Friday, 9 May 2014

WHITE OUT

Polyvore is a website I have used on numerous occasions when searching for clothes such as my leaver's ball dress. I have also admired sets made focussing on specific fashion trends and colours. I therefore decided to make my own account, and below is my first set I've made which I have titled 'White Out'.

WHITE OUT


WHITE OUT by helenaclay 
featuring 

Thursday, 8 May 2014

REVIEW: Clean Bandit in Birmingham

On the 5th May I went to see Clean Bandit at the HMV Institute in Birmingham, something which I'd received tickets for from my friend Mimi for my birthday.


 

Their music has been described by critics as 'fusion music'. They have created a new variety mixing deep-house elements with classical and electronic music. Unlike most bands they invite guest artists to sing their songs and produce the music themselves

Members: Jack Patterson (bass guitar, keyboard), Luke Patterson (drums), Grace Chatto (cello) and Milan Neil Amin-Smith (violin)

I was not sure what to expect as I have been listening to and supporting them for the past couple of years and was not sure how they would sound when performing live. It was completely different to all other gigs I have ever been to with a mixture of house and live violin and cello playing. They completely surpassed my expectations and I would really recommend anybody who gets the opportunity to go and see them live.

Product designer feedback

As a group we are extremely pleased with the outcome of the CAD design by the product designer, pictured below. It is exactly what we had pictured the packaging looking like and are glad that it works with our brand. 

We now need to create a logo for 'Bluff' that can be used on the wooden box that will encase the black bottle and our advertising material.

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

REVIEW: Everywhere festival Nottingham

On Bank Holiday Sunday 4th May Dollop returned with their biggest event yet 'EVERYWHERE 002'


With a line-up including: Artwork, Blonde, Hannah Wants, Karma Kid, Loefah, Mak & Pasteman, Mike Skinner, MK, Paul Woolford, Richy Ahmed, Route 94, Scuba, Skream, Snakehips and Waff it promised to be a night not to miss.

With mixed initial thoughts at the choice of venues such as Walkabout (a bar) and headliners performing at the same time (Hannah Wants, MK and Route 94) we planned who we wanted to see factoring in times to get into venues and I'm SO glad we did. After the event I have seen people complaining on blogs and social media feeds about queuing for nearly two hours to get into some venues but with something of this scale it was clear to me you would have to factor in waiting time.



Packaging brief for product designer

Bluff. – The Brand Bluff. 

embodies urban British street culture, standing to represent and speak the language of our niche male market. At Bluff.’s core are the talented young creatives, the artists, the musicians and the skaters that we proudly represent. We revolve ourselves around urban arts and graphics, electronic music, and the hosting of Bluff. events that epitomise all of this. 

The Product 

Born from the male fragrance industry’s restrained level of marketing (overly tanned, photo-shopped, muscle men posing on exotic beaches) Bluff.’s debut product is a male fragrance that aims to break the stereotype by providing a product that is far more real and street, something that our consumer can relate to. Bluff.’s fragrance promotes honesty through both packaging and marketing. 

The bottle 

1. Material – matt black ceramic 
The bottle itself will be made of a matt black ceramic material, appearing modern and simple, and avoiding the glossy, commercialised and ‘in your face’ type of design. Whilst this material has quite an urban look, it is also discreet enough to promote our idea of honesty, and differentiates it from the mainstream use of glass for fragrance bottles. 

2. Diffuser – black ceramic-like material 

3. Cap – wooden (same wood as box) Pushes down into bottle 

4. Logo placement – base of bottle The logo will be printed on the base of the bottle, and the visible parts of the bottle left blank. 

5. Size/shape - 50ml 

The packaging 

1. Material - unfinished wood 

2. Opening - sliding lid 

3. Logo placement – front of box

Mac Make-up

Need I say more. MAC is and will always be my favourite make-up brand. With their iconic black packaging, relatively reasonably priced products and both helpful and extravert staff what more could you want.

Below is an image of the MAC products I regularly use. Although as a student it is proving more and more difficult to afford…cue asking mum and dad to visit. 


Products featured:

Studio fix fluid SPF 15 foundation - in NC15 (for the palest of the pale…me)
At £21.50 for 30 ml, oil free and lasting up to 8 hours I believe it is a good buy and use it as my daily foundation.

