An Exciting New Project
I’m so happy to share the beginning of a very exciting new project with you guys! For my first University assignment of the year we’ve been tasked with creating a zine that’s focused on a specific subculture or fashion group of our own choosing.
We’ve got six weeks to complete the project, and this may sound like the longest time in the world, but trust me, when you’ve got three other modules to produce work for, a two-hour commute, a fitness regime and commitments to your loved ones, time can quickly slip away from you. I couldn’t even begin to imagine fitting in a part time job on top of all that and I have so much respect for my friends that do!
I’ll be documenting the entire creative process behind the making of the zine here, from content research to design ideas, photography and illustration. Hopefully you’ll get a really good feel for what goes into creating a zine and it might even inspire you to make your own!
So what is a zine? I swear for ages I pronounced it like “zign”, but it’s actually pronounced as “zeen” (as in like magazine (duh)). It’s short for fanzine, which are like mini magazines, usually self-published, with content on anything that the author is passionate about and wants to share. There are zines out there dedicated to the love of movies, feminism, politics, television, sports, photography, illustration and cats - literally anything that the author of the zine feels inspired to share! Most of them are printed in small batches and can be bought quite cheaply (some are even free!).
Zines are a niche form of publishing and they can be kind of tricky to get your hands on - it’s not like they’re sold in every single newsstand or bookshop you walk into. Instead they have entire stores and fairs dedicated to zine’s! There are quite a few zine stores scattered around England, like Magalleria in Bath, Ideas on Paper in Nottingham, and Magculture, which is in London. So if you’re visiting these places any time soon, why don’t you pop in and check them out? I know I want to! Another great place to find zine’s is on Etsy! Loads of artists and illustrators sell them alongside their prints and things, but people also have accounts dedicated to zines. You can even buy zines in packs on there and receive a bunch of different ones from various authors. This might be a great way to introduce yourself to this kind of media! You might even find something that you love, you never know?!
I’ll post a few of my favourite zine picks for you if you want to get more of a feel for what a zine is. Most of them are by illustrators, but I think they’re just the most beautiful way of showcasing artist work and they become more of a collector item than a generic magazine! You can get all of these on Etsy, apart from the Alexa Chung for Madewell one.
Being back in University feels so good! I’m really looking forward to being creative again and furthering my skills and knowledge about this industry. This might sound corny but the more I’m getting to know about the world of fashion the more I’m falling in love with it. I promise it’s not as basic and superficial as it’s made out to be in the movies! There are some very talented innovators and visionaries working behind the scenes that are changing the face of this industry and the way it works.
Within the past five years there’s been a huge progression in the realms of ethics and sustainability, body positivity, feminism and fashion identity that it makes me excited to be a part of an ever evolving, diverse industry. Hey, maybe these are some of the topics I could look into for my zine subject, who knows?
