Is there a future for British Fashion?

I personally think yes! We have the likes of vivveen westwood, Gareth Pugh and John Galliano who are incredibly influential. We have so many talented fashion designers, that if it keeps this way we will continue have the best fashion in the world. British fashion has its own unique touch.

I think that the death of Alexander McQueen was a huge loss as he was clearly the best of the best, a league of his own! From being such innovative designer he will have an inpact on future fashion for many years to come.

Holly Fulton is a up coming british designer who has an awesome style that contains lots of geometric pattern lavished onto simple garments. An varied mix of modern materials with a high end finish.

I feel we are so lucky to have so many to look up to and be inspired by. 

Above Marios Schwab has a real talent in fashion designing.

My ideal first career choice

I was looking through a range of different job sites such as Drapers online and fashion united when I came across this vacancy at Topshop.
I thought it was a great starting point in the fashion world. The job was advertised on a website called total jobs.com. I enjoyed looking through all the positions within the industry as through I find it a little scary it is very exciting!

Visual Merchandising Assistant

List below is what they require;

To be a creative thinker.
Be highly motivated and able to work under pressure.
Deliver Brand images in store to drive sales and profit.
Have the ability to influence at all levels of the business.
Ensure Brand integrity is maintained at all times with the use of graphics and equipment.
Be able to assist on new VM layouts and implementation of merchandising guidelines.
Be able to work early mornings and late nights when necessary.

Essential Skills;

Effective communicator.
Excellent organisation skills.
Commerical Awareness.
Exceptional Brand knowledge.

I feel that to make it in this industry you must have a genuine passion for fashion!

The Recession

A big issue that could effect me next year when applying for a job is the recession which is effecting the fashion industry as the result of there being too many people wanting the job which makes the competition fierce, also compaines don't have to pay as much to fill the position.

Consumers have to tighten their purse and spend their money just on essential items that would cause a decrease in the stores sales and even if they do manage to maintain the sale the profit margins could still come down.Shopping lately I have seen more sales than usual in high street stores which I think is because of the recession and they are using the sale to draw in customers.

Bristol Fashion Week

Is presented by Mark Hayes and Andrew Barton.

Mark Hayes is a stylist who is seen with Lorraine on GMTV and Andrew is an top hairdresser from programme 'Ten years younger' and also stylist.

The show is sponsored by John Lewis and Marks and Spencer.

At 11o'clock on the friday morning we went to see the show. It was held in a massive marquee outside the mall. As you entered you were welcomed with either a glass of buzz fizz.

As soon as the main doors opened I dashed in to get in the 2^nd row seats right by the stage. The seats were amazing. Saw a selection of the S/S 10 high streets buys. There was some fablous maxi dresses, one that stood out to me was from Wallis which was lime and had a butterfly print. Also lime stiletos with bright purple tights! River island had a lot of lace headbands and hair accessories which I really liked. Inbetween each catwalk Mark and Andrew would talk about must have buys, accessories and hair! We got given goodie bags which had vouchers for the mall inside.

I am so glad I went as was interesting to watch as i have never sat and watched a catwalk show and Mark Hayes was such a legend!

The perfect image

Eating disorders result because of advertisements such as billboards and magazines showing the 'perfect image'. Also using size 0 models on the catwalk gives us a wrong idea of how a womens figure should look like so this cause young girls to feel they have to look this way. I do think the models at london fashion week look incrediable and make the clothes look amazing! But this issue causes girls/women to lose self confidence and 2^nd guess their appearance.

Everyone wants to dress well and look good doing so but I think you should always feel happy and confident with what you wear.

Once i am in the fashion industry I will not get caught up with the tiny figures that i see. I can imagen it being a little bit tempting but i know i can stay being happy in my body.

Future Technology

Online fashion is growing in popularity as designers and promoters realise the power of the internet and are using it to their advantage. Where the fashion industry had once snubbed the internet to maintain its exclusivity the industry has now embraced this technological age and the possibilities it provides. Information is much more available to consumers and they are available to purchase items online often before they are available in shops. Catwalk shows are being streamed live online allowing you to watch the shows as they happen. Fashion bloggers are posting information as it happens from the front row and catwalk reports are readily and quickly available before print based publications. This gives the designers' a wider audience and helps to make fashion more accessible and less elitist. The internet is gaining watchers in the millions who are viewing fashion live and direct.

