topshop oxford street visual merchandising.

On one of many trips into Topshop Oxford street I got a chance to take some photos of their window displays and VM. I was completely blown away by the whole thing. The fixtures had mannequins placed on top of them, surrounded in pink cherry blossom and it looked amazingly ornate, I was in heaven. It was also the first day their collection from a collaboration with Meadham Kirchhoff was available in store and the window display was too cute and kitsch to not photograph. 

Their main window was simple, girly and almost ethereal. The merchandisers has set up lots of petal shapes at different levels and placed a fan underneath so when it was switched on all the petals moved with the breeze. I stood and stared for at least 10 minutes until the temptation of shopping dragged me away. So beautiful.

london in november.

A group of us went on a trip to London in late November to snoop around the Christmas displays, research for our dissertation and visit various Topshop branches numerous times (obviously). Cue us all acting like crazy tourists, photographing anything of interest and pretending to be cultured.

 Compulsory underground photo.

What trip to London would be complete without a visit to Selfridges? They had their Christmas section open, complete with chair made of teddy bears and 'Elfridges' sign, far too cute.

 Selfridges window display.

Selfridges home section.

 Like a moth to a flame. 

We visited Somerset House and went to the Isabella Blow exhibition which was really enlightening and enjoyable. She was a bit of an enigma so it was really interesting to get an insight into her life. It started off with her early life and some videos of her, including one where she was offering her friend her shoes saying, "Do you like them? I hate them, they're Dior." obviously. As she was renown for finding young talent, including Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy and Hussein Chalayan the exhibition included a lot of their early work, which was great to look at. There was also a lot of little personal items and facts about Blow, such as she used to wear odd shoes, would sign letters with a lipstick kiss and almost always wrote in pink ink which just makes her seem even more fabulous than before. The exhibition finished with a video of the fashion show that McQueen and Treacy staged after her death which was so beautiful. I would recommend it to anyone who can go as it really was worth the entry fee.

inspiration.

 

Véronique Mati for Hermes

This display created by Véronique Mati for Hermes is an absolute dream. The colour scheme is so fresh and vibrant and it seems as though its something from another world. It looks like its leading to some far off paradise like Narnia through the back of the wardrobe or running at the pillar between platforms 9 and 10 at Kings Cross Station. I just want to live in it.

 

Floral Head Explosion.

I couldn't find any information on this display which is disappointong. I'm guessing its a spring/summer display, from the clothing and flowers. The display is fun and fresh, it appeals to me because cannot get enough anything floral and pink/purple.

Lanvin 2009

I love how quirky this display is. Its like the bow-ties are some sort of foreign specimen or a rare commodity in their little bell jars, with the one at the bottom left escaped. They could almost be little butterflies and its just all too cute really. Also love the simplicity of the white background and repetition of the jars. 

  

COLOURS

Again, I could not find anything on this image! I'm assuming its a home wear store by the content. I love the colours in this, so pretty and fresh. Like I said before florals are my weakness and I just want to roll about in the cherry blossom in this display.

 

Mary Katrantzou S/S 2014
I wrote about Mary Katrantzou in my 3rd year essay in 2012 and since then I have been hooked. Her s/s 14 collection was a work of art in my opinion. She previously studied architecture before going into fashion and I love how it translates in how structural her work is. All her designs are a feast for the eyes with her use of fabric, texture, silhouette, colour and pattern. I read an interview with her once saying that because her designs are so colourful she only wore black. I love the juxtaposition between her designs and personal style.  

final major project update #4

Deadline day is looming but I thought I would update this with my work so far! I got all my fabrics laser cut (thanks so so much to Jane, a total life saver!) and have sewn everything together! Its just finishing pieces to go. I did a photoshoot last night with a few beautiful friends who were free and willing to wear my garments in public! 

final major project update #3

.The pressure is on. I finish college in under 2 weeks! I will hopefully be done on time, I just have to finish my garments. I'm making 2 dresses, a shirt and trousers. Here are a few of my fashion illustrations from my sketchbook:

I have never screen printed before this project but it was something I really wanted to learn so Dean showed me how one afternoon and I plan to use it on my final garments. 

(first ever screen print!)

I had some issues with deciding what colour I wanted to screen print in. I wanted the garments to be monochrome with one accent colour. I started off using black which worked really well but didn't add any thing extra to the garments. I experimented with a light grey (did not work!), a sort of burgandy colour (too boring) and eventually settled on a purple I mixed up. The grey suiting I bought for the trousers and dress has purple threads running through it so I thought the colours really went well.

Of course I've stitched my street names into it too so I've gotten my words in.

I have had a slight crisis since my last update. I planned to laser cut leatherette for the shirt and dress I am making but when I phoned the DCA to book in the laser cutter was booked straight through to the 17th May (my final deadline is the11th). After crying my eyes out my tutor, Claire, pointed me in the direction of Jane, who runs LaserFlair in Fife, and I've planned to meet her on the 3rd! So hopefully all will be ok!

final major project update #2

So much has happened since my last post! After spending an entire day trying to cut a detailed map by hand (horrid), I booked myself in for a tutorial on the laser cutter at the DCA. And I am in love. The tutorial took about an hour and just taught me the basics to the laser cutter at the DCA. I wasn't planning on spending long there but ended up staying for about 7 hours! I had to scan the images from my sketchbook then edit them so that the lines were super clear and then, with the help of my tutor Dean, changed them to vector files. I had no idea until I had to do it but this just means that the laser knows what lines to follow when it is cutting. 

The photos are a few of the cuts I did on my first time there. I mainly used paper, I did attempt to cut into a photograph and the photo just above is a train ticket cut into. I was so amazed by the machine that I took a video:

final major project update

I've made a lot of progress since my last post. I have started to get some drawings into my sketchbook and some experimenting with my initial ideas. 

After speaking to my specialist tutor, Tracey, I've decided to make 3 daywear garments which will make 2 clothed people. I've also begun to look at maps in detail, the recycling centre in Dundee is an absolute gem for maps, they have shelves and shelves of massive maps from around the world, I could have spent hours there if I didn't feel bad for dragging my boyfriend there. I've started to think about layering different maps like subway routes, street maps, bus routes etc. which I'm really enjoying developing just now. 

I've always loved words, just anything written really inspires me (total bookworm, I know) so I'm trying to work street names into my designs anywhere I can.