PRETTY GREEN - LONDON MOD COLLECTION

Pretty Green, established in 2009, is the clothing brand associated with Oasis frontman, Liam Gallagher. The brand offers casual (Green Label) and a classic British tailored style of clothing, influenced the Mod movement of the 1960's.

 

This spring/summer Pretty Green have created a special collection inspired by famous rock band, The Who.

 

This range puts 'a fresh twist on the traditional perception of a the Mod, with a range of specific garments developed for those who follow the mod principles of dressing'.

 

 

Here are a few of my favourite pieces from the collection:

 

 

Khaki Wren Paisley Jacket - £145.00

 

 

 Red Sefton Paisley Shirt - £65.00

 

Navy Relay Badge - £4.00

 

Although this collection is not distinctly different from Pretty Green's past and current collections, it's still pretty cool.

 

Check it out here: https://www.prettygreen.com/discover/ss16/london-mod

 

 - A

SHOOTING FOR VOGUEWONDERS #1

You most probably have already heard of the blog VogueWonders, by Arooj Aftab.

 

Just this weekend I was kindly asked to take a few photos of her to post on her blog as part of a collaboration with two brands.

 

Here are a few of my favourite shots from the shoot.

 

 

Check out the full blog posts on Arooj's site here: http://www.voguewonders.com/

 

- A



SUMMATIVE PROJECT #2 | THE BRAND LAUNCH

The past few weeks have been extremely busy preparing for our brand launch presentation.

 

Our final presentation for this academic year demonstrated how we had developed our 'Big Idea', initial launch platforms, advertisement and video for our fragrance brief.

As a group, we decided to go forward with our idea of a fragrance range focused upon pregnancy, targeting women aged 25-34 specifically.

We named this brand Elise Fragrance. You may ask why we chose this specific name, and this is because we knew that our name had to instantly embody our values as a brand. This is why we have chosen a woman's name, as we believe that it personifies our company, instilling confidence and trust within our consumers.

This brand, Elise, strives to provide the modern woman with a safe beauty range to use both during and after her pregnancy. Each product is formulated without phthalates and VOC's, chemicals which can be extremely harmful to both mother and child.

Elise Fragrance has classic visuals, however our approach to consumer choice could be considered 'edgy', niche or unique, as we value the woman as an individual, rather than just simply a 'pregnant woman', like other products currently on the market.

We have chosen our brand to sit on the 'masstige' market level. This is because after conducting various research, it is shown that women are willing to spend a vast amount of money during their pregnancy, with one in twenty new mums spending over £3,000 pounds on baby essentials in the first year.

After refining the concept it was time to shoot both the print advertisement and the video.

FINAL DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ADVERTISEMENT

As a team, we felt that the shoot did not go as great as we would have hoped. However, we decided to stick it out and use the images taken for our final advertisement and video.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The feedback we received in response to our presentation I felt was valid, correct and greatly useful for the next stage of our brief.

If you would like to have a further look into the visual aspect of our brand Elise, check out our Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/elisefragrance/



I hope you have enjoyed reading about Elise Fragrance, gaining a further insight to the life of an FCP student!

- A

VISUALISING DATA

Presentation day is fast approaching, and it's almost time to reveal the fragrance brand we have been working on launching for weeks.

 

With this in mind, this Thursday we were issued with a lecture and a seminar focusing on visualising data, one of my favourite lectures and seminars to date!

 

When visualising this consumer data, Tim (our course leader and lecturer) suggested the following process:

 

1. Find inspiration

2. Test variables/components

3. Trial flexibility/multiples

4. Apply meaning/message

5. Consider make/manufacture

6. Create rough sketch/mockup

 

To put this process into practice we were asked to firstly focus on the consumer, and considering a brand, think of hypothetical archetypes of consumers who would buy into this particular brand.

 

CONSUMER PROFILE EXAMPLE - THE MALE ALLSAINTS CUSTOMER

 

1. 'The guy who gets dragged in by his girlfriend'

2. 'The guy who only buys branded goods'

3. 'The guy who appreciates All Saints design and innovation within their clothing'

 

After identifying these consumer archetypes, it's then time to put this process into practice. Keeping on theme, find inspiration and display these consumer archetypes in a unique and original take.

For example, when considering Gilette you may represent these consumer's as cacti or for Boden you may represent archetypes as individual flower seed packets.

 

Another task we were given, was to think in a similar way to this, but to think of how best brands themselves would be represented in abstract portraits.