Taylor Momsen

Taylor is inspiring to me because she has made it as an top style icon at 17 tears of age. She was bullied in school for dressing differently and having her own style but now girls all over the world are copying her. She is mainly successful as a actress but is also in a rock band! She portrays the character 'Jenny Humphrey' in Gossip Girl. I think that the bullies drove her to become successful. She is defiantly one to watch.

My Five Year Plan!

My Aims are to;

Meet every deadline successfully.

Achive a 2:1 or above in my professional project.

Have an successful exhibition of my work.

Become more experienced at photoshop, illustrator and in design.

Have of arranged a 3month placement by June.

This year;

Visual merchandising at MoonFlower in Stroud

Read up on fashion history to widen my knowledge

Read more newspapers such as 'The Times' and 'The Sunday Telegraph'.

Work placement in the summer hopefully at New Look PR office.

3month placement from October to December.

In the future;

During the next year i want to gain as much work experience as i can in all areas of the industry. Put 110% into my work to achive the best i can. 

After completing my degree move to London or even America to start my fashion career.

My main priorities is to love what I do....enjoy work and live life to the full.

The world of twitter!

Twitter is an networking site where you can follow the conversations you like and that are at interest.

The key to twitter success is to be yourself and say interesting stuff! Twitter gives you the opportunity to say a short paragraph of whats goin on in your life!

I use twitter to follow the likes of Drapers, fashion magazines such as Vogue and Grazia and models like Agyness Deyn and top stylist such as the one and only Gok Wan.

Exhibition Film

One of the thoughts we had for our exhibition was filming each promotion student whilst asking them 4 questions. 

The questions were;

3 things that interest you about fashion.

3 things about self as a person.

A little about PP.

The 5 year plan.

I was quite nervous but once I got to the EP buliding it was only Steph and another interactive media student filming so was'nt too bad. Me and Izzy went together and I found it amusing to watch her.

Loved the fact there was no preperation....just on the spot questions and answers!

I cant wait too see the whole film when it has been edited, think it will bring real character and show individuality to the exhibition.

Essay all done and dusted!!!

Today i handed in my essay! Which felt amazing! 

For my 'Fashion as a Forum' essay I compared two of the most remarkable exhibitions I have attended which were Hussein Chalayan and Nick Knight. I discussed the media technologies that was involved in the promotion, exhibition and display of contemporary fashion. This area is of a huge interest to me as I am really excited by the fast turnover and speed at which both fashion and technology move! To the right is one of Chayalan's garments from the collection 'Before Minus Now'.

The love for the style of Ed Westwick!

This is Ed Westwick.
He is an English actor best known for his role of 'Chuck Bass' in Gossip Girl! Ed's wealthy, unscrupulous Chuck is known to be as slippery as a shark and just as dangerous to cross!! A fantasy figure all parents fear and that all girls.....well, love! He has even got a band-ish! Secret rocker! I absolute love the way he looks. He can clearly pull anything off. I feel he has such an rugged and edgy style! Plus an Arsenal fan! Amazing huh!

ASOS Spring's must-haves!

From bright printed playsuits to lovely heart sun glasses!

Lace socks to cheeky tights!

Think ASOS has a beautiful range of clothes for this spring!

Lady Gaga wearing Alexander McQueen

An absolute stunning outfit in Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' video.

She manages to pull off this quirky style amazingly!!

True fashion icon for sure! 

Rihanna's outfit @ NRJ Music Awards!

Over the last few months I’ve started to get back into Rihanna’s style! She manages to maintain such an interesting level of creativity with what she wears. I think this was beautifully shown at the 2010 NRJ Music Awards, when she walked the red carpet wearing a stunning Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2008 Couture gown! The white embroidered gown was split to the thigh with a silver skirt underneath. Her dress was paired with wedged heels and silver jewels. What a stunner!

