Who am I?
SECOND YEAR
Back to the grind, its second year already and I'm sitting in my new house (all very grown up) researching through my new Uni books coming up with some kind of structure for my first assignment! We have been briefed to create a poster reflecting an era, so I have chosen the 60s and 70s, purely because I feel those were a time where so many exciting changes were happening, and fashion was becoming a bit scandalous! With some of my favourites being Twiggy, Eddie Sedgwick, Jean Shrimpton and Vivienne Westwood, I really enjoyed researching this project. Looking through how social changes effected not only fashion but also art and architecture was also incredibly inspiring for me! I enjoyed this project so much, that I watched the film Factory Girl, expressing the crazy lives of Andy Warhol and Eddie Sedgwick.
I loved this film so much, although I felt as though it showed a completely different light to Andy Warhol and what he was really like. Despite the fact these icons lived incredibly highlife lifestyles its hard to imagine them as real people today. Living in the moment and creating whatever you wanted to be seemed to be possible back then....as long as you have the right amount of money, of course!
The final outcome of my poster was this, although my poster seemed to be more 50/50 with images and writing, instead of just a visual. If I were to do this again I would have liked to have played around a bit more with the visuals and created something that didn't need writing to explain exactly what it was about. I loved the iconic Mondarin painting that was influencing all creative outlets at the time, and therefore tried to recreate this through my poster but without being too 'in-your-face' about it.
Heals
For those of you who are a little bit anal about the kinds of things that you place in your home, this little find is definitely for you!
Heals is a modern contemporary furniture, lighting, accessories and gifts site! and it definitely hits the spot when it comes to making a statement and just generally being a little bit quirky! They have even invented a light bar where you can customise your light from the type, bulb, fitting, colour of the chords ect! Its CRAZY! and super cool!
I know when I move out (well from uni) and when I have some money burning a hole in my pocket, I will certainly be heading over to Heals!
From Tuscan inspired rustic oak tables to bulbs as big as your head, Heals really fits into the uniqueness of the HERE AND NOW! The recyclable, retro but still modern, industrial, hipster vibe that everyone is striving to gain within their homes.
Not only this, but in general their VM for the way they market their products is just amazing. You can tell that a lot of time and thought goes into the collation of objects that surrounds the product, making it all the more appealing to the customer. Its not like the normal ikea website where the products are all against a white background and its up to you to imagine the rest. They give you a taste of what you home could REALLY be like!!
Heals is a modern contemporary furniture, lighting, accessories and gifts site! and it definitely hits the spot when it comes to making a statement and just generally being a little bit quirky! They have even invented a light bar where you can customise your light from the type, bulb, fitting, colour of the chords ect! Its CRAZY! and super cool!
From Tuscan inspired rustic oak tables to bulbs as big as your head, Heals really fits into the uniqueness of the HERE AND NOW! The recyclable, retro but still modern, industrial, hipster vibe that everyone is striving to gain within their homes.
Not only this, but in general their VM for the way they market their products is just amazing. You can tell that a lot of time and thought goes into the collation of objects that surrounds the product, making it all the more appealing to the customer. Its not like the normal ikea website where the products are all against a white background and its up to you to imagine the rest. They give you a taste of what you home could REALLY be like!!
http://www.heals.co.uk/
I would take a look at their site, even if you're just looking for some home interior inspiration!
O x
I would take a look at their site, even if you're just looking for some home interior inspiration!
O x
Brand Differentiation
So the market place is completely sputtered, having thousands of brands to stand out upon means that you really have to define yourself. In an average day, we receive up to 10,000 marketing messages. . . now thats a lot to compete with! Just making your brand differentiation even more essential.
What does your brand stand for?
Im sure we are all well aware of Honda standing for - the power of dreams
This advertisement shows its core brand values: history, innovation and dreams.
Other good branding external tag lines:
Nike - Just do it
Adidas - Impossible is nothing
North Face - Never stop exploring
Apple - Think differently
Subway - Eat fresh
Defining your brand is a combination of cultural insight, brand best self and the big idea! Another way to curate some focus for your brand is, who is their enemy? what kinds of things is you brand NOT! E.g Special K's enemy is [Tight Jeans], Apple [Fustration], Nike [Failure].
Brands need to be relevant - the consumers need to understand what it is you're doing. And they need to be important - creating that emotional attachment will encourage buying and consumer loyalty.
Good brand values have to be created internally and then come out externally! Your employees need to believe and thrive within the brand!
A good mission statement is a MUST, key players who own these are:
- Boots
- Nike
- Starbucks
- Howies (skateboarding brand)
- Fatface
- Paul Smith
- Chanel
They know exactly what their brand is about, where it has come from, and they incorporate that into their brand DNA. People understand and respect that.
This Apple ad. doesn't feature any of their products, its just purely their brand DNA!
Empathy - connecting with consumer feelings
Focus - Eliminate all unimportant opportunities
Impute - Creative and Proffessional mannor
People DO judge a book by its cover - marketing needs to reflect the product. Don't say your product is all luxury and the sell it at a cheap price!
Marketing is at the heart of the company! Give people a reason to believe (good mission statements!). Show them proof of why their should believe, bring the brand to life! The brand should have an internal philosophy so your employees believe in the brand just as much as your consumers do (if not more!).
Execution...
" Its not what you say, its HOW you say it .
photography, creative language and tone of voice are vital!
The Innocent smoothies do this very well! They represent FUN in their: product, photography, packaging, typography, logos and marketing.
Their cartons are never the same! As they are primarily aimed at 25-35 year olds, their language is different, its colloquial and fun "you lucky thing". They convey their message externally and internally! Their head office reflects that little bottle just as much as their DNA does!
In order to brief your photographer or graphic designer, you need to know what your brand values are about! It is ESSENTIAL that your values are reflected in your marketing ads and promotion.
Sometimes brands can get it wrong! ... Who would you say this is?
Didn't see that coming right!
It may be funny and get hits on youtube from young audiences, but they don't have the money to buy that type of car!
This was a come back advert which is just brilliant...
So really the whole chicken thing has just come back to bite them on the arse!
Back to the real deal though:
Strategic Plan: vison, misson, goals
Positioning: target, message, USP
Execution: product, promotion, channel
(its just an expression of the strategy)
O x
Empathy - connecting with consumer feelings
Focus - Eliminate all unimportant opportunities
Impute - Creative and Proffessional mannor
People DO judge a book by its cover - marketing needs to reflect the product. Don't say your product is all luxury and the sell it at a cheap price!
Marketing is at the heart of the company! Give people a reason to believe (good mission statements!). Show them proof of why their should believe, bring the brand to life! The brand should have an internal philosophy so your employees believe in the brand just as much as your consumers do (if not more!).
Execution...
" Its not what you say, its HOW you say it .
photography, creative language and tone of voice are vital!
The Innocent smoothies do this very well! They represent FUN in their: product, photography, packaging, typography, logos and marketing.
In order to brief your photographer or graphic designer, you need to know what your brand values are about! It is ESSENTIAL that your values are reflected in your marketing ads and promotion.
Sometimes brands can get it wrong! ... Who would you say this is?
It may be funny and get hits on youtube from young audiences, but they don't have the money to buy that type of car!
This was a come back advert which is just brilliant...
Back to the real deal though:
Strategic Plan: vison, misson, goals
Positioning: target, message, USP
Execution: product, promotion, channel
(its just an expression of the strategy)
O x
My Taste Makers #2
Some of you will love her, some will loathe her, but it’s nigh impossible to ignore how significant Lady Gaga is, not only in the cut-throat and competitive music scene, but also in the fashion industry.
2. LADY GAGA
A born exhibitionist, and one to always strive to push the parameters of the norm, she is any designer’s dream. Often compared to the likes of Madonna and Grace Jones, she is sometimes burdened with the reputation of being a cheap imitation of the past artists. I completely disagree. After all, fashion and music are meant to be inspirational, and of course we all take elements just like she has and future creative’s will. She is still very much an individual in her concepts and style. Fashion comes around in cycles by rule of thumb, so nothing will ever be ‘original’ by this assumption, it will always harness something of the past.
Just like the Bauhaus which ran from 1919-1933 did for art and revolutionising art/creativity in society, Gaga has done just as good a job with her music and tireless hard work, making people appreciate art and eccentricity. It seems somewhat fitting that she formed the Haus of Gaga, a nod back to one of the most influential design buildings in the world. The Haus of Gaga is the personal creative team behind Gaga. The members alongside Gaga are responsible for creating most of her clothing, props and stage sets. Her members include some of the most eclectic creatives, from DJs to stylists.
“She walked into my office in 2007 wearing fishnet stockings, a leotard, big black sunglasses, and confidence. Too much confidence. She walked in as a superstar .
- Lisa Robinson, 2012
The grimy clubs and unconventional population of the Lower East Side also clearly influenced her subsequent fashion choices, which have tended toward the radical and the ultra-artsy. As Vogue’s editor in chief Anna Wintour wrote in the May 2011 issue, Gaga’s style is truly boundary-pushing. Along with her longtime stylist, Nicola Formichetti, Lady Gaga dreams up outrageous—and sometimes shocking—outfits, like the “meat dress” she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Made of pieces of raw flank steak stitched together, it was an immediate conversation piece that drew the ire of PETA and other animal-rights groups; it was also later named Time magazine’s top fashion statement of 2010 and became part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2011 exhibit “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power.”
