Caitlyn Jenner X MAC

Collaborations are very important for both the brand and the celebrity. They can be very successful and create lots of attention or the complete opposite and decline sales. Recently, Caitlyn Jenner announced that she will be collaborating with MAC and creating her lipstick range 'Finally Free'.  Some of the proceeds will be going to the MAC AIDS Fund Transgender Initiative, but how well will these products sell? They will be released in April and I can't wait to see the reaction of the customers. Kylie Jenner is the celebrity that we always associate with MAC cosmetics, especially their lipstick. Will Caitlyn steal Kylie's spotlight?

Photo Credit - Vogue

My love for Kanye

I hate to admit it but I do love Kanye West! Yes, he is a controversial figure, but currently he is the main topic of conversation and whether he is being slated or applauded, any attention is good for his brand because people want to know more. With 19.4 million followers and counting on twitter, he uses this as his platform of communication. Tweeting about risky topics just encourages the amount of press, resulting in more people talking about him. As an FCP student, we learn the pros and cons of brands and look at their strategies of promotion. Personally, I applaud Kanye! His Yeezy Season 3 A/W 16/17 show at Madison Square Gardens was a genius. Although his clothing is not the best, he used very clever techniques in order to promote his brand. Before you start to completely dismiss my thoughts about Kanye, here is why I think he is a very clever business man:

1- Music

Before the show, Kanye's new album was playing - The Life of Pablo, the initial promotion for his new album, the audience had no choice but to listen to the new release

Photo Credit - Google Images

2- The Audience

To Kanye's advantage the entire Kardashian family attended the show. Kim is a massive idol to many and as a fashion icon, the press always want to know when she is around. The family were dressed in exclusive clothing coordinating Balmain x Yeezy. North also made an appearance, along with Lamar Odom who hasn't been seen since his recent hospitalisation. Aside from family, celebrities such as Jay-Z, Olivier Rousteing, 50 Cent, the Hadid sisters, Tyga and many other faces were spotted in the audience. 

3- The Models

Kanye always has such a diverse selection of models. Naomi Campbell made a surprise appearance which also got everyone talking.

Photo Credit - Harpers Bazaar

4- The Live Stream

Yeezy Season 3 was only made available to live stream on the app 'Tidal' - unbeknown to many, this app is owned by Kanye himself! Although this is frustrating and the app has had many complaints, everyone still downloaded it because they wanted to see the show!

5- The Merchandise

The merchandise sold at the show was linked to his new album. This is exclusive because the people at the show were the first to be able to purchase the stock.

6 - Twitter
Kanye constantly tweets controversial statements. Recently, he admitted his 'greatest shame' - 'personal debt' which obviously is going to cause uproar amongst social media! Although this seems absurd, it's clever because he has just released his album.

Criticise as much as you want, but Kanye has got the promotion of his brand down to a t!

New York - Marcel Ostertag A/W 16

Marcel Ostertag was another designer that impressed me during New York fashion week. The top three images were my personal favourites. They are practical and I like the colour combination, burgundy is one of my favourite colours and I would wear each of these outfits.

When I first saw the three outfits above, it took me a while to like the combination of fabrics and colours. I actually quite like the different textures together, although people wouldn't necessary choose to wear these outfits. I like the design of the jacket in the middle photograph, it looks sophisticated but at the same time, the outfit is quirky with the pink fur and silver metallic fabric.

Photo Credit - WGSN

New York - Jonathan Simkhai A/W 16

New York Fashion Week is always such an exciting time of year! This year, I was eager to see designs from Victoria Beckham, Yeezy and Opening Ceremony - yes, the stereotypical brands! However, I was very disappointed by all of their new collections and more impressed by the underrated designers, Jonathan Simkhai being one of them. When looking at catwalk shows I normally think that quite a lot of clothes are only made for the catwalk and they aren't very practical. Simkhai is a New York based womenswear designer, after finding him on WGSN, I went on to look at his previous collections and I fell in love with his style. A couple of his dresses reminded me of Self Portrait - another brand I absolutely LOVE!

When I came across Jonathan Simkhai's designs I instantly became a massive fan of his unique elegance. The three dresses above remind me of an ice/snow princess. The third design is my favourite, I love the high neck and the sheer fabric combined with the lace detail. All of his dresses have an interesting cut at the bottom, in the style of a godet.

