Fashion (Juicy Couture)

The image above is an advertisement promoting the brand 'Juicy Couture.' Juicy Couture is a contemporary line of casual and dressy apparel based in Los Angeles California and they are known for their signature velvour tracksuits as well as other clothing and accessories. The line is sold in upscale department stores such as Bloomingdales, Gus Mayer, Nordstorm and Saks Fifth Avenue. Juicy Couture is marketed as a high-end clothing line aimed at people within the age category for 10 and 26.

In terms of graphic design, the 'Juicy Couture' text brand logo within the image accompanies the visual message - by including this the image now makes much more sense to the audience as it informs them of its purpose. It has also been used as a device to persuade the audience to purchase the products that they are discreetly advertising within the picture.

With the use of advanced technology this image has been made to look particularly flawless; it looks somewhat unrealistic and almost magical in the way that it is presented (the content is far from what you would percieve a picnic with friends to appear like in a real-life situation) - it is farfetched, glamourous and provides escpaism for the audience. Perhaps a hidden meaning here is that if you purchase and wear their products you can be and act like the people portayed - unique, free and exciting.

As the image is very different to those that you generally see in fashion advertisements it stands out. Elements such as the busy foreground of the picture (made up of unsual objects), uniquely dressed models displaying 'random' actions, and the bold, bright(ish) colours within all contribute to this. The colours used in particular create a very summery, adventurous feel. The narrative of the image (the enjoyment of a picnic), the clothing i.e. skirts and t-shirts, and the use of natural and bright colours allow the audience to depict that a purpose of the image is to attract their attention to Juicy Couture's summer product range. The background also appears out of focus in comparrison to the foreground, this makes the more important details within the image stand out at the same time as allowing the more natural setting to still be depicted.

The whole mise-en-scene of the image is very unusual in the way that it appears to present it's narrative, it takes the viewer to a happy place and expresses the enjoyment of the people within the setting. The setting is peaceful, and the combination of the trees in the background and the model playing the guitar make this more obvious to the audience (the sound of a guitar is often associated with a sound that soothes us). There is great contrast between the bold colours, the actions of the models, the different objects and vibrant characters and the somewhat peaceful narrative the image portrays. This makes the image interesting, individual, and almost 'dream like' - as the viewer of the image you are almost there wrapped up in this everyday event which has been made so look so unusual, peaceful, colourful and vibrant all at the same time. This image is very fun, it almost makes you want to join in with their party. Perhaps a message here is that if you purchase their products you can share the same kind of excitement being portrayed.

The viewers eye moves around this image with curiosity, the overall picture keeps the eye very busy and definitely holds the viewers attention. As a viewer you want to know what each of these characters are doing and find some sort of explanation for their behaviour, they obviously look comfortable and relaxed in this setting enough to behave and dress so unusually - this promotes their comfortable, attractive clothing range and the confidence associated with wearing it. The eye is led around the entire image before focusing on specific interesting images, for example; as a viewer I was attracted to each of the characters clothing, their actions and then to the random objects which (when given time to think about it) actually fit into the setting just in this case in a 'loud' kind of way. Perhaps this shows how much thought was put into the creation of this image - the creator wants you to notice the clothing then associate them with the actions and surroundings.

As the viewpoint of this image is also at eye-level, it allows the image to connect with the audience much more - you become the models' equal allowing you to identify and relate to them more easily. It also makes you feel much more like you are there with them.

The physical appearance of the models within the image also cannot be evaluated on a personal aesthetic level or by artisic preference as there are no universally agreed upon principles of beauty and ugliness, and in this image there is no specific focus on any particular model or their beauty. This not only allows their products to reach out to a mass audience but allows the clothing which the models are wearing to make a statement as opposed to the models themselves - which relates to the aim of selling their products.

It is obvious to the viewer that the intended target audience for the image is both male and female as models of both sexes are portrayed, and also those belonging of a young age similar to that of those presented within the image. All the models are also posing differently perhaps this was a technique used to portray individuality  - reaching out to a majority rather than a minority.

As a person who likes Juicy Couture, I found much meaning within this image. For exmaple, the cake that has been positioned within the center of the frame (perhaps to draw the viewer in as the cake itself is a piece of art) can be associated with 'sweetness' - as a large amount of their clothing is of pastel, 'sugary' colours (although not expressed so much in this image) this sweetness may relate to the appearance of some of their popular clothing lines. The sweets within the foreground may also relate to this.

Another Juicy Couture image that interests me is the one above, which is advertising one of the brands signature perfumes. Once again this image contains unusual objects which do not appear to 'fit together' to create a whole; such as the zebra's head placed on the wall, the surf board and the oversized shoe on the floor. These objects once again make the image unique and are certainly intriguing to the viewer; they almost draw the audience in. The light coming from the window also makes the picture bright and stand out rather than dull as much of the foreground appears. What interests me most in this image, however, is the size of the perfume bottle, it absolutely dominates the picture and takes up a large amount of the frame. This to me, was an obvious attempt at showing how empowering the perfume can be -  and the models within the image are almost worshipping the perfume by surrounding and touching it. This perhaps represents the quality of the product and how sucessful it is.