Vogue's Fashion Night Out 10/09/09

This was such a lively, fashionable night, with so much happening all around London's West End shopping district. From 6pm till around 11pm there were in store events, complimentary drinks, and even mini catwalk shows and photoshoots.

This was a global event in all fashion capitals, and if you click the link below you can see what it

was all about from a star studded advert they were showing for New York's Fashion Night Out.

http://www.fashionsnightout.com/

Here is Vogues review of London's Fashion Night Out.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/090521-fashions-night-out.aspx

We started off the night by having drinks on the top floor of Urban Outfitter's, listening to a live DJ set and having a browse round the store, the whole atmosphere was great! There is also a polaroid exhibition going on at the moment showing polaroid cameras from over the years.

http://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/features/polaroid

Tops for sale to celebrate the event, all money goes to the 'Crisis' charity

Liberty

Liberty had there 'Hermes Pour Liberty' event on and were serving french martinis upstairs! I loved this amazing length of scarves they had tied attached and hung from the top floor.

A window display made up of scarf boxes for the new Hermes collection made for Liberty.

In Liberty they were allowing visitors to try on scarves, or get themselves styled up, and photographed wearing them by a professional photographer. Hermes brought a French feel to Liberty, which is usually very traditionally British.

There were live models in a few of the window displays, this is Louis Vuitton's below.

Here are a couple of photo that I took of live window displays at Zara on Oxford Street

In Chanel on Bond street we queued to view an amazing photoshoot with Erin O'Connor and Daisy Lowe. With probably only about 30 people upstairs in Chanel it was a great experience, as we were right at the front, able to view the interviews, the shoot and the styling.

Anyone interested in Fashion I would definitely recommend this to next time it comes around. There was so much to offer with lots of things to go and see or even take part in. This really was a celebration of fashion!

RANKIN LIVE - exhibition

What can I say?! Rankin's work absolutely amazed me, he has had such broad range of interests when it comes to photography, not only photographing the leggy supermodels. But he also photographs his family, or random strangers that he has taken interest to. There was even an old fashioned photobooth for visitors to get there own photo taken in black and white passport style...uuurrrm as you can see above! Lots of fun!

He splits his vast exhibition of works into categories, which give a meaning to the photographs, a really interesting section was where he morphed himself into different beings....him as a boy, and as an old man (you can see this below) , his face as a pig (below also), him kissing himself, him as each of the spice girls....really you have to see this to appreciate the humour of this one!

Aswell as his amazing fashion photography where he plays with shadows, colour and the sillhouette, he has another section of the exhibition that interests me..... There is a part of the exhibition where there is a tatty looking leather sofa in the middle surrounded by photos of people sitting on it all doing different things, these photos were placed in a waiting room area with the sofa in the middle, Rankin describes how fun it was to see the look of realisation on the persons face when they notice that they are sitting on the sofa where all the photographs surrounding them were photographed.

Going to this exhibition I appreciate Rankin's work a lot more than I did before, I never realised quite how broadly he has worked and it has been nice to see all the stages of his ever growing career.

Week Visual Merchandising for Urban Outfitters Oxford Street

There are so many reasons why I love Urban Outfitters, from the layout of the shop, to the lively new music they play all around the store and most of all their amazing clothes and accessories!

I jumped at the chance for this work experience that the head Visual Merchandiser of the UK stores offered me, I always enjoy set design for photoshoots, therefore styling up the oxford street flagship store would really be a great experience for me.

As soon as I arrived I was shown around the store and then had a rifle through a whole book full of photographs and images sourced which fit with the two themes there are running through the store. 'Hyper Hyper' is one and the other is 'Breakfast Club'.

Hyper Hyper is very 80's inspired, with bright colours, a disco theme and alot of body-con sillhouettes.

Breakfast Club was my favourite, based around the film, with retro prints, and vintage florals, more of a 'country girl in the city' kind of feel.

At the time of my work experience it was prototype week. This is when the UK visual merchandising team takes all that it has researched and concluded from visits to to USA stores and reflects it into the Oxford Street UK Flagship store. All other Visual Merchandisers for Urban Outfitters from all around the UK then come to absorb the new changes, get to grips with the new themes and then go back to their original stores with ideas in mind for their change over.
There was a hybrid style to the shop which meant that there was a lot of mix and matching and filling up all available spaces, you could call it clutter, but in a really cool form. With shelves with books stacked, little ornaments, flasks and cameras all in the same sort of area.

As part of the Visual Merchandising team for this week we worked together on producing floor plans of what garments should hang where, putting together outfits for mannequins, and deciding on colour schemes in each area.

I learnt some new terminology too!

- A Face Out - this is when the last garment on the rail is dressed with either an accessory or scarf, and maybe even a cardigan of some sort over the top, this is to give the customer an idea of what the garment on the rail goes well with, encourages the customer to buy matching items!

- A Viniette - A stand made up of three mannequins at the front with a rail behind each that consists of what they are wearing

-2-way or a 3-way - Kinds of stands for clothing

I really enjoyed my time at Urban Outfitters and even managed to get an interview for a position as a part time sales associate ....I landed myself a lovely summer job!

www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk

Preparation for Dissertation...

Reflective Writing

From watching 8 individual interviews from 8 different tutors/lecturers around the country these are notes I have made that I feel will help me with reflective writing for my dissertation.


Taking notes after each day of work experience shows more honest reflections.

Less descriptive - more ideas and thoughts presented.

Reorganise learning I have recieved, what i have learnt from everything I have done, analyse evaluate and synthesise - problem solve

Collect things and then interact with them to create innovative outcomes.

Learn what i need to improve upone, and celebrate acheivments, do not leave dissertation to last minute.

Reflection can help to capture snippets of experience, look back and find patterns and strategies - what, why, when, how, who. where - symbols.

Talking about work but in a written form, doesn't necessarily have to have a beggining a middle and an end, more subjective, be able to articulate to others, this is important for personal development, I need to formalise my thought process. Me on Paper!

Ask myself what I have learnt form each project, personal developement, exploratory examination, sense making, individual personal journeys, what changes have these things made to me.

An example of the free-est possible way of writing could be a double entry journal, put item in, and then on second half of page reflect upon it - what it felt like and making sense of it.

Note mistakes and be critical - acknowledge things didnt go to plan - make strategies and plans. Don't be afraid to write feelings.

Keep note of what goes right and what goes wrong, improvements that need to be made at first does not seem useful, but it is a release, getting it on to paper, there is a pressure of getting things right, sometimes get down all your thoughts first. Notemaking.

Lets Go To BARCELONA!

Its off to Spain we go.......

Click image to see detail!

Here is a collection of photos I have collaged that I found summed up the whole atmosphere of Barcelona.

Just a few of the things that really stood out...

- Bright colours - Markets, Mosaics, Park Guell (Gaudis creations!)
- Gothic gaudi architecture scattered around the city
- Culture - contemporary art museum
- Lively atmosphere - new up and coming areas such as El Raval,
La Ramblas with performances from street artists.
- Spanish traditions and history - Sagrada Famillia

Work Placement

Belle and Bunty

Over the summer I took part in a four week work placement with the womenswear fashion label 'Belle and Bunty', at their studio and beautiful little shop situated in Kentish Town.



http://www.belleandbunty.co.uk/


The two designers Hannah and Alice also co-own 'The Four-Factory' and 'Three's Company' which sort out the Marketing, PR and Promotions side of the business. As well as this they design for the menswear label 'Pose London' which has its suave shop along the cobbled streets of Covent Garden.


www.poselondon.co.uk


Over the four weeks I managed to take part in a various different projects, along with running a few different errands all around London.



First of all I was given a list of different male celebrities who would promote Pose London well and added more to the list that I though also suited the brand. I took on a PR role for this, and searched out agents and contacted them about delivering a goodie bag with either a shirt or T-shirt and look book. As 'Pose London' is quite a new brand they are looking for more promotion to boost their sales and there status in the fashion industry!

Dan from the Noissettes wears a 'Pose London' shirt.

Friendly Fires on their latest photoshoot - 'Pose London' shirt worn on the left.

My next task was to work on a couple of the newsletters with the themes of 'Festival Fun', 'Flower Power' which promoted the Spring/Summer collection for 'Belle and Bunty'. This was one of the parts I most enjoyed, as I could get my hands on photoshop and play around with layout, colour schemes, typography and the varieties of patterns within each newsletter.

Here is the completed 'Flower Power' newsletter...

As well as this I was asked to arrange the garments for 'Pose London' and 'Belle and Bunty' flat in the studio to be photographed for the websites. I also dressed mannequins in different outfits so that the viewer can look at the garment as part of the whole outfit. Although quite a simple task I liked the freedom that they gave me to put together individual items, styling them in my own way, and making changes that they felt were neccessary afterwards. I also looked into trend research for 'Pose London' and printed off images and descriptions for the next season, this I enjoyed as I have previously based projects on fashion forecasting.

Along with running errands such as the goodie bags to the celebrities, a wedding dress to a little spanish lady who hand sews on little silk flowers, and picking up various ribbons, beads etc from shops, I also minded the shop occasionally. Although these jobs are quite small, during my time there I had a really useful overall view of what it is like to run a business and the many different areas there are to focus on that make it successful. Working alongside a girl doing a graphics work placement there, we both found it useful discussing what we thought worked best, and what needed to change with our individual tasks. At the end of the placement I found that they would be grateful for any furthur help me, and they even gave me a pretty Belle and Bunty silk cushion as a thank you!

Websites

Heres a few websites that have inspired me!

Lolita Lempicka Teas!
Really cute and feminine website, I love the animations!
http://www.lesgourmandisesdelolitalempicka.com/boutique/accueil

Monki World!

The detailed illustrations are amazing, they have some nice clothes also, some with the illustrations over the top of them.

http://www.monkiworld.com/

Woo Agenter!

Woo Agentur represents freelance artists within illustration, graphic design, animation and motion graphics.

I loved the really diverse range of illustration presented, digital and handrawn techniques are included.

http://www.woo.se/

Klaus Haapaniemi

Annelie Carlstrom

Woo Agentur represents Al Murphy, Anne-Li Karlsson, Annelie Carlström, Bo Lundberg, Dennis Eriksson, Eva Hjelte, Gustav Dejert, Hjärta Smärta, Jan Cafourek, Klaus Haapaniemi, Mia Nilsson, Petra Börner, Rikke Jørgensen, Sac Magique, Stina Wirsén, Susanne Engman, Tyra von Zweigbergk and Vår.

Heres a link to a questionnaire I sent out for part 2

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=xrl3rm2qvesjqaq581464

My responses gave me a lot of ideas for what to include in my shop, the whole feel that London has about it is obviously loved by many, most answers backed up my ideas that I already had, but there are some new ones that have been made noticable to me.

Shop Concept

'LOVE FOR LONDON'

This is the name of the shop that I will create a website for.

The shop is split into four different parts, ‘New Designers’, ‘The Market’, ‘Global Café’ and the ‘Vintage’ section,

‘Our Picks’ section where you can flick through various different illustrated products that the shop will sell.

I have called the store ‘Love for London’ and the logo consists of ‘L4L’. I chose to use this as my title of the shop because it is for people that are interested in London, or have been there before and love everything that it has to offer. Whether it is the up and coming fashion, or the incredible vintage shops, the hustle and bustle of a London market, or the mixture of world foods and music. I have abbreviated the word ‘for’ in the logo to the number ‘4’ as I feel this is reflective of the youth culture of today.


PRODUCT
Clothes (Vintage, new designers, ethnic)
Accessories
Shoes
Food (Cafe)

PLACE
Corso di Porta Ticinese - up and coming area of Milan

PROMOTION
website

MY GUIDE!!!!!

Have a look at my guide!

Calling all tr...

Trends for autumn/w...

By Emily Stimpson

Book Preview

Top Lecture!

FASHION FORECASTING LECTURE

I found this lecture really interesting and it linked well to the theme of my book. As I am focusing on future trends.

I learnt about a really informative international trend research and design agency called 'Promostyl' I found out about this after my book had been made, but next time I look into trends for a project I will be sure to check out their website.

The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair - London

Two days ago I visited The Affordable Vintage Fashion Fair, and it most certainly didn't dissapoint. With absolute BARGAINS, a whole range of vintage stalls, and as well as clothes there were some other really interesting items for sale, I would definately recommend a visit to it next time round!

Old photographs, hotel keys, boxes of watches and gold chains, clip-on ear-rings, fur coats, and dresses from all eras were just a few picks from the vast selection there was to offer.

My shop concept for Part 2 will include a vintage section, therefore I feel that this fair was worth a visit, I now have a deeper knowledge on my target market, and as my shop will be based on these parts of London, with a sort of roughness about it that you would get at a fair or market, I feel the Affordable Vintage Fashion Fare also gave me some furthur ideas according to the layout of my shop.

http://www.vintagefair.co.uk/#/london/4531359942

Lectures

For Part 1 of this project and Part 2, we have had lectures each week which have been very informative and with some good examples to focus on.

Here is a list of the lectures so far and some key parts that I personally find most interesting.

Branding

Marketing Planning

Market Segmentation and Consumer Targeting

Guerilla Advertising

Guerilla advertising is used to shock and capture peoples attention, targeting unsuspecting consumers in peculiar ways.

Examples I find of interest:

1.
Here poor, starving children are pictured sitting in the bottom of shopping trolleys. Any food placed in the shopping trolley seems to be given to the needy child. 'Feed SA', a South African charity dedicated to feeding disadvantaged people, came up with this advertising idea and saw a noticable increase in donations.

2.

Another I found of interest was the synchronized dancing that was organised at London Liverpool Street station for T-mobile where commuters travelling through the busy train station got a surprise as hundreds of people broke into a synchronized dance routine.
This was an organized guerrilla dance act organized by T-Mobile for an advert on channel 4 in the UK. This is known as a 'Flash Mob', where people organise a set time to get together to perform some kind of act. An example of others are the ‘No pants subway ride’ or the ‘public freeze’ sessions where hundreds of people freeze for a minute before walking off again.



3.
Spreading the word, the world according to Diesel.


Diesel present the fundementals of a lifestyle brand, with innovative and imaginative ideas to convey their message.
The 2001 advertising campaign, 'Save yourself' consisted of different projected slogans onto the sides of buildings. Other eyecatching adverts were also created for print.




Emerging Markets and New Product Development
An example of this is Ben Sherman as the brand has really changed over the years for the better. It initially started of as a shirt brand for men and had an unknown future. The advertisements presented below show a lack of innovation. As you can see the target market seems very limited, to a specific subculture of the time.



But now it has grown and become a more appealing brand internationally, with a greater marketing focus. It also provides for men and women, with a full lifestyle offer.
http://www.bensherman.com/


Envision Retails presentation on Consumer Shopping Behaviour
This presented the 4 ages of shopping, how each group has a different ideas about shopping, for pleasure or with a need to purchase etc.

Consumer Profiling and Buying Behaviour
Fashion Advertising

My 'Where to Wear' Shopping Guide

Milano!

The city for the rich and fabulous!!

The Duemo

My visit to Milan was brilliant, I managed to take in quite a lot from the city in quite a small amount of time... we made it up the huge cathederal called the 'Duemo' and took in the view of the city, and the alps that surround it, although it was quite a trek up the hundreds of steps it was definately worth it!

I also looked around alot of the shops in Milan, and took shop reports for those that I felt fitted in well with my project at the moment.

The Golden Quad was definately the most breathtaking shopping district of Milan, with incredible Italian architecture, arched ceilings and gold all around you! Although I couldn't afford anything in this part, I enjoyed gazing into the shop windows, picturing my self in that huge fur coat and that pair of designer heels handing over the credit card without a care in the world... one day maybe!

The 'Golden Quad'

Another interesting area of Milan was Brera, with its cobbeled streets and inviting coffee shops with outdoor heating. There were a range of different shops in this area, including boutique shops and vintage shops. A favourite of mine was a Vintage shop called 'Il Cameo' Which had piles and piles of hats and a whole sofa covered in handbags, there was also a huge selection of clothes including some designer pieces.

Il Cameo

I even managed to fit in an exhibition during my stay in Milan, it was based at the 'Triennale' and was titled 'Opening Soon'. The exhibition was created by Benetton and presented the future of fashion retail space. It was very informative with touch screens, huge boards with line drawn shop layouts, 3D models and images. Hanging from the ceiling was literally hundreds of pieces of Benetton clothing, lit up brightly, in every colour imaginable. I found this exhibition links well to part two of my poject, which is to come up with my own shop concept.

http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/releases/2009-01-26/

'Opening Soon'

Here's my blog!

This evening I am starting up a blog...I am going to be adding lots to it, my work, new things that I have learnt, and anything else that seems interesting and has helped me with my project so far!!

I'm currently studying Fashion at university and with my project at the moment I am creating a shopping guide for Milan, for all creative minded, trendesetting women!! It will be providing the reader with some top fashion forecasting information, on where to get the future trends and what they will be!