Perfumeries

As well as walking around Brick Lane and the east end, we also visited a few perfumeries in Mayfair and around oxford circus, however we found that they were not as forthcoming with the information we needed. We also found that there was less to take inspiration from, however what we did find useful was the ingredients of these niche perfumes as they are more natural that the commercial perfumes. We thought that this would be something that our consumer would be interested in.

 

Perfume Project

We are quite far along now in a project to develop a fragrance for a brand they we in groups of four have created. So far I have enjoyed the project as I feel that now that as a group we are a team compared to before where it was a bit hit and miss.

We've entertained many ideas along the way but we all decided that we felt that there was a gap in the market for a vintage style perfume which would tap into the true meaning of vintage instead of the over used bhs or marks and spencer's version of vintage style.

Two out of four group members went to brick lane and it was a really useful day in terms of research as we were able to go into loads of vintage clothing stores and speak to the people working there as well as the customers as they are our target consumer. We also went for an amazing curry for lunch ;)

One main factor that was commented on is the smell of vintage clothes being so strong due to dust and moth balls, so most said that they would appreciate a stronger scent.
We as a group felt that there was a gap in the market for a more underground vintage style perfume. We managed to get some useful pictures that we can use in our mood boards when briefing the product designers.

Nottingham

We have been asked as part of our course to explore a city of our choice and document how products are launched, shop layouts, promotions and anything we find interesting.

The majority of the group visited New York as a trip however as I had just been to New York earlier in the year I thought I'd save the pennies and sit that one out. Unfortunately this means that I have had my new home town of Nottingham as my city of my 'choice'.

I realised pretty quickly that there were no new product launches taking place in the range of shops that I looked around. I think this is because for new products the launches for England with a brand would be in London.

However I did document a range of shops promotions as most had sales on between the lower end high street shops right up to the higher end and designer.
I also took note of anything interesting I found with window displays and visual merchandising and how this related to and suited the city of Nottingham.  

The majority of the designer and high end high street brand stores are in The Exchange, a small centre for these shops located in the heart of Nottingham city centre. This partitions off the more luxury brands from the low end high street shops.  

As you can see the collection of brands within The Exchange tend to promote their sales in a more minimal and understated way to in keep with the brands prestige and high quality.

There are however some exceptions which mirror the promotional style of high street shops such as USC, Debenhams and JD sports, all of which contain designer brands but who all promote their sales in a very bold and eye catching way. I believe the reason for this style of promotion in these particular shops in Nottingham is due to their location. As these shops are located along a high street in Nottingham the idea is to catch the passing consumer's eye. This is not necessary with in The Exchange so the shops that have promoted for example with balloons etc have done so out of style choice which may suit their brands style.

Even along the high streets in Nottingham the more up market shops such as Jack Wills advertise their sales but not in a bold manner like many other shops. I think this is to in keep once again with their brand image. Some of these shops for example coast have their sale signs in colours such as dark pink or other shops use window vinyl's to advertise their sales.

Surprisingly Debenhams advertise their sales in a lower end brand style with huge yellow bold sale signs with bold fonts and capital letters.

On the other side of the city there are multiple vintage shops. One of my favourites is Back Lash, a small vintage clothing shop with worn and unworn vintage clothing accessories and shoes. The way that Backlash advertise offers is much more refined compared to chain stores which stays true to being a vintage store. The offers are hand written in black pen and placed in the wonderful window display that entails an old scooter, vintage dolls and vinyl sleeves. This in keeps with the shops image and style and looks interesting and appealing to the passing trade who are interested in a more quirky shop with individual pieces.

This quirky style is also used  in the beautiful shop in central Nottingham called White Stuff.

As you can see the interior of the shop itself is really different. I personally love the individually tiled stair case, I think it adds to the shops quirky image. The promotions for the shop sale is also fairly understated and unusual for example the mannequin wearing a t-shirt and a notice stand outside the shop.

The fitting rooms are the best part of the shop as they are individually decorated to look like different hallways each decorated with different items. This reminded me of the style adopted in the vintage store Backlash as retro collectables are dotted around the shop to achieve a retro look.

 

 

The window displays are humorous and different. This particular display has pieces of bark, potato bags, spades and window vinyl's with 'sow happy' this word play is used in true White Stuff style to promote their relaxed outdoors range. This natural and outdoors theme is consistent throughout the shop. The shoes are displayed on fake grass.

Shops like Ted Baker use multiple communication pathways such as Facebook groups, twitter pages and blogs. Their website is displayed on the front windows of the store along with signs to alert customers about a free Wi-Fi cloud available in the store. This is an approach taken on by many brands now as a way to create an alternative way for the consumer to view the brands collections and to purchase from the brand.

Portfolio Finished

There were a few hiccups along the way with creating my portfolio but over all I found it an enjoyable experience. I'm happy with my reflective journal and after a bit of time I got into the swing of things and liked using the multimedia format.

I also really enjoyed designing my Zine for Hobbs London however there were technical difficulties along the way, for example having to start from scratch because of corrupted files. I began making my zine using Photoshop however my trial ran out. By this point I'd already created my images that I wanted so I thought id try Publisher as I've used the programme before. I used a booklet format and set it to print on both sides. However when I went to the printers I was told that it is a hard format to work with as the page parameters cant be altered. I wasn't happy with the back couple of pages as there were words that were cut off, I realise that this doesn't look very professional. Over all I was happy with the design and content of my zine but in future projects I will be using Photoshop over any other programme as I know that I can achieve the out come that I am after.

I am really enjoying the course so far and I like blogging which I haven't done before. I enjoyed working in a group for the Brand presentations as I felt as a group everyone pulled their weight and put in equal effort which is something I've not experienced before with group work.

Mercedes-Benz 2014 advert

 

I've just seen this whilst eating dinner, it's Mercedes-Benz car body control advert. This is such a simple idea and absolutely hilarious.

 

American Hustle

 

I recently went to see 'American Hustle' which I'd recommend to anyone. The reason I wanted to see it was because of the 70's fashion. The costumes were amazing, it was a really realistic insight to the fashion trends of the 1970's with the perms, low dipping v tops, sequins and jumpsuits. The male fashion was just as interesting with the paisley shirts and velvet suits with white scarfs and medallions.

The scenes that particularly appealed to me was the disco scene as you were able to see what everyone's night light wardrobe looked like. Also the scene in the laundrette where she tried on all the different styles of clothing people had left behind. The different underwear garments as to what we would wear today was also quite odd to see, that is if they wore any in the girls case!

 

Not only did the clothing interest me but the different hair styles and how much effort was put into achieving a certain look was a main focus.

If anyone fancies a clever funny film who is interested in fashion through the eras then definitely add this one to your list.