Luxury Fashion Branding

I read this book by Uche Okonkwo after visiting Agent Provocateur because I had become very interested in what it was about luxury fashion brands that made people obsess over something as small and realistically insignificant as underwear, or a pair of shoes, or a handbag. This book critically analyses the essential aspects of fashion branding and allows you to understand the business strategy and the mind behind these successful companies. It is all about getting into the mind of the consumer and how humans are psychologically effected by these items. It looks at the way these companies portray their clothes (which are often not different in quality to the clothes in a high street store) to make the buyer feel that they are investing into more than just an item of clothing but into a brand and therefore a way of living. It is a very interesting read if you are interested in branding and is written by a very intelligent writer with an MBA from Brunel University, London and a Phd from ESC Rennes School of Business, France so you can be assured that what you are reading is coming from a woman with a great amount of experience in this sector and a good business orientated mind.

Agent Provocateur

Agent Provocateur first opened in Broadwick Street, Soho, London in 1994. It was founded by Joseph Corre (the son of Vivienne Westwood) and Serena Rees. I have always been intrigued as to what it was about this brand that made it seem ok to spend £150 on something that is essentially an undergarment. After visiting the store I realised that it was not so much the actual item of clothing that made it special to receive, but the fact that the company has so cleverly branded itself that purchasing underwear from their store became more of an exciting experience than a necessity. In fact I think the underwear itself is more of a souvenir that you will keep as a memory of the time you spent buying it and something you will probably hardly ever wear. The reason for my thinking of this is that the store itself is so enchanting; it is a shop unlike any other where you are spoilt by both the shop assistants and the luxury of the interior. Everything is so over adorned and you feel special being there because it is not the kind of place that you could go ordinarily and usually buying something as mundane as underwear is a quick and easy process that takes place in Marks and Spencers. Agent Provocateur has been so successful that it now has stores in 13 countries around the world and their underwear has been purchased and modeled by numerous A list celebs; including Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss and Paris Hilton. The shops originally sold very plain styles of underwear that were always enhanced by the stores unique style of individualism, it was in fact similar to the Vivienne Westwood store SEX on the Kings Road. I found the store to be an inspiration as it made me think about how creating an aura and atmosphere around a brand could lead to something being so much more successful and sought after than another similar product. I am interested in branding and fashion identities and I think this store truly epitomises how much successful branding can really do for a company.

Design Boom

This is another very interesting website full of the most up to date works of design from all over the world. It does not give such detailed descriptions or analytical views and opinions as the website I spoke about previously 'World Famous Design Junkies'; but is instead more of a daily update of images that speak for themselves allowing you to remain aware of what is going on around the world, because there are some things that you might, otherwise, not see. On the website there are also sections where you can read interviews with designers, competitions where you can get involved and submit your own design work, sections about design history and ideas for the design future. I think it is a website that all design students should definitely follow as it is always full of new and exciting design pieces and ideas that can inspire your work. There is a section entitled 'Daily Coverage' and today on that there are images of the new Paul Smith water bottles, images of the helix wind to power cell phone towers in the USA and Africa, a poster called 'be nice to a girl, by her a ring' by Ted Noten, images of 110 watt lightbults designed in the shapes of wine glasses and a looking glass carafe designed by Sebastian Bergne. Take a look at www.designboom.com/eng.

Miles Aldridge

Miles Aldridge is one of Britain's most famous and most talented fashion photographers. I absolutely love his work and admire his ability to capture an entire environment through his use of photography and choice of models and colour. Everything about his work is exciting and often very provocative, which makes him stand out and allows him to be much more free with his work. He has worked with many famous designers and has done many incredible photos of couture ranges; he has also often combined nudity with fashion to juxtapose the ideas of what is being hidden by the clothes and what statement the clothes make alone. I think the fact that much of his work is so outrageous is what really appeals to me and the way he is able to create a mood that shows the clothes in such different ways in each photograph is unbelievable. When observing his work I think about so much more than just the clothes but how much effort has been put into the image as a whole; I am very interested in settings and placement of objects and models when they are being photographed and think that he is such an expert at this which is why I find his work so inspirational. If you are at all interested in fashion photography, or even just photography then his website is definitely worth taking a look at: www.mylesaldridge.com

20 Years of Style

This book by Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits kept me fully involved from cover to cover. This is not just because I love fashion but also because of the other features of design that the book contains. It is written by the co-editors of paper magazine and so you know you are getting words written by two of the most experienced editors in the design world. It is a book for anybody who is interested in where style starts, and i do not necessarily mean style in the sense of fashion because the book looks into the life and times of the last twenty years in all aspects and how each aspect of design and culture has inspired another. It talks of the huge influence of underground cultures of art, music, film, sports and urban street and how these have effected fashion. It is laid out chronologically starting in 1984 and going up to the present day. It is filled with exciting images which I found to be the most interesting part, as this allows you to see the way that not only the clothes have changed by also the photography, the layouts of the images and the fashion advertising and photography. It is packed full of images of celebrities outfits and is a very glamourous book that shows the change in design through a variety of forms over the last twenty years. I found it inspiring as the more I read the more I realised that with a degree such as graphic design you are so free to be influenced by all aspects of the design world and that I will be able to incorporate all of my interests into my final self initiated project.

Blow

This is one of my all time favourite film, mainly because I love to watch films that are based on real life and this film is based on a true story about the life of George Jung. I realise that on this blog I have written mainly about films that include Jonny Depp; but I think this is because he is such an incredible actor that he only choses the most interesting and challenging films to be in because he strives to play the most intense and bizarre variety of characters. Blow was directed by Ted Demme and was originally a book written by Bruce Porter entitled 'How a small town boy made $100 million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and lost it all.' The screenplay was written by David McKenna and the film was released in 2001. Blow has been compared by critics to films such as: Scarface, Boogie Nights and Goodfellas and is such an amazing film because it tells the story of a drug smuggler without placing any sort of moral judgement upon the character. It leaves you feeling unsure of what your opinion of George Jung is because you get to see his life story and although you are completely aware of how morally wrong what he is doing actually is, you can't help but love the character and feel sympathetic of him when it all goes wrong towards the end. The way the film is directed is very inspirational as you gain such an all round idea of the characters life in such a short space of time and become very attached. I think the way this is done is so clever as the director has managed to get into the minds and hearts of the audience, which is a technique that could be used in advertising and all aspects of design to engross the target audience and make them intrigued by what they are seeing.

World Famous Design Junkies

This is an amazing website updated regularly with what is happening in the world of design. It has all the latest new and totally bizarre works from all over the world. Most of the posts are written by Chris Burns who seems to have a real flair and passion for discovering and researching the most outrageous and up to date design manifestations and he comments himself on what he thinks of the work and asks others to comment too. Most recently he has written about 'The Big Golden Farting Bull' and some stickers he found which he entitled 'Stickery Peeltastic' he has also shared his views on the Rubix cube and created a post called the 'One Single Cubular'. It is almost a design blog similar to our own and it has been inspiring for me to read and see just how many different sources he uses to find work that inspires him and that he is interested in. Take a look at this website if you are ever in need of some new design works to inspire you thoughts; www.worldfamousdesignjunkies.com