On the streets of New York City

                                       On The Street: A Final Term Project

Myself, along with four other girls in my Creative Fashion Presentations class at F.I.T. were assigned to do our final semester project due Monday May 14th. The project called for a creative visual presentation that includes a press kit and a video along with it. My group decided we wanted to focus our project on the street styles of New York City. We brainstormed and thought we could go straight to the streets and interview people who we felt were wearing inspiring outfits that reflected where they were from in New York City. We split up and three of us did our interviews in Soho, and the other two girls did their interviews in Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

Me and the two others in my group went straight to Soho to find some people to take photos of and get a video interview. After sometime of trying to scope out people, we not only found it hard to approach people, but we found it surprisingly hard to get them to say yes when we did ask. We found that certain ways of asking were better than others, such as making sure they were aware that we wanted a video interview, and that it was for a school assignment and not some tabloid or blog that we want to plaster all over the internet. We eventually succeeded in getting a few interviews and three pictures. We asked three women who gladly accepted the interview. They were all from Spain and were visiting New York City for some shopping. From then on getting the video interviews became easier, and after 4 hours of walking all throughout Soho, we landed four interviews, and several still shots of people who refused a video interview.

Our other two group members did so much better than we did; they were in Williamsburg, and it made me think either they had a way better tactic than we did, or the people in Brooklyn are just way cooler and friendlier (something tells me it is both). We also have a section in our video that features people that attend F.I.T. and their fashion style. We put together our video, and created a lookbook that features all the people and looks that were seen on the video. When put all together tomorrow at our presentation, we expect that it will come together very well.

Runway's are wayyyy longer?

New Show Formats

If you're keeping track of recent runway shows over the past few years, you may have noticed a quite interesting and creative change that has been made. With a lot of today's fashion runway shows everywhere from Paris to New York to Milan, the runways have gotten longer or bigger and way more extravagant. We see this clearly in Chanel's recent shows. Karl Lagerfeld always has his backdrop and runways match his vision for his new lines, and these runways are very large. The only way I can think is that not only do these designers want over-the-top shows that stand out among the rest, they also want their looks to be seen for much longer. We are passed the era when it was just a straight runway stretching about 50 to 80 feet in length. Now designers are looking to bigger and better things. In Chanel's Spring 2012 Ready-to-wear show, the theme was underwater beauty, and the way he reflects that in his clothes is by making them modern and graphic like the things that are seen under the sea which are billions of years old. Lagerfeld says "The oldest things, are often the most modern", in regards to the plant life and creatures underwater. This very creative take on nature is exactly what leads to a production such as this one. Many designers now are taking this same approach with their own shows, in hopes of grabbing people's attention and creating hype over their magnificent runway shows.

Marc Jacobs Fall 2012

Louis Vuitton Fall 2012

WWD MAGIC

                                         WWD M.A.G.I.C Trunk show
                                            ~ February 2012 ~

         For those that do not know what a trunk show is, do not worry, I am ashamed to say I did not know either until I came to FIT. The MAGIC trunk show occurs in Las Vegas every August and February and showcases apparel, accessories, previews trends, and builds business. Thousand of people show up each year to view around 5,000 brands that are either already established in the market, or just emerging. These people that come are mostly buyers, brands, and media that want to see what is available for them to order and put into their own stores. There are seven different show areas which are named WWDMAGIC, FN PLATFORM, MENS/WEAR, STREET, S.L.A.T.E., POOLTRADESHOW, PROJECT and SOURCING. I want to share with you a particular show area that I liked, and that is the WWDMAGIC. This show gives people an insider perspective on the trends shaping the lives of todays teens and young women. This one occured in February 2012, and showcases contemporary better to bridge women's sportswear, dresses, and evening wear. In a video, a man desribes this show as "the mecca of clothing conventions". By going to these shows, it allows buyers and brands to have the ease of going here and having the merchandise right at there finger tips. It is much better than doing it from home, and you get to see in person what the merchandise looks like that they will be ordering. Through this they also get the joys of meeting new people, seeing new designers, and seeing great merchandise first-hand. There is also a runway show that they have within the WWD MAGIC show area. They feel its very important to have it because it bring alot of life to the clothing and helps the buyers understand better what they are choosing. There is also something called an "Emerging Designer Showcase" where only about 15 or 16 new emerging designers are chosen to showcase their looks at MAGIC. This is a dream come true for any emerging designer needing that extra boost to put them in the spotlight. Something else I found very interesting was they had a section called the "Blogger's lounge" where they view the looks and put them on their blogs, they tweet pictures of the clothing, instagram, and tumblr.  Basically it is known that well-known bloggers are becoming a new marketing standard, and their voice can reach communities that other marketing cannot reach. Overall I love the whole idea of these trunk shows because it creates so much ease for the buyers and allows designers to showcase their items to big name companies. Someday I hope I can experience a truck show like MAGIC.

