Sunday 8 December 2013

"I ROCK TOM FORD"


Tom Ford is the brand I chose for my brand-zine (project 3). I have done lots of primary and secondary research. I found out quite a lot on the internet from various websites about Tom Ford, however when I visited the Flagship store in London on Sloane Street, I found out much more interesting information! Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures.

Secondary research:


 http://idreamculture.com/when-desire-is-fulfilled/

Tom Ford was born in Texas, but moved to New York during his teens, and then enrolled at NY University to study Art History, and then Arhitecture (which many of his designs now are inspired by).

In 1990, Ford moved to Milan to join Gucci as their womenswear designer. You could say he "Saved" the brand, however he did produce some controversial campaign ads, such as a "G" being shaved in a model's pubic hair...


image
  • In January 2000, he acquired with Yves Saint Laurent where he worked with all of the creative teams there and designed there for 4 years, and was the creative director of the Gucci group for 10 years. 
  • In March 2005 he announced his film production company 'Fade to Black' and brought out his own film 'A Single Man' starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore in 2009.
  • In April 2005, TOM FORD was created and he produced optical frames and sunglasses. He was an alliance with EsteĆ© Lauder to create a TOM FORD beauty brand. Tom Ford has 6 signature fragrances in the TF beauty collection.
  • In April 2007, the first flagship store in New York was opened, and there was a debut of TOM FORD menswear and the accessory collection.
tom-ford-eyewear-campaign-fall-2010-selectism-4


Ford's campaigns have always been quite controversial, as he states that sexuality plays a bit part in his work. He is openly gay, however says he loves the physique of the female body - this can explain the spiral staircase in his London store representing a woman's curves!


To help me with my research, I wrote down a list of words that I thought described the brand:

SEDUCTIVE                              MODERN                               CONTROVERSIAL  WOMEN                                    CHIC            
CLASSIC                                   NUDITY                                        CONFIDENT
ECCENTRIC                                  MASCULINE
MONOCHROME
Primary research:

I visited the Sloane Street store and spoke to a Sales Assistant who told me much more information about Tom Ford. When I asked him who his competitors are, he said to me: "Mr Ford does not like to compare himself to other brands - he is unique and exclusive." 

His target market is "everybody" as they have a range of items which range from low prices to very high prices, such as the fragrances. Ford has a fragrance called "TOM FORD LONDON" which is only available in London. This attracts many travelers who come to the UK for this. 

Tom Ford's signature collection is the OUD fragrance collection. They have a fragrance called "Tobacco Oud" as Ford is inspired by forests and wood - as Macassar wood is his favourite wood (the staircase is made out of macassar wood). 


When I asked him what Tom Ford's "forte" is, he told me that he is recognised for menswear and tailoring. In fact, he told me about Ford's "Made to Measure" service for shoes and suits which the garments can be tailored to suit the customers needs.

The TOM FORD shop decor is set out exactly like Tom Ford's house, like a walk in wardrobe! It is made to feel personal for the shopper. He even has a personal service to customise shoes with letters/words which emphasises the "quality, not quantity" feel as they are made in Italy.


Tom Ford Facts

Friday 6 December 2013

TED'S BARKING MAD!

Our Ted Baker presentation has come and gone! We had a few problems with deciding what the New concept would be but we finally came to a conclusion: Dog wear! I think this is a relevant concept as it is currently a "booming market". In our presentation, we put in this quote from MTW Research: ‘the industry will be worth £35 million by 2015’. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16943314) 

I thought the presentation went okay, but it could have been better to be honest - and we needed to improve quite a lot, especially the graphics of the PowerPoint as I thought it looked quite messy. However this is easily done and will look perfect for submission! I am very proud of our flyers to promote the new concept. We also included a collaboration with Pedigree to give the dog owners some dog biscuits in Ted Baker packaging: 


We also created a window display for this new concept. Seeing as Ted Baker doesn't advertise commercially, their only form of advertising is in store and via their window displays. Ted is known for having eccentric, witty, humorous window displays!
A slide from our presentation on window displays
N'aw, good old Ray!

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Moodboard: Ted Baker

Project two is a group presentation on a chosen brand. My group chose to do Ted Baker so we decided to split the tasks that we have to do between the five of us, and do the presentation together. My task was to construct a mood board associated with Ted Baker. We also have to come up with a New concept (The other) in which the brand could expand, and pitch it. We have many ideas for Ted Baker, but at the moment we are thinking of doing a Ted Baker tea room! However, this idea may change. 


Anyway, moving on to the mood board... Ted Baker is all about wittyness, informality and British heritage. So I decided to revolve my mood board around these ideas. The London telephone box and the bearded "English gentleman" I put on there because I would say Ted is inspired by London and they used to focus on menswear and tailoring. They are also influenced by music as when we went to the Ted Baker flagship store in London, they had a floor dedicated to music. Hence why there is the "Tedstar" Vinyl with a picture of The Beatles incorporated into it. 

