Go-to Exhibitions 2018

Aside from my studies, during a visit to London recently I thought I would stop by one of my favourite galleries to see what it has on offer this Winter. The Tate Modern, one of the most eclectic, contemporary galleries in London, this winter has by far the most interactive, free for all immersive experiences to date, taking place through to the new year.

Commissioned by Hyundai, the exhibition 'One, Two, Three, Swing!' allows visitors of all ages to come in and relive their youth by immersing themselves in the indoor modernized playground. Not only does the exhibition allow visitors to have fun with friends and family, but it also acts as a motif for individuals to escape and forget about their problems on the outside world, by fully indulging in an environment that can reimburse themselves with the innocence of their younger days.

Whilst allowing visitors to enjoy their own fantasy childhood experience, the exhibit also feels rather surreal due to the subversive installation that it has to offer in the form of an oversized mirrored revolving ball. The ball moves from side to side slowly, captivating the attentions of visitors, whilst also allowing them to understand the concept of rhythm and movement.

Without further ado, here is a glimpse at what the experience at Tate Modern has to offer. However, I would really recommend heading down to see it yourself, even just as stress relief during the lunch break!!

Snapchat Spectacles Pop Up

A new pop up store taking over Box Park this Winter, Snapchat Spectacles is the new innovation that is taking the world of technology by storm. An app that we are all guilty of using on a daily basis, Snapchat is moving into wearable technology in the form of sunglasses this year and if you ask me, its questionable why no one thought of this idea yet! Could you think of a better accessory to take on your summer travels next year?! Not only are the glasses a two in one purchase in the form of eye protection and on-the-go videoing, you can also capture your favourite moments in style this year as the sunglasses come in a range of vibrant bejeweled colours to match your summer outfit. Head down to check out the current pop up at Box Park before it packs up and leaves to try out the sunglasses, you certainly won't be disappointed! 

Moving into my third and final year....

Hi everyone! So as expected I'm about to go into my next year of university this month which is also the scariest year yet as it will be sadly, my final year at Nottingham Trent! :( Even though I can honestly say I am terrified about the thought of having to write my dissertation this year, there is also a lot of other exciting things which I will be getting involved in! Therefore, after a few swift decisions in the past week, I thought I would share with you what I will be getting up to for the upcoming months!

So as part of third year Fashion Communication and Promotion at NTU, we take part in an exciting live project with a brand that the university has connected with. Initially we were all given a choice of six brands to work alongside with this year; the brands being...Speedo, L'Oreal, Anya Hindmarch, Stack Magazine, Boots and Levi's. It truly is crazy how lucky we have been as a course to secure such amazing brands like the ones just listed, but sadly we were only able to choose one! Therefore, working in a group of three, my group decided to go for the live project working with LEVI'S!

Not only do I love the brand Levis, but throughout my interest in fashion, I have always been deeply passionate about how brands can contribute to a persons identity throughout their life and how they can also be strongly linked to the birth and rebirth of subcultures. Throughout the world of fashion, I find Levi's to be one of the key innovators behind the concept of influencing individuals style and images, so I could not think of a better brand to fit with my own personal interests. Therefore, I can't wait to be able to enrich myself with the history of such an iconic and influential brand, which has inspired the identities of many British and American cultures and tribes for many decades!

Moving onto the actual brief we have been given by the brand, Levi's have set us the task of marketing the brand to Generation Z through experiential communication tools. Generation Z being from the age of 17-22, it is really important that we create something both engaging and of course, instagramable! Therefore, the options of what we could possibly do with our creativity is endless. From video campaigns to events, we really are able to test ourselves as both professionals and fashion students with this project and I am undoubtably so excited to see what my group manage to pull off!

Anyway, I shall be posting the journey of our project throughout the next few month so keep an eye out to find out what my team will be creating for Levi's!!

