ALIEN ENCOUNTERS

This past weekend I decided to finally wend my way into town and visit the Contemporary, a place I have been meaning to visit since starting at university.

 

The exhibition that is showing currently is named 'Alien Encounters', and aims to question social norms and accepted histories whilst using humour to confront serious political and moral questions affecting individuals, communities and nation-states.

 

Here are some images I took whilst exploring the many galleries inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some say that art is not about how it looks but the way it makes you feel. And Alien Encounters certainly left me feeling...odd.

 

My favourite piece of artwork however was held in Gallery Four, named 'Don't commit suicide just because you are afraid of death', by which the artist named Danai Anesiadou combined myths, biblical stories, pop culture and personal experience to create art on a scale which I have never experienced, throughout a whole room covering walls from top to bottom.

I cannot wait to visit the Contemporary in the new year to check out their next new exciting art exhibition.

Check out the Nottingham Contemporary's website here: http://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/

Until next time,

- A

THE AVIATOR JACKET

Yesterday I ran out for a quick shopping trip, and this is what I threw on in a mad rush.

 

 

Jacket - an online shop I cannot remember! | Top - Topshop | Jeans - Topshop | Hat - ASOS | Sunglasses - Urban Outfitters | Boots - Topshop

 

This outfit to me gives off an American feel through the slightly oversized jacket, and the cap which I enjoy. But above all it was practical and comfy for a weekend shopping trip.

 

(I promise some of my upcoming outfit posts will not feature again my choice of ripped jeans and black boots!)

 

Thankyou for reading this short post!

 

- A

BLOGGERS TO FOLLOW

I've been reading a few blogs for years now, and it only seems fair that I should share these great bloggers with as many as possible (IE - through a blog post!) so that as many as possible can experience their unique content.

 

So here are my top three favourite bloggers!

 

1. THE LONDONER

 

What I particularly like about Rosie's blog is how welcoming it feels by the way she writes. The colour scheme chosen also differs from the conventional black and white blogger theme and seems less 'stand offish' to a typical blog layout. Rosie has also included a 'lust list' where you can browse what products and items she is lusting for at the moment, which I particularly love as she has great style!

 

 

I love that about 'The Londoner' is that it encompasses all my interests by not only covering fashion, but also two other great interests of mine, travel and food!

 

I mean who can not enjoy reading about a jet setting, fashionable, London based lifestyle?

Follow Rosie here: http://www.thelondoner.me/

 

2. LUST FOR LIFE

 

Olivia from Lust for Life focuses her blog mainly upon her travels across the globe to locations such as Vietnam, Miami and Jamaica, whilst intertwining her love for fashion and beauty into this.

 

 If you enjoy beautiful photography, travel and a girl with great style I highly recommend checking out Lust for Life.

Follow Olivia here: http://lusttforlife.com/

3. TOM GIRL AND THREADS 

A blog focused upon style and fashion, Karissa's style of writing is direct and straight to the point, which I enjoy.

Her simple blog layout compliments her simple monochrome style, and although Karissa's posts are not so consistent as the others spoken about above, I find myself constantly checking and waiting impatiently for her next post! 

It is a blog that focuses more upon visuals, rather than writing which I personally enjoy due to having a great love for photography and visuals.

Follow Karissa here: http://tomgirlandthreads.blogspot.co.uk/

Hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Who are your favourite bloggers?

- A
 

CONSTELLATIONS OF FASHION

Similar to my last blog post, this post follows on from a seminar which focused upon the cross level fashion narratives.

 
Tim (our lecturer) likened the repetitive nature of fashion narratives to constellations in space. For the narratives used repeatedly in fashion by different brands are the individual stars, and which are then linked to form constellations as ultimately brands at each market level are trying to aspire to tell the same story but in their own unique or individual way which creates these links, to form 'constellations'.
 

As a group we then had to choose a pair of images (which were advertisements from two competing brands), and identify the common language which united the brands together, whilst considering the narrative and story.

 

My group chose a pair of images by Marc Jacobs and American Apparel.

 

 

 

 We named this fashion narrative 'Exploitative Innocence'.

What we immediately apprehended about these images is that they are both are mischievous and have an almost comical feel about them, and this also applies to the typical advertisements created by both Marc Jacobs and American Apparel.

Both brands to me feel as though they want to push boundaries, be playful and be unexpected. Shown by American Apparel who often produce controversial advertisements, whilst Marc Jacobs often creates the unexpected. For example, Victoria Beckham photographed in a Marc Jacobs shopping bag.

I personally love the stance that both Marc Jacobs and American Apparel take when creating an advertisement. To me it's refreshing to see an image that feels so raw, natural and unstaged in promotion, compared to the typical highly edited image often commonly found within the fashion industry.

Thankyou for reading!

- A

SUB CULTURES WITHIN FASHION

This past Thursday's lecture discussed the topic of subcultures within fashion, a topic that I take a particular interest in. I find it most strange yet intriguing that clothing can 'form' a country (in this case Britain) over the past century, and this lecture inspired me to research in further depth about a few of these influential groups.

 

1. TEDDY BOYS

 

Before beginning this course I had very little knowledge about the 'Teddy Boy' culture, a movement where it became expectable for men to be concerned about their vanity and to quote 'be a peacock', which would have previously been frowned upon. The teddy boy look was also considered to be a parodied version of the classic Edwardian style.

 

The key pieces to complete this look include:

 

1. Drape jacket

2. Waistcoat in a brocade fabric

3. Heavy soled shoes

4. Pompadour hair

 

 

 

 

2. MODS

 

The mods first came to my attention this past summer. Whilst waiting for The Who to play their set in Hyde Park a group of  young men hair closely cut, dressed in parkas began to chant 'WE ARE THE MODS!', which subsequently led to many others joining in.

