how’s it going then?

when i finally felt a bit better, i went in and we had a a lesson with Pat, who again, really helped me release my own creativeness that i previously was not sure about. we went through various sheets that helped me see where i was at with this whole project, and what i needed to organise to complete it.

this is a timeline that we drew showing how we felt from the very beginning of the project to the point of drawing the time line. mine represents the steady growth of development to the point where i fell ill, then  steady growth again. i haven’t had any serious downfalls, so a steady rise i felt could be applied to how i have felt  from the beginning.

got to say its good to be back! being cooped up in my room has had a real effect on me, and in a way i do feel i am a little behind as i haven’t had the opportunity to have my research looked over to see if i have been on the right track, but lets hope the final outcome will be what was asked!

carnegie who?

for the object analysis, i grouped together with 3 other girls from group c which was slightly awkward but i was looking forward to working together with new people. Lara, one of the girls, got a dress from her very stylish nan which was made by an english make Carnegie Of London. annoyingly, there is not too much on the brand itself, and when they started about and making tailored dresses.

the dress itself, is a 1960s cut shift dress, in a salmon pink with a silver shine. very pretty dress. for a size 12 it looked very small. Lara’s nan was in her 30′s when she wore this dress to a wedding and subsequently never wore it again. she had matching shoes to it. her nan actually bought it in a vintage shop in Strood that is not there anymore.

the shift dress lay beneath the knee which indicates it was made in the early 1960′s as in the late 1960′s, dresses became significantly shorter. Mary Quant in 1966 wore a mini skirt which was about 6 to 7 inches above the knee.

the presentation itself has been quite a long process as we are in completely different classes, but we arranged to come in on wednesday which none of have any lectures. the previous presentation had to lose itself somewhere obviously, so we had to start again. as we knew the garment pretty well, the presentation didn’t take that long to complete.

as the project itself was individual work, doing something in a group was nice. i would have liked to have run more smoothly but, thats life and i like spontaneity. if things don’t work, learn from them! if they do, make them better!

and thats the way the cookie crumbles.

it’s about time i update this journal, and its not on a good note. i have been feeling really ill recently and haven’t been attending uni as much because of this. i hate being bed bound!

even though i have not been in uni, i have been working on my project as much as i can, and i can happily say that it is looking positive. i know what i want to achieve by the end of all the research. i am really enjoying these 5 weeks and its just so frustrating that i am feeling like this when i can be researching and creating towards the deadline!

hopefully i will get a lot better soon and get back onto updating this regularly.

trendscouts and coolhunters.

we looked at what trendscouts do in relation to helping design houses reach the best possible outcome in their designs. they are part of the civilian world, and are chosen by the company that will best represent the target audience they opt will buy the clothes. they work closely within a community, carefully noting what people are wearing and what is relevant.

we watched a BBC documentary that was a bit dated, but none the less served its purpose in showing the stages that designers go through to get the final collection.

it focused on the jean company Levi’s

4 times a year, designs go out of the headquarters in Brussels into Europe.

trendscouts for Levi’s work part time.

4 times a year designers get together to discuss future designs. they go to various places  round the world to get inspiration, for example; Japan, Sweden and Germany.

they stressed the importance of a digital camera, as when you are on the move or abroad, the only way to take an accurate visual note is by taking a picture. pictures can be chosen easily and stripped apart.

one thing i did realise when watching this documentary, is that the designers did indeed feel the stress that they had to deliver something relevant and understood to the market.

there are many stages that are gone through before a garment is released. Kevin Lingas is the next point of contact for the designers research to be looked at.

what striked me when watching is that although this documentary is slightly dated, the designer that gathered his research in London commented on the fashion as ‘do what you want’. i find that fashion today is very much like that. people can express their personal style without being judged, and by actually getting noticed. is it just that London being one of the most fashionable cities in the world, is this individuality is purely egotistical?

there are indeed disagreements between designers and the headquarter bunch. they do not always see the vision that the designers see which is always backed up by in-depth research.

one of the last steps before a design is released, it goes through consumer trials. the company again asks civilians that would most likely buy from Levi’s, to try garments out and give feedback; what they liked and what they didn’t, so that final adjustments can be made.

a coolhunter records what they see.

bright idea.

in relation to the recent brief for the new project of coming up with a concept store for a company of our choice. i thought it would be a good idea to start with some research into previous concept stores; what made them decide to promote it as they did and what the feedback was.

Vitamin Water opened on in London some time ago which featuring bright lights which change every 10 minutes in conjunction with six new products. it promoted a more lasting message of 24 hour hydration. it also included a thoughts wall to record consumer input and any terrible graffiti or slightly clever riffs clients wanted to identify. Supposdly the store was designated as a hub for meetings, training, media events and sampling.

i find that this is a great way to create an experience to engage consumers outside the product that may have never experienced it. while every product should be the brand, its not always true the brand gets to engage consumers on its own. retail creates meaningful consumer interactions in a place not often obtainable, in this case a bottle of  water with its benefits. an excellent starting point to create brand equities.

one that happened at the start of 2009, was Gap & Pantone pop up store in New York.

Pantone  issued a t-shirt in Mimosa, Pantone’s 2009 color of the year.

“Pantone describes the color as having seven characteristics, optimistic, hopeful, reassuring, warm, cheerful, radiant, and versatile which they feel are the most relevant to the next twelve months.”

Mimosa is not the only hue available through Gap, though the Mimosa color t-shirt will be exclusive to the pop-up shop, which is open through February 8th. this is a great idea as it invited clients to view this exclusive t-shirt from and exclusive brand that previously collaborated with Uniqlo during their pop up store.

the creative touch.

i really enjoy lessons with Pat, as she really knows how to bring out your learning strengths. i never really understood the way i liked to sort out my work, and a previous exercise we did with Pat in the last project, aided me a great deal.

we were each given a post card, and we had to describe what we thought we saw. i actually thought it was representing some sort of fire in a town, but in actual fact i was horribly wrong. it was a painting of a train arriving. ?what! does not look like that at all!

i found this image in Pop magazine, and i thought it was quite a nice little quote for the now.

‘this is pop, world free your mind, put your head back in the clouds and start the ch – ch – ch – change’

alongside the environmental factors of today, people need to start realising the adaptations we need to make to move forward. in Fashion for example, the use of new fabrics and colours.

Pop has different paper feels throughout the whole magazine. from smooth to cardboard-y

i like it

the whole magazine is like encyclopaedia in itself. as it come out twice a year, i’m not suprised it contains various mediums. from photography to interviews to little random informations relevant. it hard to say to whom this is mainly aimed to. i would ay the young artistic professional, but there is an interview with Naomi Campbell which could entice a younger audience as she talks about her success and what it means to her.

26/10/09 workshop with Kate.

we were set into groups and were given a task to create a mood board of what we thought 2010 trends would be, and it was interesting to see what people mentioned. the funny thing was, when someone mentioned a trend, we all sort of agreed, and went along to find cut-outs in magazines to justify our point.

jade - this was our main colour trend for the new year. this colour was huge in the 80′s and i do think it will make a return. it has been acceptable to mix jades, with blues, colours that no one considered a match made in heaven. i do think that the year 2009 has been a triumphant year in specific trends making a comeback, for example, ripped jeans. jade represents the ‘going green’ notion and caring for the environment in unison with lifting ourselves from economical meltdown, which seemed to affect the industry hugely, hence this calming, elegant and fantasy-like colour representing history.

‘heaven knows we’re miserable now’

another colour trend was the colour cream. women in power is increasingly so, and a cream colour maintains the subtlety of a women’s silhouette. although, saying this, the silhouette is changing. the top half of the body is becoming larger, the shoulders are expanding. the waist is becoming less defined and heels are becoming higher and higher, which adds to the power of women rising.

i enjoyed listening to other peoples thoughts on what they thought 2010 would bring, i personally think that a more futuristic look will happen, due to the silhouette already adapting to this appeal. fantastical character are being re-made, for example Peter Pan who as a matter of fact, wears green.

take two.

new blog. new post. new task.

just handed in the first project and it seems like the 5 weeks that it run for, flew by. i am generally pleased with how the first project went. i treated it more like an ice-breaker, as i’m sure many did, and from the feedback received, i can now begin this new project brief with a basis.

the new project brief was quite daunting at first, as it seems a giant leap from what was handed in. i was excited due to the fact that it made me feel like i could finally exert some of my individual creativity, and show my own way of dealing with tasks. this area is probably my weakest, as i don’t know too much about the technical side of Fashion. i am curious as to where this project will lead to and what the end result will be..

a captivating image of a suit by Balenciaga. the statuesque-like lady, pictured amidst all sorts of characters, perhaps different careers, as she connotes a higher ground. a great contrast image even though it is in black and white. pictured by Richard Avedon for Harpers Baazar.