EMILY FROUD 0702670 // EFPI3001CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & EXPERIMENTATION

PROPOSAL&RATIONALE.

DO YOU THINK THE RELATIONSHIPS YOU HAVE WITH OTHERS AFFECT THE CLOTHES THAT YOU WEAR AND HOW YOU WEAR THEM?

I began my research by asking this question and seeing where it took me. From taking this starting point I identified three key trends which I will explore in the following pages, and from these key trends I began to develop a concept.

GENDERLESSNESS /-- THE STATE OF BEING MALE OR FEMALE-- OF LOWER RANK OR IMPORTANCE-- DENOTING A STATE OR CONDITION

The first key trend I identified was based around gender and the idea of being genderless. I began by looking at the importance of those relationships one has with others and how these impact our personal style and the way we dress. I looked at how, and if, these relationships – be it parental, friendship or more physical – change our attitudes toward clothes. Dr. Martens and Fred Perry have embraced said attributes, creating campaigns that focus on the importance of relationships, memory and nostalgia.

Following on from this I looked at how the roles of men and women are changing, and how the gender roles are merging, blurring the boundaries that once constricted the individuals of each sex. Brands such as Cos and The Kooples have begun to adopt this idea by creating

gender-neutral shopping spaces, encouraging men and women to shop together, with some brands omitting branding garments altogether.

From this I went on to look in to male and female attitudes towards one another, looking at reality television shows such as The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea, as well as texts such as Female Chauvanist Pigs. I attempted to identify if attitudes are changing, touching on the ideals of young people regarding their own relationships.

From this I investigated whether men or women’s opinions are more important to the female consumer, putting together both questionnaires and focus groups to engage with women.

Within my research I also touched on the role of brands,

whether they are influencing us or guiding us, when it comes to purchasing. As I found from my focus groups that perhaps the consumer sometimes would like to get to the point of purchasing on their own.

I also found from my focus groups that women of all ages like to be independent in their choices, seeking advice from their friends, mothers and daughters rather than the help shops provide.

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‘I REMEMBER GOING OUT WITH SOMEBODY IN LONDON, AND THEM SAYING “I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOU TO WEAR HIGH HEELS”, AND ME TEETERING DOWN FLEET STREET CLINGING TO HIS ARM BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY I COULD STAY UPRIGHT...’-- JOC BURY.

AGELESSNESS /-- NEVER GROWING OR APPEARING TO GROW OLD-- DENOTING A STATE OR CONDITION

To gain an insight into all of these ideas I held focus groups with different age groups of women to gage their opinions; ultimately on whether they think others have an impact on how they dress. I found that with the older group they felt they were more independent, and had developed their own style over the years. Daughters came out as a driving force of style counsel, with flattery making them exhaust an outfit and criticism making them ultimately reject one.

This group felt there was a great lacking in sartorial advice for the older generation, with publications such as The Guardian and The Times (whose main target market being this age group) lacking in guidance. But on the other hand they preferred to shop alone as they felt they ultimately know themselves and their bodies the best.

On the other hand the younger group felt that certain friends opinions were what mattered, with the relationships they have with boyfriends not playing as an important a role. The majority also preferred to shop alone, dismissing the help that may be given by sales assistants – unless said assistant had a style they could admire.

They also felt this relationship with their mothers was strong with them bearing influence vice versa. A common thread seemed to appear between the impacts of opinions from those close to you.

I looked in to the idea that there was a severe lacking of sartorial advice for the older generation of women, looking at what Mary Portas has done for House of Fraser as well as studying media such as The Sunday Times Style, The Guardian Magazine and The

Independent Magazine. All in all it was something I thought could be addressed, with The Guardian being the only one attempting to rectify this with their All Ages features.

I also looked at the blog Advanced Style created by Ari Seth Cohen. Cohen photographs the older generation, stating that, ‘style advances with age’.

I wanted to move away from the age issue, as I do think it’s a sensitive subject so chose to look more in to how the generations influence one another. I experiemented with this by taking my mother shopping in London, identifying shops would we would both enjoy and purchase goods in - such as Cos, Whistles and Zara.

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‘THERE’S A REALLYEMOTIONAL JOURNEYCONNECTED TO CLOTHES AND WHAT YOU WEAR.’-- SARAH YOUNG.

TIMELESSNESS /-- NOT AFFECTED BY THE PASSAGE OF TIME OR CHANAGES IN FASHION-- DENOTING A STATE OR CONDITION

Moving on from thinking about age I began to think about the true meanings of style, and the idea that no two women are the same. You cannot define a woman by her age, stating that she should like or want to buy in to a certain market because of her age. Each individual, whether than be man or woman, are independent in their choices, and are all different.

I asked a number of women (as this is my concentrated target market) to define their style in three words and to pick the three places they shop the most. From doing this I proved my previously thought point, with women of all ages describing themselves and their shopping habits in vastly different ways. From descriptions from ‘demure’ to ‘layered’, ‘casual’ to ‘eclectic’, no two women could be defined in the same way. From

Marks and Spencer to Beyond Retro, a clothes swap amongst friends to Zara, a vast number of outlets for acquiring clothes were also described. From doing this I essentially uncovered that style is not about being young, and it is not about being old, but it is about timeless, true, individual style.

This idea of timelessness has also become poplar with a number of brands. Looking to the high-end of the market we see Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen launching The Row. They describe their range as classic yet modern, to be incorporated in wardrobes which style is constantly evolving. They create understated pieces which can be mixed up or worn simply, aiming to create the ‘core, wearable parts of the wardrobe’.

French Connection have also taken to focusing on this idea

for their autumn / winter 2011 campaigns, concentrating on the key pieces of the wardrobe. A number of mini fashion films were made to celebrate said pieces, be it the blouse or the suit. These films celebrate these pieces, connoting the idea that owning all of these in good quality you will have yourself a successful wardrobe.

When thinking about these ideas in relation to my previous wardrobe I began to think of style as a personal journey each person experiences. Clothes hold memories and tell a story of their owner(s). Arguably style is timeless because it is about who YOU are. It does not change but may be influenced by those around you and the relationships you have. True style is not affected by time as it is more personal than trends perceive it.

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‘WHAT I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT IS STYLE... FASHIONS GO OUT OF FASHION, STYLE STAYS WITH YOU.’-- FELICITY GREEN.

CONCEPT /

The concept, which I have come up with from my extensive research, is to create an exhibition book, consisting of images, illustrations, photographs, stories, interviews and memories. This will focus on the relationships within a woman’s life, and how these go on to influence and / or guide how they dress, whilst also considering who they are dressing for.

There will be documentation of key relationships and how women attach both nostalgia and memory to their clothes. I want to put emphasis on the observations I have made about how the generations inspire one another and how this will continue to happen within fashion.

I want this book to explore outside of the restrictions of age,

not being aimed towards any specific age group. I really want it to consider both the ideas of agelessness and timelessness and the creation of personal style, telling those stories of how this comes about for a woman.

Taking inspiration from the blog ‘My Parents Were Awesome’, I will set up my own blog, ‘From Mother, With Love’. By doing this I hope to gain both stories and images from those who have been influenced by relationships, those who have truly created an individual style or those with stories to tell.

In contemporary culture everyone is making an attempt to be individual. A lot of what we see in fashion is inspired by past eras and by nostalgia. If we look in to each individual’s nostalgia we will see a different story every time. A lot of the older

generations are advocating this idea, such as Felicity Green writing in the Observer and Iris Apfel who is hugely popular at this moment in time. They encourage women to stay true to themselves, and express this through the way they dress.

The mother / daughter relationship is also strong currently and being targeted within the fashion industry. Daisy Lowe and her mother Pearl have been designing a collection for Peacocks. Georgia Jagger and her mother Jerry Hall modeling for H&M’s recent campaigns, with Georgia saying she takes great inspiration from her mother when it comes to modeling as well as her collection for Hudson jeans.

-- AN EXHIBITION OF STYLE-- WORKING TITLE: FROM MOTHER, WITH LOVE

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CONCLUSION /

Overall through my research and the identification of my three key trends, I feel I have recognised the importance of relationships and style. I hope to encompass elements of these within my exhibition book, which will act as a piece to be treasured and itself become timeless.

I have looked at a number of magazines which appear to take on a book format, such as Twin and The Travel Almanac. I love the way The Travel Almanac is put together and the art direction is simple yet somewhat nostalgic - something I wish to encapsulate in my final major project.

In terms of marketing promotion this book could be seen as a sort of fashion version of The Travel Almanac, being sold in Browns, Magma, Liberty and in Galleries (such as The Photographers

Gallery). The blog I wish to create to help inspire and collect content for my book would also act as a tool for promotion, as well as potentially using twitter alongside this. This could attract a younger audience, as they are more au fait with the uses of social media. But despite this many of the older generations are now online, and I would hope that as the content encourages inter-generational advice, the young would encourage the old to purchase and use my book.

I see my customer as a woman with a respect for style, one who takes influence from her friends and those she respects. From doing focus groups I found that style admiration is key in the progression of ones own look so this would fit in to my customer profile also. My reader would be one who would look

to her mother, her duaghter or her grandmother (or all three) for sartorial advice, being inspired by them as well as remaining true to her self. She is not addicted to or a follower of trends, but in search of her own style, one she can stick to.

The book will be visually exciting, with stories from real people inducing others to read on. Once stories have been discovered there could potentially be an oppurtunity to connect this idea to a brand - perhaps The Kooples or Comptoir Des Cotonniers - but that is something which will have to be thought about as my development continues. The purpose of this book is to inspire women of all ages to pursue their style, as well as revitilising their love of clothes. I imagine three generations reading it and passing its message on.

BIBLIOGRAPHY /

Ari Seth Cohen (2011) Advanced Style [online blog] http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/ (Accessed on: 17.11.2011)

Barron, Jeanette Montgomery (2010) My Mother’s Clothes: An Album of Memories. New York: Welcome Books

Eliot Glazer (2011) My Parents Were Awesome [online blog] http://myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com/ (Accessed on: 20.11.2011

French Connection (2011) French Connection - Autumn Winter 2011 Fashion Trends - Youtique Vid-eos. http://www.frenchconnection.com/content/video/index.htm. (Accessed on: 22.11.2011)

Levy, Ariel (2005) Female Chauvanist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. New York: Free Press.

The Guardian Weekend (2011) All Ages: Midi skirts with max appeal. In: The Guardian 13 August 2011

The Guardian Weekend (2011) All Ages: From leather to wool - feel great in different textures. In: The Guardian 29 October 2011

The Guardian Weekend (2011) All Ages: Perfect jackets and coats. In: The Guardian 5 November 2011

LIST OF IMAGES /

GENDERLESSNESS /

01. ‘My Parents Postcard’ by David Hockney02. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Elle UK, 201103. My mother, 201104. The cross dressing top model, Andre Pejic 05. ‘Happy 25th Wedding Anniversary’ by Katie Froud06. Cos store, London

AGELESSNESS /

01. Me in my mothers Laura Ashley blouse. Photography by Tom Hagarty02. My mother in the same blouse in her twenties03. Mother trying on a dress she went on to buy in Cos04. Debra from advancedstyle.blogspot.com05. Mary Portas at House of Fraser06. ‘All Ages’ feature in The Guardain Magazine

TIMELESSNESS /

01. Nadine styled in her own jumper and a skirt donated by friend Jenna at clothes swap02. Image taken from book ‘My Mother’s Clothes: An Album of Memories’ by Jeanette Montgomery Barron03. The Row on Net-a-Porter04. Still from French Connections fashion film on ‘The Blouse’05. Me styled in my mothers green cardigan. Photography by Tom Hagarty06. Usha from ‘Fashion Icons’ by Alis Pelleschi

CONCEPT /

01. Me in my mothers Warehouse blouse. Photography by Tom Hagarty02. Image taken from myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com03. Index of clothes from ‘My Mothers Clothes: An Album of Memories’ by Jeanette Montgomery Barron04. My parents in their twenties05. Screen shot from my blog, ‘From Mother, With Love’