Oxford Street Shopping

Anyone who knows me at all will know that I absolutely adore shopping (even if I don't have any money - STUDENT LIFE!!), so I never miss an opportunity to hit the shops. And with family living literally 3 minutes walk away from one of the best shopping venues in the country, Oxford Street, I couldn't resist popping down there for a couple of hours whilst visiting over Christmas. Oxford Street is such a great place to visit if you want all the major high street stores in one place, as offers everything you could possibly need! I really love how it feels so fresh and British also, as you can watch the red double deckers and black taxis pass as you watch street dancers and singers whilst you shop, giving you a completely different experience than in a shopping centre. It's much easier to find the shops here too as they all run along side each other, so there's no map needed if you're shopping the whole street. 

Oxford Street is right up there as one of my favourite shopping destinations, so when the festive spirit is added to it, it's even more amazing! The lights that flood Oxford Street are so beautiful and fabulous, really creating a warm, festive feel to the otherwise freezing outdoors. All the shops are wonderfully lit up and the visual merchandising on the flagship stores really stands out. I took some photos of the street lights, as I just couldn't bare to not capture the Christmas spirit!

 I also really love some of the innovative ways that stores have presented themselves in order to capture the shoppers attentions. In particular, the shop which stood out to me was Boots! Using a simple fake snow machine on the top of the store, they made every passerby stop and look at the shop to see where this snow was coming from - you can kind of see from the photo below! This not only is great to increase the stores customers, as more people stop and go inside, but also made the whole atmosphere of Oxford street feel more festive and friendly, with many people taking photographs and people from all cultures chatting and laughing about the snow. I think more shops should take these sorts of things into consideration, as it's the small things which make us smile most!

Brand Beginnings

As I've posted before, part of my brief for this module of the FCP course at Nottingham Trent University is to create professional moodboards based around a colour trend. After deciding on bright, popping, primary colours, I entitled my trend 'Radiant Retros'; eye catching colours are often associated with the fabulous pop art trend, taking us back in time.

However, as one moodboard demonstrates this moodboard, another has to express the colour trend from a particular brands perspective. I decided to use American Apparel as the fashion brand behind this moodboard, as felt this is a style that they would happily incorporate into their clothing items of the present or future. I have began to create the moodboard using photoshop, editing the photographs and using layers to create the beginning of the moodboard. The overall look of this collage will be quite clean cut and minimalistic, as this is the style which American Apparel uses often in their advertisements and campaigns, therefore identifying them well as a brand expressing their brand values and look across in the moodboard. I just thought I would share how the moodboard is coming along at the moment, with only one sit down session on it so far! Enjoy!

#fcpreflection

Photo Essay

I think it's pretty clear from my posts on this blog that I love street style, and it's often wear I get most of my inspiration for my own outfits. I think that trickle ups, where the style from the streets creates the season's must haves on the catwalk, is amazing, and think it's great that fashion brands actually listen to what consumers want to see by looking at what people are wearing in day to day life.

At the moment, I am completing a brief for my FCP course which is revolved around the whole street style phenomenon. My task is to create a photo essay of at least 30 images, exploring a trend, story and theme behind all of them, with an aspect that links them all together. At the moment, bold prints are everywhere, in forms of checks, spots, stripes, florals; you just can't escape them, and so I decide to create my photo essay looking at what sort of patterns and colours people on the streets are wearing this autumn/winter. I decided to look at young, fashion focused women for the brief, as feel that this is the market which are wearing these bold patterns the most, and also wanted each photograph to have a visual link, all with females around the same age, giving me a better understanding of the patterns that particularly appeal to this target market.

I played around with a couple of practice images to see how I wanted the final images to look, and decided that having a close up of the patterned garment as a border really emphasised the focal point of the image, whilst also allowing all images to have another obvious visual link. 

I can't wait to get all my images and choose which I like the most to include as my final 30, also looking at what has really stood out as a dominant pattern. Here's a sneak peak of some of the images I've been working on so far!

