This isn't an attack, but an honest question. Why do you want to buy this clothing? Is it really to be "Eco-Advanced" or "Street Elite", whatever these things mean? Is it to find something niche to show to friends? Is it for some sense of purpose or obligation? Why do you want to purchase these items?
My real name is Noah Cousineau and the COUSINEAU brand is my artist statement on consumerism and selling personalities. I'm currently studying Graphic Design and I'm realizing how much of my industry revolves around branding. While I'm not sure if branding itself is a bad thing, more contemporary branding measures are unethical to me. In particular, I have a problem with brands selling personalities. Selling a personality is when a corporation sells a way of living more so than their actual product. A good example of a brand that sells a personality is Apple. Apple sells an artistic, cool, and refined personality to its customers. Their marketing and branding always makes sure to convey a message that "cool" people are using Apple products, such as in the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ad campaign. The focus of these advertisements isn't so much on the products themselves, but more so the person you could be depending on what computer you purchase. In fact, the actual product isn't shown at all! Yet, branding and marketing like this has sunk so deep into us that we associate Apple with "cool". This of course is far from the truth as we can both name many people who are definitely not cool artistic types who use iPhones.
I also find personality branding to be a very handy way of hiding corporations' unethical practices. To use our Apple example again, Apple ran an ad campaign showing how eco-friendly they are. Through showing green colors and a smart engineer-type to say how they recycle, Apple assures us that we can feel good about purchasing their products, This again is far from the truth. While Apple may be taking some measures to be environmentally friendly, their products as they are rely on reaping the Earth for its resources. This isn't even to mention all the carbon used to harvest or transport items, the horrible conditions of cobalt mining in the Congo, or dismal factories in China.
In a way, we shouldn't be so shocked over this. Any economy that promotes making a maximum profit is going to result in these unethical practices. This goes not only for a company using cheap foreign labor to make their products, but for brands trying to convince consumers that their products are needed for personal fulfillment.
As someone studying Graphic Design, it pains me that so much of my education is revolved around selling a personality. We try to design the most fantastic advertisements, animations, posters, packages, etc. all to give a sense of necessity for our brand. As an artistic rebellion, I created COUSINEAU.
COUSINEAU attacks the logic of personality branding by being a mockery of the concept. The clothing itself is incredibly silly. I personally have nothing wrong with strange and Postmodern fashion trends, but the clothes themselves are literally trash. These are hastily assembled shirts, bags, pants, etc. that are very hot and uncomfortable to wear, very flimsy, and cannot be washed. In practical terms, these are terrible pieces of apparel that nobody should reasonably purchase.
So how do I convince people to but these horrible and incredibly expensive items? I sell a personality in my branding. I created "The Trash Life", the life you could achieve if you purchase COUSINEAU products. From all of the imagery and content I created, I made a fashion brand that is niche, urban, mysterious, and "too cool for school". I created an identity of scarcity, wealth, and "Street Elite" to sell hollow and baseless apparel. In addition, I created the facade of being "Eco-Advanced", a word that means absolutely nothing, so you didn't feel bad about your environmental impact. Not once do I say why this is good for the environment, where the bags come from, or back anything up with statistics. I just took a photo of my products in nature and told you it was "Eco-Advanced" because it used plastic bags. In reality, these bags were never used and were just purchased on Amazon. The amount of power corporations and identity branding can influence our thinking is truly terrifying.
I created this not to make potential consumers feel bad, but to make them more suspicious of what they're purchasing. It's to remind people what corporations are truly selling. Chanel isn't selling perfume, it's selling the personality of luxury. Nike doesn't sell shoes, they sell athleticism. This project was created to remind you that you should always be skeptical of what a company is selling you. It's to remind you that our economy relies on selling superfluous plasticky products to people who usually really don't need it. It's to remind you that there is no good corporation, no matter how many smiling faces they show on their website. It's to make you realize the world we think is normal and ethical is a lot stranger than we truly understand.
I appreciate you for reading this short manifesto. To spread this project further, please share and post about the COUSINEAU brand. Play into the branding and show how "cool" these clothes are. If you want to collaborate on this artistic project, please reach out to my email at njcousin59@gmail.com. You can also find me on Instagram @noah_Cousineau and on Twitter @Cous57. I'm not looking to make a profit on this project, but just to spread my message and art. I hope to gain attention of an influencer of some sort and for them to play into the brand. Spread the word of COUSINEAU, the first Eco-Advanced brand!
Also, no, the clothes are not for sale.
-Noah Cousineau