BLACK FRIDAY BABY

BLACK FRIDAY 

Black Friday this year seemed a little more controlled than last year..

Didn't hear any news stories of Asda being raided by desperate customers looking for a £10 discount off of the latest TV. A lot of the discounting took place on line which was a blessing in disguise for retail workers like me.

After purchasing some much needed christmas presents, I went to work at Fat Face, where black Friday discount sales didn't exist. Instead, the brand made the conscious decision to DONATE TO A LOCAL CHARITY! 

What a fabulous idea! Still didn't stop the discount hungry customers, but hey! Saved the black friday drama.

‘Thanks for Giving’ Day, donating £100,000 of profits to charity.

http://fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/28/fatface-counters-black-friday-thanks-giving-campaign/#.WEhDa2Xi4fE

-Krystal Rose-

THE INFINITE MIX: EXHIBITION

INFINITE INDEED!

This week, I visited the infinite mix exhibition in London.. and as far as free exhibitions go, I had a pretty rad time!

As a young creative, I thrive off of any form of art and the infinite exhibition created an amazing assortment of interesting visuals and sound which interested me as a viewer.

The infinite mix: contemporary sound and image brings together audiovisual artworks that are soulful and audacious in their exploration of a wide range of subjects. In all of the works in this exhibition the interplay between moving image and sound is crucial. Most of the artists have composed, commissioned or remixed soundtracks that relate to the visual element of their work in unexpected ways, and ensure that what you hear is just as important as what you see.

-Krystal Rose-

FASHION CONGLOMERATES & INDEPENDENT RETAILERS

     Fashion Conglomerates

In the fashion industry, brands our housed in to fashion conglomerates owned by a private equity group, privately owned by a person, family or company controlled by a group of shareholders. Long story short, a really rich group of people with disposable incomes splash money on the majority of the fashion brands that we have come to know and love. Being within a conglomerate is a safe haven I guess, you're secure. A lot of the conglomerates have vast experience within the industry and have been successful since the 80's and use their competitive advantages to survive during economic downfalls. 

Bernard Arnault  (Chairman of LVMH, Net worth.. 38 billion!)

Independent Retailers

An independent retailer isn't under any conglomerate and pretty much stands alone. They are responsible for themselves and had no helping hand from any 'Mr. Money bags', and built the business from the start with original staffing, marketing and merchandising. Despite the immense competition and pressure from fashion houses, their individuality sets them apart on the high street and independent retailers are becoming a lot more popular, especially amongst young people. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/christianstadler/2015/11/05/three-reasons-why-conglomerates-are-back-in-fashion/#1b805e492d6a

Joules

White Stuff

Fat Face

Jack Wills

-Krystal Rose-

DIVERSITY DOMINATING THE FASHION WORLD (RADICAL BEAUTY)

DIVERSITY DOMINATING THE FASHION WORLD (RADICAL BEAUTY)

Discrimination- the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the ground of race, age, or sex.

Living in a world today where we are now more accepting of race, sexuality and equality, it only seems right to celebrate diversity within the fashion industry (both luxury and high street). It is becoming more of a fashion statement to be different than it is to be a stereotypical size 0, blonde haired, blue eyed model- and I don't know about you, but I kinda like it. Being a fuller figured black British female, I have always been a fan of plus size models as well as exotic models, just because they're my category, we're on the same page, however after research I found that I am also inspired by the beauty of other diverse models- whether it be age, colour, size, disability. Beautiful models exist in all forms and it's the uniqueness of that model which makes them appealing and interesting to magazines, campaigns and people who experience the same uniqueness but never embrace it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4006910/Fashion-black-white-African-Instagram-model-recreates-famous-campaigns-starring-Kendall-Jenner-Gigi-Hadid-Kate-Moss-bid-need-diversity-modeling-industry.html



-Krystal Rose-

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EMERGING FASHION MARKETS

TOKYO

Known for breaking boundaries and creating fashion extremes, Tokyo is an emerging capital has the reputation for avant-guarde designs.With influence from the East and West, these imaginative designers combine traditional styles with modern styles. It is their creative extremism which is pushing them forward within fashion.

                Nicola Formachetti      

Akira Isogawa

SAO PAULO

Sao Paulo is a fast approaching fashion capital. "Fashion has become a means of cultural expression in Brazil and the world is seeing that change." Garçia Cabral of Luminosidade, the company that organises SPFW and Fashion Rio. With Brazil being known for celebrating the sex appeal of women, this heavily influences their fashion industry. SPFW designer Paula Raia concurs: "I like to play with the obvious sensual aesthetics of Brazilian women but not in a vulgar way. On the contrary, I add a minimal touch to it." 

Lucas Nascimento

Gloria Coelho

LAGOS

Nigeria has never been a fashion leading country in the past, but with the recent interest in bold and clashing prints (typical of African culture), it is no surprise that they are one of the emerging fashion markets. This year marked the 5th anniversary of Lagos Fashion and Design Week and Lagos is now one of the world's emerging fashion capitals.

House of Marie

COPENHAGEN

Copenhagen is one of the more subtle emerging fashion capitals, but it definitely a strong competitor. With minimalism being the trend of the year, it is no wonder why Copenhagen is an emerging fashion market, as they have a practical style and a muted colour pallet. The overall clean look of Danish men and women is one which other fashion capitals aspire to make look just as effortless. 

Malene Birger

Wood Wood

Ivan Grundahl

-Krystal Thomas-

CHANEL STORE VISITS

In October, as part of an assignment I had to visit Chanel stores over London and analyse different layouts, surroundings and general feel of each store. I began on New Bond Street where it was a strictly 'NO PICTURES' environment, but me being me, I managed to take a couple sneaky snaps. The outside; Classic, simple, elegant. I also visited Chanel at Selfridges where it was completely packed with big spenders and I waited at least 20 minutes before I got any assistance (in the meantime I took pics). One thing I found in all Chanel stores was that the layouts were very clean and simple with black and white as the continuous theme. A clear difference between the boutiques and the Chanel's within a department store were the layouts. In the boutiques they were minimalistic and clearly advertised each fragrance with a simple bag accompaniment or small hand structure whereas the Chanel's within department stores had more distracting graphics and was merchandised with a lot more colour.

-Krystal Rose-

LOUIS VUITTON- SERIES 3

A LITTLE LOOK IN TO LOUIS...

Walking up to the building I didn't know what to expect but I was soon to be greeted outside by two perfectly polished men who led us toward the door, inside we were surrounded by yet more model like employees with white smiles and flawless make up. Implying that the brand is top quality and luxury (I mean, everything about it screamed opulence). All part of the Louis Vuitton experience and the exhibition hadn't begun. 

A LITTLE TOO PERFECT? Everything was clean, shiny and fresh. Not a blemish in sight. The outward appearance of the exhibition just lived up to the idea that the brand Louis Vuitton IS top quality and IS a strong competitor in the world of fashion. Perfect crisp lighting and overly happy employees made me think- is there anything imperfect here? It all seemed top secret and exclusive, making me feel special as the viewer, but despite all of this high class excellence, I couldn't help but feel the need to add a  touch of imperfection to the lavish surroundings.

 OH MISTER VUITTON

In all the exhibition experience was pretty good; considering it was free, and we all love a free fashion exhibition. What particularly impressed me was the freedom they'd allowed for viewers to get 'hands on' with the exhibition. I mean literally. Walking up to garments and bags worth thousands and being able to touch them was a shock to my system (haven't washed my hands since). But I didn't complain, it was all part of the experience, and who would say no to touching and photographing LV perfection.

SIMPLY ASK YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD LOUIS DO?

Another section which stood out to me was the manufacturing of a statement Louis Vuitton bag right before my eyes. Never before had I seen any bag made, let a lone a £2,000 small Louis bag being crafted in front of me. I mean, the precision, concentration, 30 hours of labour that go into the creation of one bag left me speechless. Whilst watching the bags being made before my eyes I was allowed to question the staff who manufacture the bags anything I wanted to about their hard work, and after some English to French translation assistance, I went on to learn that it takes years of studying and examination before they can achieve the job role of manufacturing the bag. It all seemed pretty intense, but I guess not everyone can say, 'I can make a Louis Vuitton bag worth thousands''

Living Louis

Despite there being 13 rooms of Louis Vuitton beauty, I would've loved more interaction in each of the rooms. More exhibition activities to make it feel like more of an exhibition, like we were living and breathing Louis. Whereas towards the end, I felt as if I was in a museum of luxury goods and as interesting as it was to window shop things I'm a few pennies short for, I would've preferred a few more activities which were specifically chosen to wow us- the audience. In general I feel like the exhibition was a 7/10. I mean, it was pleasant. I Walked away with a free poster and initial stickers which isn't too bad considering the standard exhibition price for anything is definitely not within a student budget, so that was definitely a highlight of the visit. 

ARE YOU SURE I CAN TOUCH IT?

'Manufacturing a Louis Vuitton small bag takes over 30 hours of production'

-Krystal Rose-