Filmmaker and Photographer: Nadia Lee Cohen

Back in February of this year, I was scrolling through the explore page on my Instagram when I came across this photo. 

https://www.instagram.com/nadialeelee/

After seeing this photo, I was obsessed with knowing who styled the model, who came up with the idea for this photo, and who took this photo. Luckily for me, social media has made finding information extremely easy.  

 I discovered that the model in this photo also happens to be the photographer, and her name is Nadia Lee Cohen. She is a fashion filmmaker and photographer from London, England. Most of her work is inspired by past decades and her first trip to LA five years ago, where she has now relocated to. All of her photos have a movie like feel to them, and they also contain an aspect of surrealism. Three movies that have inspired Cohen’s creative aesthetic are The Shining, Gummo, and Pink Flamingos. Her work gives off a sense of comfort but can also be unsettling. Using wigs, makeup, and masks, Cohen transforms her models into unique characters for her mini films and photos. Most of the characters Cohen envisions are based off of people she sees in her everyday life living in LA. 

Cohen also enjoys dressing herself up and modelling for her own photos, and short videos. By transforming herself into these characters that she has based off of real people, Cohen feels more connected and empathetic towards them and people like them. 

Cohen also has a very unique take on beauty. She embraces the imperfections that people have, and instead of fixing them, she highlights those features. Cohen finds unusual looking people to be the most beautiful. She believes that in the UK unusual features are more embraced than here in the US. Cohen often plays on the unrealistic ideal that women and their beauty should be perfect.  

Cohen has also been involved in making music videos for Kali Uchis and DRAM. In addition, she shot an editorial brand campaign video for the Miu Miu AW16 collection. 

One of Cohen’s more recent projects is called “Hello My Name Is…” This project is inspired by the people Cohen has met in LA and the name tags she has collected for the past five years. In this shoot, Cohen transforms herself into various characters representing the people she has been inspired by. In addition to the portrait photo, Cohen also collected items that were used for still-life portraits that described the personality of each character. 

Here are the portraits and still-lifes Cohen took: 

http://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/head/article/41795/1/nadia-lee-cohen-my-name-is

Another project Cohen created is called “A Guide to Indulgence.” This short film is inspired by the idealization of women and beauty. The characters in the film all wear similar looking masks and wigs. The film itself looks like a retro cult movie as a result of the appearance of the props and sets. The narration also sounds like a vintage television advertisement. Overall, the film is ironically showcasing the pressures that women face to be perfect. 

One of my favorite short films of Cohen’s is “Operator.” The film has a super cool, vintage look to it, like it was shot on an old tape recorder. In addition, the models are styled in a very retro way, with a lot of inspiration coming from the 1960s and 1970s. Also, the models oddly look very similar, not just because of the wigs. The models’ facial features look very alike, which I find very strange, but intriguing. The audio playing in the film sounds like old recordings of phone calls that had to be passed through an operator first in order to be connected to the person they were calling. I am not sure what this film is supposed to represent, but I find it very interesting and aesthetically pleasing. 

Most recently, Cohen made a small series of self-portrait photos for Halloween this year. She dressed herself up and took photos of different costume inspirations. Each year she creates a Halloween series and posts the photos on her Instagram. This year her characters included a losing boxer, an invisible woman, a ballerina, a successful burglar, and a scarecrow.  

Overall, Nadia Lee Cohen is a very unique and inspiring fashion filmmaker and photographer. She uses her work to spread messages about beauty in an artistic and intriguing way. Although her work is pretty out there, the incorporation of her messages and imaginations makes her films and photos distinctly her own.

References

Abraham, Amelia. “Nadia Lee Cohen: 'Hello My Name Is...'.” Dazed Beauty, 17 Oct. 2018, www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/head/article/41795/1/nadia-lee-cohen-my-name-is.

The Social Media Marketing Success of I.AM.GIA

Over the past several decades, the way businesses have been marketing their products and services has rapidly changed and evolved. As a result of the invention of the internet and social media platforms, there is no longer just magazine, newspaper, or television ads. With the rise of social media, more brands and companies have been turning towards social media marketing as a way to reach their target consumers and gain more widespread exposure to new potential consumers. One brand who has successfully created an effective social media marketing plan is the brand I.AM.GIA.

I.AM.GIA is a recent brand that has emerged into the fashion industry this past year and a half. This brand has gained most of its attention through its rise on social media, more specifically Instagram. The founder of I.AM.GIA is Alana Pallister, an Australian fashion designer. As inspiration for her brand, Pallister created “a fictional character and is using social media to create an ultra-elusive, luxury label” (Perez) that is affordable to most of their target consumers. This character is Gia, who is inspired by the owner’s love of the biographical movie Gia, which is about supermodel Gia Carangi. The idea was that Gia would inspire girls to want to be like her, that is, a powerful “It Girl”.

Alana Pallister

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnrccmSHFpi/

Before creating the brand, Pallister recognized that there was some type of need for more unique and empowering clothing that would give women more confidence. She kept this idea in her mind when creating the persona of Gia. Pallister and her team conducted trend research in order to see what style of clothing was trending and what type of social events and movements were current. That research was then combined with character inspiration taken from Gia Carangi and, the currently popular model, Bella Hadid. Next, the team created a mood board depicting what look, personality, social status, and mindset Gia would embody. They wanted Gia to represent a girl who is confident enough to set her own trends, instead of following the current, popular ones. Creating this character gave I.AM.GIA’s target audience someone to relate to and someone they desired to be like.

I.AM.GIA sells clothing that is inspired by menswear. Pallister explains that I.AM.GIA’s “#1 goal has been introducing a masculine feeling to womenswear,” (Perez) which is a result of Pallister’s observations found in her research. She had noticed a trend in women looking for more non-conventional garments with a more masculine touch. As a result, the brand’s products range from utilitarian inspired cargo pants (Cobain Cargo) to tube tops and mini dresses to teddy coats (The Pixie Coat).

Bella Hadid wearing the Cobain Cargo

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWBUQ6pgycS/?utm_source=ig_embed

I.AM.GIA is always staying up to date with current trends, while also setting a lot of their own. The brand constantly pushes new products into their rotation in order to stay on top of the evolving demand for new fashions. The brand members work with forecasters in order to decide what products need to be created and when to release certain items. For example, large events such as Coachella (a large, annual music festival held in Palm Springs, California in April) will affect what products and designs are released each spring season, due to the high demand for festival clothing.

When it comes to social media marketing, I.AM.GIA is very successful. The brand’s social media presence is one of the main reasons the brand has become popular worldwide. When I.AM.GIA first started creating their marketing plan, they knew that they did not want to do any paid marketing. Contrary to most brands, they did not want to pay for I.AM.GIA ads to pop up on people’s Instagram or Facebook feeds. In addition, they did not want to pay influencers to wear their clothing or promote their apparel. Clearly, the goal of I.AM.GIA’s social media marketing plan was focused towards a more authentic and transparent way of getting their brand out there into the world. Therefore, I.AM.GIA set up a strategy to advertise their products on social media networks through the influencers’ desire to participate, without being paid. In addition, the brand workers chose specific influencers that they wanted to work with and that would reach the largest amount of their target audience, which seems to be eighteen to thirty-year-old females. After selecting specific influencers that best represented their brand image, such as Bella Hadid, I.AM.GIA started sending each of them gifts and packages filled with their products and attached personal notes. The brand workers hoped that these influencers would enjoy the look of the apparel and willingly want to wear and promote the items on their personal social media accounts. Luckily for them, I.AM.GIA received a great response and many influential people started wearing the I.AM.GIA apparel that the brand workers would freely send out. These influencers began posting photos, predominantly on Instagram, using #iamgia and tagging the brand’s Instagram page. The influence and following these popular women had, allowed the interesting and new brand, I.AM.GIA, to spread rather quickly through all social media platforms.  

Various influencers that have promoted I.AM.GIA include, Hailey Baldwin, Emily Ratajkowski, and Sydney Carlson, just to name a few. These powerful, influential women have very large followings on social media. As a result, the I.AM.GIA apparel that these women were wearing and posting to their Instagram accounts were grabbing viewers' attention. Followers would see these posts, and if they were interested in the item, they could then click on I.AM.GIA’s tagged Instagram account. Once on I.AM.GIA’s account page, the interested viewer could use the link to I.AM.GIA’s website to browse the items for sale.

To this day, Pallister is in direct contact with most of the celebrities and influencers, who wear her designs. In addition, some of the influencer’s even reach out to Pallister, asking if there are any new products that may be sent their way. One influencer known for doing that is Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s model daughter. There is also a girl gang that the I.AM.GIA workers created to represent all of the influencers and powerful women who wear and support the brand. This group is called GIA Army, and can also be defined as, “a crew of women who have supported the brand from the get-go” (Perez). This exclusive group is also a good marketing tool to get viewers on Instagram interested in being a part of I.AM.GIA’s growing success and popularity.

Over the course of the year, Instagram has gradually been updated with new features. The Instagram Story feature is one that has increasingly benefitted I.AM.GIA’s social media marketing. With the Instagram story, I.AM.GIA can post a photo of a celebrity or influencer wearing a garment from their brand and directly link the post to the I.AM.GIA website, where a viewer can immediately purchase the item that interested them in the story. This feature is great for sale promotions that I.AM.GIA may have going on because the post on the Instagram story only lasts for twenty-four hours. Once the story post disappears, the workers for the brand can then decide if they want to keep the story post in a highlight on their Instagram account or just leave the post in their archives, where followers are forever unable to view the story again.

The type of social media marketing that I.AM.GIA has been using works very well for them. Perhaps their plan has been working well because their marketing does not have the appearance of an advertisement. These ads just appear to be the usual content a follower, of that influencer or the I.AM.GIA brand, would normally see on her feed.

I.AM.GIA has continued to keep their social media marketing plan the exact same because it is working so well for them. Their plan has also influenced many other brands throughout the past year. Brands such as Dolls Kill, Tiger Mist, and many others, now send influencers free merchandise in the hopes that they post themselves wearing the items on their Instagram accounts. This new type of social media marketing is opening up a whole new idea of brand advertising through the engaging content produced by the collaborations with influencers. Our current society can definitely expect to see more and more of this type of social media marketing, and I.AM.GIA’s continuing rise in success.

References

Harding, Natasha. “Elle Chats with I.AM.GIA's Alana Pallister: The Australian Designer on DM Terms with Kaia Gerber.” ELLE, ELLE Australia, 23 May 2018, www.elle.com.au/fashion/i-am-gia-alana-pallister-17629.

Perez, Olivia. “The Social Media Rise of I.AM.GIA.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 Feb. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/oliviaperez/2018/02/14/the-social-media-rise-of-i-am-gia/#413ac9bd6067.

Natural Beauty Movement

So far in 2018, we have seen the start of a movement towards natural beauty; meaning women are starting to promote and accept their natural figures and features. Although some influential women have started this natural beauty movement in the past couple years, such as Alicia Keys’s no makeup vow, many more influential women on Instagram and in Hollywood are joining the crusade.

A leading influential figure for this self accepting movement is model Ashley Graham. Most of Graham’s fame began when she landed the cover for a Sports Illustrated Magazine cover. Graham currently is a mentor/judge on the VH1 show America’s Next Top Model, in which she supports aspiring models to embrace their natural qualities and work on boosting their confidence.

Ashley Graham and Tyra Banks at the judging table on ANTM

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/television/2018/03/12/the-queen-mother-america-next-top-model/F5LWxiT2oAcQv6WMZH6RNK/story.html

Recently, Paper Magazine launched an issue highlighting Christina Aguilera’s natural transformation. Her photos depict a natural skinned, messy haired Aguilera. In her interview with Paper, Aguilera says, “it's a liberating feeling to be able to strip it all back and appreciate who you are and your raw beauty.”

Photos below from Paper Magazine

http://www.papermag.com/christina-aguilera-transformation-2553214651.html

Instagram is playing a major role in this natural beauty movement as models, influencers, and celebrities post and promote self-love and self-acceptance. One major influencer, Chinae Alexander (@chinaealexander), has been using her Instagram account to share her story about being body positive and accepting herself. In addition, Millie Bobby Brown frequently posts Instagram stories about self-love and embracing natural beauty, which leaves an impression on many of the young girls who idolize and follow her.

Chinae Alexander's Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/chinaealexander/

Those are just a few of the powerful voices pushing for self-love and self-acceptance. If more and more models, influencers, and celebrities join this trend of embracing natural beauty, then this movement could become part of our society’s culture. Someday women may live in a world in which all natural qualities are embraced and every woman is beautiful in her own way.