Taste Makers

For my seminar this Thursday I have been given a brief that asks me to prepare and present two of my own 'taste makers' as a follow up from last weeks lecture by Tim Rundle on taste makers. The two people I select have to be people I feel have truly had an effect on fashion, music, art or another area of design, as well as inspired me as an individual. For this reason the two people I have chosen are Andy Warhol and Alexander McQueen.

Alexander McQueen

McQueen has always been an inspiration to me, his ability to take inspiration from anything and anyone around him and turn into amazing and iconic clothing always baffled me. I think this is a great example of a skill that can completely change your outlook on life as well as work. McQueen always saw the beauty in things, and the potential. I think this is truly admirable and something I aim for. He never took inspiration from clothes, or trends, or what designers before him had done; instead he focused on nature, religious ideas and futuristic fantasies as places of inspiration. Below is a link and screenshots from the Pinterest board I have created to use as part of a presentation:

http://www.pinterest.com/alicehoar/alexander-mcqueen-taste-maker/

Andy Warhol

Warhol is someone I have always found inspirational, similarly to McQueen, he had a very unique and specific outlook on life. Warhol always believed that everyone would get there 15 minutes of fame, and that life was all about indulgence and materialistic lifestyles. His artwork was shocking and controversial at the time, but is still celebrated today. His 'factory' became inspirational and admired by many, and brands such as Acne Warehouse have mimicked this idea as the basis for their brands. Warhol also had an impact on music at the time and was involved with 'The Velvet Underground'. His close friend Edie Sedgwick, whom he often photographed or had photos with, was a stunning model who features on the cover of magazines such as Vogue. Below is a link to my Andy Warhol Pinterest board and some screenshots:

http://www.pinterest.com/alicehoar/andy-warhol-taste-maker/

Sketchbook:

Taste Makers Lecture

Lecture Summary:

In today's lecture Tim spoke to us about 'Taste Makers' and the importance of knowing who is who in the history of fashion. Within the lecture he gave brief summaries about the most important people in fashion history; these were divided into the following four categories: 

1. Media, Retail and Press 
2. Patrons, Collectors and Socialites 
3. Muses and Creatives
4. Lifestyle and Interiors

Below I have typed up my notes from the lecture:

Media, Retail and Press

Patrons, Collectors and Socialites

Muses and Creatives

Lifestyle and Interiors

I have also translated this into my sketchbook:

My Opinion:

Personally, I found this lecture really interesting and insightful. It is always great to learn about people and trends in history that you were not previously aware of, as this encourages further reading and research of my own. I plan to look further into many of these famous fashion and lifestyle figures from throughout history as I feel that it will be useful in the future to be able to reference these key figures, styles, influences and inspirations.

The lecture was also a great way to spark our own imaginations and make us think about who or what it is that inspires us, who are our own personal taste makers? Within the seminar, Tim followed this idea up by setting us a brief that allows us to explore and research who we believe to be our own two taste makers.