Rihanna - The world's most marketable celebrity!

Rihanna has recently been named the world's most marketable celebrity! She is undoubtably stunning and extremely versatile but many would question why she has beaten celebrities such as Kate Moss, Beyonce and Natalie Portman?

"According to the study, if a popular celebrity is endorsed for a brand, fans are at least 50 percent more likely to use the brand"

But why is Rihanna the most marketable? I believe it's because of her supportive fan base, she appeals to millions of people who range from young to old and both men and women. She is also known for the risks she takes within the music industry with her explicit music lyrics and videos. People are always aware of the celebrities that cause controversy. Also, Rihanna is known as a style icon to many, so if she is seen in a new item of clothing, customers will purposely go out and look for it, just because RiRi wore it.

Congratulations Rihanna!

Quotation from - elleuk.com

Photo Credit - Google Images

Summative Brief - Task 3

For task 3 I had to suggest a new direction for snakeskin and communicate my big idea. My first idea was for the store window of Elisabeth Weinstock, a shop that uses exotic skin prints on their accessories. My idea was that as the display, a tree would be built made of snakeskin print and the branches would each have hooks on them, so bags can hang from the tree. My second idea was based on the Disney Store, I suggested that they created a jungle as a play area for both boys and girls. Inside the jungle would be a tree house with a slide attached, the slide would be in the shape of a snake and take inspiration from Kaa, the character from Jungle Book.

I decided to pick the Disney Store idea and made an illustration to demonstrate what I wanted it to look like:

To add to the jungle concept, I also said that there would be two members of staff controlling the area, one assigned to the top of the slide and the other assigned to the bottom. They would be dressed in plain clothes but both have scales painted on their faces to fit in with the snakeskin theme. The last member of staff would be dressed up as a Disney character where the children can get their photograph and parents can purchase the image on a keyring, mug or in a frame. Some of the proceeds would then go to the Kering Organisation who are in partnership with the Python Conservation - aiming to keep pythons safe.

When all my research and sketchbook was finished, I started my layout on InDesign for my final report of findings. When this was complete, I went to the printers and asked for saddle stitch binding and got to choose the weight of my paper. That's it... my first summative brief complete!!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand

Summative Brief - Task 2

For task 2a, I had to discuss the broader creative contexts that use snakeskin. The creative contexts included areas such as architecture, interiors, products, art, style, beauty, promotion, celebrity culture and the runway. Before collating images, I was aware that snakeskin was a popular print, but had no idea how many demographics actually used it! 

Before I chose my final three images, I thought about the different kinds of connotations that snakeskin was associated with. My three images represent snakeskin being used for protection, strength and luxury - all very completely different qualities. The first image was taken from the book 'Parallel Practices In Fashion And Architecture' which was very informative. There are many links between fashion and architecture and I thought it was interesting that they had used scales on the roof of the building to resemble snakeskin. The second image is a dress designed by Iris Van Herpen who has taken inspiration from the shape of snakes, rather than snakeskin itself. Lastly, snakeskin print has been used within interiors to create a luxury and the muted palette isn't overpowering but it is still effective.

Task 2b was to research snakeskin within its cultural contexts. To start this off, I looked at products that used the print of snakeskin in the 1920s all the way up to the 2000s. Then I went on to look at the  seductive use of snakeskin, the conservative use and the eccentric use. I found all three of these examples throughout the different eras. The most interesting part for me was researching the ethics of using snakeskin, many are against this as they think it is immoral and unjust. For the historical use of snakeskin I focused on Medusa and Adam and Eve. Lastly, I started to think about my childhood and what I thought of snakes and snakeskin when I was younger - Disney sprang to mind. Jungle Book in particular presents snakes as manipulative and sly.

My final choices included the evolution of Medusa and how this character has turned into an influence within celebrity culture. The ethics of snakeskin was one of the most important to include because this is becoming a massive issue and the population of pythons are decreasing dramatically. To conclude all my research, I focused on the presentation of snakes within Disney as the connotations are embedded from a young age and the majority of kids are brought up believing snakes are cunning and evil.