Venice Film Festival Fashion 2017

Hi everyone! For this post I thought I would opt for one of the more sartorial and niche fashion events of the year, instead of writing about the pop culture takeover for music, the VMA's, which I have done in the past around this time of the year. Therefore, heading over sea and away from the limelight of California that surrounds the VMA's, the Venice Film Festival has conjuring up a European fashion fuss over the past few days.

The perfect backdrop for canal-side photoshoots and a warming sunset glow filtering across an Instagram lens, this year's film festival in Venice was graced by some of the upcoming and credited icons in the entertainment and media industry for 2017, ready to make an unforgettable red carpet premier debut. Without further ado, here are my five favourite looks from the night...

Chloe Sevigny in Miu Miu

Eva Riccobono in Tommy Hilfiger and Jaeger-LeCoultre

Julianne Moore in Louis Vuitton.

Nicole Warne in Michael Lo Sordo

Stella Egitto in Gucci

My Summer So Far...

Hi everyone!

Sorry that it has been so long since I last updated my blog! Things have definitely been non-stop since finishing my second year of university. However, I thought I would fill you all in on what I have been getting up to in the mean time. Apologies if my writing skills are not as up to scratch as they were; it has been far too long!

 Although I have not really mentioned it in any of my recent posts, recently I took part in a four week long placement in London at the online lifestyle and fashion magazine, SheerLuxe. As an aspiring fashion journalist, hoping to go into a job in editorial or copywriting after completing my studies at Trent, I could not have asked for a better place to gain experience. The magazine offers a range of different areas for young, style-savvy women to enjoy reading in their spare time. From dealing with friend troubles, conquering that summer diet or mastering the perfect emoji red dress, SheerLuxe is always one step ahead of the game when it comes to all things on trend and I was more than inspired and grateful to gain the opportunity to work alongside their team for a month! As most of you may know last year, I completed a three month placement at the E-commerce brand, Jules B, in Newcastle, so this placement definitely had a lot of similarities. However, this time I was going it alone in London, a long way from home up North and as you can imagine, I only had CityMapper to help me out!

Anyway back to my placement, during my time at SheerLuxe I was able to take part in an array of jobs that any intern in the fashion industry would love to take part in. From running errands, to working on the website, sourcing images and uploading content, to spending endless hours scrolling through ASOS to find the perfect summer cover up for readers of the magazines upcoming holiday! As a reader of the online magazine myself, it was great to get a glimpse of the behind the scenes of such a fast paced and inspiration publication. Not only did the placement reassure me that this is definitely the sector of the fashion industry I would like to go down but it also taught me a lot about myself as a professional in the industry...

Therefore, here is a few tips I would give anyone who is about to / or planning on taking part in a placement in the near future!

1) Always smile; it may seem like not a lot but in an office working 9-6 every day, a smile can go a long way to get your fellow colleagues through the long hours!

2) Don't be late! Probably an obvious one but imagine yourself as a worker who has interns helping them out! Your relying on them and therefore, although you may think differently, you definitely have a great deal of responsibility whilst your at the company.

3) Ask questions! If your stuck on something, don't just sit around and wait to be told what to do. Go up to whoever your shadowing and ask them for help. At the end of the day, they would be more happy to take a few minutes out of their day to help you than it be done wrong! Even if your not so confident, like myself unfortunately, you have nothing to lose by asking questions, only knowledge can be gained!

4) Make yourself remember. I'm not talking about singing and dancing around the office of course. However, I am talking about the little things like asking if your colleagues would like a cup of tea or asking them how their evening was. Even when you are nipping out to the local Tesco Express on your lunch; ask a colleague if they want anything or if they fancy nipping out to.

5) Lastly, editorial meetings! Even if you feel scared to speak up, always suggest an idea. Whether it is lousy or not, it shows that you are keen and that your mind is always working. You are dedicated to the publication already by taking part in your internship so why not exceed yourself and share your ideas. Not only will you impress your colleagues but it shows that you are aware of their USP and values as a company and are forward thinking when it comes to lifestyle and trends.


