Just a few initial ideas for my magazine...

OH SO PRETTY!

I've always found Urban Outfitters one of those shops that makes you want to buy every single thing in it! My visit on the weekend was no different, but i managed to restrain myself and leave having bought just one dress (from the sale i'll have you know!) So I thought I would document in photos why I love it so....

Firstly, the layout and decor of the store, it feels very organic and personal, a perfect balance of cosy and grand, nostalgic and modern.

Secondly, the way the products are displayed is often very innovative, like these stacked cube units and the bowls of nail varnishes presented like sweeties! Makes you want to touch everything....well, i'll speak for myself...

Thirdly, the wealth of goodies on offer other than apparel and accessories that add a touch of novelty to the Urban Outfitters brand. It's like a treasure trove of completely pointless kitchness. And somehow they manage to convince you that you actually need a gold plastic garden gnome...ahem...

Finally, something I discovered this weekend, is their new 'Urban Renewal' range which recycles old garments, altering them to coincide with current trends. For example, this collection of old tshirts are magically transformed into this season's must-have item...oversized crop tops. Basically for people too lazy to customize their own clothes, but a good idea all the same!

ON THE TUBE...

Had to take a picture of this DFS ad on an underground train, as I thought it was a great example of marketing making the most of its environment. Thought it was quite clever!

WINDOW TRENDS...

I noticed some distinct similarities between a few of the window displays on Oxford Street this weekend...

TOPSHOP:

Topshop used a very simple but effective arrangement of mannequins, all dressed in glamourous party styles: a mass of sequins, jewels, bold prints, decadant head pieces in a dominant colour palette of black, purple and silver.

H&M:

In typical H&M's style, their flagship window was also very simple, using just black ribbon to create a shard effect amongst the stylish black mannequins.

DOROTHY PERKINS:

And finally, after spending an entire semester last year slagging off the Dotty P's visual merchandising, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself not visually offended by their window...in fact, it was quite good! It appeared to be an amalgamation of Topshop and H&M's windows. The styling of the mannequins was almost identical to Topshop's...Sequins? Check. Costume jewellery? Check. Purple? Check. Black? Check. And, just like H&M, the mannequins were arranged amongst, albeit slightly thicker, black ribbon decoration! But all the same, quite a turn out for the books, I particularly love the black sequin harem pants!

PROJECT IDEAS

OK, in an attempt to start deciding on my third year project I considered three main things:
1. What am I interested in
2. What is going to be beneficial after I graduate
3. How can I utilise my internship to my advantage

After a good bit of brainstorming I decided I would like to do something to do with publishing, like creating a new magazine. Going down this path, I began to think of a potential gap in the fashion magazine market. This led me to consider a specialist fashion magazine that is focused on the accessories sector, featuring shoes, jewellery, bags, hats etc. Doing this I could use lots of my contacts at Cube such as Fred Bulter, Camilla Skovgaard and luxury luggage designer Harris. I could have access to all the press scans for these designers and use the huge archive of magazine to study for inspiration!

So with this in mind I can start doing some more focused research.....

And keep my thinking cap on with regard to my second idea....

SOPHIE HULME:

One of Cube's clients that I particularly admire is Sophie Hulme, an up-and-coming London designer who graduated with BA in fashion design from Kingston University last year. Hulme has created a very clever recipe and the concept is simple, she sources newly made, traditional military clothing and detailing and translates this into luxury wear by adding key detailing such as sequins, leather and gold chains. This cross over of military and hard edge features with a hint of luxury is an unusual marriage, but works all the same. What I really like is how each collection is represented by a charm pendant, all of which are very appealing and collectable. Apparantly she is creating a full jewellery line which I will be very eager to see...

(AW08's charm - a branded silver whistle)

(SS09'S charm - a miniature toy parachuter with a plastic parachute)

(AW09's charm - metal chip fork)

Cube

This summer I am fortunate enough to have a three-month internship at Cube, a fashion PR company in Holborn, London (although not quite fortunate enough to be getting paid for it...)

I will try and keep a rough diary on here about how I'm getting on, and share any photos I manage to take.

I started on June 24th, so have been there for almost a month now. After a shaky start -getting used to the way things work within a company, as well as adjusting to working a 5 day week with early mornings and an hour and a half commute :-s - I am now really enjoying my integral role within the team. It is a very small company, with 6 PRs, and myself and the other 2 interns have each been assigned a team of 2 PR's. This basically means we are responsibe for the clients that they represent. Amongst many other things, daily tasks include:

- sending out samples to magazines and stylists to be used in shoots

- managing the samples eg. calling back items which are overdue

- managing the showroom

- creating databases of contact details eg. celebrities to be contacted for product placement or free gifts

- creating look sheets of the most fashion-forward pieces from a brand's collection

The brand that I personally am responsible for is Timberland, and I also look after several designers including Horace, Satyen Kumar, Omar Kashura and Camilla Skovgaard.

(some of my favourite Camilla shoes)

Other clients in Cube's portfolio that interest me are Fred Butler (quirky accessory designer who has featured previously on my blog!), Louise Amstrup, Sophie Hulme, Jaiden RVA James, and Noki, who creates elaborate pieces by recycling and re-using old garments.

(My favourite pieces from Fred Bulter's AW09 Heliocentric Electric collection)

(Jaiden RVA James - a very S&M/ dominatrix-inspired collection which often gets called in for magazines such as Dazed, i-D and Vogue Japan)

(Noki - a very eclectic vibe)

So. Let's start at the beginning. First thing I did this Summer: went on holiday to Gumbet in Turkey. Here's a couple of my photos which I really like because of their compositions... And absolutely love the gypsy-style intricate decoration on the broken cart.

SUMMER OF FUN (and work)

OK, so this blog is now to become my outlet for the documention of the fruits of my labour this summer. A kind of virtual research file (mainly because my printer has no ink...)
I will be including the following stuff as evidence of all my hard work and research!


Document any work experience - diary, photos etc
Set yourself a visual brief (maybe a visual CV) in order to practise all software skills – Photoshop, In-Design and Illustrator. Ideally you should be producing your third year reports in In-Design. Consider buying CS4 (student rates are very cheap).
Business card, portfolio – how would you market yourself?
Keep up the blog – some great ones for Trend Briefing, would be a shame not to keep adding to them.
Personal interests – flickr, sketchbooks etc
Document trends – festivals you might go to, what are people wearing?
Holiday snaps – look at textures, repeats etc
Street style
Magazine, newspaper, journal articles etc
Visual research – interesting composition, photoshoots etc
Photographers, stylists
Writers – different styles
Marketing – examples of advertising, PR
Art and Design – graphics, architecture, interiors, fine art
Exhibitions visited
Exhibition design
Film reviews
Book reviews