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Pokemon’s 20th Anniversary coming up!

Posted on by elemonated

On February 27th, Pokemon will be celebrating their 20th anniversary with a release of a new 3DS bundle, as well as a re-release of Red, Blue, and Yellow for 3DS, making popular amiibos (Charizard, Jigglypuff, Greninja, Lucario and Pikachu) available at select retailers, special trading card expansions, digitally remastered Pokemon movies, and a bunch of other stuff we might not have learned about yet.

There will also be several distribution events for Pokemon X/Y and Pokemon Omega Ruby/Sapphire at Gamestop this year; Pokemon include Mew, Celebi, and Genesect!

They also have this amazing Super Bowl ad that they released.

To the kids telling themselves affirmations to the pyrotechnics and crowds cheering, this ad is making me tear up and get excited about the biggest franchise that ruled my childhood next to Legos and Hello Kitty.

Calvin Klein releases gender-free fragrance

Posted on by elemonated

http://www.essence.com/2015/11/30/calvin-klein-releases-gender-free-fragrance

Hey Calvin Klein, the fragrance industry already has a term for “gender-free” fragrance: unisex. I think that you know that, seeing as CK One is unisex.

Unless you just mean your marketing campaign. To which, sure, jump on that wagon before it leaves. The popularity of Orange is the New Black, the media-positive view of Caitlyn Jenner’s transition, and H&M and all of the little companies that have made it safe for the big and the old to do this makes this a decent time to get on. And it really hits that “no labels” thing that millennials like.

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H&M features hijab-wearing model in new campaign

Posted on by elemonated

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/fashion/trends/hm-features-hijab-wearing-model-mariah-idrissi-in-new-campaign.html?_r=0

This new campaign of H&M’s is pretty insane if we’re looking at where the fashion industry, where the people featured in these series are either considered “fringe” or not considered at all. Beyond Mariah Idrissi’s hijab, the video features a young man wearing a simple pencil skirt, full-blown cross-dressers, Japanese lolita dress, traditional Japanese dress, Sikh turbans, mouth guards, a sheikh, and an amputee boxer.

Personally, having attended one of the most diverse universities in the world, where I’ve fostered friendships all across the board, and where the Muslim Girl blog got its beginnings, I actually think there are other characters way more interesting to me. I’d like the US to stop being so surprised that people who look and dress differently exist within their worlds, and I honestly thought we were getting somewhere with Muslim and Sikh dress, but I guess that’s just within the bubble of my university life and my friend group. Figures.

One thing that surprised me a little is that Elnaz Barari maintains that H&M does not take political or religious stands; unfortunately for Ms. Barari, the H&M’s board, and Ms. Idrissi, this, and everything else they’ve been doing to create a sustainable business model, is a political stand. Showcasing fringe and saying that everyone is welcome is taking a stand. At least according to conservatives it would be. And so here we are, where “It might be because hijab fashion has boomed in the last few years and to finally see a hijabi in mainstream fashion is a big achievement.”

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Field notes in New York and puppy positivity

Posted on by elemonated

The return of my mother and my brother from their time in Hong Kong, my productive breakfast at Lole Atelier, and a 5 minute conversation with a really nice dog owner with a 4-month-old black shiba puppy has been rejuvenating in a way I never really seem to expect, which is good, since it wouldn’t be so effective if I expected it to happen.

Highlights from:

Speaking about social media and branding

Matt Archambault: Social media and branding

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I Will What I Want – Under Armor

Posted on by elemonated

I’m loving those new Under Armour ads. They’re a perfect follow up in the theme set by the Always #LikeaGirl Superbowl ads; crazy excellent women doing crazy excellent at the things they do. Misty Copeland, especially struck me as a a great model for this particular set of ads because I have experience with the dance and performance industry, and the voice-over used in her video really struck a chord. Under Armour especially does a great job expressing an emboldening message, while making their products look fantastic.

Any profession where the body is used as an outward vessel for expression incites criticism of the vessel. Calls for an idealization of the vessel that makes it so that expression through it is exclusive. Modeling is the same way, though Giselle Bundchen’s ad focuses on a slightly different issue. There’s this odd tendency in all visual arts, from videography to photography to writing to watercolor to etching to dance, that dehumanizes the subject, and concentrates them down to that moment. At best, art gives a summary. We can’t forget that there’re always more to the story.