One last message, if anyone reading also would like to take part in an internship with SheerLuxe, alongside your studies or if you are just trying to get an idea of what you would like to do in the future, SheerLuxe run internships every four weeks for aspiring girls or boys looking to get their foot in the door, so check out their website for more details!

Advocates for female equality in the 60s & 70s

In terms of the areas that have taken my interest with regards to fashion history in the 60s and 70’s, I have thoroughly enjoyed research into the role of women within society and the industry.

Firstly, although it was not advocated initially by a woman, designers such as Pierre Cardin in the 60’s were responding to the social changes such as space and tech advances, to create a new look for the modernized women of the era. His garments sported sharp geometric shapes as an integral part of style. He also combined these shapes with contemporary materials such as plastic and vinyl to translate innovation within silhouette, sculpting and re-shaping the female figure.

Following on, designers such as Mary Quant and Yves Saint Laurent were also responsible for responding to social changes within society, post war, by producing garments that intended to shock and translate an aesthetic that was far from the feminine women that graced society before WW2. In regards to the assertion of women, Yves Saint Laurent’s take on androgyny started a revolution at a time when many second wave feminists were avoiding discussing fashion in a social context. He freed the nipple before social media platforms such as Instagram even existed, focusing more on asserting sexual equality, rather than pleasing the onlooker. As for Mary Quant, as a designer to valued popularizing risky garments such as the mini-skirt with the intention to shock, whilst also capitalizing the 1960’s new found love affair with synthetic materials such as PVC, to create a ‘wet look’ for experimental and daring women of the era.

Not only did the 60s and 70’s change the face of feminine fashion, but it also saw the rise of some of the most utterly British style icons, that would continue to have a lasting reign within the world of fashion still today. Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy, both enlightened the fashion industry with their wear of Quant’s and Biba’s modernized silhouettes and donning short, daring haircuts to translate the idea that the fifties feminine woman was out and a new, youthful looking girl was here to stay.

However, Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton were not the only advocates in the modelling industry to change the face of fashion. With the 70’s just around the corner, the era saw an array of diverse models such as Jerry Hall and Iman come onto the scene, who were popularized for their unconventional yet flawless beauty. Discovered by her long neck and narrow yet sharp physical attributes, Iman did not fit with the typical conventions of beauty but instead, these alternative qualities were ones that allowed her to catch the eye of one of the biggest icons of all time in the 70’s, David Bowie.

Lastly, a game-changer for paving a rebellious sense of fashion for women in the 70’s as punk began to bring anarchy to society, Vivienne Westwood graced the industry with her assertive vision in this era. Selling fetish and bondage wear, Westwood’s SEX boutique, with Malcolm McLaren dressed rock stars of the era, who were most likely to be dating the likes of Iman, Jerry Hall or Jean Shrimpton. Their slogan T’s caused controversy, with slogans like ‘Cambridge Rapist’ sparking outrage. All of this was a youthful reaction from both women and men against the older generation, reflecting England’s depressed economic and socio-political condition at the time in the mid-70s. However, it was Vivienne Westwood who really provided that vision for women, that it was not just men who could be outspoken and express themselves against the state of society but the voice of women could be utterly rebellious to.

Colour Film: FIZZ.RUSH.BUBBLE

So lately during my university course, we were set the project of creating a fashion film based on a certain colour. In a group, with seven other girls on my course, we were given the colour of red, which then led us to research the concept of adrenaline and how this affect youths in society. After doing some in-depth research into the emotion of adrenaline, we then came up with the following concept for our video which was also influenced by a focus group that we carried out with a group of young adults, who had all experienced the feeling of adrenaline after taking illegal substances.


Linking the colour of red with he emotion of adrenaline, inspired us to create a conceptual series of moving images, portraying real experiences of substance use.


Stills from the film:

To avoid visualizing our video in a serious way, we have communicated both the concept and the execution of the video to fit an extremely stylized appeal and to pull on light-hearted emotions and solely scientific reactions, to ensure that our video did not offend anyone in anyway. We also did this because we were aware of the negative connotations associated with drug abuse and this was something that we did not want to make clear at all within the video as we also wanted to make the viewer think about what they were watching but to also find humor along the way.


Enjoy!

Please follow the link to view our colour film- FIZZ.RUSH.BUBBLE

FIZZ.RUSH.BUBBLE

Celebrating the work of Juergen Teller

Following on from my last post, I thought that again, I would share with you some of my own interests in fashion, which heavily influence the work that I produce on my course; Fashion Communication and Promotion at Nottingham Trent University. Therefore, to avoid rambling on, this week I thought I would share with you some of my favourite pieces from the acclaimed photographer, Juergen Teller. An inspiration to all aspiring fashion photographers, Teller has worked with some the biggest names in the industry including Vivienne Westwood, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, whilst also being the eyes behind the iconic aesthetic that has been visually translated throughout many of Céline's advertising campaigns for the last couple of years. With an over exposed appeal and a relentless attitude towards the visualisation of fashion, Teller's piece offer a sense of urban realism, whilst also being a reflection of the high editorial image that is projected throughout many designer's collections nowadays.

Here is a few of my favourite projects that the photographer has captured during his years in the industry.

Louis Vuitton Series 2 2015 S/S - Spring Summer

Celine 2011 S/S - Spring Summer 

Louis Vuitton Series 4 2016 S/S - Spring Summer

Marc Jacobs 2013 Fall Campaign

Marc Jacobs 2008 S/S - Spring Summer 

Marc Jacobs 2008 S/S - Spring Summer 

Vivienne Westwood 2015 A/W - Autumn Winter

Vivienne Westwood 2009 S/S - Spring Summer

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Celebrating the work of Tracey Emin

Since I haven't done a blog post exploring my tastes in fashion for a while, I thought I would dedicate this blog post to one of my favourite artists in the industry, whose work has influenced many creatives across the landscape for decades. Creating artwork since the late 80's, Tracey Emin is known for her confrontational and expressionist pieces, using a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and sewn appliqué.

Although many of her concepts and subjects have firstly been perceived as shocking, Emin has carried onto to translate her individual aesthetic by discussing her experiences as a female confidently through her work and being very open about her relationship with her body. Although many do feel that her expressive approach to her work is too confessional, Emin has been known to a vital role model for the younger generation of women who have lacked the qualities that she so effortlessly expresses.

An inspiration to many creatives, Emin has influence a lot of the work that I have created for many year throughout my A Levels and both my degree, therefore, I am more than excited to share with you some of my favourite pieces from her outstanding archive of work.

My Favourite Pieces:

Hate and Power Can be a Terrible Thing
2004

My Bed
1998

The Soul will Always Do What it needs to do
2014

Remembering 1963

2002

Punk. It's Traces in Contemporary Art
2016

Exploring my Creative Work: Life Drawing

So recently during my spare time at university, I thought I would expand on my creative skills and take part in a life drawing class. I have previously taken part in the activity and thought it was quite challenging yet therapeutic and I also wanted to achieve a greater understanding of lining techniques, the importance of negative space and proportions. Therefore, I was excited to take part in the class again and over all, I think my skills have definitely improved as I have made sure I focussed on analyzing certain perspectives and understanding key shapes. To see the life drawings that I created a few months ago, you can follow this link >>>> Showcase of my Creative Work

Here is a look at the pieces that I created last week! Although they are a little abstract and not completely representative of the human figure, I am still proud of my progress!

Petra Collins for Gucci AW17

Apologies to my readers on my lack of blog posts over the past week! I have been really busy with university work and presentations, meaning that I just could not fit writing into my schedule!

