Easton Pearson. My mentor

Easton Pearson.

i got to know them when i was walking around David Jones.

How pretty are they? they always have elements that are asian, eastern yet with gorgous western silhouettes!!!

Hope my collection can turn out to be like this....

TOP SHOP unique cat walk

Top shop is one of our favorite trendy brand.

We tend to forget about them cos we don't have them in sydney

I was going through some catalogues and found some of their catwalk images.

How shocking and artificial are the colours???

These colours and texture reminds me of bubble glues (not sure what is the formal name of that weird glue...) when i used to draw on when i was a child.

Zimmermann Sring Summer 2011

Zimmermann Spring Summer 2010-11 RTW and Swim

how nice is this!

Cheap fashion vs Expensive fashion

While I was walking around westfield and I was surprised how many shops were on seasonal sale. Some stores were up to 70% of RRP which comes down to approximately $20 per garment (simple jersey top). There was even a shop that only sell garments that are $10. I had a quick look inside the store and their product did not seem too bad. Then I thought maybe I can analyze the experiences from two stores (one low and one mid market) and compare from customer's point of view and business point of view..! This will make me think which market i will want to target in the future!

Cheap fashion store I went in had their garments were hung without any plan (no Visual merchandising plan) and was not ironed. The signs of '$10' were printed off their home printer without proper signage or laminated.

Pros for customers :

-Fast faced fashion

-Cheap, affordable

-Less pressure by sales assistant

Cons for Customer's point of view:

-No greetings by sales assistant (personal contact with the customer)

-Crowded

-look messy

-For a customer's point of view, it's very good for laundry~! (don't care much)

-slightly poor quality

Pros for Business point of View:
-Easy to maintain
-Cheaper fixed cost (rent, renovation, electricity, staff wage, etc)
-Fast gain of income

Cons for Business point of View:
-High capital cost
-High cost of establishment
-Heavily rely on trend
-Need big warehouse, deliveries

Then, I was invited to a VIP night to one of the big mid-market fashion brands, 'R**iew' in the westfield. As I stepped in, the shop assistant greeted me with big smile and offered me a glass of champagne and chocolate. The lighting were emphasizing the garments that were hung on the rack. Their visual merchandising were organized and lead me towards inside the store which was very inviting but expensive!

Pros for Customer point of view:
-Good quality (Which will last me long time)
-Inviting (also paying for the service you get personally)
-Delicate detailing
-Delicate and good fabrics

Cons for Customer point of View:
-Expensive
-Heavy pressure from the sales assistant
-Due to delicate details and fabrics, washing instructions were more complicated (usually dry clean)

Pros for Business point of View

-Gain regular customers (offer loyalty programs)

-Regular reputation for the company

-Stable marketing

Cons for Business point of View

-Expensive Fixed cost

-Expensive high maintenance

-Cost for staff training

-Higher stress for quality and designs

There is no good or bad for going cheaper garments or expensive garments. I know I am very business minded although i am a fashion student. I do appreciate fashion and believe it's one of the main industry that leads the economy going. But I believe wearing and purchasing something that makes the wearer happy and feel good is the most important thing and should be the main focus for the fashion designer(for me...) Therefore, if i get a chance to have my own brand, own business, I'll definitely target somewhere between mid to low.. which is affordable, fashionable and good quality.

Issey Miyake 2010 Spring Collection

Paul Smith Spring Summer 2010

I was doing some research for my collection and came across Paul Smith spring summer 2010. What a lovely combination of colours!

What a genius!

Where are you? Where is our Autumn?

Images that inspire us for this autumn fashion

I do not want to blame on anything.. I was just a little lazy to dress up and look fashionable for last couple years... I thought life was tough and had no time to make myself look good and fashionable... (although i study fashion... as we all know.. fashion students are tired students..) My new year's resolution was to look after myself.. including upgrading my wardrobes.... Fashion Fashion Fashionable! Trendy Trendy Trendy! I was going through magazines and found some images that can inspire me for shopping this weekend!

Colour: Neutral, natural, and warm (yellow, red and lots of browns... including black and white)

Silhouette: Slimming, longer or either very short and bold!

Others: Laces, shoulders, fur and my lover Capes!

The weather is still very warm for us to wear long sleeves.. I myself still walk around with singlets and shorts..

"Mirror Mirror on the Wall, When will the weather get cold???"

Lace Lace Lace don't we all love 'em? and puffy shoulders!

Love the gorgeous color pallets... Fall like yet colorful!!

Red Red Passionate Red lips are in again!

Love you little Cape on the shoulder!

Ilove you forever! xoxo

Love you little shiny boots too!

Cecil Beaton

Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (1904-1980):

Cecil Beaton will always be remembered for his huge influence in photography and fashion. He is an English fashion photographer who also worked as costume, stage designer and an actor. He worked as costume designer for Gigi (1958) and My Fair Lady (1956) and achieved him a Academy Award for Costume Design. Beaton also worked for Broadway musical which brought him four Tony Awards.

I find his works represents classical beauty, creative, elegant, graceful and beautiful. Some of his elegant and beautiful photographs seems to be slightly influenced by surrealism. Like his famous quote, his is daring, different and imaginative! He is a true artist who understood beauty and expressed through photography and costume.

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the paly-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." Cecil Beaton

Cecil Beaton Sketch

Photograph by Cecil Beaton for Vogue 1951: Soft and New look. (Background: Jackson Pollock's painting; Fairwell to an Idea Chapter 6)

Model: Lesilie Caron, Gown: designed by Cecil Beaton for My Fair Lady

Japanese lady at the background is very controversial.

Cecil Beaton - Behind the camera (www.theselevdgeyard.wordpress.com)

Who said fashion is only for human???

Animal can be fashionable too!

Animals have right to be fashionable!

model: Sarang Yang Lee