Tom Ford 10

Only about 1 week to go until we have to present and we've finally got all the detail onto our presentation! Perceptual map, consumer profile, brand essence and not forgetting our new concept...

We're all really happy with our presentation and just have a few minor changes to make so we can make it the best we can! This week we've been meeting up basically every day to sort it out and we will definitely be doing the same next week! I'm one of those people that can't sleep at night until I know whatever I was doing that day has been sorted and completed - strange I know! 

I've had the most fun thinking of loads of ideas for our new concept. We thought of collaborations, fashion shows and a new line of perfume aimed at the younger market but we finally decided on one which I'm sure is a million times better than the ones I've just mentioned.

We've decided to hold a celebratory event for Tom Fords tenth anniversary in 2015! This event will be the most luxurious that London has seen in a long time. It will be everything that Tom Ford stands for - Luxury, elegance and sensuality. It will highlight his most iconic and memorable moments, whether that's from his time at Gucci and YSL, his debut film 'A Single Man' or his iconic fashion shows which featured Beyonce and Lauren Hutton. After our visit to London we chose to hold this extraordinary event at 'The London Edition' in London. Each room will be devoted to a moment in Tom Fords history. From projects of his film and documentary on the walls to mannequins wearing the suits he designed for the James Bond films, this event will be the most glamorous around. We knew to make it the most successful it could be we had to have the most gorgeous celebrities walking down the red carpet. All this is sure to make Tom Ford 10 the most anticipated event in 2015. 

The bear and the hare

Everyone always raves about the famous Coca Cola Christmas truck at Christmas but I always look out for the John Lewis advert to see which tale they're going to reinvent this year. They're always so beautiful and poetic and this years definitely didn't disappoint! 

During our seminar yesterday we looked further into the making of the advert and while we were watching the video I was sat there thinking 'I would LOVE that job!!'. When I was doing my A-Levels in Textiles and Fine Art as well as my Foundation degree I always loved making intricate things and including tiny embellishments such as stitching and beading. This is why I loved watching the behind the scenes video! It was so cute seeing the miniature forest with the Christmas tree and presents underneath. 

Floral Fever

I said in an earlier post that me and my flatmate went on a bit of a shopping spree...we should definitely not be let loose in Nottingham city centre!

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Zara but since I've been at uni its turned into more of an obsession! I'm constantly on their website trying to find new pieces I can save my loan for and this dress was one of those beauties.

I've literally NEVER worn a body-con dress in my life so I'm not sure what came over me with this one! Normally when I try them on the fabric is so thin and shows literally every lump and bump I have whereas this Zara dress was so much nicer and I felt like it covered everything up! 

I wore it on Friday night for my friends 19th so I wanted to dress it down a little, one good thing about this dress is it can be dressed up or down so easily! I paired it with a pair of heeled black ankle boots which I'd been after for quite a while so when I saw these in New Look they were so much of a bargain I just couldn't resist! 

The hairstyle took a few times to get it looking even slightly acceptable though! I've been going through a stage where all I do is leave my hair naturally wavy on nights out and I thought it was time for a change! Like I just said, I wanted quite a relaxed vibe so (with a little help from my friend) french plaited my hair round the back of my head and then left it in a low side pony. I have a feeling this is going to become my new favourite hairstyle! 

Dress - Zara £39.00
Ankle boots - New Look £27.99

Blow by Blow

I remember when I first heard about Isabella Blow. I was doing a project at college about hat design and came across Philip Treacy, who's work is SO cool! Then I obviously researched about Isabella Blow and that's where the obsession started...

Ever since then I've read books on her, documentaries, articles and now I'm beyond excited to go to Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore at Somerset House.

Reading her biography 'Blow by Blow' told me so many intimate and personal details that I never even knew about her. I found it so emotional when her husband was discussing all the things in her life that could have made her want to commit suicide. I always knew she died like that but I find it hard to understand how someone with such a bright wardrobe and personality could live with such misery.

When I'm low on inspiration flicking through pictures of her from my books always help. Her wild and wonderful choices in pattern, colour and shape ALWAYS help me! Some people may think she's far too bold and it's not a good look but I couldn't disagree more. I absolutely love her style and love anyone who is bold enough to be so creative with their outfit choices and not care one bit what anyone else says! I especially love her hats, I mean who wouldn't?! 

Shoe Heaven

I DEFINITELY need to stop going shopping on my breaks from uni! 

Every time I walk into any shop I instantly want everything I see! Today it seems shoes took my fancy...

I just cannot get over how stunning the Lawson glitter platforms from Topshop are. I don't think I've seen a pair so beautiful for a long, long time! These are the pair of heels I have been dreaming of wearing on Christmas day for months now. Thank God Topshop have helped me out! They remind me of Cinderella when she goes to the ball and feels the most beautiful she's felt in a long time. 

I'm devastated that I can't find the second pair of blue suede wedges on Topshop's website ANYWHERE! They are gorgeous and I absolutely need them in my life. I have a pair in a similar style from Next except they're in black and no where near as cool!  

Lets hope a pair of these beauties appears under the tree on Christmas morning..

