Armani and Capucci - Mia Griffith

During our trip to Italy, we were lucky enough to not only go visit the Capucci museum but to also view Aldo Fallai’s Armani Exhibition. Fallai’s photographs were mainly shot in black and white, there were some photos in colour but judging from the museum and his other works he preferred to shoot in black and white. Not only did his photos give a sense of sophistication, but they revealed a ‘timeless persona’ this is because although they were shot in the 1980’s they appeared to be very modern.  As previously stated, Fallai seems to have a preference for black and white shooting, this too is my preference as I feel that it sets a scene of elegance, class and sophistication. It’s almost that whatever you are shooting can appear to be more beautiful than it truly is, like an illusion. This has encouraged me and inspired me to experiment with my lighting,clothing and model positioning during the promotion shoots in order to gain a different perspective and emotion for each photograph.  

On the other hand, Robert Capucci’s work was very colourful and vibrant, whilst full of life yet still sophisticated. It was not only amazing to see Capucci’s designs but it was extraordinary when we went into the rooms where his designs came to life. The use of not only colour but the shapes of his dresses were playing on our emotions. Whilst one dress was pink and yellow and green, almost as if it were summer time, you would expect the black and white one to be more calm and simple, for someone who doesn’t want to be noticed. However, with his frills and drastic designs, he brings to life a sophisticated yet noticeable and beautiful simple black and white dress. 

     

Armani and Capucci Exhibition - Richa Maria Kurien

On our visit to the Capucci museum, we were fortunate enough to also view Aldo Fallai’s work for Armani. Fallai’s work revealed a timeless persona, with photographs shot in the 1980’s still managing to look exceptionally modern. Looking at his work has inspired me to experiment with lighting for my Fashion Promotion shoots as Fallai achieved a variety of moods in doing so – mystery, innocence, tragedy, confidence.

 In contrast, Roberto Capucci’s work was vibrant, bursting with pops of colour and eccentric shapes. It was amazing to see how his designs that seemed imitable on paper come to life on mannequins. Cappuci’s work is certainly revolutionary and poses a futuristic take on fashion. Overall, Italy has been a great way to gain some first-hand insight into the fashion industry and I’m so grateful to have come back with so much more inspiration and drive to influence my work. 

Valentino’s Headquarters - Richa Maria Kurien

An experience I’ll never forget is going inside Valentino’s headquarters, thanks to Luca’s amazing connections. My respect for designers and ateliers grew even more as we walked through the rooms in which haute couture dresses were being created. I was in awe of the precision and detail with each bead, sequence and embroidery. An atelier had told us it takes at least five years of training to master such an art, which came as no surprise to me especially after seeing finished pieces.

I was particularly attracted to an olive green, Valentino dress as it looked so delicate, especially with the touch of real bird feathers flowing all the way down it. As I was ‘tumblring’ for my blog, I came across a photograph of another Valentino dress, which I was so privileged to be able to say “I saw that in person”. This dress clearly illustrates that fashion is a form of art. To be able to recreate Lucas Cranach’s ‘Adam and Eve’ painting, into a dress with various shades of thread and embroidery is skill at its finest. We were also given an amazing opportunity to look through Valentino’s archive. It gave me a great insight on how fashion and style has evolved and in some cases, recreated.  Browsing through a portfolio of Valentino designs for celebrities such as Anne Hathaway and Katy Perry, felt so surreal and made me realise what an incredible opportunity it was to visit the headquarters of such a glamorous brand. 

The Ambience of Rome - Richa Maria Kurien

During our first walk in Rome to restaurant which seemed like an eternity to a bunch of hungry, jet-lagged students, I found as much as we wanted that pizza, we were all mesmerised by the beautifully lit up streets of Rome (i.e. stopping several times for photographs and instagram posts).  Whether the soft light be from a dinner table candle or reflecting of a sculpture from Trevi fountain, the atmospheric lighting enhanced Rome’s exquisite and romantic aura.

 On our visit to Fendi, I noticed how the brand transferred and adapted such lighting to the store, which effectively emphasised its heritage and luxurious brand image. Fendi’s products such as their fur coats and handbags, were all beautifully crafted and it was a great privilege to be shown them by Fendi’s Head PR. Some were even lucky enough to try Fendi fur on, making the visit feel all the more welcoming and exclusive. A highlight from the trip was definitely the breath taking view from Fendi’s helicopter landing pad. A sea of amber buildings surrounded every angle in sight, as did our cameras. Overall, Rome had such a majestic quality, that it’s no wonder so much art and fashion has bloomed from it. 

London Day---Yuan, Weisi

Carnaby Street

Carnaby Street was the epitome of fashion before, now it’s a young fashion hub. Its characteristics are fashion, shiny, jumping and youth. I can feel the energy of it when I walking down the street. The window displays are catching peoples’ eyes. There are hip-hop rock style, fresh casual wear style, cute girl style, sport style and so on. It targeting at young consumers, most of the shoppers here are students. Some of the consumers are tourists, just come for visit because of its fame. Based on its target consumers, the prices here are not high and some of them are really cheap.

Knightsbridge Street

Knightsbridge Street was not busy at all when I just get out of the underground. A few people were walking through the street. There had some huge luxury stores, such as Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton and so on. Some of them were just small stores, but they are also luxury brands. I asked a Chinese girl some questions when she walked out of the Louis Vuitton store. Omitted some part of the conversations. Here is the most important part.

I asked: Did you just buy something in Louis Vuitton?

She answered: Yes, I just bought a scarf for my mom.

I asked: How much did you spend for it?

She answered: About 300 pounds.

I asked: Where is your income come from? How can you afford that much?

She answered: I study as an international student in UK. All of my income comes from my parents.

I asked：How often do you buy in Knightsbridge street?

She answered: Maybe once a month, not sure. I will come when I find something I like on the website.

After our conversation, I want to take a picture of her. But she is too shy to do it, so she covered her face when I take the photo.

There were more people when I get closer to Harrods. Harrods is one of the iconic departments of Knightsbridge Street with long history. It has all kinds of luxury brands. Most of the consumers are tourists and a lot them are Chinese. Based on the situation that I see, tourists and international students are the majority consumers in Knightsbridge Street. They can travel to foreign country and study in UK, it tells us their incomes are above the average or rich, so they can afford the luxury consuming.

New Bond Street

New Bond Street and Knightsbridge Street both full of luxury brands stores. The only thing difference is the consumer. New Bond Street also targets at high incomes consumers, but most of them are local rich people, not tourists or international students. New Bond Street has more luxury flagship stores than Knightsbridge and they are all in the street instead of department stores. By the way, I saw a beautiful art exhibitions in New Bond Street. Although it’s too expensive to afford the art works, it’s good to see and improve my beauty-appreciation.

All photos were took by myself.

Analysis of Carnaby Street vs Mayfair

Our task was to research various London areas and compare and contrast them. I travelled to London specifically to Carnaby Street and Mayfair. As I have never been to Mayfair before, my very first impression was that Mayfair is all about luxury and premium brands. At every corner I came across high-end fashion brands including Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Prada or Saint Laurent to name a few. In every single store there was a doorman what to me evoked a feeling that those stores were not intended for everyone but rather being exclusive for more wealthy customers. What's more, some of the stores didn't have much glass what again made them look more luxurious. As for visual merchandising it was really appealing in most cases and display windows being perfect in tiny details posed a strong promotional tool to attract attention and further seduce customers to walk in.

Chanel store in Mayfair.

Burberry store window.

Louis Vuitton display window.

Salvatore Ferragamo store.

Though, what appeared to be the most striking and interesting to me about Mayfair was when I saw Abercrombie & Fitch store located in a historical and impressive building. At first, it seemed to me quite odd that the brand which I do not associate with luxury to any extent decided to locate their store in a place surrounded only by high-fashion brands. However, when you dive in deep, it becomes obvious that the location which the brand chose for the store is clever of them as it demonstrates that Abercrombie & Fitch aims to position their brand as more premium so they want to influence the way customers perceive their brand image.
Considering the store environment, it is essential not to overlook the fact that when I walked in I felt as if I entered a sort of a museum or a gallery. The store was massive, the light was dark and all apparel looked like it was presented as some exhibits rather than something you can purchase. Actually, there's no doubt the store interior did look premium yet a bit overwhelming as well. Personally, I wouldn't consider it as the most comfortable place to shop. However, the strategy itself the brand applied to reposition themselves is impressive and it is what's called a retail theatre being all about making shopping experience more unique and outstanding.

The entrance to Abercrombie & Fitch store.

Abercrombie & Fitch store's interior in Mayfair.

The next destination was Carnaby Street which historically used to be the most famous part of London in terms of fashion spirit. Contemporary, on Carnaby Street there are lots of high-street brands such as American Apparel or The Kooples. Carnaby Street is more about retail mix not meaning only fashion necessarily. In contrast to Mayfair, this retail area is also more diverse considering the size of shops - there are smaller and much bigger ones as well. What I especially like about that place is that when you walk down the Carnaby Street you really feel that characteristic welcoming vibe and a sort of street style spirit.

Carnaby Street welcoming sign.

American Apparel store on Carnaby Street.

The Kooples store on Carnaby Street.

Vans display window.

To sum up the differences between those two retail areas which are Mayfair and Carnaby Street, the basic dissimilarity between them is that Mayfair is all about premium brands whereas Carnaby Street is more about high-street brands. As a consequence, in Mayfair you can find good quality, premium fabrics and more impressive tailoring whereas Carnaby Street offers fast-fashion instead. In addition, Carnaby Street is more contemporary in terms of architecture. However, stores on Carnaby Street are less spacious comparing to those in Mayfair. Analysing a location of stores in Mayfair they are more spread out what creates a feeling of space and thus the premium area. Furthermore, considering visual merchandising stores in Mayfair present a higher level of performance focusing on details that are to make a displayed outfit even more attractive.

Although those two retail areas are very different from one another and thus give a customer distinct shopping experience, they both create their own unique atmosphere thanks to which needs of various types of consumers might be fulfilled.

By Gabriela Kaszub