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.