LITTLEMISSMATCHED

Whilst reading one of our required reading books 'Marketing Fashion' by Harriet Posner, one of the brands mentioned stood out to me from the 'remarkable marketing' section in chapter one. This section was all about making things worth noticing and making it unique. LittleMissMatched stood out to me because of its unique idea and selling point. The company was founded in the US by three people who wanted to create something wacky that would really stand out on the shelves. Their whole idea was to solve the problem of the missing sock!

Instead of selling the usual two in a pack, they instead sell three in a pack. If one goes missing or gets eaten by the washing machine then they can always rely on that trusty third sock. They have really funky designs and although none of the socks are a complete identical match, they all connect with the others in the set usually through the pattern or colour scheme. This brand is literally the opposite of boring with the crazy and colourful designs (you wouldn't be complaining about getting these socks for Christmas!). They initially wanted to aim their products to children and young teenagers but the designs have proven to be very popular with adults too! They have since broadened their range and now include hats, gloves, sleepwear, bedding etc, but I think their best product is definitely those funky socks!

Let me know what you thought about this brand?

Thankyou for reading, 

Love from Georgia

xxx

COLOUR PALETTE'S

A few weeks ago we learnt how to create our own colour palette's on photoshop which I actually really enjoyed, theres just something so satisfying about it! I decided to make a few more to show on my blog. They are so easily to create but look so visually pleasing at the same time. I decided to use images from my Pinterest account as I really like the images I collected of embellishments and embroidery (I have always been a big lover of a bit of sparkle!).

I hope you enjoyed looking at a little bit of what I have been getting up to, I will be posting much more content about the work on my course.

Thankyou for reading, 

Love from Georgia

xxx

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY

A recent article in the December 2016 issue of Vogue has really opened my eyes up to wearable technology. It is quickly entering the fashion world and people seem to love it! Ever since the Apple watches came out it seems as if everyone is upping their game! Including Michael Kors. The Michael Kors Access smartwatch has really caught my eye. Not only is is beautiful to look at with its rose gold colour but it is also such a new and clever device, this watch doesn't just tell the time for you.

You can check through your notifications on it because it is compatible with iPhone and Android devices which I think is so handy for when you are on the go or just a stylish technology freak! I never really got into the whole Apple watch craze. I think it is probably because it didn't visually please me, it just wasn't my style. I already own a classic rose gold Michael Kors watch so I already know I love the brand and style. The Apple watches just weren't girly enough for me! A watch is something that everyone uses so I think it is so clever to modernise the classic watch and give people even more reason to want to purchase one!

The Michael Kors Access smartwatch also allows you to change the face as there are many to choose from. You can change and customise it depending on what mood you are in. It also allows you to change the watch strap so you can go from a daytime look to a nighttime kook in no time! I also feel like a digital watch can sometimes be quicker to read as I am so used to just checking the time on my iPhone if I haven't got my watch on. The watch also displays different timezones so if you are a bit of a traveller, this is clearly the perfect watch for you! I don't want to sound like a complete salesman but I just love this watch!

'The appeal of being stylishly connected while staying on top of my daily life gives a new allure to wearable technology'.  -Vogues Jo Holley 

Thankyou for reading,

Love from Georgia 

xxx

Photo credit:http://www.beaverbrooks.co.uk/designers/michael-kors/access

THE EXECUTION PROCESS

Welcome back!

I have decided to start documenting my work a little bit more on my blog. We have recently just been given our latest mini project which is the 'execution' part of the creative process which is basically the finalised outcome. We have all been put into groups and have each been allocated a creative concept taken from an existing editorial shoot from the Vogue Archive which we will have to visually analyse and then research and respond to the original shoot. We were given a more contemporary shoot from the March 2015 issue. We will eventually have to do a photoshoot using inspiration from the images as well as an object we were given, our object has shoes which we were all quite happy with!

I thought I would go through the editorial shoot and show you what type of style we will be going for with our own photoshoot. The photographer of the shoot was Juergen Teller who is seen as a quite provocative, rebellious worker who focuses on the unexpected and untraditional aspects of fashion.

New Nomad to me has a free-spirited feel to it with people who might travel, want new experiences and who want to connect with their surroundings. I want to focus on looking at bohemian and festival styles when researching more into our theme. Although this is a more contemporary shoot to look at in comparison to other peoples, I still need to remember this is last year. Things like prints and velvet weren't as popular as they are now, Juergen Teller wanted to use unpredictable fabrics and trends which are now very popular in 2016. What girl doesn't own a crushed velvet item of clothing these days!