Luxury beyond belief

Tom Ford is THE most sensual brand I have seen in a long time. 

After my seminar with Tim I went home and dug a lot deeper into the brand. I looked in between the lines of a lot of his imagery and realised he is trying to shout out and doesn't want his brand to go unnoticed. You can see this within his logo as well as his name is always in capitals which, once again, shows just how much power he wants his brand to have within the industry. 

The hot, sweaty and sexual images he uses throughout his website and in his promotional methods really caught my attention! At first glance the sweat dripping from the back of girls necks wasn't very attractive but then I realised it was capturing the brand essence instantly. I was particularly intrigued by his perfume ads which were shot by Terry Richardson. He's always been well known for his risque and provocative shoots with celebrities so it was cool to see him inject some of this into Tom Ford's perfume advertisements. 

The brands visual DNA is very luxurious and elegant with the constant use of deep colours and velvet fabrics as well as the celebrity following he has such as Beyonce and Lauren Hutton. 

Another thing I thought was really interesting was the fact his face IS the brand. There's no denying Tom Ford isn't a confident man with nothing to hide. He absolutely loves his looks and isn't shy about showing them too the world. This again shows how he wants the brand to be powerful and confident and doesn't want anyone to ask 'Who's Tom Ford?'.

After looking further into the visual DNA of the brand we started to improve our PowerPoint by using richer, deeper colours on the slides and changing the fonts so they tie in nicely with his logo, which is his name in capital letters. 

I'm actually really looking forward to presenting this in a couple of weeks! Especially seen as though we've all decided what we're wearing...

It's Christmas in Topshop

Ever since I did work experience as a visual merchandiser in a boutique childrens clothing store I've had a massive obsession! It comes as second nature to me now to examine every detail of shops in-store displays as well as their window displays. 

As I was strolling through Victoria Centre I was, as usual, tempted into Topshop. Christmas is fast approaching and of course this means all of the Christmas displays are out in full force, much to my delight!

Even though Topshop's display is quite minimalist and simple its extremely effective. The Christmas trees reminded me of when I was a little girl and used to slot two pieces of card together to make a tiny Christmas tree or a candle! I love it! I'm also dead impressed by the baby pink wigs the mannequins have on their heads, so cool! The block cut really clashes with the soft fabrics and fur the mannequins are wearing but I think it works extremely well. 

Although I really liked their window display (I have a huge soft spot for floral displays!) I wasn't really sure how it fitted in with the Christmas themed in-store displays?! I think I was expecting a bit more from Topshop for Christmas but who knows...maybe this isn't all they're giving us! 

Urban Outfitters anyone?

I definitely experienced what heaven feels like tonight...

Me and my flatmate nipped into town to buy our friend a coat from Zara for her 19th, which of course ended up in us spending more money than necessary on our selves! It also meant that by chance (as we completely forgot?!) we ended up in the queue for the opening of Urban Outfitters in Nottingham! 

The promise of free drinks and a DJ drew us in...as well as the chance to see the store for the first time and snap up some new purchases! Even though neither of us bought anything from UO we spotted quite a few things which are definitely going on our Christmas lists as well as items from the homeware collection which we have already got our eyes on for our house in 2nd year! Eager or what?!

Most of the times I go into UO back home in Manchester I rarely buy anything but I just go in to admire their edgy visual merchandising! I absolutely love their VM and I seriously think their idea of a warehouse for a store is the best I've seen on the highstreet! It gives UO a bit of an edge compared to the modern styles of Topshop or River Island. 

I think it's  safe to say this is where all my money is going to be spent from now on!  

What makes your favourite brands SO iconic?

Tiffany & Co. 

Tiffany's blue is one of the most recognisable colours used by a brand in terms of promotion, packaging, uniform and visual merchandising. Tiffany use it in order to attract customers and it is definitely one of the most successful uses of colour within a brand! 

Cool, Crisp and Classic

Luxurious, Glamour, Heritage 

Prestige, Desire, Elegance

Manhattan 

Tiffany & Co now use their 'Tiffany Blue' for everything they do including promotions, marketing, uniforms, the box and shopping bag. Its instantly recognisable by most women around the world and no one can deny the ultimate desire to have a piece of Tiffany jewelry and to receive it in the famous blue box. 

Tiffany's rise to fame came after 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' with Audrey Hepburn as she said how wonderful Tiffany's is and how it's the best place in the world. There is no doubt that this made Tiffany's the most luxurious and desirable brand around!

Hermes

Hermes is one of the most luxurious brands around with everyone aspiring to buy a famous Hermes scarf. 

Striking, Spiced, Tan, Individualistic

Exotic, Distinctive, Prestige

Paris, Parisian lifestyle, Object of Desire

Hermes have definitely got the perfect mix in order to create extremely recognisable brand hand writing. Obviously the most desirable Hermes product is the scarf! I think most women I know would kill for one, maybe it comes second to a Chanel handbag! However, Hermes sussed that the key to success is to gain inspiration from your product for marketing techniques and to gain inspiration from your marketing for your products. This means that Hermes packaging is just as important as the product inside it. The Hermes ribbon is a huge part of their brand and in some ways the reason people buy from Hermes! 