 

These artists like the Who and also Paul Weller, became greatly idolized by teenage Mods, and their music had a great influence upon how teenagers led their lives and styled their clothing.

 

The 1960's mod style is still so prominent in today's society for the reason that it is durable, wearable and not extreme, which subsequently means that most feel comfortable wearing this style.

 

The key pieces of the Mod look include:

 

1. Parka coat

2. Suit and tie

3. Button up shirt

4. Vespa (for trips to Brighton!)

 

 

 3. ROCKERS

In contrast to the Mods, there was the rockers. This look was influenced by American film culture and icons such as Marlon Brando, but 'englishised' by riding a British motorbike, and this teenage subculture typically favoured the music genre of rock and roll, in comparison with the British bands favoured by the Mods.

Rockers typically wore:

1. Leather jackets
2. Motorcycle boots
3. Jeans
4. Pompadour hair
 

 

A film I highly recommend to gain a further insight into the conflict of the Mods and Rockers, and to develop a feel of teenage life in the 1960s is Quadrophenia. A great film directed by members of The Who, which also features their music.

 

Here is a link to the trailer and further information about this film: http://www.quadropheniaofficial.com/the-movie/

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this post looking briefly into some of the subcultures within Britain in the 1950's and 60's.

 

Which subculture do you favour?

 

- A

THE BOYFRIEND JEAN

It's time for one of my favourite posts. An outfit post.

 

I've owned these pair of jeans for years now, yet haven't quite had the courage to wear them out often enough. Which in hindsight seems so silly now, as they are the comfiest jeans ever and although not the most flattering, I do think they add an interesting edge to an outfit. But more importantly I should be able to WEAR WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT, without considering other's opinions.

 

I opted for a well loved Topshop striped shirt of mine, a leather jacket and (no surprise here!) a pair of my slouchy black boots.

 

 

 

 

Jacket - Topshop | Shirt - Topshop | Jeans - ASOS | Bag - Abercrombie and Fitch | Boots - Topshop

 

I love how slouchy and effortless this outfit looks whilst still looking fairly stylish, an 'I just rolled out of bed and chucked on what ever clothes I could find' kinda look.

 

This is definitely the comfiest outfit I've worn out in a long time and I cannot wait to style these jeans again in another post.

 

Thankyou for reading,

 

- A

VISUAL CONTRAST

I particularly enjoyed today's lecture and tutorial, by where the focus was upon visual contrast. A topic I have had no such experience on.

 

During this hour, I learnt about the importance of visual contrast in communicating and promoting. Contrast has a visual power to seduce, visual communication to inform and visual interest to sustain the consumer.

 

This can be carried out in many ways through an image, for example:

 

1. Colour V Monochrome

2. Lean V Complex

3. Movement V Static

4. Crisp V Blurred

5. Whole V Partial

 

Tim (our head lecturer) also emphasised that in order to achieve a contrast you do not need to bear many resources. In fact it is rather more desirable to squeeze out visual contrast from limited resources. For example, a colour palette of limited colours for a brand can be used in many ways in order to sustain, create and revive the brand's image, and make the brand recognisable for a consumer. For example, the iconic blue and pink colours of Jack Wills.

 

We also briefly learnt about conceptual contrast. Examples of this type of contrast include:

 

1. Lux V Grunge

2. Aggressive V Passive

3. Abstract V Accessible

4. Pessimism V Optimism

5. High Culture V Low Culture

 

Following this lecture I decided to write a blog post, not only because it particularly interested me but also because I wanted to share a few examples of visual and conceptual contrast I have found in a few magazines following the lecture this afternoon.

 

i-D Magazine (Issue No.340) -

 

| DIOR AD |

 

Visual Contrast - Colour V Mono, Crisp V Blurred (Crisp/clear black and white image, whilst other image is slightly distorted through the use of shade), Single Image V Layered Image

Conceptual Contrast -  Focused/Serious V Passive

 

| MARSHALL AD |

 

Visual Contrast - Male V Female

Conceptual Contrast - Urban V Rural (debatable?)
 



| EDITORIAL FEATURING NICK JONAS |

 

Visual Contrast - Vertical V Horizontal, Single V Multiple

 



Vogue (November 2015) -

| EDITORIAL FEATURING KARLIE KLOSS |

Visual Contrast - Colour V Monochrome, Movement V Static, Whole V Partial
Conceptual Contrast - Serious V Playful



 

| GUCCI AD |

 

Visual Contrast - Vertical V Horizontal

Conceptual Contrast - Contemporary V Historic 

Wonderland Magazine (September/October 2015) -



| EDITORIAL |

 

Visual Contrast - Movement V Static, Lean V Complex (Background), Natural V Modified (Background)

Conceptual Contrast - Urban V Rural

| EDITORIAL |

Visual Contrast - Movement V Static, Vertical V Horizontal, Warm V Cold, Single V Double (Models)

 

| EDITORIAL |

Visual Contrast - Movement V Static, Reserved V Exposed

Conceptual Contrast - Serious V Playful

 

 

| EDITORIAL FEATURING FKA TWIGS |

 

Visual Contrast - Whole V Partial

Conceptual Contrast - Male V Female

 

I found the FKA twigs editorial particularly interesting, not only because of this image displaying the obvious gender clash, but also because this editorial was printed in not only a different paper (providing a change of texture for the consumer, to perhaps engage them?) but also included a handout/poster.

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading about another part of my first year studying Fashion Communication and Promotion. To me today's lecture really opened my eyes to a contrast so obvious, and I never would have noticed this in the past.

 

More posts coming soon!

 

- A