'What do you mean?' Brand Narratives.

Welcome Back!

Well it's been a while hasn't it?

Yet again life, studies, coursework & social plans all got on top of me and my little blog was neglected because of it. I'd love to know how regular bloggers do it- consistency is something I really need to work on but I'm getting there... slowly.

Little Uni update: I got my grade back for my last project and I got a low 2:1 which I'm super happy with considering it was the first official project! To think I actually thought I'd failed as well- just goes to show if you put the work in, then it pays off...

Loving the Rihanna gifs right now.

Lately I've been feeling quite uninspired, it's taking me a while to get into our latest uni project especially after 2 reading weeks. However in my seminar today I suddenly felt like something had finally clicked back into place and I've finally got my inspiration back *cheers*. We were looking into the stories behind brand advertisements which really seemed to grab my attention and get me out of this 'lazy, non-working coma like state' which I've been in for a while. I have always been a idealist so I love exploring possible reasons behind why something has been advertised the way it has been. 

It's just something that really intrigues me...

This DKNY 'Be Tempted' campaign was the one I looked at.

I feel the idea of Eve from the story of Adam & Eve has a strong presence here, as the apple and the subtle snake bangle both have strong connotations with that story, she is also stood in a garden similar to that of the garden of Eden. All of these factors make the women look pure & innocent, her blonde hair, blue eyes, the nude tones all contribute to this puristic image. Yet this perfume is about trying to tempt you away from purity towards something more seductive & sexy, the consumer is tempted by the perfume in the same way Eve was tempted by the snake. Rebellion has a key underlying tone in this advert, fragrance is all about offering you something you don't already have. Many people want to appear rebellious but are too afraid to actually part take in any rebellious acts, so by using this perfume it's almost saying you don't need to do anything rebellious other than wear this product. 

This advert is typical of DKNY fragrance, as they often focus on fantasy, dreams & the want to have what we desire. I think this could easily be linked back to the 'Big Apple' and New York skyline. Acknowledging these connotations adds to idea of desirabiliy, after all we all aspire to be in NYC where dreams are made. Escapism is the biggest fantasy that all fragrance creates in our minds, as this advert could even be linked to Snow White especially with the innocent looking girl and the apple, very sweet almost sickly like- potentially 'good girl gone bad' stereotype. 

The two brightest colours in the ad are the red of the apple & the blue of her eyes, red is seductive, bold and a sign of rebellion- red makes a statement. Contrasted with blue which is very clear, pure, almost optimistic. Interestingly the bottle has a largely smooth texture besides the embossed/ raised snake around the centre of the bottle. Adding the snake to the bottle take something that is sweet such as an apple, and turning it into something much deeper & darker- almost like it's her poison.

Her makeup, hair, the fact she's wearing no clothes all create this very natural setting, nothing takes away from the main focus of the perfume. The fading light to dark from top left hand corner to bottom right, suggest the transformation from good to rebellion. The apple in the model's hand is very similar, almost exactly the same as the perfume bottle- the bite out of the apple says she's been tempted, yet her eyes are almost rhetorically asking if you're tempted too?

This is another picture part of the campaign, this has even stronger resemblance to Adam & Eve. The perfume is now suggesting that by using this perfume you will tempt him, in the same why the snake did Eve. 

Let me know what you thought about this post in the comments below.

What narratives did you get from this fragrance advert?

Hope you all enjoyed this post- I certainly enjoyed writing it, strangely it felt therapeutic to analysis the stories behind brand advertisements. I will certainly be doing more of these. 

Enjoy the rest of your day & take care. 

X

Pictures are not my own.

Valentino Haute Couture Fall 2016-2017

Valentino...

Yes it was necessary for that to have it's own line, Valentino is the designer brand that I would love to own something of. It's just so timeless & classic, I mean some brands are only current for a certain period of time but Valentino is going to be around for years to come. Personally I think if you're going to invest into something designer then it needs to be a one off, time, classic because then it will always be wearable. 

"Valentino haute couture Fall 2016 collection was Elizabethan themed, a conveniently fitting, considering that so many plays were set in a fantasy Renaissance Italy—Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice.

The cast of characters walking the runway were princelings, princesses, and priests, all high white ruffs, doublets, bodices, puffed sleeves, and clerical robes—inspiration richly available to two designers, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri, who live in Rome and are surrounded by the portraiture, architecture, and high Catholicism of the Renaissance. It’s a culture these two live and breathe every day, as do the all-important Roman men and women who work in the Valentino couture ateliers. 

All of them together—as a fashion house on fire—have created an influential and poetic fashion phenomenon over the past few years."

This Valentino collection is so stunning it's actually unreal!

This dress above is all of my fashion dreams rolled into one, it's just so beautiful. I love the floor length gown, paired with the ruffled neck & sheer, glittery overlay. There is nothing I do not like about this look. I personally don't think I would be able to pull it off as well as the model can but a girl can always dream...

Elizabethan inspired clothes aren't something that I ever thought I'd be attracted to. 

I think it's the simplicity of the collection that I'm really in love with, black & white as you know by now are some of my favourite colour combinations, I just think these colours can never make an outfit look bad. 

Sheer fabrics are massively on trend right now. 

Sheer is always a fabric I have loved, purely because I think it's showing off your body but at the same time you feel covered up by that simple layer of sheer that hides any of your body's sins. 

In my wardrobe I don't own too much sheer but I do have a couple of sheer tops that I love to wear on nights outs because they're so effortless but never fail to make me feel glamorous. 

Besides black & white, red is a beautiful colour, red is actually a colour I love to wear, there is nothing better than an off the shoulder red top & a red lipstick!

Equally I think red works well with black and white individually. But as a trio, well what a striking combination that really makes a statement.

After all if you can't make a fashion statement on the catwalk then where can you?

I don't know if I'd invest into this collection, but I love the minimalistic elements to it.

As I said at the beginning it's very timeless and classic, fashion consists of fads and classics amongst other elements, fads come & go but classics well they'll out live us all. 

What do you think of Valentino's collection?

Let me know in the comments below.

Take care & I'll see you all very soon.

X

Pictures are not my own. 

If Only... with love from Zara

Zara is basically me in shop form.

It's a store that I've massively grown to love over the last year or so. 

Stupidly of me, I casually wandered into my local Zara last week to have a "quick look", when we all know that you can never have a "quick look" round, over half an hour later I emerged without buying anything *victorious moment* but it doesn't mean I didn't fall in love with what I found.

Walking away empty handed was VERY hard indeed, still there's time yet for me to go back and do some serious damage to my bank account. 

CONTRAST STRIPED TOP

This top is just beaut!

I am actually surprised I even like it but surprisingly I do, I just think it would be the perfect top to wear in the summer. It's so cute! I would wear this on a night out as an alternative to my usual black top of choice, I think paired with black jeans and heels would create a very fashionable look indeed.

PLUSH SWEATSHIRT

I was with a friend when I saw this in store and she immediately said that she could definitely see me in this. This sweatshirt is me down to a tee. Although the masses of white on it does concern me a little considering I am a pretty messy person, I don't know how long it would stay white. But I love this top so much- I think I will have to return to buy it, let's hope they still have it!

GRAFFITI SWEATSHIRT

I am currently going through a style change in my life, things that I use to love, I would now not be seen dead in. I have fallen in love with the torn, ripped trend, I just love the edgy vibes it gives- I want to be cool enough to wear things like this. I didn't actually see this in store but I saw it on the website and I was like "I have to have that".

CROSSOVER FRONT SWEATSHIRT

In this picture you can just about make out the cross over detail on the front. Again this is a top I fallen in love due to my recent edgy look inspiration. I just think it's so cool and hipster, if I saw someone wearing this then I'd think they must be a seriously cool person!

SWEATSHIRT WITH BOW

This sweat is a quirky twist on the usual crossover trend. 

Firstly I love the colour of the jumper, beige isn't usually my go to colour but I feel the need to widen my colour collection. The crossover with eyelets is simple yet stunning, I think this is the kinda sweat you could throw on when you're in a rush and you'd still look bang on trend.

CROPPED SWEATSHIRT WITH TEXT

Firstly this sweat is pink- need I say anymore?

Yes I am still going through my "pink phase", but it's not just that. I think it's so sassy and cool, I love how on the Zara website they have paired it with black culottes, I just think the look here is so on point- I wanna look this cool!

SWEATSHIRT WITH EYELETS

Okay so I know this sweatshirt is similar to the beige one but just look at it!

I mean it's black and it has eyelets- don't tell me it isn't perfection in a sweatshirt. 

If I were to buy all of these tops then it would cost a grand total of £185.93 *sighs loudly*, that total actually makes me want to cry both on the inside & outside. The only way I'd be able to buy all of these would be if I were to stop eating for like the next month. 

So it's either food or clothes?... Now that's one tough decision!

Let me know what you thought to this post in the comments below.

Take care & I'll see you all very soon.

X

Pictures are not my own. 

Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel collection

For those fashion lovers reading this it will come as no surprise that I am going to do a post about Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel collection, personally Chanel for me has always been that brand that I like but I don't love every collection. 

I guess it's just personal style preference. 

Lily Rose Depp looked absolutely stunning in these pictures.

I am very jealous that she has walked the Chanel catwalk when she's only 17 years old. That is beyond crazy, I guess some families just get all of the good genes. 

Normally I would say my style is fairly minimalistic, Zara is basically me in a shop. 

So fancy frills & lots of fussy features within clothes is not for me at all. But I don't what it is about this collection. Oh my gawd. It's simply beautiful!

As much as I love face glitter, glitter on garments normally gets a no no from me, I have this one top that is all cute & glittery and no joke I had to hoover everywhere I went in it because it drops that much glitter. But something tells me that Chanel glitter would be the only glitter trail you'd want in your house, after all these dresses are gorgeous!

On a practical note, I'm not sure if there'd ever be an occasion to wear such a thing. I mean unless your the kinda person who goes on the red carpet regularly. But let's be honest, glitter & pink is any girls dream combination. 

Blush & nude shades are very on trend right now, there was a time not too long ago where I hated nude tones because they can completely wash you out if you don't pick the right shade for your skin tone. Now though I think these colours are very sophisticated & make you look like you just get fashion even if in actual fact you don't. When I'm older and have my life perfectly put together I feel my wardrobe will be full to the brim with these tones.

A not so favourite...
I don't know if it's just the lighting from when the picture was taken or what, but to me this dress has a green tint to it. Now as you probably already know green is THE colour of 2017 which makes me very sad indeed, green is just not a colour I initially would reach out to wear. Although saying that I am actually writing this whilst wearing a green jumper which I rather love, so I guess I may just fall for the colour after all...
I'm just not keen on this dress, it might be the fur trims, for me I just think it's a bit too over the top, I mean it's not hideous but it's definitely not stunning either. It's the type of dress I'd expect to worn by the bridesmaids at a wedding because lets be honest they tend to be put in dresses that certainly don't take the attention away from the bride. It would be a very lavish wedding though if these were your bridesmaids dresses though, just imagine!

Bella Hadid could wear a bin bag and still make it look effortless!
This dress however is certainly not to be compared to a bin bag that's for sure. This dress is my favourite piece from this collection, although I love the other dresses I think I would be more likely to own this. (Let's be honest though the chances of me owning anything Chanel are very slim) Black is just my colour, I like it because it just makes you feel so body confident even when you're feeling not so body confident. The halter neck style makes it different, I love how the front comes down to the belt which keeps the dress modern and youthful. There's even a dash of glitter below the belt which is more understated but this dress could easily revival any of the other dresses in a heartbeat.

Hope you all enjoyed this post.
What do you think of Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel collection?
Do you have a favourite look?

Let me know in the comments below.

Take care & I'll see you all very soon.

X

Pictures are not my own. 

Learning to not give a damn

Okay so it's been a little while since I last posted and if I'm completely honest then I'm not going to make myself feel guilty about it. Blogging for me is a hobby, pure and simple, it's something I enjoy doing in my spare time. Yes fair enough I know it's a requirement for my uni course, but I had my blog long before I started uni so to me it doesn't feel like a requirement at all. 

Recently I've stopped caring.

Now before you all 'jump the gun' so to speak and accuse me of being heartless I just want to clarify I'm not a heartless person. When I say I've stopped caring I don't mean about the important things, I mean about the stupid, minuscule things that I should never have cared about in the first place. All too often I am found questioning, replaying and practically torturing myself over something that I can't change, things that have been & gone and no matter how hard I try I'm never going to be able to go back in time and change them.

So that's what I mean by I've stopped caring...

My life is one rollercoaster journey ride and if I'm 100% honest yes of course there are things that I cringe at the thought of me saying or doing but why?

It's not like it's gonna help change anything. 

If you're constantly living in the past then you will never appreciate tomorrow. 

I am a goofy person, in my flat I feel like I'm the one who is always making mistakes, doing lame things & just generally being a bit of an idiot but that's just me.

Take it or leave it. 

Lately I've come to the conclusion that if people want to hold something against you that maybe happened today, yesterday or even 5 years ago then just let them. It's their time to waste. 

I've just learnt not to give a damn anymore.

Growing up from the age of 11 onwards, I felt extremely judged by people around me, high school was a shitty time in my life to the point that there are some days I want to erase from existence but then I remember I had some crazy, amazing memories too. It was both the best & the worst time of my life. 