It’s in this tradition of clothing as performance art as provocation as declaration of independence, Lady Gaga remains an astonishing individual. As the designer Karl Lagerfeld succinctly declared: “I hate average, and she is anything but average."
O x
My Taste Makers #1
When first thinking about this task I came up with people like Alexa Chung, Blake Lively, Zooey Deschanel, Jessie J, Ferne Cotton, Rita Ora ect. . . But they were just people who inspired little bits of my fashion. It wasn't until I stopped thinking about it that my Taste Makers popped into my head, and once they had it was obvious.
1. ANDY WARHOL
HISTORY
So we all know him as King of Pop Art, however Andy Warhol had a relationship with fashion long before he gained acclaim as the artist known as the Pope of Pop. Back in the 1950s, Warhol was an illustrator for Harper’s Bazaar who contributed whimsical illustrations of dainty heels and colorful beauty products. In Empress of Fashion: A Life of Diana Vreeland, author Amanda Mackenzie Stuart writes that Vreeland, who was then a fashion editor for the magazine, and her Harper’s Bazaar colleagues would call him “Andy Paperbag” because the socially awkward Warhol would bring his illustrations to the offices in a paper bag.
"Pop art and fashion have always gone hand in hand .
- Chasseur, 2013
Warhol is the genres ‘Pop Artist’ and it is with this man that Pop Art and fashion truly meet; indeed Warhol began his career in fashion illustration. The artist’s works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture and advertisement and this was also applied to fashion and he was a prolific fashion illustrator, carrying out commissions for many of the big names of his time, including Vogue. Warhol’s ‘ artist’s salon’ The Factory’’ a hot bed of self-expression in both art and fashion; he and his circle, which included muse and ‘Factory Girl’ Edie Sedgwick, who with her modish smoky eyes, mini-skirts, giant accessories, black-and-white motifs, remains a style icon to this day, became increasingly influential. The Warholian look, of both the man and his muses, has inspired generations of misfits and fashionista’s alike.
It wasn’t until after the end of the next decade in 1969, after he gained fame for his Campbell’s Soup cans, that Warhol decided to create the magazine that would become, as Stuart wrote, “the vehicle for drawing the young, the famous, the rich, and the interesting into Warhol’s orbit.”
Fashion regularly turned up in Warhol's magazine 'Interview' pages in various forms, the now-famous editrix André Leon Talley got his start there, as a receptionist, eventually climbing the ranks to become the magazine’s fashion editor. Fashion designers like Halston, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent would turn up regularly in its pages, while photographs of models like Jerry Hall and Bianca Jagger were all about.
Interview became one of the most influential publications during that time, not just for the fashion that appeared in it, but also the art, culture and celebrity too. It was known for the provocative interviews that were a part of its format, and each issue captured a specific time in pop culture.
TODAY
Interview’s founder may have died in 1987, but the magazine still thrives. Anybody who is somebody in fashion, film or art has appeared in the magazine. Whether it’s the store of the moment, the party of the night or the it girl of the time — they have all been in Interview. The legacy that Warhol left behind still attracts the world’s most renowned personalities — from artist Richard Phillips to model Kate Moss. Fashion still loves Warhol, as evidenced by the artist’s poppy flowers showing up on Von Furstenberg’s and Prada’s recent runways and the throngs of fashion cognoscenti who still regularly show up in Interview.
The rise of Pop Art came rushing back just last year with Topshop's popping range, and is still lingering today with Slogan T-Shirts making a bold stance! From Andy Warhol inspired print, to Mickey and
Minnie Mouse motifs, Pop Art made a heroic return
in a whole new take on the history of art! With fashion
becoming brave and bold, the introduction of Pop Art
slots in nicely, even making the extraordinary seem
normal. Artists such as Roy Lichtenstein have inspired
this grand challenge in the fashion world. His famous
paintings and comic strips have influenced designers
like Markus Lupfer and Phillip Lim, who have been
designing and creating in this witty manner for years.
They were definitely men well ahead of their time.
O x
Exciting News
Just accepted my flights to go out to Sydney and do work experience on an event that lasts about 2 weeks! Definitely excited about this, will be documenting everything that I learn in April while I'm there and all the discoveries I find!
Sometimes I need to remember to have more confidence in myself, that I can do things that I never thought I could before!
I found this little plaque in a small boutique shop back home and found it very apt for the course I'm doing now. A lot of the time Im intimidated by what others are able to produce around me and their contacts and knowledge, but I need to remember that just because I'm a bit different, I can still accomplish!
O x
