2012 S/S trend - NEO-TRIBAL

1.Etro 2.Michael van der Ham 3.Gucci  4.Missoni  5. Missoni  6.Bottega Veneta  7.Gucci 8.Proenza Schouler

by Sobin

2012 S/S trend - A sporting life

1.Rag & Bone 2.Rag & Bone 3.Marc by Marc Jacobs  4.Alexander Wang  5. 3.1 Phillip Lim  6.Alexander Wang  7.Marc Jacobs 8.Rag & Bone  9.Proenza Schouler 10. Marc by Marc Jacobs

by Sobin

2012 S/S trend - Under the sea

1.Alexander McQueen  2.Alexander Wang  3.Fashion Fringe  4.Versace  5.Giorgio Armani  6.Versace  7.Oscar de la Renta 8. Basso & Brooke  9.Versace

by Sobin

Zoggs

    >> Mission: Redesign Zoggs' website!

  
    >> Zoggs' Pen Portrait

  


  
    > Current website

     > New website we redesigned

NTU Promotion- DECORATIVE ART

MY FAVORITES - COS

1. lambswool extra wide cardigan 2. merino cocoon dress 3. wide neck jumper  4. blue relaxed fit jeans 

Fashion retail activity in Nottingham - Kids jeans

1. Expensive Market - Caine

Caine is a store buying and selling kids line of luxury brands such as D&G, Diesel, Paul Smith, and Burberry. A outside sign with gray colour and elegant-style font in white background looks dainty.

Staff wears the classic cashmere cardigan in black and pants in black. White wall and welcoming lighting and white flower on the table in the center inside store create the refined atmosphere.

Consumer Profile

“ My husband works at law firm and I had worked as a curator. Since having a baby, I have stopped working and focused on raising my child. Today, I am supposed to having brunch time with my friends in Simpson’s-in-the-Strand restaurant. After having brunch, I will go to Fortnum & Mason to buy tea and look around the porcelain teapot set in Wedgwood.”

2. Mid-price Market - Marks&Spencer

Kids line of Marks & Spencer has a reasonable price and good quality and design

Customers can look around and find products easily because of well-classified display of items and roomy area. This makes shoppers feel comfortable. There are less particular marketing materials.

Consumer Profile

“I live in suburb. I usually purchase my baby’s clothes when I go shopping of my clothes in Marks & Spencer because it sells good quality products at reasonable price. I think John Lewis is suitable for purchasing tableware and cookware. Also, I like going to Waitrose which wine selection is great.”

3. The Cheapest market - Primark

In Primark, customers can purchase jeans with good design, but low quality at cheapest price. Customers are likely to find disordered clothes which are stacked on shelves. Most of its counters do not look happy, exhausted, and annoyed. This could lead people to have unenjoyable shopping experience.

Consumer Profile

“I have my own job. we have difficulties in making a good living because a salary of my husband is small. I think that expensive clothes are useless to children because they grow up at a fast speed. I have my own sewing machine. So, I sometimes make my kid’s clothes after I buy cloth in the shop near my community at cheap price. This is economical and I can present her own clothes.”

Fashion retail activity in Nottingham - Womens knit wear (gray colour)

1. Expensive Market - N.W.3 in Hobbs

Hobbs has good design and high quality materials. Wooden hanger and lighting with organic shape generate the elegant atmosphere. Its space of the store is separated into three sectors; Hobbs, N.W.3, and accessories. The service attitude of staff is excellent; Smiling facial expression and kind manner. Competitors of Hobbs are near the shop. Jigsaw is next to Hobbs, and Comptoirs des Cotonniers is located in the same road with Hobbs.

Consumer Profile

“ I always put and bring Benefit cosmetics and a bottle of Perie and Samsung Galaxy mobile phone in my Tod’s bag.I enjoy reading Vogue and Love magazine every month. This weekend, I am going to have a dinner in Japanese restaurant. A topic of our chat would be new cosmetic line of Burberry. On weekend, when I go shopping with my mother, we will visit Selfredge and Browns. ”

2. Mid-price Market - Firetrap

Shoppers of Firetrap can notice that this brand pay attention to visual details such as the grand lighting and mannequins decorated with nails. This brand shows consistently its brand identity even on its swing tag and shopping bag. Through these, shoppers could have impressive shopping experiences.