Notes from Guest Lecture 'Paul Hartnett'

Paul Hartnett is a very interesting man! He works as a trend spotter/forecaster for GWSN. Paul records street/club style and has witnessed club culture since 1976. The idea of dressing up is an fascination to him! On the spot he will take a picture of what ever he likes, with no planning, no preps and no plotting!

He has contributed to magazines such as i-D, Dazed & Confused, Attitude and Tank.

His opinion was 'Fashion makes you look like a can't.'

His advice when taking photos its important to get really close!

Paul said the followers are out on Fri/Sat/Sun, these people all dress and look the same so the best nights to photograph are week nights.

Tom Ford is pushing male physique by taking photos of men that send out a sexual vibe.

Its a perfect time to trend spot hours before an fashion shows start. Exposed flesh,heels, hairstyles, tattoos and piercings are the most interesting. Also taking sneaky snaps of fashion **** ups!

He recommended drawing attention to yourself by throwing a sandwich at an model or throwing red paint at fur on a catwalk.

He asked us all questions 'why are we the way we are?' whose the most stylish people?

Where would our dream store be? The most contemporary man? Really made me think!

What an very inspiring character! 

I absolute love the flyers below!

 

Magazine Photo shoot!

As my feature would be in purple magazine I felt it had to be quirky and quite odd but interesting!

For research I went in to the library as now boarders has closed down its very difficult to get hold of an copy. I looked through for ideas on layout and font. After finding a few I liked I photocopied them so I could keep them in my research file.

In my photos, I used props such as balloons, a bike tyre, an chair, painted lamp shades, pieces of fabric, teddy bear, condoms and cigarettes.

Sammy wore a range of different clothes from an pvc corset to just a pair of high waisted pants and a bra.

My model is called Sammy and she is an Textile student. She has an amazing size 6 figure, pale skin and black back combed hair!

The story is that this girl has been up all night, drinking, partying hard and has just come home and crashed out in her lounge making a mess and having her own wild party! Showing you can have fun on your own!

I decided to give the photography a go and take over 250 pictures so I had plently to chose from to edit.

Sammy wore heavy black eyeliner and eyeshadow. Purple/blue glitter lip stick!

Here are some photos!!

Wedding Show at the BIC

Whilst researching on Fab Frocks website, there was an advertisement for an wedding show! Apparently the south coast largest! And what awesome timing! Me and Hayleigh thought it would be an perfect opportunity to capture some lovely pictures and a chance to watch a fashion show! They had everything you could possibly need for a wedding. From top hats to top tables, florists to photographers, catering to cars and bridal wear to invitations!

We had to wear exhibitor badges explaining we were photographers for Fab Frocks. Once we had our badges we decided to look around all the stands! It was really busy, we kept getting asked which was of us was the bride! Whilst walking around we got some funny looks as we had cameras around our necks, I think people were suspicious of us! Everyone on the stands stares at your hand, clearly searching for a wedding ring!

Fab Frocks had 3 scenes in the fashion show, one bridesmaid, one mother of the bride and the other bridal. The show was amazing, I felt Fab Frocks stood out because the models danced on stage where has all the others didn't! I did think Chameleon had a couple of stunning wedding dresses! They were gorgeous! We got to the show 45minutes before as wanted the perfect seats so we could snap happy! Tracey said we could take pictures of her stand and all of her garments on the catwalk. I did manage to take a good selection of photographs.

I really enjoyed this experience and felt I gained a good amount of research for my project. I would definitely go again! 

Photography at Fab Frocks!

1/02/10. Today I went to Fab Frocks to take some photographs for my 'look book' which went really well. Tracey was fitting models for the show this friday so we had a little preview of these fantastic models wearing the most beautifully designed wedding dresses. I spent a hour and an half taking photographs, could of stayed longer to be honest. Handling the garments and putting them on to the manikin was tough as they were so delicate to touch. I loved choosing the hats or fascinator to go with the outfits! I thought the hats were so interesting to take photos of! I thought it was a good idea to get a photograph of just the dresses, then the dress with the jacket and then a close up of any details on the dress. I took around 50 photos which is excellent as have plenty to edit. I will take more on Friday at the show, as Tracey has gave me and Hayleigh permission to take pictures back stage and on the cat walk! Also she would like us to help dress the models! This will be amazing!! Really looking forward to it!