We noticed that the pages were set out like a printed photograph would have been (like disposable cameras). This makes it almost more relatable to the viewers who cannot relate to the expensive prices of the clothing shown on most pages. Many family holidays include the old disposable camera so most people can relate to this layout. It gives viewers a way to interact and makes it feel more personal to them. 

I found this image above a bit more typical and normal in comparison to the rest. It has a beautiful view and in comparison to the other one on the page, I just don't think it fits in as well. We tried to be critical as well when looking into the images as it will probably give us a better understanding of what we do and don't want to achieve in our own photoshoot. 

Plain makeup and crazy hairstyles are used. The 'no makeup' makeup look is repeated in every single photograph. We even noticed how an eight pound Loreal foundation was recommended to achieve this look which we found quite bizarre until we thought about how much Loreal were probably paying to be mentioned in this issue! They probably payed for the entire trip to the Greek island where it was set. 

When looking at the images we noticed that the two separate images on each page still connected, through colour. The same purple tone is used in the image above on both pages, making the magazine flow better and look visually pleasing. This is the same on most pages.

Some of the poses of the models mimic the backgrounds and surroundings, just like the one above with the girl in the tree, she looks wild like the tree as well as posing in a similar shape to the branches. The models pose in unexpected positions and go against the norm which I think Juergen Teller wanted to get across. They seem 'at one' with the nature around them. I think that because it is set on a Greek Island it is all about dressing a different way when you are in a different place. I don't know about you but when I'm on my holidays I really couldn't care less what I look like or what people think of me because I don't know them! I feel like you can be more experimental and be yourself!

Juergen Teller uses rural unexpected locations as opposed to other photographers around who strive for a perfected look to their fashion photography. He used natural, urban locations and used the surroundings as the props. I think this is so different to most fashion photography at the moment. There is a deliberate destruction of a typical fashion idea.

There will be more to follow on this project set! 

Thankyou for reading, 

Love from Georgia

xxx

Photo credit: Vogue March 2015.

LOUNGEWEAR AS OUTERWEAR

Recently over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that comfy, indoor loungewear has made its way onto the streets and looks as trendy and fashionable as ever. I wouldn't have dreamed of going out the house in my tracksuit bottoms or loungewear before but it is becoming more and more popular and the fad is almost becoming a trend itself. Celebrities have been spotted rocking the trends and promoting the popular brands that stock the 'trendy tracksuits' on their social medias. Celebrities such as Samantha Faires, Megan Mckenna and Kady Mcdermot (and thats just to name a few!) seem to be loving this comfy trend. It seems very popular amongst the reality TV stars who make the typical, once 'chavy' tracksuit almost glamorous looking.

Megan Mckenna seems that obsessed that she has recently come out with her very own 'Sports Luxe' range on misspap. Im not entirely sure if I personally trust all of these celebrity endorsements but that is a whole other blog post!

Thankyou for reading, 

Love from Georgia

xxx

NOTTINGHAM CONTEMPORARY- FOXP2

I finally got the chance to go and visit the Nottingham Contemporary earlier this week and saw the latest exhibition 'FOXP2' by Marguerite Humeau. I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting I found it. It was quite empty when we went so we were lucky enough to have a lovely lady who talked us through the exhibition and explained what it was all about. The exhibition was based around a mutation of a gene called FOXP2. This is the crucial 2% difference in our DNA between us humans and other animals such as chimpanzees. 98% of human and chimpanzee DNA is actually the same which I didn't know!

When we first entered the exhibition we were standing in a pitch black walkway with very strange sounds playing in our ears! I was a bit confused as to what was going on initially until I learnt more about it. It was essentially a synthetic voice beatboxing the origins of language, joined by 108 billion homo sapiens. This was probably my least favourite part of the exhibition as it was a little bit spooky and slightly bizarre. 

The rest of the exhibition was much brighter and covered in my favourite blush pink colour- definitely one of the prettiest exhibitions I've ever seen! I really liked the story and meanings behind the work in this room. All of the elephant sculptures were all facing the matriarch elephant 'Echo' who was slowly passing away. Each sculpture/elephant were reacting to this through different ways and emotions. For example 'Felicie' was a female elephant engineered to be self-destructive by getting drunk. Elephants actually get drunk with ethanol that comes from masala fruit- I found this so bizarre! The way it was shown was probably my favourite part of the exhibition as parts of ethanol were dropped into the water pump, this was pumping over and over whilst sounds were being played that the elephants would have made. I thought this was a really unique and clever way to show the different emotions. Another example of this is the elephant 'Enid' who was engineered to cry out of sadness. The mixture in this had depressant hormones mixed with three real drops of elephant tears which were sourced from a Thai zoo. 

Another really interesting part of the whole exhibition was the beautifully coloured carpet itself. The pink carpet was dyed with pigments created from chemical components of the human body. Overall, I really enjoyed finding out about this exhibition and having a tour guide really helped us understand what was actually going on! I would 100% recommend checking it out if you're ever in Nottingham.

Thankyou for reading,

Love from Georgia

xxx

SARAH MOON 1983- MORGAN

For one of my uni briefs, we were each given an image we had to analyse. I was given Sarah Moon's 1983 image called 'Morgan'. At first I really didn't like my image as it wasn't a particularly pretty or girly photograph which I would usually much enjoy working with! However, the more I researched into it and found out about my image, the more I began to like it. I wanted to share with you what I found out about this image and to show just how important doing lots of research is! I would have never got into this brief and would have had nothing to write about my image if I didn't research it more! As a bit of background history on Sarah Moon, she was originally a model but she eventually changed to taking images of fashion photography as that was clearly a passion of hers.

 

The photograph shows an image within an image. As a viewer, I was instantly drawn into the small, brighter frame which the little girl was standing in. There is a slight focus on the rough, unpainted edge of the drop which the little girl seems contained within, however she equally looks like she is on the verge of stepping out of that frame and world and back into reality. There is a huge contrast between the two different worlds with the peaceful, natural forest against the dull, broken down buildings and derelict streets. There is a sense of loneliness in the image as both places feel so empty, this leaves me wondering what has happened or what the little girl is thinking so intensely about.

This colour isolated image with the greyscale effect initially scared me as it had a slight sinister look to it. I also think that the image could have a shocking and more powerful effect on viewers as a young innocent child is featured alone in an almost abandoned looking street. She doesn’t seem to be a typical happy child and looks like she has a lot on her mind which intrigues viewers as they want to know more.

I also feel like this photograph related well to fairy tales as I discovered that this visual text was Sarah Moons way of using photography to translate the tale of little red riding hood into a modern, urban context. This then reminded me of a book I studied at A-level called ‘The Bloody Chamber’. Particular stories in this book such as ‘Wolf Alice’ and ‘Werewolf’ borrow themes from Red Riding Hood, just like this photograph seems to. These stories also have a disturbing yet intriguing twist to them, the little girls aren’t always the victims and they don’t always need to rely on the typical woodcutter to come and save them, this child in the image is on her own and seems to be content yet deep in thought. Further researching also lead me onto Anne Ikhlef’s 1985 film ‘La veritable historie du chaperon rouge’ which was supposed to be the ‘real’ story of Little Red Riding Hood, which yet again had a twist.

The little girls outfit and appearance reminds me of Red Riding hood with her dark brown windswept bob and the short cape blowing behind her over the top of her tartan dress. This was also not the typical clothing worn by children in the 1980s when this image was produced. Brighter colours were worn and capes were not used. This would have been quite a shocking, different photograph to look at and I don’t think many people would have understood it if they didn’t look into the meaning behind it more.

There is a lot of repetition within this image with the shapes of the pillars, walls and doorframes in the buildings matching and flowing the same way as the tree trunks and branches in the forest. The whole image seems to flow into one even though they are complete opposite places. This makes the photograph slightly unclear, viewers have to look closely to notice the difference and it draws them in well.

The backgrounds in Sarah Moon’s photograph have a blurred, slight overlapped look to them with the busy backgrounds of trees and rows of buildings. This reminded me of graphic designer Hannah Guy’s work which I looked at for A- level. Hannah Guy took photographs of trees 360 degrees all the way around it to give the overall grey-scale images a 3-D, blurred effect. I felt like this had a very similar look to the forest image contained within the smaller frame. This effect has a mysterious feel to it, adding to the mystery of the little girl and what she is doing. The stories and images are unclear. Usually trees and nature have positive, peaceful, free connotations but this image is almost the opposite to that with the empty, urban alley being a distraction from it.

Thankyou for reading, 

Love from Georgia

xxx

Photo credit: google images