'Let the Gala see the Girls'

Last night the Student Union saw a bit more glamour than the average Thursday night galavant, as it played host to a 'Take Me Out' fundraiser. Twenty hopeful ladies took to the stage to compete to win a date with one of our 5 strapping young men...well brave but desperate singletons.

It was a hilarious evening and celebration was definitely in the air. Not only was this one of the first big events held in the newly transformed Union but we were also celebrating the recent news that Heriot-Watt Union has won Union of the year. The event was hosted by Katie Barr out SBC Union President and once again she did not let us down.




The bar was buzzing with terrified contestants desperately trying to drink away the butterflies, as well as the excited audience who enjoyed the complimentary cupcakes and trying out the new sofa area in the union.

Four out of the five men from the evening successfully got a date with one chickening out at the break...poor soul. The crowd were kept laughing by comedian host and all involved fully embraced the game; cringey one-liners and all. The rejected girls seemed unfazed as they clattered out of the union to hit the tiles once the event ended and I think all would agree the night was a success.

Dancing with Dior

All afternoon I have been patiently waiting to see the Dior collection and after viewing the first pictures from vogue.com it was worth the wait.

After the scandal surrounding the house it is no surprise that the industry held their breath in anticipation for what was Bill Gaytten second collection as head of Dior.

The collection was nothing short of breath taking with the famous Dior cuts married beautifully with soft ballerina silhouettes. Now I will be honest in saying usually I am not a fan of the pastel pallet but Gaytten has converted me with these soft pastels; more dusty that sweet. With purples, duck eggs, salmon and greys taking priority the garments encaptured the 'feminine strength' Dior do so well.

With nipped in wastes and full pleated skirts the collection flowed seamlessly from the embroidered blouses and knitted capes to the pattern midis and flowing gowns. The curved silhouettes that seems to be so popular this season also brought a freshness to the traditional ballerina shapes and the flashed of leather assured the collection still had an element of edge.

The collection ended with a set of gowns only Dior can do, with my particular favourite being the long sleeved raspberry dress. With a few big names moving houses after this season the fate of Dior is still unknown but I don't think we need to panic after this collection. Gaytten I salute you! 

I love the panel effect of this look and I am a huge fan of the oh so feminine 3/4 sleeve.

With so many patterns around this season it is easy to go crossed eyed, but this is definitely a favourite

The wrapped knit is beautiful here with the v neck and draping...satisfying the prima ballerina inside us all

Probably one of the strongest pallets in the collection only with the use of this 'rounded femininity'

I <3 navy

Please mummy can I take this home??

'Hot Scot' Exhibition

 

Last week I finally got a chance to visit the Portrait Gallery after its recent face lift and I was impressed. I have always loved the galleries in Edinburgh and I would definitely recommend a visit. I went with a group of girl friends who all study fashion and some fashion photography specifically so it was no surprise that the two exhibitions we were most looking forward to were 'The Hot Scot' exhibition and the 'Romantic Camera' exhibition both of which have been open since December and will be until June.

'The Hot Scot' exhibition features the current stars of Scottish culture from Devid Tennent to John Kitchin in a series of portraits. I was especially looking forward to seeing the portraits by Albert Watson one of my favourite Scottish fashion photographers.

If I am honest I was slightly disappointed as I expected a larger collection but it was still very interesting to see. For such a small collection there was plenty of variety in portrait style; some had a 'watercolour painting' like appearance which I do not really like when it comes to photographs, I prefer a more lifelike portraits though my favourite was the picture of John Byrne the artist and director as it was realistic, showing deep emotion while still showing theatrical elements in his pose and appearance.

The second exhibition was the Romantic camera exhibition, a series of large scale photographs in the style of the Romantic era. Familiar scenes like Glencoe were featured and although not all beautiful they were impressive. It is always interesting to see the different ways of using photography as a medium especially when I am constantly bombarded with fashion it is nice to be reminded of other forms (though let’s be honest nothing beats fashion photography).

The galley itself has a lot to see and worth a visit even just to take in the atmosphere of the new space.

(All images sourced from Google images)

Spring in my Step

Today was the 1^st of March and although Scotland may still experience snow in the coming weeks, in my books it is officially spring. I for one cannot wait for warmer temperatures and in celebration of the milder season I even went barefoot in pumps today.

Perhaps the real reason behind this year’s excitement is these beautiful Marc Jacobs sandals; so pretty I am even wearing them as I blog in my pyjamas. Rescued from a charity shop I have been waiting for the rain to stop long enough for me to wear them out. Even though they are green canvas, both a difficult colour and somewhat impractical material in our Northern climate, I love them. With a tennis white stripe and open toe they might just be this summer’s obsession.

FOR THE LOVE OF...fashion comms!

 
I feel I have very much been neglecting my blog...in fact every part of my life other than University for the past two months. I hope however that this will change as my fashion comms magazine is finished! On Monday we present our final magazine to our tutor along with Hywel Davis and I am excited and slightly terrified to hear their thoughts. Therefore I feel it is important to use the little time left to feel proud of what my group and I have achieved in case we are ripped apart during our presentation...

Our magazine L is designed in the style of ELLE and is a fashion magazine based in the borders and is targeted at all women over several generations, like ELLE. We chose the theme 'Liberty' taking inspiration from the story of Eve. This is the first of what I am sure will be many magazine projects and I have learnt a lot in the last 5 weeks. Not only can I now use indesign (Horrrahh!!), I also feel I have learnt a lot about the areas of comms that I enjoy. Though I love photography I definitely think the writing, editing and perhaps PR and advertising will be the road for me?? However it is still early days and I am just enjoying working with the people here, while doing something I really love.

So here it is...after many hours in the CAD lab and more than a few late nights studying Elle we have our magazine! Have a look and let me know what you think.

Very productive for a Monday!

This morning I shot the advert that will be part of our magazine. It was to advertise Heriot- Watt School of Textiles and Design and encourage students to come to study here. We obviously wanted to appeal to the 'Elle market' (our model magazine) so we wanted something clean and fashionable. This idea was one of the groups but the picture, editing and design is mine. I am really happy with it as i think it goes well with the whole look of the magazine and as editor that has been my main priority I think i might have another look at the text as I am not totally happy with it.

I just hope our tutor likes it too!!!

Catch the Cover

With my magazine deadline fast approaching there is only a few final tasks this week, one of which is our cover. Following the 'Liberty' theme we wanted a soft yet confident cover that would engage with our audience. Elle (the magazine we are working from) always has very strong covers that are also famine and chic, just the right amount of edge to catch attention yet not offend any of their huge market.

We tried two different looks for our covers. We wanted to keep with the idea of Eve (our main spread in the magazine) so our first cover focused on the innocence of Eve early in the story. We used the apple as a prop along with pearls creative an almost angelic pose. I like the first shots but as a group we agreed they were not quite strong enough for a cover. They are slightly too posed and the hair etc is too perfect. If you look at any Elle cover there is always an element of freedom/ life.

Our second cover was a lot more successful. Using a different model with a stronger profile we styled her in white to keep in line with the softness of the original idea but had her hair was looser and more relaxed, showing a confidence and self assurance. All cover girls have got to have an identity that is captured in the picture. Though we wanted a classic Elle styles cover we also wanted to incorporate some of their edge, so rather than an apple we used a snake. The famous sayings”never work with children or animals" will be remembered in the future!  Though our snake was no man eater, it had diva traits. Once we had managed to stop both the model and snake from wriggling away we managed to get some good shots. Though these are not the final edits it will give you an idea of the look we are going for.