Soon to follow - Task 3

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand, Google Images and Pinterest

Summative Brief - Task 1

As I have mentioned before, I was set an individual summative brief over the Christmas break. I was asked to create a brand/retail promotion and visual report focused on a trend that I had previously researched. The report had to be split into three sections, Fashion Communication, Cultural Communication and Your Communication. I will be taking you through each of the sections, explaining why I chose certain images to support my report.

Task 1a was to select two fashion adverts from different market levels that featured my chosen trend. My favourite way of presenting research and all my ideas is to create a sketchbook, this is a creative way of working and I also enjoy doing this so I decided to put all my research into a sketchbook. Here are the pages of my sketchbook for task 1a. As you can see, I looked at adverts that featured literal snakes, snakes and shoes, snakeskin applied to clothing and accessories and snakes and fragrance.

After looking at a range of advertisements, I picked the Kurt Geiger advert and the Dolce and Gabbana advert. I chose these because I felt like they would be better to critically analyse as one portrays snakeskin in a sexual, seductive way and the other conveys snakeskin as a luxury. As Dolce and Gabbana is a high end brand, it has more to lose when it comes to advertising whereas Kurt Geiger can takes risks as it doesn't have to be as conservative.

For task 1b, I had to focus on retail analysis and research visual merchandise that used snakeskin. This was a difficult task because there was hardly any examples online and when I went to take my own images of snakeskin within retail (in London and New York) there was nothing because all the displays and shop interiors were still festive. 

Despite that, I managed to find two examples that were polar opposites. Alexander McQueen had a window display in the Bond Street store, this was an overloaded of print and colour. It featured his dress from the 2010 collection, there was a blown up image as the background, a snakeskin mannequin, snakeskin shoes and clothing. Calvin Klein on the other hand had a shop window that included two walls of snakeskin print and two mannequins that displayed black outfits, this was minimal and suited the brand image. I chose these two brands because they both stayed true to their brand identity incorporating snakeskin but to fit their image.

Soon to follow - Task 2a and 2b

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand, Google Images and Pinterest

Visual merchandise in NY

Whilst wandering around the streets of New York, there is so much to look at, shops have to be very clever when thinking out their visual merchandise. I photographed 4 shop windows that caught my attention instantly for various reasons. The first window was very floral and vintage, the clash of prints and overuse of colour was very eye catching. I also really liked the layout of this window, it's playful and looks like a walk in wardrobe full of accessories. 

The second one was Opening Ceremony. Although this looks quite simple compared to the previous example, I loved how they had used the print of the bomber jacket and design dogs in this pattern. This is a good promotional technique because the first thing I noticed was the dogs and I really liked the pattern. Then, you are instantly drawn to the bomber with the identical print. The use of different stands for different heights is also effective because nothing is being blocked out. My third favourite window display was for Dolce and Gabbana, they went for a regal, luxurious look. The composition of outfits is minimal but works effectively because of the rest of the window. The red colour reminds me of the red carpet and the chairs remind me of royalty which both add to the regal theme.

Lastly, I was impressed by this shop window, all that is displayed are the mannequins wearing the latest collection. However, because of the pattern on the walls and floor, the window can get away with being simple because this is what you are drawn to. I think this window stood out because I LOVED the clothing that was on display, the metallic coat is so pretty. Although the shop looks bare, I think the brand have pulled of the minimalistic look very well!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand

Day 4 - Part 2 in NYC

After ice skating, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Jacqueline De Ribes - Art of Style exhibition. For those who don't know, Jacqueline De Ribes was a style icon of the 20th century, mostly known because of her graceful elegance. The exhibition tells the story of Jacqueline's interest in fashion and features her personal haute couture, ready-to-wear garments and even some of her own creations. The outfits date back from the 1960's to present so there was a massive range. They are all very extravagant, ladylike and elegant which live up to the expectations that I had for Jacqueline's wardrobe.

