Austin Charles Russell has owned and operated his own photography business for about three years now, and many of the projects he worked on involved fashion photography.
“I immediately fell in love with the creativity and collaboration involved with the process,” said Russell. “I came back to Oregon State after being away for about five years with the intention of not only completing my graphic design degree, but also making an impact on the Oregon State campus,” he said.
Having just graduated from the School of Design and Human Environment’s graphic design program, Russell certainly did leave behind a lasting impression with his “Millennial Fashion” senior thesis project. Russell says that his project was Oregon State University’s first fashion trend campaign. His initial research involved analyzing the business strategies of today’s most successful “fast fashion” companies.
“Fast fashion” is a term used by industry experts to describe how designs move from design conception to production very quickly in order to capture the most current fashion trends. Russell came to the conclusion that a large portion of fast fashion success is due to the high demand among consumers that’s created when these companies are able to act much more swiftly than what is typical of the industry.
Russell made it his goal to utilize this strategy and the principle theories of fashion marketing in order to create a product or service that would appeal to a specific target audience; the Oregon State University student community.
“I am very interested in human behavior and the fact that besides basic human necessity, the one thing that everyone in the world has in common is fashion,” said Russell. “Even in the smallest tribal villages, there is a certain fashion style that demonstrates culture, personality or social status,” he added.
Russell drew inspiration from the many different cultures on campus and wanted to create a project that brought more inclusiveness to the Oregon State community. He said that within just two days of observing campus fashion, four clear trends emerged: wayfarer sunglasses, tank tops, horizontal stripes and neon colors. A LOT of neon colors.
“Obviously these trends were due to the changing season, but it was still interesting to notice how quickly people shifted from neutral, winter colors to bright, spring colors,” said Russell.
Russell took what he gleaned from his research and observations and created the Millennial Fashion trend book. He says that his project encouraged him to pursue a career in the fashion industry, hopefully in a marketing and advertising role.
Russell says that with pursuing a career choice like fashion, networking is essential.
“I would just like to say to other SDHE students, never doubt your abilities, be alert, and take advantage of the opportunities presented to you,” said Russell. “Use the knowledge you have acquired throughout your experience at Oregon State and create something that you are truly passionate about and can be proud of. Dare to take chances! Do great things! And for the love of God; NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK! I can’t emphasize that enough,” he said.
Check out Russell’s project campaign video below:
