A Cup of Style

I always find it funny that the minute you begin to learn something new it seems to be everywhere you look. Over the last few weeks as part of my course we have been looking at styles of fashion illustrations; both commercial and stylised. While in Tesco buying tea I noticed Twining’s use of fashion illustrations, these looked familiar to me after I studied the work of Jerry Sequin

Here a loose water colour effect has been used to create a beautifully soft illustration. The contrast of colours used against the black is also very effective. Plus who doesn't want a gorgeous dress on their tea box...? I think it is a great piece of marketting especially as exotic teas are very 'fashionable' at the moment too.

I used these along with other inspiration and the works of Joe Eula, David Downton and Carl Erickson to complete my own stylised fashion illustration for the skirt project I have been working on.

Jolly Jumpers

As my flat mates and I will not be together at Christmas we decided we would celebrate a month early. We had decorations, food and Christmas jumpers!!

The paper chains were made from old Look Magazines

The Chirstmas dinner table

We all wore our favourite winter warmers, a necessity for students here is Scotland. I am not sure whether it is the cold, or the need to cover the food baby that appears at this time of year that makes us crave our woollies but there is a style out there for us all, and they do not all have unflattering reindeer prints!!

Alix went for a thick cosy knit. I loved the camel
colours in the pattern.

Hayley wore a Christmas red, soft wool jumper. Complete with snow flake pattern

I went for a tight knit orange jumper. With Chirstmas bobbles!

Olivia shook up the tradition going for this beautifully thick
cream vintage Guinness jumper

Saz wears a thin knit jumper with colourful sparkly studs

'Queen' of Fashion

I was informed this morning by my Queen worshipping 15 year old brother that it has been 20 years since Freddie Mercury died.  I was not alive when Queen were at their biggest but it has not made me any less aware of the legend that was Freddie.

Unsurprisingly it was not so much the power ballads that interest me but the costumes and the showman. It is fair to say no one has matched or ever will match Freddie. I find it irritating when my generation fall at the feet of Lady Gaga and the likes worshiping their style, don’t get me wrong I love a bit of Gaga- she is also open about the influence of Freddie on her style- but many don’t know of the originals and the ones who did it all first.

Freddie was known for his fashion, the shows would have not been the same without the leotards, sequin and style. Many do not know but before Queen he ran a clothes stall in Kensington Market selling clothes and art so he understood fashion and its vitality to Queen’s productions. It was the designer Zandra Rhodes that made many of the costumes; she talks of fond memories of fittings with Queen. These costumes are part of a touring exhibition call ‘Storm troopers in Stilettoes’ one I hope to be able to visit in the future. There is a big difference between stage fashion and everyday fashion (something I find X Factor are yet to understand) and if you ever are not sure or need some inspiration look no further than Freddie Mercury.

Both from Google images

A New Love

I always find it is easy to stay committed to my moisturising regime during the summer but it is when my holiday tan beings to fade and my legs get put away for winter that I begin to get lazy. The other week however I discovered a new product that quickly got me back on track- ‘Vaseline- essential moisture’. I have always been a firm follower of Vaseline as it has got me through many a dry moment and I was keen to test this product.

Now I believe there are three essentials to a good body moisturiser. Firstly it must smell uh’mazing though this may not necessarily have to be a strong smell as you will only get bored with it and let’s face it no one actually wants to live life smelling like a jar of Nutella. Therefore go for something light and fresh such as green tea or in this instance oak. Secondly it must not feel too greasy, there is nothing worse than sliding down the stairs after a pedicure (I learnt this the hard way). Finally it must do what it says on the tin, if your skin looks and feels healthy it is working. This is only one from the range and I plan to moisturise my way through them all by the time the heat returns!

A Helping Hand

If I had a regret in life it is that my Papa never lived long enough to see me come to Heriot-Watt, as I know he would have loved to see the work that I have been doing. My papa was a tailor for his whole life and from his workshop he made suits, dresses and kilts not to mention many a coat for my dolls while I was growing up.

Though I do not plan to become a designer during first year we do have the opportunity to learn pattern cutting, sewing and designing. The other day my Nana gave me two of my Papa'a old tools neither of which I understand how to use, but this was not what was important to me, I know my Papa would have been proud to pass them.


We are the people we are today because of the experience we have growing up, perhaps it was while standing watching my Papa attach buttons onto a purple knitted coat for my beloved baby doll Lizzie, when I was 6, that I first became aware of fashion. If he was still here today I would thank him, not just for the tools( that I am sure will come in useful if not just to fend off attackers) but for his time, as like all family they are the people who give us the memory's when we are still too young to make our own.

Man's Best Friend

Some say man's best friend is a dog but mine is a mole...my Moleskin journal. Due to my terrible short term memory I learnt young that I needed to write everything down and last year while in the visitors shop at the V&A I bought my first moleskin. When buying it I had no idea that these books had such support (they even have a tumbr) but it didn't take me long to understand and whole heartedly join the club.

All I wanted was a note pad to scribble down some thoughts as I walk round the exhibitions but from that day it has not left my handbag. Everything from phone numbers to web addresses and the name of new designers to 'must see' film titles get stored in the book. There is something so satisfying about it, maybe it’s the smooth black skin, the crisp parchment like paper or the fact all my random little thoughts are stored safely away because as we all know, moles never forget...

University Magazine Full pudsey spread.

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This is the full spread I along with three friends from Fashion Communication completed for the uni magazine. Throughout the night we interviewed and took photographs before bringing together the best photographs along with my article.

Excitement over Mr Essex

Last night we all headed out to a local club to celebrate the success of our Fashion Show, and just to top it all off Joey Essex was also attending. Now I have to be honest I am more of a 'Made In Chelsea' girl however the atmosphere in the club was great and it is always fun to watch hysterical girls throw themselves at a disappointingly short reality TV star with a man bag! Most of the night was spent dancing and needless to say pattern cutting class at nine this morning was a struggle! I wore a Topshop dress which is one of my favourites due to the 'McQueen style' print and a black wool Zara cardigan. Olivia (in middle) wore a new Topshop dress, black bodycon with gold sequin oriental detail, perfect if you are still looking for a dress for the party season.

A Spot of Style for Children in Need!

Last night the First year 'Fashion Cluster' students had their first fashion show. We showcased the Scottish Heritage Shirts that we have made this term with all the money raised from the event going to this year’s BBC Children in Need. My friends and I got involved to cover the event for the Uni Magazine. Here is some pictures from last nights event.

The girls who were modelling were all students studying fashion at the university and there was a great buzz around the campus all day as the preparations kicked off in hair and makeup at three o’clock. The girls studying at the neighbouring college got stuck in transforming the girls into runway models fit for Pudsey himself!

                                                          
The guests were treated to champagne and Pudsey cupcakes before the models strutted down the catwalk wearing the shirts that were made in Garment Creation Class. For many this was the first time they had ever seen one of their own creations on a catwalk.

Pudsey finished the show dancing down the catwalk wearing the winning shirt design, made especially for him in the Children in Need tartan which was also designed at the University some years ago. The total raised from the event is not yet known but a great evening was enjoyed by all for a extremely worthy charity!

Just Face it!

(I worte this for our Uni Magazine, but it may or may not be used so I thought I would post it here too)

We have all been there, it is two o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and you are gently nursing a raging hangover and desperately trying to piece together the memories of the night, when just before a McDonalds dash you jump onto Facebook, for your hourly fix, and there they are; the only thing worse than the ‘Morning after the night before’ the photos from the night before!  That little word ‘tagged’ sends your stomach somersaulting even more so than last night’s Sambucca.

Now it can go either way here, you can breathe a sigh of relief as you find some cute, fun and then steadily drunker photographs which most importantly make you look relatively thin and well put together or you can discover the other ones, the ones that make you cry in horror and instantly feel you should burn that betrayer of a dress.

Post shock you can convince yourself it was the angle or the lighting that made you go so horrifically from Anne Summers to Anne Widdecombe and as your heart rate begins to regulate you can hit the life line, ‘DE-TAG’, but the reality is it will not disappear. There is no denying we all edit our profiles to ‘market’ ourselves in a certain way, and if you disagree with this statement as you are a ‘ I- don’t- care- what- people- think- of- me’ kind of a person, I can assure you, your Facebook will still reflect this. So whether through an act of vanity or just control what should you do when that ‘snap-happy’, ‘tag-happy’ acquaintance interferes with your cyber image?  And if there are no rules against shamelessly uploading people at their most unflattering angles should there be some when it comes to tagging the intangible?