 

Here are my examples of how these designers would be best presented as:

 

1. Paper

2. Fabric

3. Bouquet

 

BRAND PROFILE EXAMPLE - VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, ISSEY MIYAKE AND KATE SPADE

 

Vivienne Westwood -

 

1. As Paper - Torn and scrunched up, then reassembled into a Union Jack using stitching

2. As Fabric - Red velvet

3. As a Bouquet - Red roses (with thorns still attached)

 

Issey Miyake -

 

1. As Paper - Paper folded into Pleats

2. As Fabric - White polyester

3. As a Bouquet - White orchids

 

Kate Spade -

 

1. As Paper - Fuchsia pink card

2. As Fabric - Cotton in a novelty print

3. As a Bouquet - Fuchsia pink peonies

 

I thoroughly enjoyed using these ideas and putting them into place to create unique consumer profiles for our final brand presentation. And I can't wait to apply this process again to another project!

 

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post and gaining an insight into the life and work of a first year FCP student!

- A

SPOTLIGHT - NOTTINGHAM FASHION WEEK 2016

Welcome back!

 

This past weekend I took the opportunity to help out as a steward at Nottingham Fashion Week.

 

The Nottingham Business Improvement District has worked with the Creative Quarter this year to bring us a fashion filled two day event known as 'Spotlight', showcasing local designers and high street stores.

 

As a steward my role was to help the event run smoothly over these two days. I particularly enjoyed working during my first night located in one of the various showcase areas, as I was lucky enough to watch the whole duration of the catwalk show!

 

Working meant that I didn't get the chance to take as many photos as I would have hoped, however I still managed to snap a few in the not so busy points of the evening.

 

 

Ready for the night ahead!

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed spending my two days here helping out, and I'm already excited for the rest of Nottingham Fashion Week continuing this weekend. Fingers crossed I'll be invited back to help out again at the Spotlight event next year!

If you're in the Nottingham area definitely check it out for a fun filled weekend!

For more information follow this link: http://nottingham.fashion/

Thankyou for reading,

- A
 

FILM | FRESH DRESSED

Fresh Dressed is a fashion documentary that takes a refreshing focus upon the evolution of street wear, cramming a ton of history into a short hour and a half.

 

The film starts at where hip hop fashion originated, focusing upon early gang fashion following throughout the years to present day international fashion weeks, showing that hip hop wear has heavily influenced and inspired many mainstream designers of today.

 

Much of the film is composed of interviews: featuring icons such as Nas, Karl Kani and Kanye West. This was a part of the film I particularly enjoyed, hearing their individual tales and stories of how the evolution began and their views on street wear today.

 

My only critique of this film is that, the ninety minutes discusses little of women's fashion during this period, which I would have been interested to learn about in greater depth.

 

Regardless, this film is a great introduction to the growth of street wear as we know it today, and I highly recommend a watch!

 

PS - The soundtrack is awesome!

 

 

Thankyou for reading,

 

- A

NOTTINGHAM EATS #2

Many months have passed, which means that I have tried out plenty more of eateries in the city in which I now call 'home', Nottingham.

 

Here are two of my favourite spots I have recently visited.

 

1. WHITE RABBIT TEAHOUSE

 

With two teahouses located in the city centre, you are likely to grab a table in even the most busiest of days.

 

The White Rabbit Teahouses are decked out with the prettiest floral, twee wallpapers, with furniture to match. Light lunches and sweet treats are also served on vintage chinaware staying perfectly on theme with the interior.

 

 

 

The food is typically British, the menu brimming with an array of sandwiches, cakes, scones and various teas.

 

 

 

I highly recommend the sultana scone, DELICIOUS!

 

 The teahouses are perfect for any occasion, whether it be a lunch date, a catch-up over coffee or a place to celebrate any special occasion.

Check out the White Rabbit Teahouse here: http://www.whiterabbitteahouse.com/home

 

2. WIRED CAFE

 

Labelled the 'best coffee independent coffee shop in Nottingham', and they certainly live up to this. With an extensive range of coffee's, hot chocolates and teas, you truly are spoilt for choice! 

 

Stopping for lunch?! Wired also offer a range of handmade sandwiches, and salads, all made with fresh produce. Not to mention they're also open for breakfast too!

 

Check out Wired here: http://www.wiredcafe.co.uk/

 

Thankyou for reading another post in the 'Nottingham Eats' series.

 

More food related posts coming soon!

 

- A