I always watch those videos on YouTube about what people would tell their 13 year old self because I frigging wish I knew what I know now back when I was 13. I wasted SO much time worrying, criticising every aspect of my life because I felt other people were already doing that for me. That hands down is my biggest regret! Uni obviously has it's educational purposes but I feel it's truly changed me as a person, it's taught me to simply not care what people think of you anymore. It's just not your problem, if people want to waste their lives raking up someone's else past then just let them be like that. People need to learn that you can't live your life through the eyes of someone else. 

Simply don't assume what people think of you, if you are honestly hand on heart happy then you are doing exactly what you should be, don't ever let anyone else tell you otherwise. 

Have you learnt not to give a damn?

Take Care & I'll see you all very soon.

X

Native Nomads: A Retail Analysis

As you know by now I was given a task to research the trend Native Nomads, before getting the trend I didn't really notice the trend in any of the shops I shopped in. Still I thought it would be worthwhile taking a trip into town to have a look to see what I can find. 

Surprisingly I actually found quite a few shops which had the trend in, particularly stores such as Mango & Zara which personally was where I expected the trend to be. When I went New York I made a point of checking stores out there for the trend too, & Other Stories was a good one for the trend and Forever 21 has things that could be borderline classed as Native nomads.
Forever 21 is one of my favourite US stores so it wasn't hard to spend a long time in there...

It was interesting to see how the trend had been taken from the catwalk to the highstreet, as designers tend to show off trends in amazing ways but more often then not the outfits are too 'out there' to wear on a daily basis for the majority of consumers.

This top below was found in Mango, to be honest I was a little unsure whether I'd class it as Native Nomads, to me it feels a bit too summery for Autumn/Winter. Would I say it was more boho then nomadic? Yes I think I would. Although having said that the prints on the top could easily be categorised under this trend. It's looks like it's from a native origin.

Suede is the easiest way to translate this trend I think.
These boots also from Mango, to me they seem to have been inspired by the traditional cowboys boots but they have been giving a more modern, stylish update. The added tassel detail at the side makes it more relatable to the trend. It appears that the combination of suede and leather are fabrics widely used within this trend.



I added these scarves in here as they have been printed in a variety of patterns, and blankets are a huge part of the Native Nomads trend thanks to the company Pendleton. These blankets are not really like the Pendleton ones but I thought the checked one was relevant, particularly with the the mustard, brown & dark tones which is similar to that of my chosen concept colour palette.



Late one Tuesday night I was speed walking back to the car and saw this in a shop window, I can't for the life of me remember which shop it was but I took a photo anyway. This checked shirt stood out to me as part of the trend, likewise the muted tonal colours are symbolic. The highstreet appears to have taken the trend Native Nomads and translated it into brown/ beige tones possibly because they aren't as bold and are easier to wear than bold, extravagant colours.
Designers tend to use bolder, statement colours. 



The classic black & red shirt- need I say anymore?



Zara took the classic checked shirt one step further and chose to put lettering onto the back, this is more of a designer touch & makes it more of a statement. Which personally I love! Fashion should be about making statements and expressing yourself through clothes although saying that I currently sat in loungewear which says a lot about my life right now.



In the editorials I have looked at the majority of them included a cape which wasn't something I would have initially associated with the trend. I saw this one in the Next and I just knew I had to take a picture of it. Again it uses predominantly brown colours but there is a pattern there, from a distance it would be harder to spot but close up it's instantly recognisable.
My only regret is not taking a close up photo- lesson learnt for next time.




Interiors wasn't something I was going to explore for this trend other than looking into Ralph Lauren, but I was rushing through M&S during the holidays and this immediately caught my eye. Although the print isn't something I would class as nomadic, the fact it's a animal head is hugely symbolic and massively reminds of the Ralph Lauren home collection.
Everywhere I go I'm noticing the trend more & more, probably means it's on my mind 24/7.




This was a gem of a find in NYC, & Other Stories was a store that cropped up whilst I was researching but truth to be told I actually forgot all about it. I walked into the store to do some shopping (which I did a lot of in NYC) and I just couldn't believe my luck!
Just looking at the shirt, you can instantly see the links to Native Nomads; the yoke around the neck, collar and cuff details are all heavily influenced by nomadic origin.
This really is a western shirt!




I wasn't sure if I should be looking into jewellery but I saw this dreamcatcher necklace and personally I would say it links. It's just so pretty! I think it's great that the trend has been adopted into accessories because it means even someone who is scared to venture out into new trends can have a bit of the trend within their wardrobe.
Layering over a plain top would really make this necklace a statement piece.