Research Mission!

25/01/10 Today I went to Mojgan bridal couture which has recently moved to Wimborne road after being in the arcade at bournemouth town centre for 13years. I said I was going to my best friends wedding in June and the assisant showed wedding guestwear. I found it very limited and a few of the dresses had treads still dangling off. Their were 3 dresses that were stunning and I would consider wearing them to a wedding as I felt they were unique and nobody else would be wearing them to the same wedding! These dresses had beautiful embellishment and came in a wide range of different colours! From soft pastels to bold brights! The prices ranged from £225 to £265. The assisant whos sister designs all of the dress in the shop asked me what my budget was and I said around the 200 pound mark which in a way is quite high! After I went to Irenes in Broadstone which unfortantly was closed. So going to try and go there in the week. So I thought it would be a good idea to check out Fab Frocks competitor which is Monsoon at Castle Point. To be honest there was nothing that really stood out to me and that I would choose to wear. On the otherhand there were dresses from £75 to £180 which is a more affordable than these wedding boutiques.

Key Trends Spring/Summer 2010

Trend 1...Straight from the wild...very fierce animal prints! Safari suitings...Khaki, camel, tobacco ans stone. Big cat prints and tribal batiks. An distinctly urban feel! Designers such as Louis Vutton, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Rodarte.

Trend 2...Girly Pastels...sugar coated glamour...baby blue, pastel pink, pale yellow, soft lilac and spearmint. Chiffons, feathers and tulle. Designers such as Dior, Christopher Kane, Luella and Vicktor & Rolf.

Trend 3...Eye-popping patterns and prints! Splashy geometrics and vivid florals. Powerful shots of intense colour. Designers; Alexander McQueen, Versace and Moschino.

Trend 4...Spring bling! Glitz! Party pieces that dazzle. A whole lot of glamour and elegance. Lashes of gold, gloss and glitter! Designers; Lavin, Balmain and Burberry Prorsum.

Trend 5..Fresh white! Classic and fun is to be had with shape, form and fabric! Calvin Klein with tailored white blazers, Stella McCartney's oversized white shirt, Jil Sanders architectural dresses.

Trend 6.. Spring Military...a killer new uniform..with a feminine edge! Shirt dresses and multi-pocket khaki jackets. Chloe, Stella McCartney MaxMara showed an womanly approach to this season of military.

Trend 7...Pretty satin Corsets and lingerie...bra tops, and lace knickers! The prettiest have an vintage feel, silky sets and yes some big knickers!Jean Paul Gaultier named his collection “the G-spot”!! designers...Antonion Berardi, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Jacobs.

Trend 8....Surfer and scuba dive!! Skin tight sporty pieces! Ergonomic panelling, webbing straps and Neoprene handbags...designers such as Alexander Wang, Gucci and Josh Goot.

Trend 9....Fairytale....frilly and fabulous frocks! Very romantic and charming! Palette of nude, blush and rose. Valentino, Lavin, Marchesa and Chanel had some absolutely stunning dresses.

Above...Safari stylie! Rodarte

Christopher Kane's pastel beauty!

Eye catching..Alexander McQueen

A sparkly Burberry Prorsum

Visit to Fab Frocks

12/01/10. Over the Christmas holidays I read through the briefs and had a pretty clear idea of which one I was going to choose. Today I decided that the best way to properly start my research was to visit Fab Frocks in Westbourne to get a real idea and feel for this new project! Tracie was there so I got a chance to talk to her and she explained about the customer market, competitors and a look book. Tracie gave me a wedding magazine, Michaela Louisa and Vivien Sheriff look books which are all really helpful for my research! The most popular designers are John Charles and Sarah Daniels, this is what the mothers of bride and groom would wear. For the younger generation of wedding guests there is the designers known as Dusk and Rouge. Rouge had some really lovely puff ball dresses that I can image are popular with the younger women. In store I noticed a lot of these dresses had little jackets that match and stunning head pieces that could really make an statement. For the look book I am going to arrange a suitable date to go and take photographs of the dresses on manikins. I am excited about getting stuck into this project!