Blood Orange performs at Kenzo’s Paris Fashion Week show

‘discovery of an arctic surfing subculture’

I have always loved the collections kenzo comes out with. In his AW17 collection, the looks were inspired by the “discovery of an arctic surfing subculture”, they were made to look as if you were about to brave a harsh environment. The models walked alongside soothing music that was played to accompany the eclectic mix of clothing. The collection was filled with geometric shapes and patterns as well as a large focus being on the bags which consisted of coloured furs and Kenzo in large letters. The collection to me took an almost futuristic stylised approach, with puffa jackets and see through awkwardly shaped glasses. The collection featured a lot of layering, mixing and juxtaposing patterns were evident. The makeup took quite a simplistic approach, featuring perhaps only a simple swipe of colour on the eyelids adding to the idea of it being quite futuristic and out of the box. As the show went on, more and more patterns appeared in large quantities, wrapped round the models. The fabric taking an almost curtain like feel due to the thick heavily patterned look it had to it. 

THE END OF AMERICAN APPAREL 

American Apparels aim was to create clothes that didn't harm or exploit those who made them. 

At the end of last week, after a highly-publicised bankruptcy, the news came that American Apparel had been sold to Gildan which is a Canadian company who most likely produced many of the garments coming from some of your favourite band logos or streetwear graphics are printed on. This means that all 110 US American Apparel stores will close. The factory will also close which has 3500 employed meaning that they will now lose their jobs. 

i have always admired American Apparel for its values and the clothes produced by the brand, Though it was always out of my price range. The brand was definitely symbolic of a wider issue. They wanted you to spend more on clothes made fairly with fair paid workers (sweatshop free) that spend less on underpaid worker in terrible conditions. It was one of the main clothing manufactorers in North America with the highest paid workers.  

Sadly, the high amount of competitors whom aren't sweatshop free and sell clothes at a much lower price came out better.

LOUIS VUITTON X SUPREME 

    

There has been an immense hype around the thought of the collaboration between the luxury designer Louis Vuitton and the street New York skate label. All of the collection has been released, from looking through the collection, what i have seen so far it looks like it may become one of the biggest fashion partnerships in history.

The collection entails elements of denim, sports bags, scarves, and shoes which all seem to be covered with supremes iconic logo, paired with the classic elements of louis Vuitton. When first looking through this collection i was immediately drawn to the scarfs, still looking like the luxury brands designs, though featuring block lettering adding an element of street style to the luxury brands iconic designs.  

In 2000, the closest that Supreme got to an official collaboration with Louis Vuitton was a cease & desist letter for its Louis Vuitton inspired logo T-shirts, beanies, and skate decks. This has heightened the surprise and hype around the collaboration. They even featured the garments that Supreme allegedly copied from louis Vuitton back in 2000 which i know will heighten the surprise a lot of people have about the collaboration. 

I am loving this collaboration. Supreme being that of a skater brand catered to a younger consumer and louis Vuitton being tough to afford for most of us, the fact they collaborated emphasises the idea that streetwear is evidently a huge component in the fashion industry that even inspire other designers. Supreme have a huge audience of younger consumers giving louis Vuitton a wider range of consumers. The collaboration has produced a huge following and given us a collection bigger than any other before. 

TRUMP- POWERFUL NUDE PHOTOSHOOT 

18-year-old college student named Aria Watson. Her new photo series, titled #SignedByTrump, is a very powerful Trump-themed art piece. The series highlights the Republican’s offensive comments and flagrant misogyny. The series shows unretouched close-ups of naked female bodies, with some of his most controversial offensive quotes written across their bodies. 

“All I wanted from these photos was to help people realise who Donald Trump really is, and I just want to feel heard,” explained Watson. “I know most people are set on their opinions about Trump, but I just hope one person sees #SignedByTrump and it opens their eyes.”

She is currently a student, she shot the photos as a final project in her photography class. She first posted the series to her Tumblr page, which made them go viral. 

“The election was going on at the time, and I felt very strongly about the candidates and their views, so I decided to mix my political opinions with my photography,” she said. “I knew I had to create something different.”

Watson photographed herself for the portraits, as well as four of her close friends – though the series has since been criticised for not being more diverse. At the time trump was not elected yet and she hoped to have an impact on the upcoming results with her powerful imagery which were sure to reach people world wide. 

