Mrs Carter Review for Newspaper

Nottingham Trent Newspaper Visuals

I have been recently working with the student newspaper at my University- Nottingham Trent (you can view it here) and I have been asked to create some visuals for the fashion pages. I decided to concentrate my designs on the recent London Fashion Week, specifically focusing on the winter pastel trend. I would have ideally liked to have photographed street style in and around Nottingham however deadlines are creeping up on me and I haven't had the chance. Below are my visuals which will be printed in next months edition.

LFW Round-up

As always, London Fashion Week never fails to amaze and inspire us. Not only did it show the upcoming trends, but displayed new innovations and ideas, new designers and collaborations, and challenge the possibilities of technology, giving a new meaning to catwalk shows. With Fashion week changing, this is going to have an impressive influence and impact on the fashion industry.

Designers in this year's London Fashion Week for A/W 13 were highly dependent on the use of technology in communicating to their consumers and broadcasting their show on a global scale. Social Media was highly involved, with schedules and live streams of individual shows being published on London Fashion Week's and the designer's websites, Twitter and Facebook spaces. This gave an interactive aspect to the event, where the public could give their opinions and views on the shows and collections.

Other sites such as Pinterest and Instagram gave a deeper insight into the fashion industry, with a backstage, VIP view of the shows. With the advancing of technology, the methods of Fashion Week are changing.

Topshop Unique teamed up with Google+ to live stream the show, as well as allowing the viewer to instantly buy any of the garments, accessories, cosmetics or music featured on the catwalk from online. Viewers could also 'Be the Buyer' and create mood boards of their favourite items, as well as ask the experts in HQ questions prior to the event. HD micro camera were also installed to models Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn so viewers could see the show from a different perspective, as well as the backstage atmosphere. But it wasn't just on the catwalk; three days before the show a 'Be the Model' photo booth was installed in Topshop's Oxford St. store where customers could try on outfits and take pictures that were then uploaded to the brand's socal media sites.

Burberry were another brand that stood out with their use of technology. As well as live streaming their show, they had a 'Made to Order' concept with 'Smart Personalisation', whereby their ready-to-wear consumers experienced haut couture with their name sewn into the garment on an exclusive gold plate. In the flagship store, mirrors turned into screens to show the content. This interactive, personalised experience is becoming more and more popular, it gives the feel of exclusivity to the consumer as well as embracing their wants and needs.

Moodboard AW13 Pretty Pastels

With London Fashion Week just over it's got us all thinking about the key trends which were showcased on the catwalks. Pastels have been reworked and used by designers year after year, however this Autumn's shows injected a flirty yet chic identity into the collections, demonstrating the creativity and innovation from our home grown designers.

Summer's obsession with feminine pastels and milkshake-like shades were spotted on the catwalk throughout the duration of London Fashion Week and transformed into a fresh range of winter pastels. The Gelato tones were seen at:Antipodium, Ming, Pin Tien, Simone Rocha, Topshop Unique and Fashion East. Simone Rocha's show 'Respect Your Elders' (a favourite of mine), a tribute to her two grannies, who both had great taste for looking fantastically co-ordinated. Her grandparent's elegant style was transpired into her own collection of nude shifts, prim skirt-suits and neat coats in Pepto Bismal Pink. What was evident in Rocha's show was her capability to inject an autobiographical element into each garment, doing so by the handpicked materials and exclusive colour shades. Her work never fails to tell a story.

little london visit.

Recently the university took us first years on a trip to London overnight to visit the Tate Modern and also the National Brand Museum. The trip was a great insight into how brands have developed over the years and also introduced us to a few photographers/artists relevant to the to visual side of the course.

The Museum of Brands in Notting Hill was fantastic, I didn't realise how established some brands were and the journey which they had taken to get where they are today. What I found really interesting was the way certain brands had a sell by date, it seemed that after a some time they slowly faded out of the market. This made me think about why this happens, after some consideration I decided that brands must keep on top of their game and their market- they have to think about new ways to ensure that they remain current and modern.

Museum of Brands Notting Hill

We also visited the William Klein exhibition at the Tate Modern. I was very impressed by the work on show; Klein is an American Photographer, painter, film-maker, documentation and graphic designer. His work has a urban edge and airs an combative energy experimenting in the worlds of fashion, boxing and politics. Klein was born in New York in 1928 and grew up in the city but spent 60 years of his life living in Paris.

His work relates strongly to our Visual and Cultural module where we are focusing on glamour: some of the images we found at the Tate exhibition display sixties silver screen glamour and Klein is becoming a great artistic influence to the work we are developing.

Glamour and Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is a style of Art, Architecture and Applied Art, especially focusing on the decorative arts, most popular between 1890-1910. Art Nouveau literally means 'new art'.  A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment. It is also considered a philosophy of design of furniture, which was designed according to the whole building and made part of ordinary life.

Art Nouveau was particularly popular in Europe, but it's influence global. Magazines such as Jugend helped to publise the style in Germany, especially as a graphic form. Art Nouveau was also a style of distinct individuals such as Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alphonse Mucha, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí and Louis Comfort Tiffany, each of whom interpreted it in their own manner.

When art nouveau was showcased first in Paris and then in London, there was outrage; people either loved it or loathed it. Within the style itself there are two distinct looks: curvy lines and the more austere, linear look of artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Some aspects of art nouveau were revived again in the 1960s.

Style
Sinuous, elongated, curvey lines
the whiplash line
vertical lines and height
stylised flowers, leaves, roots buds and seedpods
the female form- in a pre- Raphaelite pose with long, flowing hair
exotic woods, marquetry, iridescent glass, silver and semi precious stones

Audrey Beardsley

Audrey Beardsley was born in England in 1872 and from a young age his illustrations and drawings were published in school newspapers, after advice from several he decided to take it up as a career and attended classes at the Westminster school of art.

He travelled around Europe for inspiration. In Paris he discovered poster art of Henride de Toulouse Lautrec and the Parisian fashion for Japanese prints, both of which are major influences on his work. He co-founded the magazine The Yellow Book with American writer Henry Harland and he served as art editor for several renditions and designed the cover illustrations. Most of his images are in ink and feature large dark areas contrasted with large blank ones and areas of fine details, contrasted with none at all.

He was most controversial artist of the Art Nouveau area, renowned for his dark ad perverse images. His art work has erotic connotations. He produced extensive illustrations for books and magazines such as The studio and Savoy (which he was co-founder).

Beardsley was a public as well as private eccentric. He said, "I have one aim—the grotesque. If I am not grotesque I am nothing." Wilde said he had "a face like a silver hatchet, and grass green hair." Beardsley was meticulous about his attire: dove-grey suits, hats, ties; yellow gloves. He would appear at his publisher's in a morning coat and patent leather pumps.

Colour Samples

Example of colour sampling from S/S13 Ready To Wear Collection.