After we got our photo on the Met steps (gossip girl fans will understand why!) we went straight to MoMa -The Museum of Modern Art. This museum was overwhelming as there was so much to look at. I have chosen a few images of the artwork that I liked the best, the dress had been made from a 3d printer which I thought was amazing.

For our last dinner in NYC, we went to Hooters! I've never been here before but have seen it in films. When we first arrived we were greeted by the stereotypical 'Hooters girl' and although we seemed to be the only females ordering food, it was a funny experience. We spent the rest of our time shopping around Herald Square and packing for our return back to the UK.

New York was AMAZING, I met some inspirational people and will never forget the trip!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand & Emily Hamblyn

Fairy Tale Fashion

Although I had many favourite outfits from the Fairy Tale Fashion exhibition, I managed to pick out my best two. The first dress was named Magical and Mischievous Spirit made by Giles Deacon for his fall 2012 Collection. I love the look of the distressed fabric, he has made all his pieces in the collection distressed. They either have scratches, rips or pulls and I love this look on garments because they look beautiful but are created roughly. The high neck look is one of my favourites on dresses, I think it adds elegance and grace. Also, I it's clever how Giles has added netting under the sheer fabric, the soft colours with the dark stains work really well together.

Here are some other outfits that were featured in the fall 2012 collection. You can see the repetitive pattern of distress. I think this works really well with the Fairy Tale exhibition because it conveys both beauty and hard work e.g. Cinderella. I can imagine this dress being worn by Cinderella because she is a beautiful character but she also does all the housework.

Photo Credit - Google Images
This was my second dress, the Grey Smock. This is by Yoshiki Hishinuma and was made for the fall 2000 Collection. The techniques used on this dress are very similar to the dress above. In the photo it looks like leather, but actually, it is a sheer fabric coated with white film which has been torn to create a fringe pattern. Then, heat was applied which crimped the fabric and created an uneven texture. I thought the whole process was very clever because the look of the fabric is deceiving.

Before Christmas, our course leaders gave us a Summative Brief. For this brief we had to pick an element of fashion that we had previously looked at (I chose snakeskin) and we had been asked to do lots of research so we could create a report and sketchbook. Whilst in New York, I was looking out for any resemblance to snakeskin, whether in shop windows or for store interiors. However, because it has just been christmas, a lot of the shops still had festive themes and no snakeskin. When at the FIT museum, I saw three dresses that were based around snakeskin. I was really happy to find the middle dress (Alexander McQueen) because I had already planned to use this outfit as part of my report.

"Snakes are feared for their sly, venomous nature, but they also possess positive associations of strength"

(Quotation from the Exhibition at FIT)

I think this quote describes the above outfits perfectly. Snakeskin has connotations of life and death, evil and good, seduction and also nature. It can be used to make products look elegant and luxurious, sexy and explicit or engineered and tacky. I didn't realise how many creative contexts actually use snakeskin, either as a motif pattern or a literal snake. Architecture, interiors, products, styling, phone cases, beauty... the list goes on! I have really enjoyed researching snakeskin and will be posting my findings once I am 100% happy with my final outcome and have submitted my work.

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand (unless stated otherwise)

Day 4 in NYC

Day 4 was the educational day! After our trip to Speedy's, we headed to the FIT museum (The Fashion Institute of Technology). We had been told about two exhibitions - Denim and Fairy Tales Fashion, I was really excited about the fairy tales one and intrigued about the Denim because I didn't know what to expect for this one. Firstly, my group went and looked at the Fairy Tales Fashion... which was STUNNING! I've been to a lot of exhibitions and this came pretty close to exhibitions such as Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow. 

