TREND SPOTTING | RUFFLED UP

Only recently have a taken a liking to this key detail found on runways for this season: found tied into the romantic narrative played out at various shows, such as Miu Miu and Mary Katrantozou for SS16.

 

 Miu Miu SS16

A subtle detail shown at Miu Miu for this season, paired with sheer fabrics and prairie inspired prints.

Roberto Cavalli SS16

Ruffles were indisputably a major element of Cavalli's collection for this season, found across his whole collection.

Here are a few of my favourite pieces from my go-to online store, ASOS, which keep inline with this key trend.

ASOS High Neck Ruffle Tiered Top with Short Sleeve - £30.00

ASOS Mini Shift Dress with Ruffle Hem - £48.00

 ASOS Ruffle Mini Shift Dress - £30.00

 

 ASOS Button Through Mini Skater Sundress - £25.00

ASOS Occasion Ruffle Wrap Playsuit - £45.00

I can't wait to hopefully get my paws on some of these pieces for both spring and summer!

Thankyou for reading,

- A



ASOS BRIDAL COLLECTION

Only recently ASOS have announced their first bridal line.

 

Weddings are notoriously known for their great expense, the dress typically taking up a great deal of the budget.

 

ASOS are challenging this, producing premium gowns with a budget price tag. Designers such as Chi Chi London and Fame and Partners are also included within the collection.

 

The online based brand have made sure that they are catering for every bride with this line. A floor length tiered lace dress for the boho bride or a calf hitting, full skirted dress for the vintage bride, this collection truly has it all.

 

Not to mention ASOS also offer a vast range of bridesmaids dresses, and accessories for the 'Big Day' alongside this line.

 

Here are a few of my personal favourite dresses from the 'bridesmaids' section:

 

 

ASOS Bardot Fishtail Maxi in Floral Print

 

 

ASOS Multiway Mesh Midi Dress

 

 

Fame and Partners Ainsley Multiway Dress

 

 

ASOS Lace Applique Midi Dress

 

Check out the range, available to buy now here: http://www.asos.com/bridal/cat/pgecategory.aspx?cid=21606&via=top

Personally I think this collection is a great idea by ASOS. The only issue I could foresee with this line is the buying process. This is because buying 'instore' and engaging in the buying experience is typically such a crucial part during the process of purchasing a wedding dress, and buying online would mean that this experience would be lost.

 

- A

THE BLACK FEDORA

Will I ever wear colour? The answer is no.

 

 

Jacket - Topshop | T-Shirt - H&M | Jeans - New Look | Choker - ASOS | Hat - Topshop | Sunglasses - ASOS | Boots - Topshop

 

Today I threw on my favourite jacket, with a grey tee (in an attempt to break up the mass of black), skinny jeans, and my black boots. Not forgetting to mention my new black fedora, which I'm pretty convinced looks great with anything!

 

 A slightly more 'edgier 'look to the last outfit I posted styling this jacket.

 

Thankyou for reading.

 

- A



THE OVERSIZED CHECKED SHIRT DRESS

Presentation day!

Simple, practical and above all comfortable.

Dress - Topshop | Sunglasses - ASOS (Mens) | Choker - ASOS | Boots - Zara

This check shirt dress is a different take on the usual checked shirt I often wear.

I styled it with my favourite sunglasses, my pointed boots and my velvet choker which I am utterly obsessed with at the moment.

- A

SUMMATIVE PROJECT #2 | CREATIVE REFERENCES AND ANALYSIS

When analysing any advertisement, you must consider these three points as issued by our lecturer Tim:

 

1. CONCEPT - muse/inspiration, colour/tone, dress, personality, culture, sign/codes

2. CONSUMER/COMPETITION - brand context, price point/market, themes/narratives

3. BOTTLE/PACKAGING - inspiration, colour/tone, peer influence, sector influence

 

The example used to 'unpack' and analyse in the lecture was Galliano's first fragrance campaign.

An advertisement which hosted a vast amount of creative and historical references, such as the socialite and style icon Marchesa Casati, and the symbolic meaning of death through the use of lilies.

 

 

In this case, I have decided to analyse the CONCEPT element of the advertisement for the fragrance 'Gucci' by the designer (no surprise here..) Gucci.

 

THE CONCEPT?

 

 

The image created here by Gucci is clearly inspired by decade of the 70's.

 

The decade in which Gucci sprung to success and became a 'global giant' was the 1970's. This was after Jackie Onassis was photographed carrying the classic hobo bag, an iconic Gucci product.
Is it a coincidence that Gucci just happened to choose to base their campaign for their signature scent upon this particular era? I think not.

 

 
The satin/silky texture of the rich toned dress with a plunging neckline, complete with the Jerry Hall inspired side-swept blonde waved locks, screams 70's glamour.

 

 

The short film produced to accompany this fragrance features the song 'Heart of Glass' by the iconic band Blondie. Blondie's front woman, Debbie Harry, went on to gain style icon status for her wardrobe filled with vintage and thrift store steals.

 

The video certainly pays homage to Studio 54. The music, the carefree dance spirit of the three models featured, and the theatrical use of lighting, in particular, the use of the spotlight.

 

Similarly to the fragrance advertisement the video is produced also in a warm orange tinted hue. The colour orange was of great popularity in the 1970's. A tribute to 'simpler times' when clothing was visually digestible, as produced in vegetable-based dyes which subsequently led to clothes being composed of far muted colours, a contrast to the knock out chemical pigments used in clothing of the 60's.

 

Watch the short film that accompanies the campaign here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEgWVvjvglk

 I would have continued to analyse all three points of this advertisement and the concept aspect in further depth, however it would have made an extremely long post!

Hope you have enjoyed reading this post, gaining a further insight to the FCP course!

- A

ADVERTISEMENTS HAVE NEVER BEEN SO FUNNY

Today's seminar was one of my favourite yet.

 

The first task consisted of us looking into generating further potential ideas for our fragrance and pushing our current ideas even further.

 

The second task was so fun, and we found ourselves often laughing out loud, however the task held a deeper meaning. As groups we were asked to look at several fragrance ads, and use Snapchat to caption these images.

 

 

The role of this task was to have fun, whilst gaining an understanding of how poor and shallow many fragrance advertisement narratives truly are. And it sure worked!

 

Apologies for the poor quality of these images!

 

Thankyou for reading,

 

- A



FRAGRANCE WORKSHOP WITH KAREN GILBERT

Just yesterday we received our first lecture and workshop as FCP students from a guest lecturer, Karen Gilbert, an expert in the art of perfumery.

 

The hour lecture was jam packed with insightful and useful content about fragrance itself and the industry, which will be crucial, during the process of creating our own fragrance for this summative task.

 

The workshop followed immediately after.

 

 

During the first half an hour we were introduced to creating our own fragrance. We learnt about the different layers to fragrances (the heart notes, the accessory, the fixative and the harmoniser) and how to combine these layers in order to make a pleasant smelling fragrance.

 

We then began creating!

 

 

After experimenting several times, we formed our final fragrance.

 

The key ingredients included:

 

1. Natural Homme

2. Muguet

3. Narcotic

 

 

As we are still deciding upon our final idea within my group, we decided to experiment with this final fragrance, rather than create a perfume fitting with just one of our three ideas.

 

Overall I found the day fun and enjoyable, whilst being informative and extremely helpful with the rest of our brief over the next few months.

 

Hope you have enjoyed reading this post.

Check out Karen Gilbert here: http://www.karengilbert.co.uk/

 

- A