These last two images aren't ones I took myself as unless I ordered from them, it wasn't physically possible. By chance I got sent a email from Boohoo.com telling me what they had got in the new in section, and me being me thought I always need new clothes so I'll check it out. Scrolling through I came across this white shirt with black outlines. It's simple but it really does demonstrate the trend, yet again the collar and arrows across the chest are something that are evident within this nomadic trend.




Hope you all enjoyed this post. 
Would you invest into the Native Nomads trend?
Let me know in the comments below.

Take Care & I'll see you very soon.

X

Photos are my own & taken from Boohoo.com

Native Nomads Campaign #showyourroots

Welcome Back!

As part of my summative assignment for uni we were expected to carry out our execution idea in the form of a photoshoot if we were able to. Initially I wasn't sure I wanted to do my own photoshoot purely because I didn't think I'd have the time but in hindsight it was great to do something creative for a few hours...

You know when you have an idea in your head of how you want something to look but then when it comes to actually doing it, it doesn't work out how you imagined... well for the first time in as long as I can remember my idea actually worked as well as or if not better than I'd pictured it would. 

Yes it was a simple idea of just using polaroids, wooden pegs and string but it's not always about the budget you have for the shoot. Personally when it comes to photoshoots I think simplicity is always a winner. It was nice to just let my creative juices flow for a while. as I've said before I enjoy the creative parts of my course so much more than the marketing side.

My idea was to create a flatlay inspired photoshoot that is symbolic of the kind of thing you'd see on Instagram but as a twist it would be shared on Facebook. Instagram is my favourite social media app but sometimes when it comes to projects you've got to put your own personal preferences to one side and think about the consumer. My consumer is roughly a 40 year old male, who has an interest in adventures but equally spends time on various social sites. I asked around with friends & family and came to the conclusion that this age group aren't that of the social media age therefore they wouldn't necessarily be influenced by something on Twitter or Snapchat hence why I didn't choose them as my platforms. My Dad is roughly in this age group and he would be a thousand times more likely to use Facebook than anything else.

Instead of just doing one image to represent the campaign, I wanted to do a series of four that way whenever anyone saw one of the images they will hopefully be able to acknowledge the reference to the others. Personally I  become much more aware of a campaign if there are several poster campaigns designed for it, after all it's always interesting to see how they link but equally how they tell different messages. 

I chose to put black & white and brown toned images into polaroids because I felt it give them a vintage vibe, although my campaign isn't vintage, it is heritage so it needs to have that old feeling to it. Originally I'd planned to put the hashtag into a polaroid but I tried it and I didn't like it, it felt as if the focus was all on the polaroids and not what it was trying to promote. Cutting out the hashtag and scattering it across the table helped to balance out the image. It kept the focus on the tagline but equally so on the photographs of Native American tribes & the first kind of head torch. 

For me the main focus of this campaign is to make it personal to the consumer, to make them feel like they could somehow relate to the product. I did that by setting up the photoshoot as if someone had scattered their adventures and history out on the table in front of them. Photographs are the one object we can all relate too as no matter who you are we all have that one photo that holds a special memory in our hearts. As part of the Trespass X head torch collaboration I wanted to keep to head torch simple, like one small aspect of a bigger picture. Appreciating the adventures our ancestors took & showing off our roots enables us to go further in our adventures. Without the places they explored and the adventures they had we wouldn't be where we are today, this collaboration acknowledges and represents that. 

I chose to do a hashtag campaign because I felt it would be the easiest to reach a vast number of people across a variety of platforms in a short space of time. In addition to the campaign images there will be an interactive element, allowing the target market to interact with the campaign therefore having spent time looking at it,  they'd become more likely to invest into it. The interactive element is fairly small and just involves having the chance to add your own image to the campaign by inserting it into the blank polaroid. 

At the beginning of this project I didn't know where on earth I was going to take it, I thought it would be so hard to collaborate a brand and a product that I personally don't have an interest in. Surprisingly I have grown to love it, I don't yet know if I have done it right or covered everything the brief entailed but I do know that going through the process step by step has been a very hard process, but at the same time very enjoyable one. I am happy with my execution idea as I felt it's something I could actually see working, it's hard to believe Trespass and head torch won't be collaborating now whereas at the beginning of this project I didn't know how a collaboration would even be possible.

How things change...

I'd love to hear what you thought to my photoshoot & idea in the comments below. 

Could you see it working?

Take Care & I'll see you all very soon. 

X

Photos are all my own.