 #fcpreflection

Movie Star Influence

A couple of months ago now, during a lecture on my FCP course, it was highlighted to my attention how important iconic movies throughout the decades has been to modern day fashion style. Movie stars have always been in the spotlight, and because of this, they become role models in many different ways, one of them being their fashion style. However, it is not just the distinctive clothes from each decade that are memorable to us, but also the movie stars themselves, with many fashion magazines, advertisements and photography now using these classic celebrities as style icons in their work. 

Learning about these movie stars who were famous before I was even born was hard to get my head around at first, but its really clear to see how fashion repeats itself, for example Lauren Hutton from the 1970's, who was the original gap-toothed model - a look model agents were desperate for a couple of years ago when Georgia May Jagger hit the spotlight as the new face of fashion. After having this made clear to me, it was pretty easy to pick up where some of these modern looks may have got their influence from, and I decided to create a Pinterest board in order to collect images of this. 

Please check out my board at http://www.pinterest.com/laurrrobertson/movie-star-style-links/

It's great to be able to look back at beautiful and dominant women in the showbiz industry, and it really does suggest how influence can come from anywhere for the fashion industry, particularly iconic movies!
#fcpreflection

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2014

After my blog post including the sketches of what to expect in the Victoria's Secret fashion show 2014, I have no been able to wait until I got to watch the full runway, and a few days ago I got to do just that! Victoria's Secret catwalks are always so beautiful and inspiring (as well as sometimes depressing to see such beautiful and toned bodied women), but this year I particularly fell in love with the enchanting theme surrounding the collection. This year, the show focused on six separate sections to the show, Gilded Angels, Dream Girl, Exotic Traveller, University of Pink, Fairytale and Angel Ball.

With special guests such as Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande, the fashion show was not only a catwalk, but also a concert, really adding to the uplifting and fun atmosphere which Victoria's Secret is known for. I love how the catwalk promotes health and fitness, using toned bodies instead of stick thin models, and it really makes the underwear look more beautiful as there is actually a gorgeous body for the collection to sit on. Another aspect I love about the show is that the models do not look like they are taken too seriously during the performance. Each has their moment to shine as they walk down the catwalk, but can all show their sass and personality through their walk and end of runway poses, really adding some character and enjoyment to the show, making it much more exciting to watch as a viewer. 

The show also includes backstage footage of how the pieces are made, and particularly focuses on how the famous VS wings are constructed for their fairytale section of the show. The amount of time, effort and work that goes into these accessories is truly amazing, and it really pays off, making the lingerie look even more stunning. I can't wait to see what the VS show has lined up for next year's catwalk, and on that note, I guess I should pop to the gym to try and get the Victoria's Secret model body that every woman dreams of!

Liberty of London: S2 E4

The final episode of Liberty of London's second series aired on Channel 4 this Wednesday (*sighs*) and there was no better way to finish the series with an episode focusing on the stores lead up to their grand Christmas displays. 

With it being Liz Silvester's (new head of visual identity) first Christmas working at the store, she really needed to pull out all the stops and create a fabulous, showstopping, festive atmosphere to really impress not only the public, but also all the staff members at Liberty. Working with the management team, this years theme really plays on the heritage of the building. The traditionally British store was created using the decks and timbers of two sailing ships, and so using this as a starting point, the team decided to create a story around the history of the store. Entitled 'The store that launched a thousand gifts', the story focuses on the history of the brand, where founder Sir Arthur Liberty travelled around the world bringing gifts and treasures to the store. With such an impressive and meaningful story, Liz had to really think outside the box in order to create the breathtaking atmosphere she was looking to create at the grand opening. 

With the traditions running through Liz's mind, she decided that it would look spectacular to hang the entire ships mast from the roof of the store, visible from all floors and filling the Liberty atrium. Although the idea seemed impossible, Liz pulled it off, and complete with Liberty fabric sails, the final look was beautiful, impressing every single member of the team.

But of course, all is not plain sailing (excuse the pun!). With the Regent Street Christmas light switch on changed to a week later than normally planned, the Liberty store also decided it was best to change their unveiling of their magnificent window displays till this date also, in an attempt to produce the biggest crowd possible - but would this mean their competition having a week head-start on customers spending for Christmas? It was a risk the team were willing to take!

And this risk really did pay off! With the windows completely covered in a famous Liberty floral print, the crowd built until the street was completely full. And when the curtains were dropped, the 'oooohs' and 'aaaahs' were echoing as people of all ages gathered around the windows to see Liz's glimmering masterpieces. Grasping the theme with both hands, and adding a touch of Christmas spirit, the windows really told the story of the stores history, with Ed describing it as "possibly the best window displays we've ever had!".

Overall, I really enjoyed looking further into the run up to Christmas within the retail industry, especially after watching how the American's do it in the film 'Scatter my ashes at Bergdorf's'. Last Christmas I worked at the Arcadia fashion store, OUTFIT, myself and saw first hand how the Christmas period puts so much pressure on members of staff to sell more, but the decorations and visual merchandising could not compare to these spectacular window displays that are shown in Bergdorf Goodmans, or even other huge UK department stores such as Liberty of London. I would love to see the UK shops catch up with the US market and create even bigger and more detailed window displays which really scream Christmas at everyone who walks past. I hope Liberty of London let us have a further look into the store as I really enjoyed this series and seeing all the roles that employees have in this large store environment - fingers crossed for a third series!

Doodles of Art

After a lecture which showed us many different image manipulation styles, I really wanted to give it a go myself. One of the techniques that was suggested was using physical manipulation, and then photographing the outcome. Most image editing is now done digitally, and so this physical alteration really stands out as a technique which will add personality and individuality to an image, which I really love!

Using coloured pens, I simply tried a technique of just drawing over the top of images which I found in magazines. I particularly like the black and white image, as drawing on top stood out massively. I plan to use this as part of my pop art themed colour trend moodboard to add mixed mediums to the moodboard. I hope that I'm able to take on more complex techniques of this, as its really fun and a great way to see how a couple of pens or scissors can completely change the connotations of images. 

#fcpreflection

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's

With the lead up to new year, meaning my exciting trip with my course to NYC (ahhhhh!!!!), I was very happy to hear that the film viewing this week was 'Scatter my ashes at Bergdorf's', all about one of the most iconic department stores in New York, Bergdorf Goodmans.

Featuring numerous interviews with designers and celebrities, the documentary was very informative, showcasing the store assets and history. However, this information was hard to digest, as the facts outweighed the visuals in some areas, making the documentary, at points, very hard to keep focused on. This was quite disappointing as it had real potential to really sell the store as a modern and desirable facility for people today, but instead actually made me quite nervous to approach the doors due to their pre-judgements of people as they walk through the store, their expensive price tags, and the idea of half a dozen members of staff hassling you as you enter (in order to make their ideal £450,000 yearly salary off commission!). 

However, the documentary showed amazing insight into their 2011 Christmas preparations for the store, particularly focusing on their magical window displays. With months of planning, the festive windows are a huge focal point of the year, with the Berdorf team wanting to cause a buzz and magical story which consumers can continue to return to and spend hours discovering. This year, the store decided that the title 'Carnival of the Animals' was perfect for the holidays, using their five main windows to create unique animal kingdoms, all of which used different materials to achieve this (brass, mosaic, paper, wood and the North Pole garden party). Watching the team select and create ornaments for the windows allowed us to imagine the inspiration and story behind the displays, really making them more magical and special to see piece together. The beautiful craftsmanship was admirable, and the detailing really created a breathtaking final piece.