What inspires a retailer such as WHBM?

White House Black Market

You may think very little of the retailer now,I know I certainly did at one point. But lately they have caught my attention, and in a good way. I'm sure anyone who has watched T.V. recently has noticed a WHBM commercial featuring big-name model Coca Rocha. She advertises different pieces of the WHBM collection, while tap dancing and having a blast on top of a table. Meanwhile a catchy tune plays, and her clothing changes with each step.I enjoyed the creative advertisement, and was proud to see that the store was taking steps to better their spring campaign. "This season, we're starting above it all". It states this on the banner of their website, and tells me that they have a great determination to rise above their usual standards. What I am wondering now is what exactly inspires a retailer such as White House Black Market? It appears for this spring, beautiful, open, and of-the-moment pieces was the image they were going for. I think that what drives a company like this is the simple concept of being a woman. Their clothing shows me that their goal is to make a woman feel beautiful, and they do this through creating clothing that makes them feel confident and comfortable in their own skin. The WHBM store stemmed from the idea of white and black clothing, but today they have branched and added color that helps make their styles individual.  

~ Shades of Summer ~

                  http://www.hm.com/us/shades-of-summer#path=1&transition=10&duration=500

H&M Collection Lookbook

When I go through this lookbook, all I dream about is beaches, sun, and sand between my toes. It gets me so excited for the best time of year. A time when the sun beams down on your face, sunglasses are worn, and tanning is imminent. So the question is, how will you match summer's style? Well H&M puts forth a great collection here. Consisting of shades of soft pinks, blues, and creams mixed with bold statements of color and florals.My favorite outfit in the lookbook is pictured above. The white top with lace gives off a feminine vibe, while tucked underneith baby blue shorts and a belt. This outfit seems appropriate for a night on the town, shopping with your girl friends, or maybe even a first date if paired with some cute tan wedges. I believe that H&M did a great job at putting this together, and gives it readers a great idea on how to wear these cute pieces and what to match them with. They added accessories too including necklaces, handbags, an envelope clutch, hats, and bracelets. But lets not forget about the men! H&M sure didn't, they added in a few looks from their menswear collection. The line includes pastel colored cotton shorts, fine knit polos, and linen pants with a matching linen blazer. And to top all this stylish-ness off, the prices at H&M are un-beatable. I highly recommend shopping their spring/summer line this year :)

One-Eighty Carousel

                                                   Louis Vuitton Spring 2012
If you have yet to see the Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 fashion show, then I strongly suggest you get on that right now. It is an incredible performance, and so well put together. In fact, I will give you a hint, the image above reveals a key part to the fashion show. I was walking in the upper east side of Manhattan, when I came across this stunning window display. The people behind this creation did such a great job at creating such an attractive window display, that will surely lure people in for a look. The whole collection is sweet and soft and full of pastels. But where they really nailed it was with their ad campaign. I have three words to describe it; pale, precious, and ever so sweet. The clothing consists of lady-like eyelet and feathers (tasteful ones). The color palette consisting of pretty pinks, aqua, and crisp white...it so made me want one of those cute french macaroons! What I love about this collection is that it is a complete 180 from last seasons dark fetish collection. I find it so great that Marc Jacobs can change up the look of Louis Vuitton while still maintaining their signature pieces and make it look so fabulous every time.

"Mini-girl in a mini-era"

       

TWIGGY

It is amazing to think that Twiggy got her start at the mere age of 16 years old. She was known for her very thin figure, boyish haircut, and striking eyelashes from her own creation. All these features rocked the era, and she became a household name by the time she was 17 years old. Her face graced the covers of top magazines such as Vogue and Tatler. Girls all over the world wanted to dress like her because she portrayed exactly what fashions were popular during that era. And during that era, everything became very mini. The 1960's was full of A-line short dresses and what Twiggy helped popularize, the "Mod" look. This look for women was somewhat of a boyish look, usually sporting short haircuts, men's trousers or shirts, flat shoes, and little makeup- often just foundation and thick false eyelashes. The Brits actually set the tone for this look, and everyone else followed. What I love about this era was its "anything goes" and "Do your own thing" attitude. The mod look stemmed from a trickle-up effect, meaning the fashion revolution was all about the young crowd and started in the streets rather than the runway. This all makes me wish I could have been alive in the 60's and experienced all this culture and change. I would have loved to be part of such a revolution.