I confronted my room- mates with these questions receiving a mixed response. One friend very honestly stated her view that you should only ever tag yourself while another promptly disagreed arguing that people’s Facebook have become too staged and styled and that it is a vital part of networking. One then told horror stories of a tagging trauma; let’s just say what happened in Napa did not stay in Napa!

As I contemplated our 21^st century ‘logged in’ society, where you are not officially in a relationship until you update your Facebook , I began to realise there is no escape. This thought was then reinforced when I overheard two boys no older than fourteen’s conversation in which the phrase “She looks ‘fitter’ on Facebook!” was used, this both amused me a made me thankful Facebook was not popular through my awkward, chubby years.

The truth is we all have embarrassing, unflattering or rather forgotten disasters in life and this is not something that is by any means  new, the only thing new is that they are now conveniently store for us in an album (usually named after the party anthem of that month) in case we ever feel like reliving them.  So maybe we just need to accept that this is now part of life and see it in a positive light; some might say Facebook should make our generation more conserved but there is no point in remembering the night if Facebook will for you!

Nick Knight

I feel it is the reason I fell in LOVE with fashion and what lead me to Fashion communication. It was in the first Vogue I ever read aged 13. It was a spread of photographs taken by Nick Knight and he was experimenting with light. Like nothing I had ever seen before. 

Since that moment he and his work have  been inspiration, so you can imagine my delight when I discovered his Web site SHOWstudio some months ago. I regularly refer to it and if you too are a lover of all things artistic, beautiful or just thought provoking you should check it out. His recent work with Lady Gaga is brilliant. He is constantly challenging himself and pushing boundaries and you can learn so much from him!

These are two links to his recent work which I loved, to see more visit his site.

Gaga
hermes_aw_2011

Glasgow- My Girls and my Geigers

This weekend I went home to see my family and to catch up with friends. It was lovely to get back to the busyness of Glasgow and it is funny how once you have walked into Glasgow central, made your familiar path towards your platform and have over heard a dumpy yet sturdy Glaswegian granny grumble 'its goney rain' you feel like you have never been away.

Not only was my lovely mum waiting with open arms so was my Elle magazine- win! I thought the subscription cover was beautiful, simply, so clean and yet strong- my favourite kind of cover. The £25 pound Kurt Geiger card on the cover will defiantly be being used, exactly what a poor student needs!

I met up with three of my friends for dinner on Saturday night, it never fails to surprise me how much we can fit into two hours and we couldn't help getting slightly sentimental as we reminiscing about the dungaree wearing fourteen year olds now sitting with high heel extended legs under a table of stir-fry and wine. After dinner we went to a local theatre to see Beauty and the Beast and let’s face it no matter how grown up you are every girl can't resist a bit of 'tooth ache sweet' Disney. The show was fabulous and even better due to the fact it was some of our closest friends who were staring in it, it is the only time I will ever use the phrase 'that candle is my cousin!'

As we were going out to a local club after the show and now that it is officially the Christmas countdown I felt a Zara sequined skirt was acceptable. I wore it with a black wrap around cardigan (also Zara) and my black patent Kurt Geiger heels, along with a simple silver bracelet and earring set. While we are on the subject of sequins I loved last month's (Nov) Vogue spread 'After Hours' with Terry Richardson photographs. There is something so glamorous about wearing short sparkling dresses in winter, perhaps because you feel as though you are truly committed or it is the fact your feet do not hurt in your heels as you can't feel your legs because of the cold.

Sadly we were having too much fun to take any good pictures

We are in Good Hands

Today the Evening Standard released their 1000 most influential people in Fashion and I was pleased to not only see some of my favourite designers of the moment featured (Erdem, Pheobe Philo and Mary Katrantzou) but also that the Scots were pulling their weight and doing us proud, with Jonathan Saunders and Chris Kane taking up strong positions.

I love to read these kinds of reports as it reminds me of how positive the British Fashion industry currently is and also of how it is the successful women that are leading the way with Sarah Burton, Kate Phelan and Katie Grand all mentioned.

 And finally you may want to know that the ‘Top Male Supermodel’ went to the utterly eatable David Gandy...oh how we hate that blond haired beauty Molly for stealing him away! You can see the full list here - http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-home/article-24007178-londons-1000-most-influential-people-2011-fashion.do

The Marvel that was Marilyn

I have just have just seen the advert for the new film 'My Week with Marilyn' and it looks like it has the potential to become a favourite! I love the icon that is Marilyn. Her unapologetic glamour, sex and style inspires every women and in her tragically short life she made a mark on history that will never fade, something I think is amazing.


