dbrenn22's blog

Honestly, I don’t watch runway shows as much as I should. With that being said, during our 3rd project I did get to catch up on a lot of the runway shows for the spring/summer collections. I think, as a designer, it would be in their best interest that incorporate their inspiration/theme of the collection into everything involved [models, clothing, hair, makeup,music, runway, etc]. I just don’t understand when designers literally spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a collection, and present it in a way that is at the end of the day…forgettable. One of the shows that really stuck out to me was Rick Owens S/S 2013 collection, you could really tell that from start to end he thought of every last detail. Booth Moore Models described the beginning of the show as..futuristic figures with flying saucer-like hairstyles emerged out of the darkness as if from another world. During the whole show, which included an over-sized wall dripping with foam, there was always something to look at. The runway was extra wide, each made it every easy for two models to be walking at the same time. It didn’t matter if you loved or hated Owens collection, it was just obvious that the designer spent so much time developing this collection and this is what he loves to do, which I can truly appreciate!

I understand that “technically” I am classified as a fashion student, but honestly my main passion is business — I  was just somewhat scared that I would end up as a CPA wearing a 2-piece suit and carrying a briefcase to my cubical at 7am 5 days a week to attend a “normal” business school. I do respect fashion designers, especially after my classes here at SCAD, but something about advertising, branding, and entrepreneurship excites me. I know that this is a post mainly about branding, but this video is an amazing example of how you can manipulate buyers, consumers, or really anyone into seeing your vision. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyQjr1YL0zg  [youtube -- Derren Brown subliminal advertising]

Subliminal advertising is huge, especially in the fashion marketing/business world. If enough people see your design on celebrities, in magazines, etc they will be more likely to gravitate to the product. One example of this was apple, remember the black silhouette of a guy  dancing on a vibrant colored background. The key to that advertisement was the white headphones, after it came out whenever you saw a person walking down the street with white headphones, you automatically thought of the apple ipod. Within less than a year, white headphones actually became more popular than the originally black headphones, the company apple uses white as one of their main colors today. When anyone thinks of an Apple store, a big open white modern-looking room what they think of. I think apple is an amazing company, along with having marketing geniuses — who would have guessed that the color white would be their niche?!

Sonia Rykiel, fashion designer, was born in Paris, France in 1930; she is noted for her Poorboy sweater [a snug-fitting, pullover sweater with ribbing on both the body and sleeves] creation. The designer also loved experimenting with seams, designing the “inside out sweater”, along with playing with the cuts of garments. I think Rykiel is an excellent example of an historical influencer in today’s fashion who fashion designs are getting reinterpreted. Personally, am not the biggest fan of her work but you have to give credit where credit is due; she contributed so much to the fashion industry and designers are still being influenced by her today!

[Betsey Johnson sweater]

It doesn’t matter your style, everyone has their own little black dress — the garment you have for any and all occasions [you can dress it up, or down], but when did this “little black dress” phenomenon all begin? Before the 20s, the color black was used purely for funerals but this all changed in 1926 when Chanel published a short, simple little black dress in Vogue. The magazine loved her idea and in fact called it “Chanel’s Ford”, referring to the Model T — it was easy, simple, and accessible; a perfect uniform for all women with a sense of fashion. The trend quickly spread because first and foremost it is neutral, most people can pull off and feel comfortable wearing black.  Through time the “little black dress” has been an icon for numerous celebrities including – Audrey Hepburn, Wallis Simpson, and Edith Piaf. It doesn’t stop there, over the years there has even been songs written about the dress; “Little Black Dress” – Shock Treatment, ‘Little Black Dress” -Gavin Friday, and “Little Black Dress” -Chris Young. 

I selected the designer Vivienne Westwood [initially sounded familiar -- later I came to the conclusion that I only knew her name because my roommate is obsessed with Sex in the City]; honestly I couldn’t have somewhat randomly chose a better designer for myself. Today, Westwood is known as The Mother of Punk for highlighting a subculture of history from the mid-seventies. Her mix of spontaneous energy and passion to explore and experiment has made this somewhat business-savy fashion designer an icon in the fashion industry.

Westwood is an icon who deseved all of her awards including two time winner for Fashion Designer of the Year, the Queen’s award, and the UK Fashion Export Award for Design. The designer’s works has been exhibited in The Museum of London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum; just to name a few. Her hard work and dedication has led to great success around the world; especially in Hong Kong  , Milan, New York, and Liverpool where she has opened stores. Today, the 71 year old designer is still doing what she loves, designing.