Blank.

These are the design I came up with to incoperate my dress...

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:21:00 -0400

These are the design I came up with to incoperate my dress design. I placed the templates on a inspirational picture from my moodboard. I like the idea of doing something simple and letting the mimaki print to reflect my design idea.

These are the first CAD designs I came up with using my...

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:17:26 -0400

These are the first CAD designs I came up with using my inspiration and colour-ways

I think they reflect well with what I wanted for my branding. I like my use of colour ways although none of them are the dress design I want, I do think I will stick to these colour ways and shapes.

Designer inspiration....

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:06:55 -0400

http://www.alexanderwang.com/

This is one of the designer I looked into for my target market. I like the layout of the site and would like to use something similar for my website design.

Corinne Day...inspirational photographer!

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:59:53 -0400

Corinne Day...inspirational photographer!

Design work so far for Blank.

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:53:22 -0400

I think my design work is going well. I am more clear in the direction that I want to go in and i’m starting to make sure that I aim towards my target market within my designing.

I want to make sure that I use my consumer moodboad in terms of colour ways for my target market. Using real leather will give my collection a luxury edge and make sure that it stays in the same range for potential buyers as the brands I have looked into. I want the shape and style to refect something that you would purchase from a high end S/S collection and hopefully I will achieve this.

This is an image of my final print for my dress design. As with...

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:45:06 -0400

This is an image of my final print for my dress design. As with the theme of my branding I wanted something that was quite contempory but also interesting and unique. I created this image using Photoshop to lighten and process the colours I was most interested too.

I think this print works well with my branding. This collection would be S/S 13 so I wanted to make sure part of the colour way was in fitting with this. I didn’t want anything that was too bright or “gimacky” and I think with this print on a repeat mimacki silk will look very effective.

These are two moodboards which I came up with during my design...

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:37:45 -0400

These are two moodboards which I came up with during my design process. The first shows my intitial ideas, I like the idea of “Sea Monsters” from the breif and with this wanted to look at animals which could be percieved as them.

My idea that I was drawn into more was the nothern lights and star constalations, which where used by 18th century travellers to the antarctic. I took this idea forward with that of what was worn by the travellers and I liked the idea of exploring something unknown.

My final name for my collection….

Exploration by Blank.

DESIGN WORK.

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:15:08 -0400

Throughout my blog I have tried to include all the aspects of marketing that would relate to my design work. I haven’t included any of my CAD designs on a blog post due to privacy reason and copyright protection of my designs.

Internet Fashion blogs

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:03:53 -0400

Internet Fashion blogs:

This is a fashion blog by photographer Tommy Ton.

I am really inspired by his imagerary and the small details that make his photos really unique. I love his pictures involving the bright, bold colours which work really well against the city landscape.

After the popularity of his blog, he started to work along Style.com to shoot the images of the fashion elite after the shows. This is an example of the power that advertising through the internet can lead to high profile jobs and connections.

Marketing for my brand: These are an example or my brand...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:13:37 -0400

Bags.

Advert.

Marketing for my brand:

These are an example or my brand marketing including store bags as well as an editorial advert. Although I would relay on advertising first, I would hopefully like my brand to become something which is instantly recognisable, much like the logo of Selfridges store of Prada’s text. I wouldn’t like anything which was fussy or a lifestyle image such as that of Jack Wills for example. My image is shot in black and white and includes a garment which I made. I think the simplistic look would fit for my brand image.

Market Levels and Where my brand stands.

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:35:56 -0400

Within a group we looked into market levels and which stores we would consider to be in which market levels based on our own knowledge. Market levels are important to know in the research of my brand as I need to know where it would be best placed.

Low: Stores such as Primark, Matalan, New Look, Peacocks. Online brands such as boohoo.com and missguided.com pride themselves on ‘Fast Fashion for less’. Most of these shops have a fast turn around and filter down the trends to make them accessible for everyone on any budget. With this being there most important factor, the quality is always as high and they may cut corners on fabric quality and techniques.

Medium: This includes brands and stores such as Topshop, River Island, Reiss, Urban Outfitters, Zara, Mango etc. All of these brands take certain inspirations from the new seasons colours and trends. Most aim there consumer levels at an age range of about 18-25 selling both on trend pieces and more classic styles.

High: Brands such as Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. All of which are well established brands that already have a loyal consumer base so no nned to be as much as a trend follower as a trend creator.

I personally think my brand would come under a medium to high market level. Although my prices wouldn’t reach the same level as say Louis Vuitton. I would aim to have pieces which would range from £40 for say a shirt to around £200-£300 for a jacket. My advertising would take inspiration from the simplistic ads of Alexander Wang and I would want to aim my age range at around 18-30 year olds as I feel this market would best represent the look I want to go to for representation of my brands image.

These ad campaigns show design work by Isabel Marant. She is a...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:29:31 -0400

These ad campaigns show design work by Isabel Marant.

She is a designer that inspires my design work. Espicially her Spring/Summer designs. Although my brands looks more aimed to the basic styling of Alexander Wang, I would hope to create a similer look for my spring/summer designs adding the concept of a relaxed summer style.

These all show advertisements campaigns from Alexander...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:24:03 -0400

These all show advertisements campaigns from Alexander Wang.

This brand is what I am aiming for in terms of brand identity and style. My campaign would include a similer idea and styling to these making them more accessable to the consumer I’m looking to sell to. Relaxed styling as well as a basic setting shot on black and white makes these images striking as well glossy and high profile. These images are something that myself as a consumer would buy into as the overall looking is similer to my style.

PORTERS FIVE.

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:12:59 -0400

The Porters Five Forces relate to these five subjects;

1) The bargaining power of suppliers

2) The bargaining power of buyers

3) Rivalry between competiters in the market

4) Threat of new entries

5) Threat if substitute products or services

Looking into each of these and how they would apply to my branding, I found that with my garment being aimed at a high end market I would have to look into all of these in detail.

The Bargaining power of suppliers:

if the suppliers relationaship fails between both them and my buyers, it may be the case that there would be a longer production time between both of them. Making sure that the working relationship works well ensure that my brand wouldnt be lowered by poor fabrics and production.

The Bargaining power of buyers:

With the buyers being the go between to both the designer and the suppliers it would be importent to consider the power that they have over the production of your brand. Keeping a good working relationship between both would ensure you would get just the right price for fabrics as well as a decent price anually among the suppliers.

Rivalry between competitors in the market:

Who would be my main threat in the market? my brand is aiming towards Reiss and Alexander Wang. Both these brands would be threats to my new brand. Although saying this would I be able to produce a small order using the same factory? Certain factories specialise in certian areas so in finding the best one, my garments may be produced to a similer if not the same manufacturers standerds as the brands named above.

Threat of new entries:

Being a new entry into the otherwise established market would mean that I would have to succeed against my competitors and achieve within in the same level. I would have to be aware of any other brands that may appear in the market with a similer style and design to mine. Making sure that I was always a step ahead with my design process and looks.

Threat if substitute products of services:

I would have to always be aware of where I was sourcing my fabrics. For example, if there was a political unrest within a country I sourced my silk from, would that have a knock on affect to my design work and production. Always being aware of the changes around the world espicially countries which produce for you would always be a factor to consider.

PEST analysis for Blank.

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:24:28 -0400

PEST analysis stands for “Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis” and describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. I can apply this analysis to my brand but looking at all of these factors and how they could potentially affect production for example.

POLITICAL: For example, how would the whereabouts of my fabric affect the production of my garments? If I was sourcing chiffon from Afghanistan how would the the conflict in the country stop shipping to china for manufacturing.

ECONOMIC: Economical would come up to the idea of economical growth among counties. Who could produce and manufacture my garments at the best possible time and at the best possible cost. Could I look into countries that are in times of growth.

SOCIAL: This could include if for example there may be an increase in a aging population. Could this mean a less willing work force?

TECHNOLOGICAL: This would include factors such as R&D activity and the rate of technological change. how would any form on new machinerary change the production of my garments? would it make it faster or cheaper to produce?

All of these factors would come into the production of my garments. making sure that you consider every single aspect to insure that my brand would succeed.

Would any of these looks transfer to an older market? Today in...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:24:24 -0400

Would any of these looks transfer to an older market?

Today in my marketing lecture we discussed that during our time as designers, we could be looking into designing for the highest population age bracket which would be 65-70 year olds. How could we incoperate the new season trends into a look which could transpier to a wider audience. I don’t think a lot of the new season trends such as neon or large florel prints would work very well as a trend overall but it would be possible to place them in a different context within garments, for example a florel print tie or a neon loose fit jumper in a relaxed fabric could maybe work well for an older customer. Its hard to look into future trends for a customer as they could be experiencing a different lifestyle altogether from an older generation now which makes it hard to know if trends could work for this target market. I think that learning how to adapt as a designer to the changing market was a really interesting example of how we need to analyse every part of our design work to our brand and target market.

Burberry takes over as the leading digital fashion brands with...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:31:53 -0400

Burberry takes over as the leading digital fashion brands with more likes on facebook then Dior.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2117289/Burberry-turns-fans-love-likes-beats-Dior-Facebooks-popular-fashion-brand.html

I came across this articale naming Burberry as the top fashion brand on facebook, taking over the poll from more sporty brands such as Converse. I think this arcticle shows the power that social networking has over fashion brands, giving them a much wider audience and establishing a brand further.

A sample from the leather pieces I collected. I think I will use...

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:18:23 -0500

A sample from the leather pieces I collected. I think I will use this as a textile design within my brand.

A few leather samples I’ve collected for my brand piece....

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 07:27:44 -0500

A few leather samples I’ve collected for my brand piece. Although it was leather used for shoe making it was perfect for sampling. I’m currently looking towards the soft gray colour more then my starting choice of a dark tan colour…more pictures to follow!

Trend Reports S/S 2012 and Colouways: Throughout my designing...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:06:30 -0500

Trend Reports S/S 2012 and Colouways:

Throughout my designing for my brand i’ve tried to look at and incoparate the trend reports and colourways of the season into my design work. I wanted too see how my brand would fit into the current trends this season. While trying to look at trend prediction websites, I found it hard to find a website that would allow me to view the current trends and colours without signing up and or paying a fee to access the site moodboards etc. Although Style.com had a trend report featuring the styles and shapes they had identified as trends. I found it hard to find a website that showed clear moodboards identifing all the trends and colours of the season.

Looking into the shapes and colourways, I looked to find where my brand would fit in with the current trends. Overall I found that I would aim more towards the styling of Alexander Wang and Isabel Maurant. the sports luxe feel of the design is more in fitting then the 50’s sillouettes. I don’t want to design sportsware as such but the more relaxed style focusing on prints on a relaxed fabrics and the use of soft leather jackets. My colourways where hard to find, although it was easy to find a range of pantone colours of the season, I found it harder to find the pantone colours I was looking for in the shades of my collection.

The Moodboard for my brand/consumer, I looked at a customer who was aware of not only enviromental issues but also a wearer and followers of the well known brands such as Chanel and Hirmes but also wore high street brands such as Reiss which offers luxe styling and simple cuts and tailoring. I looked at a more nutural palatte or grays and silvers with flashes of bright blue and silver, which would incoperate the foiling technique I wanted to use. The pantone colours I found represent this quite well and i’m hoping to scan in the fabrics I want to use to get a more definate moodboard and colourways.

Overall I found that it was hard to find research definate trends. I found websites such as Vogue.com and Style.com easy to navigate and use but not definate in the trends they picked. I’m going to try and look into a more definate website which offers a clear view of the trends.