Lipsticks - nobody ever buys one MAC lipstick. Once you have one you want them all, pictured above are angel which is a nude everyday colour and plumful which is red-y purple-y and good for nights out. MAC lipsticks smell delicious and last hours.

Eyeshadow - the top eyeshadow I actually use as an eyebrow filler/to make me actually have eyebrows #blondegirlproblems. Using a mac brush to create a natural looking defined eyebrow shape. The middle one is used with a silver eyeshadow to create a smokey eye effect.

Blusher - This has to be my favourite blusher I have ever tried. In fact I have had the same response from one of my best friends, liking it to the extent where it is now her regular blusher. It is subtle enough to be worn in the day, but with more applied can create defined cheek bones with a slight sparkle. 

Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Leather Jacket

A leather jacket should be in my eyes a wardrobe essential. It goes with any outfit and can be used as much in a functional way as it can be to bring together an outfit. Pictured below is my French Connection jacket, a timeless piece which although Ive had for years as not aged even slightly.



Monday, 5 May 2014

Yves Saint Laurent (60s collection)

I really like the way Yves Saint Laurent used block colours on a simple shift dress, which make it more interesting and different to other shift dresses. I believe his work is still as powerful and desirable now as it was when it began. I have found the colours used in the dresses very inspiring and could see myself possibly using techniques such as felting in the colours YSL has used. Although the colours are bright colours like Andy Warhol’s work, these dresses only uses primary colours, which make them even more amazing as they have used such simple colours.


Saturday, 3 May 2014

Leather jeans

I got these as a present for christmas from Urban Outfitters and have worn them ever since. They are perfect paired with a blouse and denim jacket when going out for dinner or even worn to lectures and seminars.


I particularly like the detailing on the leg as pictured below with an abstract arrangement of the leather on each leg. They are different to a lot of the other jeans I have seen which tend to have tacky looking strips of leather. As all items I have from Urban Outfitters have, they have lasted well without any fading or ageing happening to the black jean material. 

Matthew Williamson

The brand first debuted with the collection ‘Electric Angels’ at London fashion week in 1997 and has gone from success to success ever since.

The brand has collaborated with a diverse range of companies from Swarovski in 2012 to coca cola in 2003. Its most famous collaboration is probably that with H&M where a holiday wardrobe featuring kaftans and bikinis in his signature style were created. This was one of H&M’s most successful collaborations with a high end designer.

Four women’s ready to wear collections are released annually into three flagship stores in Dubai, Qatar and the award-winning store in Mayfair. MatthewWilliamson is also sold across 170 prestigious wholesale accounts.

MatthewWilliamson trademark pieces are evening dresses in his signature style – combining colour, print and embellishment.  

 “I’m continually inspired by nature and the rainbow is one of nature’s greatest optical phenomenons. The sighting of a rainbow never fails to bring a smile to people’s faces. They signify optimism and positivity: with them comes the sunshine after the rain.”


Matthew Williamson has been quoted saying that ‘The Matthew Williamson woman is feminine and sexy, fun and free-spirited with a laid-back approach to glamour’. This sums up his consumer as there is not one specific type of woman as his different labels appeal to different audiences. Under the Matthew Williamson brand there are labels including ‘Butterfly by Matthew Williamson’, ‘Muse by Matthew Williamson’ and ‘Matthew Williamson’.


Matthew Williamson is a very unique brand who I would most closely compare with Monsoon due to its embellished and heavily patterned designs. However there is a significant difference in the price range of them both. Therefore its competitors would be brands such as Lanvin, Stella McCartney and Missoni. Missoni uses bright colours and pattern similarly to Matthew Williamson however this is a chevron print as opposed to the florals of Matthew Williamson.

Seminar: Rebranding

Rebranding Jameson's whiskey

TASK

Your agency has been selected to pitch for a new communication campaign.

You should present an integrated approach with a 'multi-channel' approach.

There should be consideration for all parts of the brand journey (awareness, engagement, conversions).

Think about - launch event, press adverts, websites, social media. What's the big idea?

IDEA

> Change bottle design: street graffiti - would attract younger audience, people may initially purchase for bottle design then like taste and repeat purchase.