Prada’s AW17 menswear show 

Exploring Dazed website researching my post retro trend, I came across Prada's aw17 menswear show. Whilst reading through the post it became evident that there was a 70's resonance to the collection with the corduroy, leather, berets, biker hats and off-kilter knits, the collection has a distinct air of the 1970s – something that the designer didn’t intentionally plan, but she admitted that she knew of the importance of the decade in terms of social progress. “I didn’t want to (reference the 70s) but it came out naturally – it was a very important period for protests, rights. Now protests are very necessary.” 

I was given the task to produce a shopping trolly combined with post retro. As I was researching into bags and the current trends i felt in Prada's collection there was a large focus on the mens bags which where made from leather and were in more of a briefcase style. i felt like this was a big reflection of the whole 80's male office worker though in more of a polished style. i felt like there was a huge gap in the market when it came to mens shopping bags so I wanted to make sure i did enough research into them to see what designers were coming out with in this years mens fashion week. 

Some of the clothing items have almost cowboy like assets about them. perhaps the charms and jewellery paired with the bright shirts with fur or bright jackets. This emphasised the whole retro 70's theme. 

OBSESSED WITH FUR....

In 2016 we were definitely subjected to more and more furry items, whether it be on the designer end or the high street. If it's a fur coat, bag or even just a keyring, there was always a faux fur item seen in most stores. What started my love for fur was probably the whole fur pom pom keyring, started by Kylie Jenner whom was seen with the Fenti fur keyring. I always think of fur having quite luxurious connotations, reminding me of beautiful film stars in the 50's. I started to develop a love for the pastel coloured coats which i was seeing on Pinterest and Instagram on stars like kendall Jenner or Bella Hadid. 

I always associate designers with producing beautiful fur items such as Saint Laurent, as well as Fenti who's key rings I have been lusting after. 

My trend i was given for my current uni project was post retro. I think the fact that i had to start researching into past trends that were now in style again, started my love for fur coats. Due to me having to do this it forced me to research into the history of the coats and when they were popular and who wore them. 

Favourite Photographer :

Jeff Henrikson

I have always been interested in photography as i studied it at A level for two years. At the beginning i wasn't that fascinated by photography but when i got into my last year at school i started exploring the diversity of photographers and how each had their own way of working. Due to my love of fashion it made sense that i was drawn more toward the fashion and makeup side to photography, this is what i based my final project around. Studying Fashion communication has forced me to research more into different fashion platforms. while exploring Dazed and looking at different fashion campaigns, i came across the Photographer Jeff Henrikson whom is a fashion photographer. His work is something which fascinated me. He isn't a cliche normal fashion photographer - taking images in studios, but produces edgy minimal yet extremely effective images. From what i have seen the models in his work seem to be more androgynous rather than high fashion plain models. This is something i feel adds to the effectiveness of his images. I particularly like his set of images where the model has a red blunt hairstyle which he has paired with an element of illustration on the face and feet, combining art and photography. The minimalism in his photography is striking, taking simple images of hair or parts of the body. 

Marc Jacobs Spring 2017:

A show that inspired me 

This Marc jacbs spring 2017 fashion show is one which interested me and became a favourite of mine. rather than being fed images of clean and polished outfits, we were subjected to raver references with the electric colours as well as cultural appropriation contraversy  The show was titled American Eccentricity. A spin on the plain jane fashion shows. The stage design also reflected the overall theme and vibe of the show, keeping in touch with the rave like theme. The show was full of fur, platforms and grunge makeup. It featured all the well known and sort after supermodels of this day and age. Ranging from Sisters GiGI and Bella Hadid as well as kendall Jenner and Adriana Lima. Of course bringing even more media attention to the show. Each of the models have pastel intwined dreadlocks. this is what brought on the cultural appropriation controversy. Each shade was picked depending on the look. 

Due to the controversy that he received he decided to respond.

 "And all who cry 'cultural appropriation' or whatever nonsense about any race of skin color wearing their hair in a particular style or manner—funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I don’t see color or race—I see people. I’m sorry to read that so many people are so narrow minded…Love is the answer. Appreciation of all and inspiration from anywhere is a beautiful thing. Think about it."

The show was full of sparkle, satin, and snakeskin, along with bursts of denim and camouflage. He mixed his lower-priced Marc By Marc Jacobs range with his main line. Amongst the show hoodies were a big element to the clothing aspect. instead of keeping the hoodies plain and lacklustre  Jacobs came up with a way of expanding the more ordinary items in the collection. Marc Jacobs collaborated with artist Julie Verhoeven whom designed illustrations which then were embroidered onto pieces of clothing swell as bags and shoes. This was such a huge element to Jacobs' show which i felt projected and enhanced the beauty. This show was such a mood lifter, it was alive with creativity. Each model that came out, came out in something completely unique to the next.