Gabriella's Blog

Chloé was founded by Gaby Aghion, who moved to Paris in the 1940s and thought outside the constraints of haute couture to establish “prêt-à-porter,” or ready-to-wear. Aghion’s eye for emerging talent and  approachable design helped make the house a fashion icon – she enlisted the likes of Michele Rosier, Stella McCartney, and Karl Lagerfeld to design collections over the years. The Chloé oeuvre is represented beautifully in Chloé. Attitudes, which is curated by Judith Clark – outfits are shown by theme in special metal cabinets and line the walls along with mood boards from the house’s archive.

The French fashion house marks its 60^th anniversary this year. To celebrate the brand, an exhibit at Palais de Tokyo is dedicating an exhibition that takes the viewers through the history of the brand.  The exhibit successfully conveys the brand’s image and history without being cultish, displaying plenty of flowy dresses and whimsical prints that are so synonymous with the house.

Disney is moving to London! Well a pop up shop that is. Harrods’ toy department is getting a complete Disney makeover for the holiday season. The Shop opened in mid-October and covers 7000 square feet. The shop features new products and toys, interactive stations and fun events. The store also features a princess parlor where a collection of outfits for girls allows them to dress up as their favorite Disney character. Girls can step in Cinderella’s limited pair of embellished glass slippers as they view the movie in Cinderella’s Slipper Salon.

Other stations are dedicated to popular films such as Toy Story and Cars. The Activity Zone lets the whole family join together and watch clips of their favorite films.

On Friday, October 12, I participated in SCAD’s Abercrombie and Fitch Challenge. Basically, 30 teams signed up in groups of three to participate in an all day fashion design challenge without knowing what materials and fabrics were going to be given.  Each team was given a bag of various fabrics such as matte jersey, net, lace and lycra all in white, blue and red felt and a box which included pencils, charcoal, black ribbon, thread, needles, pins, a hot glue gun and the secret ingredient, Duck Tape- which had to be included in the design to be qualified. We had 30 minutes to sketch out an idea and 4 and a half hours to drape and make our garment. My group and I decided to do a piece look and an accessory. We did pants, a vest, a t-shirt and fringe necklace. We wove the duck tape and added it as detailing to the vest and pants. It was interesting to see how the other groups incorporated the materials and fabrics into their designs and although we did not win, I am very proud of my group’s effort and outcome of our garment.

A brand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol or design that is intended to identify the goods and services of a seller that differentiates them from others. Good branding is good business. Brands are psychology and science brought together as a promise mark as opposed to a trademark. Products have life cycles. Brands outlive products. Brands convey a uniform quality, credibility and experience. Brands are valuable.

The world has changed drastically in the past few years.  Marketing a product has no limits. Companies are gaining recognition through new media software and apps such as pintrest, twitter and instagram, stepping away from traditional marketing strategies and branding their companies in a new manner. For instance, Alice + Olivia started a fashion blog called 4 am Finds, which includes social media and trends.

Since consumers have been able to shop online, the most successful retailers with e-commerce have been those that set their brands apart by creating an experiential story. Those experiential stories are crafted though every communication tool – packaging and signage, highly stylized display advertising photography for print, radio and television ads that are then translated to the web, social networks and now mobile apps.

According to Tory Burch’s CMO, the fashion designer has “not bought traditional advertisements in U.S. magazines,” relying instead on an aggressive digital-first strategy that generates more revenue than any physical store. Reasons why? Tory Burch is perhaps the only fashion brand to have an editor-in-chief position within the company, and the Tory blog is a great example of exploring brand lifestyle.

Another example of non-traditional branding is Net a Porter. Widely know for their excellent editorial magazine, Net a Porter is tech savvy, including real time shopping feeds that shows what people around the world are adding to their shopping carts.

Target has pushed their marketing strategy to a whole other level. Target has combined film, advertising and branding to create their first ever short film for their Fall campaign. Their romantic comedy short, Falling for you, is directed by Phil Abraham and stars actors Kristen Bell, Nia Long and Zachary Abel. The innovated film allows viewers to watch Target’s new products and collections for fall and shop over 140 of their top fashion, beauty and home goods. Viewers become customers, watching the uninterrupted segments and interacting and shopping along the way through a sidebar on the side of the screen.Target seems to be hitting the sweet spot with this extension of their Fall campaign, allowing their merchandise to have time in the spotlight without taking center stage.

Falling for you will air in three 5-minute episodes on October 2, 4 and 9 on their website, and will stay online through the end of the month.

Something I learned from a very young age from my mother, is to invest in a little black dress. Why is it that the little black dress has been an essential part in a woman’s closet? Could it be the simplicity or the slimming effect it offers? Whatever the case may be, the little black dress has been made popular by celebrities, designers and the everyday woman.

SCAD presented the Little Black Dress exhibition which opened in September curated by Andre Leon Talley. The exhibition displays 80 timeless garments showing versatility and elegance in their own way. It embodies independence and the transition of the of the timeless garment throughout the years.

Featured garments in the exhibition include Tom Ford, Carolina Herrera, Chanel, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Givenchy, Ralph Lauren and many, many more. I had so many favorites and an appreciation for all.

“Femininity is an aesthetic that makes the body sublime. What I look at first in a woman is the way she holds her head, her waist, shoulders” –Thierry Mugler

Trying to keep up with the latest trends and upcoming designers is important in order to understand the fashion industry, but knowing how fashion has evolved and changed throughout the years is crucial. After learning about different pre-21^st Century fashion designers, one can only appreciate how they’ve changed and influenced the industry today.

Thierry Mugler is one of those influencers who have managed to step outside of the norm and follow his own vision.  Inspired by strong, powerful women and the movement and artistic expression of the theater, Mugler has managed to recreate beautiful garments embodying and emphasizing women’s curves using bizarre materials and fabrics. Mugler’s obsession with movement and shape is celebrated through structured silhouettes and tailored suits with his anatomical cuts. A design that shapes and highlights the elegance of a woman without ignoring the shameless sex appeal. Thanks to many designers, such as Mugler, women can feel confidant in their own skin and designers can follow their imagination.

Growing up, I’ve developed many different styles and looking back, the question, “what inspires you”, has changed dramatically. I find inspiration in more things than I can count. When I was a child, I desperately wanted to be a famous popstar, I would imitate the way my favorite singers would dress and act. Obviously I’ve grown up since that eight year old dream and boy am I glad. I’ve been brought up in a Cuban household down in Miami, FL. I’ve been lucky enough to experience all the beautiful architecture, art and different cultures Miami has to offer. Different cultures and places have always interested me and over the years of traveling, I’ve been lucky enough to experience beautiful places and meet wonderful people who have inspired me. To me, traveling challenges my ideals and norms of what I’m typically used too. On top of seeing different types of architecture and beliefs, traveling has opened me to try many different things and view life in a new light

Aside from receiving inspiration from art and different environments, the human body has always inspired me. For hundreds of years, the body has inspired many. The movement, the lines, the structure and function of the body is something of a miracle. The Drawings from Leonardo Da Vinci introduced a new new way of exploring the body. Through his work, we can explore his mind a little better. Human anatomy is something to be studied and to be inspired by.