> Rooftop/graffiti event: Would reinvent the brand as a cooler, younger & more appealing brand.


Brainstorm of my group's ideas for the rebrand pictured above (live graffiti art, product placement, cocktails experimenting with mixers - create relation with art & music)

Interview with model

After the photoshoot we interviewed the model to grasp a full understanding of his life and interests 

What course do you study?
International Business
What do you do other than your course? (societies, clubs etc)
President of snow sports society
Future plans - after uni (job, internship, travelling etc)
1 year working and snowboarding in Canada
Favourite restaurant
Chipolte
Favourite drink
Chocolate milk
Favourite night out in Nottingham
Detonate
Internet sites regularly visited
Shock mansionstampd LAforever ashbury
Favourite brands
Nike SBMisbhv
Where most clothes are purchased
Online - America, Europe
Favourite magazine
Don't buy magazines
If got given £1,000 would buy
A new snowboard

Fragrance worn
Chanel Blue - would be willing to experiment: try a new one
What do you like about it
The smell and packaging (smell is what made purchase)
How much would you spend on fragrance
£30-40 for 50ml, this was bought as gift
Where would you buy fragrance
Would consider buying from a clothing store/Boots/department store

Black eyeshadow

I recently purchased a sleek eyeshadow pallet from Boots for only £7.99. It includes a good range of colours and is a fraction of the price you would pay for a designer make-up brand's eyeshadow. 

I love the black (pictured below) which is perfect for creating smokey eyes or a heavy eye look. 

Photoshoot

On the 30th April we did our photoshoot in Nottingham for our fragrance brand.

Model:
We decided to use my friend Chloe's friend Ollie. We thought he'd be perfect for our brand as both his look and lifestyle represent our brand's essence and values.

Locations:
Burns Avenue
White wall (shape in wall)
Blue gate
Park hotel
Inside photos? Possibly in model's house?

Images from shoot:








We were really pleased with how the images turned out and are looking forward to seeing how they will be translated into ads once we have edited them using Photoshop.

Big earrings: Guess

I have always been a fan of big earrings to dress up an outfit, add something a bit different and make a statement.

On a recent trip to New York I purchased these beauties from Guess which happened to be in the sale and so only ended up paying $10 for them. These are my favourite out of the Guess earrings I have so far seen as a lot are plastered in the word 'Guess' something I do not like at all.

Summer Plans

As much as I never want freshers year to end I CANNOT WAIT for this summer. Starting on Sunday 4th May with Everywhere festival in Nottingham. It is held at multiple venues across Nottingham including rock citystealthspankyswalkabout and rescue rooms



I also have tickets for Parklife festival at Heaton park in Manchester on the 7th and 8th June, which could not be at a better time with my last deadline being on the 6th June. 

Leather Shoes

For ages now I've been looking for some shoes that I cannot destroy on a night out. Something that can be worn to a pub or club that do not come back looking like I've walked through barbed wire or attacked by a pitbull (the dog, not the rapper…although I don't know what would be more scary).



After a long search I FINALLY found these flat black leather crocodile print cut out shoes. Better yet they were only £10 in the Topshop sale, something that would never normally happen to me.


So here they are after being worn countless times out, still looking like they did when I first bought them. Heel wearing, fake eye lash loving, fake tan fans are probably confused by this post wondering firstly why you would wear flat shoes on a night out but secondly how on earth you could ruin them. Well if that is you I'm afraid my blog is not for you. 

Friday, 2 May 2014

Scrunchies

Initially popular in the 90s the scrunchie has made a big come back. With designers such as Marc Jacobs and Missoni showcasing luxe versions into their autumn 2013 collections. 


Even celebrities have been sporting the look such as J-Lo below and Jennifer Aniston being quoting saying she, 'loves a scrunchie'.


I've caved and currently have a collection of six scrunchies (some pictured below) They are perfect for people like me who can never be bothered to actually do anything nice to their hair and so rather go for putting pieces of it up in a scrunchie.


Bottom right - black velvet from urban outfitters from a set with a pink one
Others - Cow vintage in Nottingham The thing I particularly like about those from cow vintage is that they are hand made and so each very different. Some are also available to match co-ord sets.