From the few clips I have seen I gather it follows Marilyn (Michelle Williams) and co star Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) on a week spent in Britain during the filming of 'The Prince and the Showgirl'. If this wasn't good enough for you Dame Judi Dench and Emma Watson are thrown in for good measure! A definite must see this month (out on the 25th Nov) I will no doubt yet you know what I think.

One of my fanourite famous images of Marilyn

That's why we LOVE it.

I dressed myself as soon as I could stand up and shopping trips are treasured childhood memories. My mum would take us to Glasgow and into H&M, (this is back in the day when we were not blessed with a choice of three) we would be let loose and allowed to pick up anything to try on. There was always something so different and European about H&M like no other shop, I was obsesed!

I did fear however as H&M became a British high street leader that it would lose its identity a little but I see now I had nothing to worry about. The affordable yet chic pieces along with the many successful collaborations have resulted in H&M going from strength to strength!

So I waited with eager anticipation to see the Versace pieces and they have not disappointed! Here is just a few to have a look at and 'Versace for H&M' is available from stores on the 17th November.

Un-picking Paid Off!

So this week is very quiet except for university work so I thought I would take the chance to let you see some of the work we have done in our first term.

For our women's wear course we have been working on the theme of Scottish Heritage looking into either artists or royalty. I chose artist and looked at the work of Margaret MacDonald and the work of the other Glasgow Girls. I went to visit both the Mackintosh house and Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow (one of my favourite places) which are both very much worth a visit and hold work of Margaret MacDonald.

This is the first time I have worked from a design brief to research, create, design, style and market a garment and I loved it! I know I said I was studying Fashion Communication but the way this university works is all fashion first years do a 'cluster year' and study a an introduction to all areas assuring we are all familiar with the often overlapping areas in the industry. The university is very industry focused, one of the reasons I love it here!

After researching my theme I designed 20 shirts before choosing one to create. Learning to pattern cut and sew was really enjoyable, though I must have unpicked every seam four times over to get it perfect! I then styled and photographed it in the style of the high street store of my choice and finally presented in the style of a spread for ID magazine. So here is the final product along with some other fashion photographs taken on campus.

I tried to keep with the simple, clean look of French Connection's styling while also trying to capture the slick fashion look of ID. I feel this setting inforces the Heritage theme and this photograph sells the shirt as it is shows all the detail clearly.

I did like these more 'arty' photographs but I had to remember the aim was to showcase the shirt. I chose the metal fire escape chosing to look at the heritage theme along the lines of the industrial revolution. 

I was really pleased with my final garment as not only was I unfamiliar with sewing machines I have never learned pattern cutting before and a shirt is difficult! I felt this project taught me alot and I now understand the terminology of the designers, something that will be crucial for me working as a communicator in the industry.

Harvey Nicks is ready for Saint Nick!

This weekend I was in Edinburgh catching up with a friend from home and while in the city I took the opportunity to see the Harvey Nicks' Christmas Windows; a personal highlight of the season! With some mixed reviews of the London store I was eager to see what Edinburgh had done. They are some what hypnotising perhaps because of the uses of  white light or the strong structure. Visually they are beautiful but also slightly sinister with the uses of ice and metal and a women trapped within ice. The sharp clean look is mesmerising yet the giant snow flakes assure the Christmas sparkle is not over looked! Well worth a look if you ask me.

Student style

This morning my friend Sarah and I went on what I like to call a 'Treasure Hunt' around the local charity shops. As fashion students we love the challenge of digging through the unwanted to find some interesting pieces, and this morning's hunt did not disapoint! Here is what we bought and where...

                   Heavy knit/ grampa styled grey jumper. ( British Heart Foundation £3.50)

                                                                                              Velvet look turquoise pencil skirt,
                                                                                 (3 for 2 deal PDSA, total £5.50)
                                                                                        

                                 Bottle green velvet shirt jacket (3 for 2 PDSA deal)

                                                    Grey/ white printed shirt ( 3 for 2 deal)

Thick velvet look navy skirt ( YMCA £2.50) Styled with Vintage cardigan and back leggings and vest top.