Paul Smith 

  

Paul Smith is instantly recognisable for his use of eccentric stripes in almost all of his promotion and products!

Satorial, Witty, Confident

Eccentric, Playful, Twist on Tradition

His constant use of his very famous stripes has made Paul Smith a very recognised brand. The wide range of products that he applies this pattern to makes it extremely hard to own anything Paul Smith without it sporting a bit of a stripe on there! Even though at times it can be a bit too overwhelming (too much stripe can hurt anyones eyes!!) it's done exactly what it was intended to do, which was to leave a lasting impression!

Burberry

Can you really get anymore British than Burberry?

Heritage, Young, Hip

New mod generation

Traditional tartan, Graphic check

Even though Burberry's tartan is so iconic now, it went through a stage in the 90's when the wrong people got hold of the classic check and turned it into a 'chavy' brand which ultimately led to negative press. This almost ruined Burberry, however they managed to turn the brand around and reinvent themselves as the well known, luxuriously iconic brand they are today. Although they eventually managed it it was such a long process. Burberry had to remove the check pattern from nearly all of their products and started new campaigns using actresses and models such as Emma Watson and Kate Moss in a bid to attract a new target market. They are now subtly bringing the check pattern back into their products and lets hope the same doesn't happen again and the famous check doesn't end up in the wrong hands! 

     

                                                            

                                                                                                                                 

Mulberry to die for

Now this is the brief I have been looking forward to the most...

Designing my own brand-zine is going to be so much fun! I love designing and creating things so this is right up my street. 

We got to choose any brand from a list the lecturers gave us so I chose...MULBERRY!

I've always wanted a Mulberry bag (Chanel comes first though) so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to learn more about one of my favourite brands. 

When we were in London I was going to go to Mulberry's store on New Bond Street but we ran out of time. Luckily for me we by chance walked past this store in Knightsbridge! I initially went into the store to try and take photos of their visual merchandising however it was difficult to do so with staff watching me from every angle! Instead I took photos of the window displays and attempted to sneak a photo of the inside of the store.

Even though the staff obviously weren't too keen on me taking photographs within the store they were extremely pleasant and helpful! I know people think this should happen in every store anyway but sadly it doesn't. Most of the times stores such as Mulberry would be very cold and almost rude to students walking into the store as its quite apparent we weren't going to buy anything. This is exactly what happened in Roberto Cavalli! As soon as we walked in we were almost followed around the store in an attempt to get us out of there! We got no 'hello' or we weren't even asked if we needed any help with anything. I have to say, out of all the stores we went into, the staff in Tom Ford were by far the nicest. The bodyguard on the door, the staff behind the counter and even the guard inside the store (even though he did follow us round quite a bit!) were extremely pleasant and were constantly asking us how we were, how our day had been and whether we needed any assistance! By far the friendliest staff we had met during our day in London. 

I admit I was slightly disappointed by their display especially after walking past Harrods about one minute before! I do love the 'simple yet effective' look but I just wasn't feeling it with Mulberry! Although as the brand was founded in England I did like the use of Buckingham Palace Guards and nutcrackers within their display. I thought having their advertisements on a large scale in the window was really eye catching and the bags were definitely still the main focus even though the images were busy with trees and owls.  

The trip to London has got me even more excited for this project and I can't wait to start looking at Mulberry's visual DNA, Mulberry's handwriting and any cultural references they use within their work which I am hoping will inspire my brand-zine!

London calling

London is a very magical place.

Ever since I was a little girl I've always gone to London and even now the magic still lives on, especially at Christmas. 

This is why the FCP trip to London was so much fun! We were going on the trip so we could collect primary research for both our group brand, which is Tom Ford and our own individual brand, which is Mulberry.

We started off by visiting the 'Club to Catwalk' exhibition at the V&A which was really interesting. It showed us all about how designers took inspiration from the club styles in London and how they transformed these trends into high fashion. Every time I go to the V&A it makes me see a part of the fashion world I'd never even thought of before. Maybe it's naive of me to think this but I had no idea about the connection between London club fashion and the catwalk shows. 

As I've just been on a two week holiday Ibiza I found it really interesting to read about how the coolest London clubs in the 90's recreated the sound and atmosphere from the drug fueled dance clubs in Ibiza and I can absolutely see what they mean. Of course people still get dressed up to the nines and make every night out a glamorous event but, as I read at the V&A, it's no longer 'dress to impress' in most cases and it's more 'dress to sweat'. I totally get this! Raves are so popular now with my age group with things such as the Warehouse Project in Manchester, festivals and underground parties. 

I've always absolutely loved Vivienne Westwood. I just think she is hands down one of the coolest designers around! Vivienne was one of the key designers within the punk era in the 70's and this is very much still referenced in her collections today. Whenever I see a piece of her work I can automatically see the cultural references to history such as pagans, hobo dress as well as modern art. She's still such a well known figure for re working fashion traditions and she is definitely not afraid to push the boundaries. 

The best part of the trip is yet to come...shopping in all the designer stores you could dream of! I'll write about that in a bit more detail on another post...