My style is mostly dark clothing so personally I prefer these three outfits out of the six. As you can probably guess, I have two favourites, both of the black dresses - I can't help but love dark clothing with a high neck! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Jonathan Simkhai in future fashion weeks.

Photo Credit - WGSN

BBC Perfume Documentary - "The smell of the future"

The last episode of the perfume documentary investigated the smells of the future. The type of fragrance we like, normally depends on when and where we are. For example, Russians tend to like rich and heavy perfumes whereas the Chinese prefer light and airy fragrances and the Brazilians like fruity scents. Ann Gottlieb, the mother of fragrance, predicts global scents. She revealed that Asia is an important market for selling perfumes, different scents are region appropriate as they appeal to different cultures. Lynx/Axe is a body spray aimed at boys aged 16-25, Brazil love this product and from previous research, Brazil is the fastest growing fragrance market on earth. The latest craze in this country is fruity scented footwear, it is amazing how scent crazy Brazil is! 

Photo of Ann Gottlieb and model

The most successful scents are fresh, clean, fruity and tasty. Ann Gottlieb explained how smells have a different meaning in other countries. For example, in Europe, vanilla is seen as heavy, but in Brazil, they think of it as a fresh scent. Once Ann had created the new scent for Lynx, she organised two focus groups, one in New York and the other in Brazil. The first focus group was unsuccessful, they didn't collect reliable results. However, in Brazil, the results were as expected! They loved the fruity scent and Ann predicted correctly, men's fragrance is becoming more like women's and men love it. As a result of the focus group, Ann added more of a fruity scent to the spray and made it fresher. 

Photo Credit - Google Images

BBC Perfume Documentary - "Bottling a memory"

Episode two was about the perfumers, how fragrances are actually made and what influences the scent. Some say that a fragrance should capture a moment. Many people have certain scents that they associate with people or memories. Christopher Brosius is a perfumer who embraces everyday scents and hates 'traditional' perfumes. One of his creations was the scent of an unwashed body, he asked customers what it smelt like and one of them described it as a sweet and spicy scent. Personally, I don't understand why someone would want to buy this scent but Brosius creates every smell. Christopher Brosius was approached by a customer who wanted a fragrance that smelt of England. Brosius took a trip to London and recorded smells such as piped tobacco, old coats, old books, whisky, pubs and transport. From his findings, it took him 5 months to create fragrances that reminded him of his trip to London and then he presented them to the client. Christopher Brosius's aim is always to create something that's more than a nice smell.

Perfumers for brands and companies have the difficult job, they are in charge of sticking to a scent and mixing the right type of solutions and the correct amount. Students who learn to be perfumers have 3 years where they aren't allowed to create any fragrances at all, they have to memorise all the raw materials and have multiple tests to examine their knowledge. 

Re-visit tomorrow for my thoughts on the final episode!

Photo Credit - Google Images

BBC Perfume Documentary - "Something New, Something Old"

My next project for Fashion Communication and Promotion is focused on fragrance. We haven't been told much yet, but we will eventually be working in teams and creating our own fragrance, packaging and the marketing. As an introduction, we were asked to watch the BBC Perfume Documentary. Each episode focused on different parts of the industry, from specific brands to perfumers and perfume houses. So much goes into the creation of perfumes, I was unaware of the process before watching this documentary.

Episode 1, "Something New, Something Old" explores the perfume houses and investigates how important marketing is for fragrances. It is just as important as the smell. The main focus in this episode was the perfume house Guerlains. This house is based in France and they sell brand perfumes with ancient recipes. The biggest clientele is mothers, they aim to impress mothers so they can bring their children in - this is the best age to grab customers because if you attract them at a young age, you are more likely to keep those clients for life. Every Wednesday, the people of Guerlain meet to discuss recent affairs, there are secret mixes added to each of the fragrances. These recipes are kept in a book that has been around for decades (it even survived when the factory got bombed). Unfortunately, Jean Paul Guerlain made a racist remark on a talk show and his contract was terminated. However, the company remains open and and is run by someone else.

In New York, Mothers day is the most important day for fragrance. The American brand Tommy Hilfiger wanted to create a fragrance that connects with the younger generation. His main aim was to mix music and fragrance together. The brand began brainstorming around the idea of Rock and Roll. The next step was to get two perfumers to compare recent launches of perfume to see what is selling. Tommy Hilfiger commissioned the Ting Tings for the advert of the new fragrance 'Loud' (see above). The brand ambassadors were Daisy Lowe and Josh Beech, they both love music and are idols for the younger generation. During the fragrance launch, the project manager said that you can never predict full success in the business so it is very risky. 

Re-visit tomorrow for my thoughts on episode 2!

Photo Credit - Google Images

IT - Alexa Chung

From a fashion model to contributing editor at Vogue, Alexa Chung is living proof that you can earn a living from your passion. Alexa has always had such a unique style and she is always the person I look out for in magazines. Not because I love her style because I don't always love her choice of outfit, but I love seeing what she puts together and how she accessorises. She is very daring and wears what she loves no matter what.

Her latest book 'IT' was not what I expected at all! It starts with her talking about her love for horses, typical girly issues and make up tips etc. Each page reveals something new about Alexa. I assumed that this book would be fashion focused but it's actually a mini autobiography aimed at teens. As a teen myself, I found the book relatable, but as a fashion lover, I was gutted that there was't much information about her career in fashion. My favourite part of the book was where she discussed the birth of her personal style and the people that influenced her. She heavily borrowed her style from the stars of the silver screen such as Wednesday Adams in the Adams Family and Liv Tyler in Empire Records. She also referenced the book Lolita as her favourite book, i've heard of this before and now i'm even more intrigued to read it. The quotes in the book made me laugh because they were very blunt and controversial. Although the book was not what I expected, I'm a fan of Alexa Chung and now I feel like I know more about the Alexa behind the camera.

Photo Credit - Google Images

Iris Apfel - the style guru

"I like individuality, it's lost these days"

 Who is Iris? Iris a 93 year old woman who eats, breathes, dreams and lives fashion! From a young age she was influenced by her mother who loved using accessories. This gave Iris the courage to always accessorise her outfits as much as she could. Not only is Iris a fashionista, but she is also an Artist, she composes new visions everyday. Her wardrobe is full of new, old, ugly and nice clothes, she combines these to create her unique outfits. The first accessory that Iris bought was a broach from Greenwich, she haggled for a cheap price and from this day onwards, she only ever purchases bargains. The Metropolitan Museum in New York showcased Iris's wardrobe of accessories and there was a remarkable response which led to the exhibition being shown in various other venues around America.

As well as fashion, Iris loves interiors, art and anything else that is creative. From watching the film, I fell in love with Iris, she is a genuine woman and loves her job. One of the quotes that stuck in my head was "you can't have everything" Iris had no children but she was such a positive woman and wanted to focus on her one true love, her job. This quote also applied to her wardrobe, when deciding what to give away to museums she said it wasn't easy but had to be done. 

If you haven't seen it already, I recommend Iris! She is incredible.

Photo Credit - Google Images

Design in a Nutshell

Fashion is combined with many other demographics, especially Art. Having not done an Art foundation, I am not as experienced in this area and only know of some of the most famous art movements. As part of our reading week task, we were advised to watch clips that focused on the design movements, it was called 'Design in a nutshell'. These clips broke down the six major design movements. 

The first design movement was the Gothic Revival. This movement influenced architecture and society created more meaningful buildings such as the European cathedrals. George Gilbert Scott was known for his creation of churches and even the wealthy bought into Gothic Revival, the Gothic influenced society. Arts and Crafts was the next movement and they enforced romantic ideals. Society began to go against mass-production and industrial revolution. This was one of the most influential movements as Art and Crafts was a rebellion! William Morris believed that industrial revolution was making society less creative and although he said to embrace technology, he wanted creativity to be brought back.

The third design movement was Bauhaus, one idea that changed graphic design. This movement embraced innovation and inspiration. An art school was created, it was the first to combine a variety of arts which proved to be very popular and then impacted on other art schools. The invention of the lightweight metal chair was created within this movement by Marcel Breuer. Modernism emerged from history, it is now applied to all forms of creative application. The movement expresses that radical thinking should be celebrated and this was the single most influential creative movement that created the other 'ism's' such as cubism, symbolism and futurism.

The American Industrial Design movement reignited peoples appreciation for objects. The shelf was created and people loved it, they wanted more. Style became just as important as function and this idea exported around the globe. The last design movement to be discussed was Post Modernism. This movement criticised modernism and pushed society to question why things are what they are. There is always more than one method or style and this movement believed in liberating references and quality.

It was interesting to learn about the crucial movements that have influenced the art and design industry. It made me realise that other factors affect different demographics all the time and it's good to constantly refer back to various areas.

Photo Credit - Google Images