However, this week I am back with something extremely interesting and offering influence from one of my most favourite style and media icons in todays industry. Last year you may have noticed that I created blog posts of a few of my favourite looks from each of the fashion weeks; New York, London, Milan and Paris. However, this time round I wanted to create more of a focus on the things that really inspired me during the shows. Therefore, I have decided to primarily dedicate one post to the new ultra-whimsical and imaginative Gucci video for A/W17 directed by renowned photographer, Petra Collins.

With references to Hungarian heritage throughout, the female director has created an exciting execution for Gucci's eyewear in the very nostalgic and dream focused video. Drawing on her own childhood memories and the nature of her Eastern-European upbringing in Hungary, Collins has used models such as her own younger cousins for the video campaign to set the tone for the playfully inspired campaign.

Stealing the glasses from her restless grandmother at the beginning of the video, the mini Petra model and her brother can be seen to be vortexed into an illusion of a dreamworld where the tv show they are watching comes to life, allowing a sense of imagination and 'dreamscape' to be translated throughout.

Entering a Budapest bathhouse in the children's dreamland, the video communicates a sense of surrealism and a mysterious appeal to reflect the aesthetic of both Petra's work and the design of the glasses.

Created for fashion forward adults, but modeled by the next generation to take over the fashion industry, Collin's could not have been more genius with her short film, suggesting that Gucci still manages to maintain optimism, expression and fantasy in their creative style translated primarily by the talented Alessandro Michele.

To see the short film by Petra Collins, follow this link:
Petra Collins Imagines a Hungarian Dream for Gucci Eyewear | YouTube

Grammy Fashion 2017

As part of my yearly series of posts about the awaited awards season, second on my list this month is the most acclaimed music celebration in history, the Grammy's. With a show stopping performance from Bruno Mars in tribute of the late Prince, a weirdly pleasing collaboration between Lady Gaga and the legendary heavy metal band, Metallica and Adele's unforgettable speech devoted to her idol, Beyonce, the night was certainly full of excitement, adrenaline and emotion. Therefore, to further celebrate some of the best artists and icons in the entertainment industry right now, here is a selection of my favourite looks from the star-studded night. Let me know what you think to!

Carrie Underwood

Gracing the carpet in a cleavage-baring gown by Elie Madi, Carrie Underwood had all eyes on her last night. A plush garment with a glamorous 70's motif, portrayed through the refined bell sleeves, Underwood's gown also featured a sharp slit, elongating the country singers legs. Finished with an array of understatedly intricate embellishments scattered across the dress, Underwood was definitely at the top of the Best Dressed list.

Demi Lovato

Giving Carrie Underwood a run for her money, Demi Lovato mesmerized in this flawless Julien McDonald gown. Also featuring a daring plunge, the body-con garment, complemented Lovato's curvy, lean figure perfectly, whilst also translating aesthetic that can only be described as Egyptian queen meets Hollywood glamour. Elizabeth Taylor would certainly be proud.

Heidi Klum

Simple yet seductive, Heidi Klum translated modern edge at the Grammy's this year in her dazzling mini-dress by Philipp Plein. Wearing matching platform heels, Klum's mirrored appeal is definitely set to be trickled down into high street shops later on in the year! I know I will definitely be looking for a replica to wear at my next dressed up event.

Paris Jackson

Translating an essence of youthful glamour, Paris Jackson made an unforgettable red carpet debut at the Grammys last night. Wearing a sleek Balmain gown flourished with a mixture of complex tones, the daughter of the late Michael Jackson looks both both fashionable and fierce. Experimenting with a double slit and cut out sides, the sequined garment complement's Jackson's physique and shows off her daring, confident personality.

Béyonce

Unfortunately, Béyonce's look didn't exactly make my best dressed list in terms of high end fashion this time round. However, it is undeniable that Queen B is looking as beautiful as ever during her pregnancy and certainly knew how to steal the show and have people talking for days and days after in this goodness-inspired, rhinestoned ensemble by Peter Dundas.