Influencers

INFLUENCERS TRAILER from R+I creative on Vimeo.

"INFLUENCERS is a short documentary that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends & creativity become contagious today in music and fashion.

Directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, the film is a Polaroid snapshot of New York influential creatives (advertising, design, fashion and entertainment) who are shaping today's pop culture." (The Cool Hunter)

There are indeed certain people that can tap into weak signals...singularly it's only one thing happening but when you see these signals all over the world it's a clear trend.  I can't wait to see this documentary as I still find it massively interesting to see how and why things become the way the do.  Taking NYC as their example is all well and good but we live in a global society, I would love to see this extend to look at the most influential "influencers" throughout the world.

The Business of Trend

I have started an MA in Fashion and Lifestyle Promotion.  Today we had a little introductory session where we all spoke about ourselves.  Name, age, how we got to be on the course, what was the best thing that we encountered on the way, likes/dislikes, who we admire etc.

During this the head of Fashion Design at the university discussed how she loved her job, she loved trend, it didn't feel like work...but that trend itself is like a product.  A product that she doesn't particularly like because if everyone of us brought into it we'd all look the same.  However, what it comes down to is that whether you're a designer or a promoter you are trying to influence people to buy into the trends that you have acknowledged.

Trend is a funny thing.  Designers can get inspiration from anywhere...history, culture, or a cupcake they see in a bakery or trend forecasters.  Trend forecasters scour the land (the whole world!) looking at 'cool' things: a street, a shop, an artist, a subculture that has its own trend within society.  Then they sit back and plan what will happen next.  In the next 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, 100 years.  I love it.  And hate it.

Trend is like marmite.  I sit here in my tapered trousers (the shape of the season don't you know!) and I wonder why I chose these.  I didn't acknowledge they were in trend...I hadn't gazed at them in magazines, I hadn't spotted them on catwalks.  I hadn't planned to purchase that particular style, I'd just gone into the shop and there they were but then subconsciously I might have planned to purchase them.  After all, the designers for that shop had planned it.  They'd researched, developed, seen them on celebrities and cool people at catwalk shows and filtered trend down for the high street where it has been successfully sold to me.

The business of trend is frustrating.  Frustating and wonderful.  It's rather amusing to think how it all comes about.  Especially now, in the last throws of fashion week season with Paris Fashion Week in full swing.  I wonder what makes people plan certain items to purchase and what makes others, like me, do it off the cuff with subconscious considerations.  After all, Oscar Wilde said "fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months" yet so many people have been dying for autumn to arrive so they can grab their shearling coats, boots, everything...

2010: The year to embrace yellow?

I succumbed to the yellow trend today.  It's plagued me every summer because of how bloody pale I am.  Nothing has changed...but I fell in love with a dress.  A dress from Next.  I'm thinking I'll shun the black and go all grey and silver when it comes to accessories.  If you know me I can almost guarantee that you won't be able to picture me in this but bear in mind I am an awfully lot more hourglass than this teeny tiny model here, imagine all those ruffles shimmying around and me with a nice glass of white in my hand.  Picture me in it now?

In case you disagree with my choice I've compiled some other splendid yellow numbers that are on the market.

Karen Millen (£135), Very by Vera Moda (£50), Traffic People (RRP £55, £25 at ASOS Outlet), Eucalyptus (RRP £69, £32 at ASOS Outlet), Ted Baker (£199) and ASOS (£36)

All of these are available from ASOS.  Lazy?  Me?  No way....it's research.  I'm looking into jobs there and what better way to understand the brand than to indulge in their style?  From subtle tints of yellow to acid brights and multi-colour prints emblazoned with lemon tones maybe 2010 is the year to embrace yellow. If I can do it you definitely can!

Future in Progress....I'm in a book!

This year I graduated from UCLAN as the first set of fashion students to officially come from their "International Fashion Institute" (IFI).  They've made an amazing trend book called Future in Progress and I'm in it.  "Future in Progress features a series of directional and inspiring concepts, projects, ideas and opinion that we believe will influence our fashion future up to 2020."

I thought I'd treat you and took some pathetic iPhone pics for you...though just images don't do this justice.  The books actually really good.  Particularly because Elena Kate Gifford, the Creative Director of Future in Progress, is amazing with trend.  Genius.

Buy it at Amazon.  It's not just IFI people....it includes students and professionals from all over the UK in one big, collaborative, epic mashup.  With contributors including Terry Mansfield (Chairman of GFW), Neil Bennet, Chris Hamilton and amazing UCLAN student Alex Crozier.  It's pretty epic.

Future in Progress: front cover, my page, my section (awww bless...they're promoting me!), Alex Crozier and Chris Hamilton