 

 

 Overall, I thought the documentary could have been condensed in order to maintain audience attention span, however, thought the window displays really lightened up the mood and made the film exciting, as you wanted to continue to watch to see the final product of all the team's hard work. Watching this has really given me the inspiration to go out and pay more attention to stores window displays here in the UK. Although they may not be as extravagant and over the top as the festive displays in NYC, they all tell a story, and this is something I would love to discover more about.
#fcpreflection

Moodboard Beginnings...

As part of our marked work this module, I will need to submit two moodboards based around a chosen colour trend. After look at what is set to be in fashion next year, I decided to look at primary colours, as this is forcasted to be everywhere as the weather turns warmer. Using primary colours as a starting point, I found that the Mondrian dress by YSL became a large inspiration, due to blocking the bright colours (as mentioned in a previous blog post), but as I have developed this idea, I wanted to take the moodboard down the pop art route, using Andy Warhol and comic strips as a main point of focus.

Using this, I have began to work on the moodboard, and created the background of to which I will then digitally stick stuff on top of in photoshop, ensuring it is a mixed media product. Using the YSL dress as a focal point, I decided to create the layout in a grid composition, as this fits the format of the Mondrian paintings, but also allows structure to this crazy, colourful moodboard. I have also used cuttings of pop art drawing and scannings of comic books in order to create the collage-type final piece. It still needs a bit of work, and this is only the beginning, but I wanted to share it anyway.

Enjoy!
#fcpreflection

Liberty of London: S2 E3

The third episode of Liberty of London's second series was aired Wednesday at 9pm on Channel 4, and showed a new and somewhat unheard of aspect of the store. Focusing on the Liberty Oriental department, this episode introduced us to Bruce Lerpre, the oriental carpets and rugs buyer. After working at the store for decades, Bruce has a specific working environment which he refuses to change, making the department appear and feel like the atmosphere he experiences when visiting the traditional Marrakesh markets that sell these gorgeous antiques. However, managing director, Ed Burstell has decided it's time for change, sending in new head of visual identity, Liz Silvester to work her magic and make the department less cluttered and "more shoppable". 

This is a task that isn't made easy for Liz though, with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stock, Bruce will not let her take anything off the shop floor, demanding that all his hard work of buying over the years is still available to all his customers. Therefore, whilst Bruce is away on a buying trip in Marrakesh, Liz creates a new display system for Bruce's department, setting coloured blocks on which to hold these breathtaking products. However, when Bruce returns he is not pleased with what he calls the "Selfridges" yellow visual merchandising. Reaching a compromise, they decide to recolour the blocks a colour more suited to the Marrakesh theme, whilst still making the store airy and more accessible. 

Although I understand the need to rearrange this department of the store, I actually preferred the market atmosphere that the store had before the re-vamp. In my opinion, the old look gave the department a unique aspect, and made it seem authentic and very cultural, something with other competing department stores are missing. These beautifully crafted rugs, carpets and vases looked more at home when they were stacked around the store, creating a very realistic Marrakesh shopping experience for all buyers of the antiques.

Inspired by Annie Leibovitz

After watching Vogue: The Editors eye, and writing my take on it for my blog post yesterday, it made me think back to work I did during my photography A level last year. I have always been interested in fashion photography, and for this project, I wanted to use a deeper narrative behind my images in order to create depth and meaning, sometimes every cause controversy.

I used the shoot described in yesterdays blog post of Alice in Wonderland as inspiration for one shoot during this project, using the photographer, Annie Leibovitz as a main inspiration throughout. Annie Leibovitz has always caught my eye with her photography, creating elegant and beautiful fashion images with a fantasy theme behind them - perfect for my project which I decided to focus on fairytales and children's literature including Humpty Dumpty, Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Alice in Wonderland. I thought I would share with you my final piece from this work which I organised in the style of a fairytale scrap book to represent the abstract take on a few of these images, as think they really linke well to this documentary. I really enjoy organising and taking photographs and can't wait until we get to do some more later on in the course!

 

#fcpreflection