I have also put a block of light blue/aqua colour on the board because I think right now Ted Baker use this colour quite a lot on their website, in their clothes and accessories. I have also put a picture of a floral print which they use quite a lot in their products too. If I saw this print I would definitely think "Ted Baker"! They describe themselves as "No ordinary designer label" and I thought that was quite important for their brand identity as it's true! I came across the picture of the dog in the hat, shirt and braces and thought it was exactly how I'd sum up Ted Baker. It's humorous, witty and relevant to menswear and the whole image of the brand. I had to put that in there!

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Just a thought - Defining an idea

Ideas are what change people's thinking. A great idea is one that captures human imagination - It has to have an emotional quality to it. An idea should be owned, developed an expanded. An idea needs to be nurtured to make it better and stronger. It is difficult to stand out in a brand's point of view unless it takes a risk! 
However, an idea is killed if the person behind the brand is not committed and over thinks the problems - optimism is key as ideas are fragile when they are first come by! I learned in my lecture that it is all about the strength of an idea - speed is key and as little as possible needs to be changed.


Monday 11 November 2013

SUNDAY (monday) STYLE ENVY: Salvador Dali/Miss Aniela

I was so busy yesterday I didn't have time to do this post, sorry! - but better late than never! This week's post will be about Salvador Dali - the ever so famous surrealist. While I was reasearching more about Elsa Schiaparelli, I noticed that she was heavily influenced by art and surrealism, especially Dali's work - and I can see why. His work was so eccentric and unusual which is why Schiaparelli collaborated with him - to develop her imaginative designs which are actually her best known designs. Here are some examples of Dali's work:
 
The persistence of memory - 1931
The sacrament of the last supper - 1955
Lobster telephone - 1936

Together Dali and Schiaparelli created: 
    
Lobster dress

Tears dress

Skeleton dress

Shoe hat

This time I'm not going to do an outfit post, however I will tell you about an artist I came across who I find inspiring! As I looked more into surrealism I came across a British fine art and photographer called "Miss Aniela". She specialises in fashion photography and incorporates fine art and surrealism in her shoots which I think looks absolutely amazing! I'm so fascinated by her images. Here are some examples which I love: 


KAI FACE
This image of the "Kai Face" has a video on Miss Aniela's website which shows how this image is created, which is what I first watched and caught my eye. It is made up of so many different imaged subtly combined into the face and each image tells a story. The birds flying out of her mouth makes it look surreal; it is absolutely beautiful!

Thursday 7 November 2013

Tim Walker

Recently I have been doing a lot of research into not just fashion icons, but photographers and surrealists. I knew who Tim Walker was, however I didn't know that much about him and his work. I've become so fascinated with his work since researching it! I love the quirky/unusual personality that all of his photos have, I think he creates amazingly juxtaposed images; what with his bizzare "mise-en-scene" ideas deviating from the norms of classy/sophisticated couture fashion photo shoots.

Tim Walker in Vogue
Tim Walker in Vogue


Sunday 3 November 2013

SUNDAY STYLE ENVY: Mary Katrantzou

Every Sunday I will be starting a post named "Sunday Style Envy". This post will be based on inspirations I come across in the week, such as: style, graphic, magazine, film, music, designers etc.. I'll put together an outfit which is inspired by or relevant to this!


MARY KATRANTZOU

Recently I have been loving Mary Katrantzou's collections. Her designs are inspired by digital photography of the natural environment and landscapes. I first heard of her when she brought out her SS12 collection for Topshop. I love the idea of mixing graphics and photography in fashion so I was instantly drawn to her designs! She is definitely one of my favourite designers.

MARY KATRANTZOU INSPIRED LOOK:






Thursday 31 October 2013

Moodboard - The then and the now: REISS

This is my final mood board design:


For this project, I worked in a group of 6 and we were each assigned a brand to focus our individual mood boards on. My brand was REISS, and we had to create a digital print mood board using 10 images. I used Adobe Photoshop to create mine as I have been familiar with it for a long time! I created many different designs and layouts for my mood board until I was satisfied with my final design. I did primary and secondary research on REISS such as looking at their history ("The then") and how they have evolved as a brand, and also who/what they are inspired by which influences their designs. 

REISS are a very contemporary, design-led brand and I took this into consideration when designing my mood board. For example, in my final design everything is very vertical because I would say that their products are very "straight to the point" and they focus on simplicity. REISS have been inspired by architecture and historical buildings, such as forests and especially London as it was founded in London in 1971, which is why I have incorporated REISS' shop front within the text and also added a picture of the Big Ben and a forest. They are also specialise and focus on tailoring, which is inspired by old fashion British gentlemen and the tailored suits that they used to wear. However, REISS modernise this and make their garments look very contemporary; e.g. Using a tailored suit which a man typically wears on a woman (which is a modern look) but the location in an old London street.

REISS also focus on quality of their products, which explains the tan leather belt in my mood board. When I went into the store I saw quite a few tan leather tops and bags, so the belt connotes quality and strength. They do not have much celebrity endorsement or advertising as REISS are a very exclusive brand, however people such as Kate Middleton and Liz Hurley have been photographed wearing REISS clothing - which promotes itself and gives the brand a credible image.

Here are the various other designs I tried which I print screened from Photoshop: