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. 

Seminar Activity - Semiotics

Analysing an image using semiotics:

In today's seminar we began to use semiotics to analyse and look at images or other visual texts to find both the obvious and hidden/symbolised meanings. Below is my chosen image (an outfit from Martin Margiela's S/S 2005 collection) and my response to the tasks given. 

1. Initial Response (Words/Phrases)

Layered, Dark, Scruffy, Disheveled, Contrast, Rough, Covered Face, Emotionless, Collage, Simple, Business wear, Number, Writing, French, Possibility of underlying complex meaning, Roland Barthes - "The terror of uncertain signs". 

2. Description of Visual & Purpose

Photograph from photoshoot, model is wearing an outfit from Spring/Summer women's wear collection 2005. Could be classed as advertisement or documentation. 

3. Denotations

A woman/female model in collection outfit

All black clothes - some contrasting nude/flesh/white tones - white shoes

Hair is not done - slightly scruffy/disheveled looking

Black line across eyes

Straight face - quite emotionless

Strip of paper over-layed with typewriter style typography - states what women is wearing - written in french

Number in the corner - place in order of collection

4. Connotation
Combination of scruffy, disheveled clothing, mixed with ideas of business dress - goes against conventional ideas, pushes boundaries, tries to move away from traditional tailoring 
Black line over eyes and straight face - shows no emotion - makes clothes the focus of audiences attention - more about what they were than the face -  the clothes may tell more of a story than the face
Writing in French - French company - French associated with elegance and perfection/precision - this emphasises a point of going against the conventions

5. Q&A
What is it?
An outfit created by Martin Margiela at his company 'Maison Martin Margiela' for his Spring/Summer 2005 Collection
Who produced it? 
Martin Margiela under his label
When was it produced?
Made for 2005 S/S so most likely 2004
What else was going on at the time of production, both in the field of fashion and in the wider social and historical context?
Does it belong to a specific trend or movement? What immediately preceded it?
Did any specific ideas or theories inform its production?
Who was it produced for?
What technology/media/materials have been used and why?

Sketchbook

Below is an image of the notes taken in my sketchbook, which I have then translated onto here:

The Eye Has to Travel

Diana Vreeland and 'The Eye Had to Travel'

In today's lecture and seminar's we watched the film 'The Eye Had to Travel', an inspirational and fascinating film about Diana Vreeland's 50 years of international fashion. I found the film interesting, informative and inspiring. Diana Vreeland was an incredibly creative woman, who saw the world in an entirely unique and almost magical fantastical way; her whole life's work reflects this, and her innovative thinking and interested take on all things fashion. Her interest in what surrounded fashion is admirable; to be able to take in culture, surroundings, era, historical events, revolutions and politics, and see beyond the fabric, materialism of fashion and into the world that the industry creates is a fascinating and incredible feet when done so effortlessly. The result of her ever-growing passion was the power and impression that her work had on the industry, she was on top of the fashion world. She spoke in the film of clothes being the key to everything, she said "you can see and feel everything through clothes" and stated that even a revolution can be seen coming through changing fashion trends. 
Her work was always luxurious, as was her lifestyle, she spent and made money all the time, her world revolved around money, she says so within the interview in the film, stating that "money is everything" and "anyone who says otherwise is mad". Her work was also very much about story telling, something that matched her personality entirely, she lived in her own fantasy world, where things were the way she believed they should be and therefore not necessarily how they really were. She was as aware of this as those around her, but says quite simply that "we live through our dreams and imagination, for really it's the only reality we know". She was a key player in the history of fashion, changing the image of both Harper's Bizarre and Vogue; she always did something new and something different, even when going back to past era's where historical elements of fashion were made her own. She took unusual people and made them into models, she saw something in people that the others could not and the results were incredible, unique photographs. 

Trailer

Here is the trailer for the movie:

Q&A

Did I enjoy it?

Yes, I really enjoyed the film, it was fascination and engaging, the same was it is with other similar documentary style films that give you this close-up and personal take on the lives of these icons to the fashion world. Such as with Bill Cunningham in 'Bill Cunningham's New York', the correlation between these two great people in the fashion world is their love, passion and dedication for what they do. And it isn't always about the clothes and the lifestyle that can often be associated with it, but instead the beauty and almost fantasy of it all.

Was I inspired? 

Yes. I think that the work Vreeland did was spectacular and unique and all together quite wonderful. She had such a individual way of looking at the world, and fashion; she took in everything about the clothes, not just the material, the colour, the cut etc...but the setting, where it's from, why it's been made, who's wearing it, the culture behind it, the fantasy life that can be attached to it. As they say in the film, the magazines for her where always about trying to 'give people what they can't get at home'.

What characteristics made Vreeland successful? Good or bad?

I think that the film makes it clear that there are many sides to Diana Vreeland, not all of them positive, but certainly all of them contributed to her success. For example, her drive, her passion and her love for what she did, her need to work and her need for the industry and the clothes; these were the things that kept her there, she both wanted and needed it. However, as the film portrays, this may have made her less of a good wife and mother to her 2 children, as her passion and love went into her work, she travelled a lot for photoshoots and model scouting. Her daring attitude was definitely a positive contribution to her work, this made her take risks and go all out on an idea without a worry or a second thought or a doubt as to whether it may sink or swim. This head-strong certainty made her swim. 

Would you recommend the film? To who? And why?

I would definitely recommend this film, it's both interesting and inspiring. I think that anyone with a similar interest in fashion, especially those who read Harper's Bizarre or Vogue and are interested in it's history as Diana Vreeland definitely played a vital part in both. However, I also think somebody interested in art, design or media and advertising would be interested and inspired by this film; her way of seeing and interpreting, not just the clothes but the world, is unique and admirable. 

Sketchbook

Here is an image of the notes within my sketchbook in relation to the film:

Moodboards

In today's lecture we were introduced to our first module, which is entitled 'Visual Awareness'. The first section of this module is based around moodboards, and their use within industry. Therefore, within today's seminar we carried out a moodboard task following a brief that was provided prior to the seminar.

Brief:

Could you please make sure that you are prepared for the mood board activity on Thursday October 3^rd 2013.

You will be making a new mood board (mixed media) and you will need the following materials:   

·      Old magazines,

·      newspapers,

·      photos,

·      drawings, etc.

·      anything else that might be useful for the Mood Board workshop.

You will also need:  

·      1 Sheet of A3 White Card  

·      Glue (Pritt Stick type) and or Tape (Masking, Electrical, Parcel, etc.) 

·      Assorted collage materials (if you have them!)

·      Fabric swatches, etc. 

Mood board Topic: My Favourite Fashion Brand/Designer

When collecting material for your mood board, please think about the following:

·      Key colour schemes which may crop up / signature motifs?

·      Are there any overriding themes? Is there an identifiable mood or personality?

·      Are there any other key influences on the brand such as artists or designers referenced?

·      Consider any other cultural and contextual references outside of fashion such as literature, film, music or politics.

My Moodboard

The designer I chose to base my moodboard on was Alexander McQueen, my all-time favourite designer. To sourced the images for moodboard from several different places; firstly, I used magazine advertisements and articles from Interview, Pop, Hunger and Vogue magazines, collecting anything that advertised or included McQueen's clothing, as well as pictures from other brands/designers that have created something in a similar style/with a similar theme. Secondly, I collected images from Google, and thirdly, I photocopied images out of my own books, including 'Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation'.  

During the seminar we were encouraged to play around with the layout, images used, colour themes and image size. To do this I arranged and re-arranged my moodboard several times, to make sure that I thoroughly considered the placement of each individual element in order to create the perfect tone and mood to reflect my chosen designer. We we're not allowed to use anything with the brand or designers name on within our moodboards, so this made the layout and the consequent mood/tone of our work even more important. 

Below are images of some of my trial layouts, which I documented using my iPhone camera so that I could refer back to previous versions and adapt elements I did or didn't like.

 Final Moodboard

Below is an image of my final finished moodboard: