. So many of my go-to blogs have that element somewhere in their posts, and they look fashionable whilst doing it, not like they're stuck in a fifteen year old phase. As it's still viewed as a '90's trend, we can also draw on that decade for more inspiration.

Take a band shirt, some tartan trousers and throw on some strappy heels if you want, it's reinventing the wheel and keeping an old trend fresh.

Time to find out just how this authentic style is becoming increasingly more commercial yet still personal to each individual.

So here you have it, I've mixed up the subcultures and I'm off to explore how they coexist and how grunge became integrated into everyday fashionable life.

Photo credits: Pinterest (& rightful owners), Jessica Ayton, Yanin Namasonthi, Masha Sedgwick & Luanna Perez-Garreaud

The world is rife with tonne of different subcultures so naturally picking on a little on the difficult side right?

What I've found the most challenging during the selection process is finding one that isn't kind of dead and buried if you catch my drift. A dozen of subcultures that I looked at mostly died out in the '80's/'90's, so finding someone to interview, and assist in the research of the subculture, is almost impossible.

I did, however, narrow my selection down dramatically and looked at a few that would be interesting, yet more current.

Advanced Style, now that is another incredibly interesting one. We all have that preconceived notion that all seniors dress like 1950's grandparents, tweed flat caps and suits for the gents and ladies in long pleated skirts and white permed hair. But do you know how cool the older generation actually are? 

Ari Seth Cohen has given so many individuals a global outreach by photographing interesting people over the age of 50 (how is that even a 'senior' age?!) and sharing those images online, in books and even in his documentary film.

La Sape / Sapeurs are not one of those accessible ones, and I knew that from the get go, but they are so interesting and I would absolutely have loved to have taken that route. Sadly I'm not based in Africa.

That aside, let me give you a brief overview of just why they piqued my interest. They'll definitely attract you too.

The Sapeurs are a group of gents from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of Congo (based in two different cities) who abide by a particular (bold) gentlemanly code of dress that has become a cultural statement, handsomely dressed and looking as dapper as I can imagine one to appear.

But how fine do these chaps look?

Hipster is so generic these days and as soon as that was on my condensed list, I tossed it aside and decided that no way on this earth was I going to be that kind of millennial. Shall we move on?

All photo credits to Pinterest & rightful owners.

I threw this little mood board together after some searching, and this ideally will be my reference point throughout the design process. However, I know how I work and how my mind changes like the wind, so it's likely you'll see a few more of these babies before I'm finished.

Photo credit: Elliot & Erick


Photo credit: This is Jayne Wayne

What I've found through my initial visual research is that I have a style, I have a certain vibe that I'm appealed to and that's what I want to share within my zine. These are all so vastly different in appearance, yet if you look closely and dissect them, they're all actually pretty similar but with a different story to tell, and message to convey.

No doubt you'll see more of my visual inspiration sometime soon.

SB

During my first week of research I got a little more hands on in terms of visiting places. With a Bristol trip already booked for the end of the week, I managed to take a little detour to Here Gallery which is a fantastic little shop on Stokes Croft (which is the liveliest and most artistic street I think I've ever seen!).

I had a chat with the gent in the shop who informed me that they only stock comic style zines, however there are such a vast range of categories and themes out there for zines. It was insightful though and I made sure to document everything I found because who know's what comes in handy especially in terms of design?