The exhibition highlighted that fashion within the different fairy tales offer a deeper meaning than just beautiful clothing. The clothing is often very symbolic to the character and their characteristics. These were a few of my favourite outfits, (well.. the majority of the exhibition as all the outfits were beautiful!) we couldn't photograph them with flash so some of the images are a little bit dark. I will also be doing a blog post later to show my two favourite outfits that were featured in the exhibition. The denim exhibition was very different to the fairy tales, it was focused more on the evolution and history of denim clothing. It was interesting to see how denim has been used in a variety of ways, but wasn't as visually appealing as the fairy tale exhibition which is what I prefer. 

As a little break from the museums, we went to a cupcake shop called Sprinkles where we found the best creation ever!! A cupcake ATM! You could order your cupcakes through an ATM machine which I thought was really cool. After the cupcakes we went to Central Park and finally, I got to do my favourite thing - ice skate!! The views from Central Park were crazy, the rink was surrounded by buildings and this HAS to be done when you are in NY.

Stay tuned for tomorrows post, a continuation of our adventure. Day 4 - Part 2 in NYC!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand

Day 3 in NYC

As soon as arrived in New York we were constantly on the move, so on day 3 we thought we would give our legs a bit of a rest and use the subway to get to certain places. We got the subway to Brooklyn and found a restaurant called Junior's to have breakfast - again, the biggest portions I have ever seen! This restaurant had one of the best hot chocolates that I have ever tasted, it was so creamy and not too rich!

Brooklyn had a completely different atmosphere to NY. We went into a couple of shops and then decided that there wasn't much to do, so we went straight to Brooklyn Bridge. This was the coldest day so probably not the best decision but it was a great experience, the views were amazing! We got to see the statue of Liberty from the bridge which was good because we hadn't planned to see her otherwise because of the lack of time.

We then got back on the subway and went to the 9/11 memorial. This had an eerie feeling, but at the same time it felt really peaceful, the sound of water distracted the noise of the city. If I ever visit New York again then I would like to visit the museum because although I have heard that is is very upsetting, I would like to see what it contains.

SoHo shopping was the next place we visited which was my favourite area. It was very trendy and cool, this was the unique area that I had imagine and would definitely recommend shopping here because there is every shop that you would want. Lastly, we found China Town and Little Italy. China Town was just a long road that had cheap stalls and restaurant, personally, I thought that Little Italy was more impressive. This had tiny restaurants and the road was decorated with lights and flags.

Stay tuned for tomorrows post about Day 4 in NYC!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand

Day 2 in NYC

We woke up buzzing on day 2 because it was the first full day that we had to plan what we wanted to do. For breakfast we decided to take the high line and head to Chelsea Market. The high line had great views, I didn't know what to expect but it was nice to be walking above the roads, I got some great photos. Below are a few of my favourites!

When we got to Chelsea Market it reminded me a little bit of Greenwich, it was a sheltered strip of cute restaurants and quirky boutiques, stalls and book shops. We stopped at a tiny restaurant for breakfast... it was yummy but very sickly! I had french toast, but as usual, American portions are huge and we struggled to eat all of it.

After breakfast, we browsed around the shops and went to the Rag and Bone sample sale but there was nothing that special in the sale which was disappointing. We came across a cake shop that had such pretty designs. There were biscuits with the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building which were great for gifts. 

The visual merchandise in the shops were very creative and the one that I like the most was the entrance to the Artists and Flea Market where the independent stalls were based. The window said "In 2016 I will..." and the whole window was full of post it notes that visitors had written on. Some of the comments were hilarious and because it was an interactive window, so many people were attracted (a great way to entice customers and enhance promotion). After Chelsea Market, we walked around the Meat Packing District which was mainly full of shops.

Our next stop was Grand Central Station, the design and interior was stunning!! We stood on the stairs and took photos, it looked exactly what I imagined it would look like but so much bigger! We then explored 5th Avenue but on the Upper East Side - this was where we found all the high end/prestige shops such as Tiffanys!! After browsing around the shops, we went to the Rockafella Centre - the view from the top of the rock was incredible. We chose such a good day to go because it was sunny so we could see the whole of New York, I would definitely recommend going to the top of the rock!!

Stay tuned for tomorrows post about Day 3 in NYC!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand