Back to School with Reformation
Going back to school has never been so much fun. And I mean that in more ways than one. This week, it was a super fun dream come true to create content for Reformation’s social media. I chose Instagram (my favorite social media platform of their’s by far) and created three posts around the idea of going back to school, which has been a traditional choice of ad campaign for clothing companies for years. But while traditional is cool, the Reformation takes a non-traditional approach to the promotion of their clothing brand, and I happily followed suite. So, let’s talk about them, shall we? I know you’re excited.
Who loves Instagram videos? I love Instagram videos. They are short and to the point, and I love how creative you can get within 15 seconds. They play as you scroll, taking away the extra steps to watch a video, as one might have had to do before technology got all awesome and stuff. The plot of the video revolves around a “student” who keeps picking up the same outfit off the floor and wearing it over and over again. The Reformation built their brand on sustainability in fashion, and prides themselves on saving water, energy, and more by using responsible practices in their production. I wanted to play on this idea of being sustainable while being cheeky at the same time. The Reformation knows it’s customer; and she isn’t afraid to admit that has probably worn the same outfit for days on end.
Next, I wanted to do a photo that showed, among other things — the same outfit from the video, but also some classic elements of the idea of “back to school.” I chose to caption this photo “Sticking with the classics” for two reasons. One, the Reformation has a largely vintage aesthetic, and classic literature and battered book jackets is something that makes sense with their brand image. Second, Reformation sources vintage and dead stock fabrics to create their clothing lines. So in a way, they are sticking with the classics to create short run looks that become instant classics. I made sure to pick Sylvia Plath, J.D. Salinger, and Vonnegut for my stack of books. Because duh.
This. I am in love with this. Is it weird to be so enamored with something you came up with? Let me give a little backstory; starting with the more obvious first. This is John Belushi in Animal House. The image of him wearing a navy sweatshirt bearing the word “college” has become iconic, plastered in dorm rooms all across America. Reformation has made sweatshirts in almost an identical style, bearing different cheeky phrases. These sweatshirts go on to sell out almost immediately, including one bearing the phrase “CINDY CRAWFORD” which has been seen on countless models, including the iconic Cindy herself. Since Reformation is a fellow kindred spirit in it’s sarcastic ways; I thought it would be hilarious to do John Belushi wearing a Reformation sweatshirt and deem him an original #refbabe (their hashtag for girls wearing Reformation).
For all of these posts, I used the hashtag #back2refschool. I like that it plays off the idea of “reform school” even though we are clearly meaning for it to be “Reformation” (they regularly shorten to “ref”). Reform school is like, this cool thing that happened to girls growing up on the Upper East Side in the 60's who got in trouble for going to underground shows or wearing their skirts to short or kissing too many boys. Reformation customers like that.
In other news, the Reformation “liked” my photo of John Belushi and even commented on it; three sets of clapping hands.
Update: In other other news, the Reformation has since reposted my photo on Instagram and it currently has over 3,000 likes.
This post was created as part of the Global Luxury Management Program at NC State Poole College of Management. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
