Contextual research for THE IDLE MAN - How fashion advertises effectively

Having began the collaborative project of design for the YCN competition brief for the company The Idle Man, I have now decided to begin my contextual research into male clothing outlets to see how they effectively market their apparel.

I have initially chosen to view the most popular websites of many of the clothing companies a 21 YO male would use:

Despite the fact that we are not redesigning their website or creating an app, it is relevant to get a feel of how the competition do things to make sense in my head of what to do and what also to avoid doing to get the edge on this competition.

ASOS

Asos has to be the biggest online supplier of men's clothes for this age range, I know personally that when ever I'm shopping online Asos is always a site which I visit and I generally purchase from there multiple times per year.

They are known for their diverse range of clothing which they stock, from companies such as Primark and River Island to massive higher end fashion companies such as Vivian Westwood and DKNY.

Difference to IDLE MAN

The thing with ASOS is that the massive range of garmets which they sell (also for both genders) means that the shopper must be quite savvy and specific in what they are looking for, rather than idle mans's approach of giving the customer a guiding hand. 

"Truth be told, they find it confusing and often stressful to pick out a style that works for them. They’d like a bit of a guiding hand." [The Idle man YCN]

Keywords:

Individual, Edgy, Diverse, variety 

Here is the homepage for ASOS, as you can the see the pungent illustrations immediately catch your eye showing this site is quite artsy and modern in style. Their homepage is very much focussed to men despite Asos supposedly targeting both genders. 

Something which the outcome from my brief for Idle man and Asos's website will have in common is the use of illustration, in this sense the use appears arbitrary and just to create a background and a feeling of 'party' and young people's lives. 

When you've selected an item this is the screen which ASOS takes you to, offering you more photographs of the piece as well as informed description they also offer suggestions to wear with the piece to complete the outfit, similar to what the Idle man is asking.

River Island

Being a typical high street brand, River island has less of a sense of edginess than that of ASOS's brand, targeting all ages from 16-30 and aiming at people with a lower budget of that of Asos.

River Island is a stand to store when purchasing clothes, by which I mean, with this store, you know what to expect and you get it, non of their clothes will blow your socks off, but if you're looking for the classic look, River Island will suffice.

Difference to IDLE MAN

As i've mentioned, River Island does not have the edginess factor such as ASOS or the Idle man, this is a massive difference which has resulted in their site looking a lot less arty and stylish.

A big difference between this company and TheIM is that River Island only sells their own brands of clothing and not bigger companies or products like TheIM does, this retains River Island to staying at the bottom of the pond hoping to be more.

A very unisex website, if not swaying towards the female side of the market from their homepage.

Nothing about this site, for me, jumps out as interesting, edgy or different. The clothes appear to be boring and bland and the design is very standard and clean.

Here is the close up of a male garment on their website, similar to Asos's page like this, they show various shots of the clothing as well as recommendations of what you should wear this with.

Simple, plain and effective, it's not winning any votes from me.

Chimp

One of the more alternative clothing stores, found in Leeds this outlet has much more of a concept and personality than the previous two. Similar to TheIM with the brand it sells, but this company ventures a lot further from the mainstream and is a very alternative store. 

Selling a slightly higher end range of products to Asos and very far away from what River Island sells, Chimp is a very specified store for people who know what they want.

Difference to IDLE MAN

"Chimp is a very specified store for people who know what they want." This would be one of the major difference to what previously has been investigated. Avid fans of Chimp's clothes are their customers are the people who shop their, they have a loyal customer base and that is the way they intend to keep it.

The immediate feel when you arrive on Chimp's site is that they're loyal of the brands they sell and straight away that is projected into your face, displaying some alternative Puma shoes, something which your everyday shopper would not be interested in.

Their clothing selection displays the brands they sell and photographs of they way they present their clothing, which is quite artsy and different.

The Range of brands which they are representing is something which is very direct and specific, brands which your typical River Island shopper would not be interested in.

Unlike the previous two websites, this one does not show what you could wear their clothes with, most likely because they don't have enough of a range to show this.