Fashion Moment

Fashion Moment

Working in retail was something I had always loathed; being a tea-maker and running round under my boss’s orders was not a lifestyle choice for me anymore. Whilst working in Primark, I realised that it would take me years to make something of myself; and I decided it was time to do something about it. The day I received my A Level results, I rang up clearance and bagged myself a place on the Fashion course at London Metropolitan University. I always had a secret love for fashion and was good at dressing others but was never given the opportunity to better myself. Whilst living down in the Capital I begged and pleaded until someone would give me a job interview; that someone was Topshop.

During my interview I was asked to dress people for different occasions e.g. Weddings, Birthdays and I knew this was my chance to show I had the skills. A few days later, I received a call and I had the job. I couldn’t believe the quiet geeky girl from Liverpool had a job in Topshop whilst studying Fashion in London. I wasn’t always confident in the way I dressed and I shied away from wearing anything too different in case of any public attention. But as the weeks went on watching fashion experts at work; my confidence built and my style became more creative and outgoing. I started buying clothes I would never usually wear such as leather leggings, fitted dresses and oversized kimonos.

I soon got promoted up to personal stylist’s assistant, and was working with the most fashionable girls in London. This improved my work at University and I still couldn’t believe this was happening to me. Until one day at work, when I thought my luck couldn’t get any better, I had a ‘Fashion Moment.’ I was asked to assist one of the personal shopper’s while ultimate superstar Beyoncé had a V.I.P shopping tour around Topshop. I remember thinking how beautiful she was but had to remain professional and try not to stare. She spent most of her time in the underwear section picking up pyjamas, vest tops and men’s Y fronts. She was so down to earth and it inspired me to just be who I am and not try to impress others; this was a moment in my life I will never forget.

Designer profile: Vivienne Westwood

Celebrating the opening of her flagship store in Shanghai

Rachel Adams

Guardian.co.uk 19^th November 2011 – 19:48

For 30 years the work of Dame Vivienne Westwood has inspired and warmed our hearts with her irrational designs from Punk to Couture. Her signature and most famous design is that of the spinning globe topped with a studded cross that is seen on nearly all of her pieces; if not most definitely on all her handbags and purses. The tartan fabric tells the story of her punk era in the 70’s along with her bondage and chain style and was a visual that started her journey through the fashion world. When her new flagship store opens in Shanghai this week, there is guaranteed to be as much work on the visitors as there will be on the rails.

Vivienne was born in Derbyshire but at the aged of 17 moved to Harrow in London where she studied fashion and silversmithing. She didn’t get noticed until 1981 when she presented her first catwalk show which featured collaborations with former lover Malcolm McClaren. She went on to fulfil her dream of becoming a teacher, whilst making jewellery for her stall at Portobello Market. Her next step was to open a small boutique with McClaren on Kings Road called ‘Let it Rock’ where the dream started to become a reality.

Westwood’s collections have all been hugely successful and have been well received and as a result she is now recognised as one of the top designers of our generation. Westwood has flagship stores in Milan, Los Angeles and Paris as well as smaller franchise stores in Liverpool, Newcastle, and Glasgow, Nottingham, York and not to mention three in Manchester. Her most recent collection ‘Gold Label’ was showcased at Paris Fashion Week, and was a huge success due to the opening of the new store in Shanghai. She says “Fashion is global, influence comes from everywhere in the world. You can wear anything in our part of the world. Anything goes.”

Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie and Lucy Lui have been seen wearing the designs at ‘Red Carpet’ events and such big names have promoted the Dame’s work. Vivienne stays true to her roots by still including her signature pieces which include leather jackets and punk style heels. She even continues to carry the punk look herself with her ever changing brightly coloured hair. The foreseeable future is bright for Westwood as her collections continue to grow and develop as she successfully places her ever unique stamp on the fashion world.

@GabbiFresh

‘GabiFresh’ is a young fashion blogger that has made herself noticed in the fashion industry with her fantastic style, unique take on fashion and is now attending award ceremonies, vogue parties and what I love most about her is that she is not afraid to be herself.  

Gabi (Gabrielle) Gregg is a plus-size woman from Harlem- Detroit expressing her love for fashion and how you can be a diva at any size. I love that she says exactly what she thinks and portrays her warm personality through her blog. After every post she illustrates with pictures of what she is wearing that day and inspires her fans how to dress sexy for every occasion and feel good about it. Her pictures go into great detail showing all angles of her outfits and focussing on the embellishments and her footwear and where it’s from.

She bases her views and opinions at her target audience of larger, fashion crazed, young/middle aged females. She evidently does this well as she has a fan base of around 15, 816 people both British and American.  Her blog is about her day to day life; where she goes and what she gets up too and gives an inside picture as to what the celebrity/fashion lifestyle is like.

However, as her blog caters to the larger woman; it may only interest a small proportion of the public; she needs to make sure there is something for everyone. I think she needs to pay more attention to her blog and makes sure she posts every day to keep her viewers interested and up to date with the latest trends and events. I don’t like that UK based fans don’t have easy access to her clothes as her retailers are based in America.

However, Gabrielle uses many different aspects of fashion in her blog such as new styles, how and where to find her clothes, updates of events and who was there. She includes pictures, videos, hair styles, step by step make-up tips, where she shops and her daily reads. All these aspects make her blog successful and interesting to read.

In order to expand her fan base she needs to explore and focus more on a wider range of fashion i.e. accessories and footwear that will satisfy the needs of women of all shapes and sizes.

Breaking out of the mainstream

When everyone expects so much of you it’s hard to deliver when you’re trying to be different.

By Rachel Adams | 18^th November 2011

It is common knowledge that London is renowned as the fashion capital of the UK; hosting the globally celebrated ‘London Fashion Week’ along with being the origin of the vast amount of magazines that many fashionista’s base their style around. These are only a few examples which demonstrate the important role London plays in our fashion world.

However, London is not the only city that holds such an influence over the fashion market. Liverpool is well known for its unique sense in style and has been previously labelled as ‘Best Dressed City’ by Gok Wan along with ‘Capital of Culture’ two years running.

It strives to be first to wear new styles and so caters to a unique taste that others will follow.

As a Liverpool born student living in London, you get the best of both worlds when it comes to fashion. My prediction for any future trends is always well verified in Liverpool as they are always one step ahead of the fashion game. It goes greatly in my advantage that I can bring these styles back to London with me and yet still be noticed as a Liverpool girl by the way I dress.

However this makes trying to find your own style hard work. Trying to fit in with the current styles and trends in both cities and still trying to have your own individual look can quite often come under the category of ’physically impossible.’ I believe the way you dress and your personal style reflects your personality; but this can be hard to achieve when you’re trying to live up to everyone’s expectations when you’re a fashion student.

But try as I might, I have never been able to afford designer wear that fulfil the profile of all these categories combined. Expensive chic clothing that both London and Liverpool would fall on their feet for; instead I use London to my advantage and visit the vintage market of Brick Lane. Here I can form my own sense of style that is accepted in both cities and can be described as ‘quirky,’ yet on trend. A pair of Levi high waisted shorts with a leather jacket, vintage head scarf with tights and boots is my way of not only rebelling against what people expect me to typically wear, but to also dress the way I want; summing up a mixture of London and Liverpool, modern with a unique twist.