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WEEKLY | reads

1. Cross dressing artists
...was the first thing I read. No you silly mind, it says Crossover artists. An article that is based on the criss cross collaborations between catwalk gurus and digital painters. I only recently discovered the intellectual side of webshop ssense, where some true gems are hidden. I mean, ever used asceticism in a sentence before? 'Crop tops with minus twenty degrees? I prefer some ascetic nunnyness.' I promise that this 5 minute read will teach you some new words. This article is like an art gallery of poetry, including some visual Shakespeares.
Crossover artists: Blurring the boundaries of fashion and fine art by ssense

2. Too many, too bad
I am not born and raised to become a fashion designer, but I'm up for a branding job in that same category. Yes, this article definitely makes smart use of product placement, right at the moment that you, a fashion student, desperately stare at your screen with eyes full of despair because of all the nasty things this woman says about your future. Despite all of this, the question that is raised deserves some attention. Are we producing too many fashion designers? And if we take it one philosophical step further down the line, does fashion actually need you/me/dupree?
Op-Ed | Are we producing too many fashion designers? by Frances Corner

3. Old and fashioned
This article has been published somewhere begin February, so in fashion-terms it is hopelessly dated. But as it has been written by a true industry authority, these words never get old. Nor does comfort, which we still prefer above style. Or was it the other way around? Next to that, Cathy Horyn added some catwalk candy from nearly twenty years ago to prove her point. And for fuck's sake, it looks as if the latest CĂ©line army is coming down the runway. Is Phoebe an old soul in a young body? Point proven!
Sign of the Times | Slave No More by Cathy Horyn

WHY this article?
All this renovation talk can be heavy at some times, so please take a zen-moment and read this hap-snap article in between. The process of rebranding is being influenced by everything I absorb during the day, digital as well as analogue. These articles give new perspectives and are helpful in my personal development. And since the slogan 'sharing is caring' is the most mis-used Internet vomit since the establishment of Nyan Cat, I'll join the craze. Here, I shared this week.

PHASE ONE | (r)evaluating SWOT

Before ze blog became another big black hole on the Worldwide Web, it had potential. Somewhere. It went from three posts a day to one in two days to well, one every decade. You had to carefully select the verbal vomit and pre-Photoshop collages from the opinion articles, but there was something. The rebranding process starts with an evaluation, a humble introspective, a peek into one's (digital) soul. And on day one, the brand professors created the SWOT analysis.

Strengths

  • The Magazine Effect. I wasn't even aware of puling this one off until I did some serious evaluation. The combination of longer and shorter texts, collages and single-picture posts creates a readable and scrollable whole. Variety in a nutshell. 
  • My statistics (and they never lie) tell me that my AMFI-collegues are on the hunt for some inspiration, that Jasmin Sewell is still everyone's fashion darling and that the Givenchy Septum broke all records. My analysis: the interest in timeless classics lasts forever and I should seriously develop my sense of trends for countless page views.


Weaknesses

  • No own images. I broke the copyright law for about 42238 times in my life so far. But since images without naming the photographer, stylist or model seems to be the next black sheep (referring to your own Pinterest our Tumblr account doesn't count), 2014 marks the era of credits. Not only does the initiator gets the respect he owns, it is also great for building a database of interesting people (and helpful for impressive namedropping on parties).
  • Inconsistency. Once a day, once a week, once a year. Regularly updating and posting is essential for a consistent blog. It also affects the coherency: without a clear creative direction the content just seems like a whole lot of blablabla.

Part two of this educational piece will soon be online.

PHASE ONE | the concept

When your own blog functions as home page, you'll eventually get fed up staring at your last post from 31 July 2013. Then it hit me. It wasn't the medium of blogging I was fed up with, it was the uninspiring wave of posts filling my Bloglovin app and the shallow, repeated images of 'the blogger' (I did one attempt, once. It failed. I didn't have enough different duckfaces and all the kids from the nearby residential area left their Lego castles to look at me, awkwardly posing in front of their elementary school).

Raise your glass to trying-it-again, to the second attempt, to failing. Now drink. Some booze will get you in the right ecstatic mood for what the next sentence will unveil.

A new concept, based on 100% transparency, 'the journey is the destination'-ish quotes and the popularity of peeking behind the scenes. A blog that shows the hours of research and visualisation that is hidden behind inspiration-posts and hysterical outfit imagery. An ode to the art of analysis, a personal approach to the concept of blogging and a practical way of applying the skills I'm being educated as Fashion Brander.

Big words, huh? I promised that already. This blog won't be another portfolio, or a showcase of how great my vision on the fashion industry is (I did some attempts in drunk state, screaming 'Let's play hide and seek. I'm Martin Margiela!'). No, none of that. It should be explaining the why instead of the what and give insight in the many layers of fashion, beyond the catwalk or cash desk.

So, welcome to an experiment, with me as human guinea pig. I have nothing more than these words to explain it to you. The rest will follow in small steps, elements of a process that dress up this blog as the latest trends dress up our bodies.

I heard baby-blue will be big this season.
 

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