News Unit: Thoughts on E! News and the fur fashion industry.

Key facts:

• First aired on 1st September 1991
• originally hosted by Ryan Seacrest, Guiliana Rancic and Dagny Hultgreen
• Currently managed by Ryan Seacrest
• aired over 7500 episodes

E! news is an NBC owned entertainment channel that is widely renowned for talking about celebrity culture and discussing the ins and outs of celebrity lives whether it be breakups to new home movements and other various reality shows. E! is home to exclusive shows such as "Fashion Police", a show where a panel of somewhat "fashion forward" judges get together and rate the outfits of celebrities who attend upscale events. This show was hosted mainly by Joan Rivers who added a harsher vibe to the critique. Another exclusive show created by E! is "The Daily 10". This is where a few presenters provide a count down into the top 10 entertainment news stories of that week. 

It is important to mention that E news could be considered as one of the main channels that enhanced the gap between normal individuals and celebrities. By producing a variety of reality shows, it allowed people to look into the lives of the celebs and see a lifestyle that they may not be able to live themselves. It almost ties into the ideology of escapism and immersion, This is where some people enjoy watching other peoples lives and enjoy submerging themselves in a world that may not be attainable for them in the real life. E! is a successful company that (in my opinion) has played on those ideologies a lot. Tabloid entertainment such as this have teams of people who know exactly what is current and what the targeted viewers want to see. This is what makes something successful, you have to know who you are targeting and you have to know what they would enjoy. This made me think about how important it is to get the branding right and to really research what is current. Thinking about E!news as a brand got me thinking about what our group could do in a similar yet different way to them. 

When closely looking at the entire brand, (that being the website, the channel and the manners in which the shows are presented) it is clear to me that they positively perpetuate and glamourise the celebrity lifestyle but never really talk about the negatives of it or what negative effects these "role models" have on the generation. 



This is a screen grab of one of the panels from their youtube account. With titles such as "be pop cultured", it is obvious that they are encouraging everyone to stay "in the know" with what is going on. but some may say that something like a "kimoji" (Kim Kardashian's emoji app) really that relevant where it needs it's own video? I feel as though this channel helps people continue to look at things for face value. With a following of 150,000 on youtube, it is clear that people enjoy this sort of thing, well their niche audience do.

So that got me thinking, I feel as though there are so many negative aspects that go along with pop culture that people may ignore. Things such as fashionista's wearing real fur. Everyone praises the looks that some of these top celebrities produce but no one questions it where the items come from. One example of this is when Rihanna was seen wearing a £15,000 fox fur love heart cape;

AIM:

After seeing how an item such as this (which in my opinion isn't something that is wearable) I wanted to know the process in which something like this was made. There has been speculation for years about how fur is gathered. Myths about animals being skinned alive etc to obtain the best quality fur. So I thought that it could be a good idea to investigate this and maybe create a brand that shows the reality of the not so glamorous side of fashion but without being considered as a "party pooper". I would want facts to be produced but the opinions to be left open for discussion. I want people to start understanding the reality of the things they are buying.

I took to twitter to explore PETA UK's twitter page where I know I would be able to find useful facts regarding animals and cruelty. I thought that maybe they would have information on events or even protests. Especially since it is currently London Fashion Week. 

I found an article on protesters in Milan's fashion week;

I think it would've been a good idea to get interviews from people during London fashion week to get a variety of point of views on the topic. A lot of people enjoy being left in the dark with these topics but its still a good idea to hear what people have to say. 

Footage

I then went onto PETA's website in hope to gather footage that could be used to illustrate some points; Below is footage that was recovered from an undercover investigation into illegal Chinese fur farms. 

On PETA's site I found an interesting fact; 

So the point I would be trying to make is that, no one really knows where it comes from; is it important that people know how it was sourced? 

Contributors; 

- Since this is a creative university with creative courses, I think it would be a good idea to get the opinions of fashion students and even fashion design lecturers. 

- It would also be a good idea to get a statement from another organisation or even protesters.  

Directed at;
Age ranges from 15-25+, this includes students and working professionals. Anyone who is interested in fashion.