lululemon athletica.

A research paper I wrote for my introduction to design class...

Originally lululemon’s purpose was to “elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness,” they have since brainstormed, or assessed the market and their new purpose is to "create components for people to live long, healthy, and fun lives.”

So what is lululemon? (A reference to their “Who is John Galt?” campaign, where the question appeared on their reusable red and white bags.) And why has this over priced Canadian yoga-wear company seen such success?

In this paper I will attempt to uncover the secret to lululemon while comparing them to other apparel companies. There is no golden secret, however this company differs from others in their marketing techniques, brand identity, and community outreach.

I was a junior in High School when Melissa Joseph entered my world. As she improved some movement Dance Company, a group of bitchy girls was silent. We had all been put in our place. Words cannot describe what watching her dance felt like. So who was she and why were her leggings never faded? She was the new artistic director of my school’s dance company and a lululemon ambassador. According to their website “The lululemon ambassador program is extended to unique individuals in our store communities who embody the lululemon lifestyle and live our culture.” This is lululemon’s efficient and innovative way of marketing that differentiates them from companies like Nike, American Apparel, H&M, and UNIQLO who spend billions of dollars on advertising and are confined to their stores.

Nike spent over $260 million on sponsorship in 2008, and that is not all positive. They received backlash for continuing their sponsorship of golfer Tiger Woods after the media gained knowledge of his lady problems (“Nike uses Endorsements and Sponsorship”). According to Tory J. Lowitz at American Apparel, “We spend most of our advertisement budget on print ads… our staff wears American Apparel in our store” (Fashion Makers Fashion Shapes, 82-91). The second statement regarding employees wearing the brand seems short sighted as lululemon ambassadors wear their chosen brand in the store and while dancing, hiking, and running. Margareta Can Den Bosch, head designer for H&M for 21 years and now artistic director for the company also stresses the importance of the store, “the store is our primary channel where we communicate our latest fashion and our offering to the customer…Our total market communication budget is around 3 per cent of group sales excluding VAT which amounts to 6.7 billon pounds” (Fashion Makers Fashion Shapes, 92-101). In regards to lululemon dressing exceptional yogis or in my case dancers the brand advertises to a new active consumer that has not yet entered the store, while H&M relies on the consumer to enter the store to receive marketing information. Uniqlo, a Japanese company, is floating between Nike’s sponsorship of famous athletes and lululemon’s ambassador program. Yukihoro Katsuta, head of the international design team at UNIQLO discusses their marketing, “Our global advertising campaigns are associating ourselves with credible actors, designers, and artists renowned for their personal style, is to reinforce the idea that UNIQLO is a brand for everyone…to ensure we are aligning the brand with the art and design industry, again reaching a wider audience and appealing to niche sectors” (Fashion Makers Fashion Shapes, 102-109). I recently saw an image of a dancer in the new UNIQLO store on 5th avenue and must admit amidst the chaos I identified with the brand.

Tory J. Lowitz of American Apparel described American Apparel perfectly, “We are a T-shirt company disguised as a 21-year-old girl. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you buy we are still a T-shirt company” (Fashion Makers Fashion Shapes, 82-91). Lululemon is a disguised T-shirt company; both of these brands prove Clive Dilnot’s idea that modern design is purely redesign. He elaborated on this idea in his discussion of the Oxo Good Grip. Though Dilnot claims to use his Good Grip daily, one must acknowledge that this plastic grip kitchen utensil has landed many useable potato peelers in dumpsters, just as lululemon leggings have left many leggings to collect dust at the bottom of our drawers.

Lululemon, a disguised T-shirt company, was founded by Chip Wilson with the idea of self betterment through exercise. Though active sports wear was originally worn by young boys, the nineteenth amendment passed decades ago. Lululemon was one of few active wear companies to begin designing for women. The industry continues to forget about the female consumer and her buying power. I recently spoke with Danielle Wigley, a salesgirl in the Equinox located in Century City, who has always felt Nike was the superior athletic brand. However once she began working at Equinox, she was exposed to lululemon via the female trainers. Now she laughs that she owns everything on the rack. In the New York Times Article, Curbside at School, A Red Carpet, Hyland discusses the high fashion garments worn: Prada, Rodarte, etc. Among such names in fashion this Canadian brand gets a shout out, “Others come in sweatpants, of a kind: by Lululemon, favored by yoga enthusiasts.” Another key component to the brand identity is the association with yoga. Though buying $100 leggings does not directly contradict the Five Principles of Yoga, consumption isn’t an adjective yogis strive to define. Jacqueline Nelson feels that for some shoppers “$98 stretch pants are the path not only to a cuter bum but also a spiritual awakening” (LOCO FOR LULU, 28-32). Lululemon is virtually selling a lifestyle that seems to defy selling. Though some consumers feel enlightened by their purchases why has lululemon athletica seen such success? and such little backlash?

Much of their success is due to the design of their stores. Lululemon’s comfortable setup exemplifies the “salon” business model, a core of Apple retail, placing the buyer and seller on the same side. (LOCO FOR LULU, 28-32) All merchandise can be wheeled away to provide space on their ballet wooden floors, which function as perfect studios for their free weekly classes. There are also two free classes in video format on their website. I often utilized their free Sunday morning yoga but swore I would never buy the gear, now I take their Sunday morning yoga in my lululemon leggings and currently have my eye on the running jackets. These classes are often crowded and have seen such attendance that the brand now invites guest teachers mid week and leads community runs. This relationship advertises to an athletic group, the ideal Lululemon consumer.

Katsuta from UNIQLO discusses their focus on brand identity in regards to store locations, “We look for the best retail locations to communicate the right brand message. We opened the UK flagship store in Oxford Street, Europe’s premiere shopping street, in New York we made the decision to open the global flagship store in Soho rather than on Fifth Avenue, to introduce the brand to a ‘cooler’ audience (Fashion Makers Fashion Shapes, 102-109). Though they have since opened an overwhelmingly large store on Fifth Avenue. I am a young consumer, part of the ‘cooler’ market and feel Union Square would have been a much more appropriate location for UNIQLO. This Japanese company could be neighbors with lululemon.

In Conclusion, this T-shirt company has seen enormous growth and has many lessons we can all learn. Of course there are the haters. Facebook contains countless “I hate lululemon,” groups. Many plus size women are understandably unhappy to find the size 12 bins often empty.

Here are some images I included with my paper...

Bibliography

Alison Gill, “Sneakers,” in Design Studies a reader, ed. Hazel Clark and David Brody (New York, 2009) 516-20

Anne-Celine Jaeger, Fashion Makers and Fashion Shapers, (New York, 2009) 82-109

Grace Krenzer, Cathy Starr and Donna Branson, “Development of a Sports Bra Prototype,” Clothing and Textiles Research Journal (2005), 23;131, accessed October 26, 2011, DOI: 10.1177/0887302X0502300206

Ligaya Salazar. Fashion V Sport, editor (London: South Kensington, 2008)

Nelson, Jacqueline, “LOCO FOR LULU” Canadian Business 2011, volume 84 issue 8, p.28-32, November 23, 2011

“Nike uses endorsements and sponsorship,” E-how accessed October 23, 2011, http://www.ehow.com/about_6465548_nike-uses-endorsements-sponsorships.html

Veronique Hyland, “Curbside at School, a Red Carpet,” New York Times, October 19, 2011, accessed October 26, 2011

Essay for Velazquez inspired top.

This assignment is no typical ‘research paper.’ I mean the ones we were assigned in high-school. Where I grudgingly wrote about Emily Bronte’s first steps and how her childhood influenced her literature. I truly learned nothing, merely reworded Wikipedia.

Now at Parsons I see my goal so near and know that everything I learn is shaping me into the fashion designer I will one day become. In this paper I will uncover Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Velazquez, a Spanish Baroque painter, in relation to my life, a young fashion design student.

Blogging, the latest phenomenon, is no longer reserved for the technology savy fashionistas, but a requirement. I am graded on my weekly updates that inform the truly interested world wide web of my opinions. Often times posts overflow with rhetoric as I aspire to resemble Sex and the City icon Carrie Bradshaw in my memoir. Velazquez was very similar to us young bloggers. Though he was well versed in philosophy and various languages he didn’t chose to practice a learned profession. At the age of 11 he apprenticed under Francisco de Herrera, and began with a harsh style imitated from sculpture. Virtually, re-blogging. His early works were known for their realism and satire as he produced many amusing genre scenes.

Two and a half years from now I will leave behind my years of exploration and experimentation and enter the market driven fashion industry. I will no longer chose my muse, but reference photographs taped to the walls. I will no longer chose my color palette, but reference the muted swatches strewn about the design room. I am working in an unidentified active wear company’s design house in Michigan. Though I prefer children’s wear and swore I would never leave New York City this opportunity was not one I could pass up. Velazquez experienced a similar change. He was summoned to Madrid in December 1622 since Rodrigo de Villandrando, Philip IV’s favorite painter, died. In one day Velazquez completed a sketch that pleased both Philip IV and the Count Duke of Olivares who then required Velazquez to move to Madrid. All portraits of Philip IV were to be done by Velazquez and all others would be removed from circulation. With no option to refuse Velazquez relocated his family and changed his style drastically.

I am designing for middle class working women. However, I must avoid power suits and create clothes that transition from day to night. I am confined to designing for this market. When Velazquez began working as a court painter he confined himself to portraits. He, “adopted a fluid manner, all fine shades, in which the form is elusive and melts into an atmosphere of indeterminate grey” (Bazin 59). Because of a bust portrait he painted of the king Velazquez gained admission to the Royal Service in 1623 and was awarded a salary of 20 ducats per year. Unfortunately, this painting is lost. Other portraits of Philip IV remain, as examples of the more delicate tones Velazquez used. Though his painting of the Moors was destroyed in a palace fire, this piece received much recognition. Velazquez won Philip IV’s competition and was named the best painter in Spain.

I have now established myself and a few times a year the company I design for sends me, all expenses paid, to New York City. This trip is more about me gaining inspiration then visiting fabric stores. I attend gallery openings and trendy bars surveying the young crowd like mice in a laboratory. Velazquez took a similar trip to Italy. Little is known about his one and half year hiatus, though we can gain much knowledge based on the work he produced once he returned to Madrid. He began painting the young heir to the throne, Prince Baltazar Carlos. Prince Baltazar on his Pony, exemplifies Velazquez’s now painterly approach. This charming depiction of the infant shows the broad landscape yet the foreshortened horse seems disproportionate. He also painted other members of the royal family and showed much sympathy when painting dwarfs. These paintings give expression to, ‘the profound feeling of loneliness that came naturally to the Spanish soul, for which there is in the world no reality but that of G-d” (Bazin 60).

Though loyalty is not the best quality in the cut-throat fashion industry, where fake smiles make buyers happy and everyone steals designs, I overflow with faithfulness. I am brutally honest and ethical; Velazquez was the same. His original and longstanding patron the Duke of Olivares fell from power. Not fearing what others may think, more specifically King Philip IV, Velazquez stood by his side.

Now that I have established myself as a reliable and talented fashion designer, other artists are interested in collaborating. The same went for Velazquez. Sculptor Juan Martinez Montanes modeled a bronze statue based on an equestrian portrait done by the painter in 1636. Though the painting doesn’t remain, we know that the king was shown wearing his invention a golila, a stiff linen collar that forms right angles at the neck, which was the height of fashion. Today we don’t hold festivals, as Philip IV did, when Michelle Obama sets a trend, however we constantly see styles trickle down. Velazquez followed Philip IV’s every move, and unlike the paparazzi that follow Barack on his smoking breaks, he gained the kings trust and was sent back to Italy to purchase statues for the academy of art in Spain.

Now head designer, my trips to New York change. I am accompanied by my prodigy and visit with my celebrity clientele. I use my company’s American Express to make purchases without asking for permission. On his ‘buying trip’ Velazquez was accompanied by his Moorish slave, Juan de Pareja and received warm welcomes and much praise from public figures, including the Duke of Modena. Surprising many at the Vatican, Pope Innocent X praised the painter and presented him with a medal and golden chain, even though Velazquez had painted the Pope with a pitiless expression. In 1650 Velazquez painted Juan de Pareja. In this painting Velazquez does not just portray the physical characteristics of his soon to be freed slave but the mans proud character. According to information provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website, “Velazquez clearly intended to impress his Italian colleagues with his unique artistry. Indeed we are told that the picture ‘gained such universal applause that in the opinion of all the painters of the different nations everything else seemed like painting but this alone like truth.’” The rendering of the lace collar is astonishing. From ten feet away the neckband embodies the qualities of true lace. However, when one views the collar just inches from the painting the individual brushstrokes become obvious. Such works illustrate manera abreviada a modern term for his bolder and sharper style.

Velazquez returned to Spain with his many purchases. He began painting the king’s new wife, Mariana of Austria and thus was appointed the aposentador mayor, which required he look after the royalty’s quarters. Though this responsibility should have theoretically negatively impacted his work, Velazquez produced exceptional works in his style. Las Meinas, an example of European Baroque, leaves the viewer with many questions. The subject may be the eldest daughter of the Queen however the various viewpoints and the use of a mirror make us wonder whether the royal couple, represented by their reflection as spectators, is the subject. Velazquez also chooses to position himself in the composition. He is shown holding a palette, in front of an easel, brush in hand. Three years after the completion of what may just be a typical court painting, Velazquez received knighthood. This title was crucial to his career as it allowed him to disregard the censorship of the Inquisition and release La Venus del espejo. Velazquez paintinged the royal children, some of his best work, in fluid and vibrant colors. In 1660 he was commissioned to do the decoration of the historic marriage of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa. He died of a fever and 8 days after his death his wife was buried next to him.

Velazquez’s talent was not just admired by artists and philosophers of his time. Pablo Picasso, Michel Foucault, and Rachel Feinberg have all referenced his masterpieces.

Works Cited

Brown, Jonathan, Diego Velázquez, and Carmen Garrido. Velázquez: the Technique of Genius. New Haven: Yale UP, 1998. Print. This book discusses the technique Velasquez used in relation to specific pieces of art.

López-Rey, José. Velásquez: Catalogue Raisonné. Köln: B. Taschen, 1996. Print. Though this book is written in French. The images are a wonderful reference.

López-Rey, José. Velázquez, Painter of Painters. [Cologne]: Taschen, 1996. Print. This book is written in both French and English. The large scale images are also a wonderful reference.

Troutman, Philip. Velasquez. London: Spring, 1965. Print. This book offers the story of Velasquez's life. Unlike many other artists he never experienced much pain in life.

Velazquez - The Complete Works. Creative Commons License, 2002. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. . This website offers high-resolution Velasquez images as well as information on the painter."Velázquez (1599-1660) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | TheMetropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Home. Web.14 Oct. 2011. . This is an essay on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website. It discusses Velasquez.

Week 12

This new curriculum is all about our classes relating to each other. This assignment is exactly what the administration had in mind. Though I was originally presented with this assignment in my integrated studio it related to my drawing and digital. I even was able to use inspiration from my liberal arts course.

This top is a garment from my collection based on the white collared shirt. Typically these are clean cut and boring compared to those pictured by Velasquez. (An artist I am studying in Baroque and Rococo Art History.) While draping these shirts I constantly was thinking of my dad as I used two of his old dress shirts, that smell just like him, to create the bodice and collar. In my drawing class we had been focusing on the rendering of stripes and how they change direction at the collar. In the construction of this garment my stripes follow the collar.

Week 11

Since we are now focusing on surface design I thought I would look to the world around me for inspiration. More specifically, New York City. Though I am not a pessimist I began looking at the ground and found surface design all over the concrete and metal that New Yorkers unknowingly march all over. I acknowledge this are very art school-esque but bear with me.

Many may admire the design of fliers posted or graffiti, however some anonymous artist found a much more innovative way to apply surface design to a telephone pole. Using colorful zip-ties this creature created street art that did not deface any property. One could remove the instillation though when faced with the decision I feel it is highly unlikely as I personally feel this improves the environment. Many complain about grafitti defacing property, how would they react if they had the option to remove it?

Keith Haring, most well known for his cartoonish characters, has entered the commercial market using those motifs for surface designs. Starting with jewelry then clothing he is now so common that you can stop by any Duane Reade and pick up a bib for your artsy tot.