Nostalgic at 1 am

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Every now and then i question whether i have chosen the right direction for my University degree. I am currently studying fashion business. But i at times i find myself wondering what would it have been like if i had pursued my creative direction. I used to spend hours working in the design studio, heck some of my best times were spent designing and creating. Now as i become more professional and business like i feel like my closed creative side is screaming out for more TLC. Gone are the days i spent designing Lingerie, making awesome clothes like the one photographed above but none the less i think that was just the beginning. Beware sewing machine, ill be back and this time, i mean it! 

 

 

 

Post Production Problems????

Now i have a problem… My CV covers everything but is let down by my inexperience in Photoshop. OK, so i know the basic but i would prefer to be able to be given my boyfriends work and blast it with some genius creative photoshop awesomeness. You see my boyfriend, Stefano, is a photographer and specialise in some crazy photoshop skills. However i seem to  posses some post production dictator skills. I know what needs to be done, whether the photograph needs to be toned down and what needs tweaking. But i can’t do it myself! Can you imagine how frustrated i am by this! 

I wanted to share Stefano’s latest editorial with ROUGH magazine. I was supposed to be assisting on the shoot that day BUT i had to postpone that thought when i realised my end of term exams where the next day… gutted! However i did get to help stef with the post production and the editing of the images (Although he did all of the handwork… i took the seat behind and told him what i thought!)

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To see the full editorial click here 

 

 

 

 

University Mock Ad- Campaign

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As part of my grade for Term II at my university i had to work with a team to create a ‘ad campaign’ with a brand of our choice. We decided to choose something that did not have a promotional strategy at the present. We thought it would be a hard but rewarding experience to create both a campaign that captured the brand as well as a strong marketing promotional mix. The brand we choose was James Hock, a london based designer that creates confindent and individualistic garments. His final project, Sleeping with Dali, a heavily structured collection gained worldwide attention on Nylon TV and exhibited in Shoreditch House and his clothing can often be found in editorials. What we really wanted to capture in our promotional strategy was the ‘in house’ production element of Hock. James Hock creates and finishes all his garments in his own studio/shop in West London.

Our main theme of the Ad Campaign was Alice 2.0 – the updated version of Alice in Wonderland that would be run as a photographic ad campaign supported by Video and Events. The event would be held at the in house studio/ shop  and would run on the presentation theme- models in the James Hock A/W or S/S collection would  be dotted throughout the location allowing people to interact with them and seeing the way in which the garments look on the models. We focused on inviting the appropriate people therefore would aim to invite bloggers and social networkers as well as magazine that have a online platform to ensure that the maximum worldwide coverage! (we are also taking into consideration the fact that as a young and upcoming designer we do not have a great budget). Now at these Alice 2.0, which would take place in January so that we get coverage before the Fashion Week hypes! we would dubut our different Alice 2.0 videos which includes different characters such as the Cheshire Cat 2.0… Each character exudes a different element of James Hock’s collections. With each character released there would be a supported video. This is all tied together with a 3 month run of the Alice 2.0 campaign photograph which would be run in selected Magazines that share the same Target Market/ Segment (ideally this would be i-D, Wonderland, AnOther, Pop etc).

But WHY Alice 2.0?

We wanted to capture the adventure of the the James Hock girl and rework the original Alice in Wonderland to the modern 2.0 upgrade system! Alice in Wonderland was original a little outrageous and pushing the boundaries for its published times and we wanted to portray the simulations between the confident and structured James Hock garments and the individual that would be wearing it. The photograph we choose incorporated the psychedelic colours of Alice, the background, a James Hock brand label and the garments itself. The aim of the campaign was to remind rather than inform. If you analyse the photograph in relation to the AIDA model, it is evident that the colours of the campaign stand out against competitors and draws attention, the viewer is interested in the girl with double fazed head and why the brand has played on the aspect on Alice in Wondeland. They may desire to research the brand and to understand the conceptual thinking behind it and hopeful this will lead to action. Another theory could be that the transition from childhood to a rebellious and confident young adult is something that could be desired in todays fashion society.

Ideally i do not want to be pitching you my Marketing Strategy online, therefore I’m going to stop there before i confuse you any further but i hope that you now will go and look up James Hock by click here! 

This is a hypothetical project and none of the above companies/magazines were approached in this project! BIG THANKS to BLOODY GRAY PR! STEFANO VENTURI for photographing and ELEN PALOOTs for the most amazing makeup! 

A little bit of love…

 

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I was lucky enough to receive the FujuFilm polaroid camera for Valentines day from my boyfriend. It was probably the most unexpected thing and so awesome that he knows me this well. 

REVIEW: The Fujifilm INSTAX 210 is a great alternative to the original polaroid camera. The film is so much cheaper and is extremely easy to load (no awkward jamming), it comes with an automatic flash (although you cannot turn this off…) and the body of the camera is smooth and not awkward at all. My only reservations about the INSTAX 210 is that it is quite temperamental… the lens focus does not always work, the flash cannot be turned off and the view hole is not centred to the camera so i shot a few images centred around the view hole and missed out on a couple of great shots…. However i really love this model, it looks and feels sexy and what is not to love about an image developing in your own hands!

I will be posting images taken with my new camera throughout the year so look out for some Polaroid images hitting this blog.

 

This Week’s Styling: Topshop

New Items of the Week Topshop: How to style the Buffalo X Topshop shoes.

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I can assure you that i am just as outraged that Buffalo has collaborated with Topshop. Firstly let me clarify that i do not like the Buffalo shoes, but i leave the kids that think they are trendy to themselves and let them get on with putting on their Buffalo’s every morning and secretly laugh to myself as i watch them run like idots whilst chasing for the bus! However Topshop, really? Its enough that the kids that can pull the Buffalo’ shoes off wear them. But now i can forecast that many Topshop lovers (aka a target market of 16 year olds) are going to be running around in them! Now that is just so un-trendy. The Buffalo trend has now peaked. Topshop you have now become the late majority and those trend setters are cackling away at you all at how slow you are…. well lets see how they manage to run to the bus in the snow this time…

The other Buffalo X Topshop trainers:

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Buy your Topshop X Buffalo trainers online at http://www.topshop.com for £145

Creature Comforts

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I live with my boyfriend, Stefano, who is a photographer and artist which reflects in our living environment. We are both creatives, however being half german i have inherited a conflicting brain that craves both structure as well as creative freedom. To satisfy this Business woman inside me i decided to choose a career path that revolves around the fashion business aspect although in the long term i hope to move into the magazine world and ultimately creative direction. Our flat consists of vintage wine boxes (one was even lugged all the way from the countryside and contained really woodworms! yay!), photography equipment scattered everywhere (hey! they make great paper weights). The wine boxes are full of photography books; from Helmut Newton (my all time favourite photographer), David LaChapelle, Terry Richardson and so on… as well as my fashion books. there are of course biographies and classic novels (As well as the typical ‘mum’ book all about some long winded love story, ridiculous affairs and shopping trips.. oh and some journey romance in the countryside). My point being is that you don’t need to run down to Ikea, or Habitat to create a cosy environment to both live and work, rather look around you and use the resources that are right in front of your eyes. In most cases you create something that is far more beautiful and welcoming than any shop bought nonsense (oh and lets not forget, much nicer for wallet!)

I wish…

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I have to confess i have had a little bit of Givenchy mania at the moment… None of the product listed have been purchased, but rather been drooled over. I have had this PVC coated Madonna printed Givenchy SS13 Tote Handbag on my desktop for a couple of days now. Not a very smart move as it is a constant reminder of what i want and i can’t get. This bag is from their latest collection, however i think the men have sufficiently achieved the better deal in this seasons collection from Givenchy. The prints are beautiful and the collection ranges from T-Shirt, to Bomber jackets. Everything and Anything Givenchy could get their fabulous fashion paws on this season has turned all holy on us! Going back to my constant reminder on my desktop …. I guess its a little like those girls that plaster skinny supermodels all over the fridge to achieve some level of inspiration during their fitness phase. Unfortunetly for me, my fridge is only a half fridge, located at ground level, so for me to do that i would have to really strain to check out what i wanna look like. No, i think the best option for me in my current fashion crisis would be to stick a picture of Givenchy products above my skeleton money box (from Urban Outfitters) to help me save the pennies and not eat chocolate so that one day this Givenchy bag will be mine.