New York Trends

After getting back from LFW I had the wonderful task of catching up on the work I'd missed. Fabulous! 
The first brief of my new module was to create a Trend Booklet for New York. We basically had to choose things we thought were interesting, exciting and up and coming around the city. 
I really loved Williamsburg and knew I definitely had to include the street art I found around there in my trend booklet! It made me realise that in the UK the graffiti is nothing near as 'special' and most of the time doesn't really look like a piece of art, as the pieces in Williamsburg did.  

The feedback I got from Chris, on a whole, was good! 
Some of the positives were: 
- Good grid layout
- Simple and clear design 
- Excellent choice of images 
- Really liked the front cover (very punkish - Sex Pistols)

Some things I could change:
- I could make the font size smaller (10pt)
- Develop my point and thoughts on graffiti 
- After the minimalist pages I could include some VM that was the opposite. 

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!  

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...

Don't believe the hype

Everyone I know knows about my love for Arctic Monkeys and especially for Alex Turner!. This is the 3rd time I've seen the beauties and they definitely didn't disappoint! 

Granted these photos aren't the greatest quality but I didn't want to risk getting my camera out when I was squashed up against the barrier! The last two pictures are from their poster book that I splashed out on (as well as a T-Shirt!) Definitely need to start remembering I'm a student...

I just love their style and I don't just mean their clothes either! Alex is quite obviously inspired by the 'Rock' era with his quiff and leather 'grunge' jacket and his persona on stage and in interviews is really cool as well! He reminds me of a young Elvis! Especially those snake hips of his. 

Going back home to Manchester for a night to see them made it even better. I cant explain how nice it was to sleep in a bed that doesn't feel like you're lying on bricks.