Consumer Profile

“Smoky eye make-up with Bobbi Brown long-wear eyeliner is necessary to me when I go out. Today, I will match a leather jacket from Topshop and a vintage one-piece which I purchased in Camden market. My favorite music is electronic & rock. I enjoy reading Zoo magazine and Vice magazine. When I buy my boy friend’s clothes, I go to All Saint. I like its avant-garde cutting and rough feeling. “

3. The Cheapest Market - Magenta

It is located in first floor in Victoria Centre. There are little special visual details. Promotion strategy is cheap price.Its customers consider a cheap price as the most important factor. Compared with price, its designs are good. Customers could be satisfied with the value.

Consumer Profile

“I live in suburb. I will have a party at my home. I am going to go to Asda for ingredients. After that, I am going to buy the disposable tray and cup to Pound World. I like Oxpam because I can find and purchase clothes and props with good design and quality at low price.”

Fashion retail activity in Nottingham - Mens white t-shirt

1. Expensive market - Vivienne Westwood in Flannels

Flannels is an independent fashion retailer buying and selling clothes and accessories from a variety of luxury brands. Its wooden outside frame and shelves in store provoke elegant atmosphere. It has a minimal store design which there are less excessive visual details. Service attitude of staff members is excellent. Smiling staff greet shoppers and ask if they need helps. Marketing material is ‘Loyalty Card’. Flannels gives this card its patrons and informs information related to discount sales and events priorly.

Consumer Profile

“ I live in London. Every morning, I use Isseo Homme cosmetics and Millionaire of ‫Paco Rabanne before I go out. I really enjoy reading GQ and Vogue Homme every month and going shopping in B-store and Sefton. This weekend, I am supposed to having dinner with my friends in Rules restaurant near Covent Garden. Because I have been busy working a project these days, I could not meet friends very often. ”

2. Mid-price market - Fat Face

Its visual details in the store remind customers that ‘Fat Face’ is for people who enjoy outdoor activities; tubes which make people recall beaches and dress room made of wooden panels fallen off. This promotes a casual and active environment.

Consumer Profile

“ I like playing basketball. I expect to go to beach and enjoy surfing next summer vacation. My favorite music types is POP and Rock. I usually don’t like perfume, but Polo sport perfume is my only favorite perfume. Cooking is bothering, so I often buy and eat freezing pizza in Tesco.”

3. Cheapest market - Primark

There are little factors provoking visual interests in its display. It seems to pay attention to helping customers find products and pay them effectively in a short time. Products are clearly classified item by item. Its swing tag only show necessary information such price, size, and materials.

Consumer Profile

“ I am twenty years old and a student majoring in Law in a university. I don’t understand people who are sensitive at fashion brands. I like more purchasing several clothes at cheaper price regardless of brands. I think this is more effective and useful. My favorite pastime is cooking. I buy grocery which Tesco itself produce and I cook at home. This food is more healthy and cheaper.”

I took these photos in 2008.
My model is SL, my close friend. I went to the college together in Seoul.  We used to discuss fashion and talk about our dream each other with enthusiasm in the cafe. We really enjoyed that. She had often come over my room. I frequently had taken pictures of her and she had been my good model. These are part of photos of her which I took.

When: January, 2009 

Where: Sageun-dong Sungdong-gu Seoul

Photo: Sobin

Model: SL

SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE 2- LFW(Lakmé Fashion Week) 2011 A/W

Recently, Im interested in Indian culture and fashion. They are colourful and exotic and make me motivated and inspired. While surfing blogs about Indian fashion and design, I found 2011 A/W collection of Sabyasachi Mukherjee in Lakmé Fashion Week. He is famous for his design combining Indian traditional with contemporary elements. As soon as I saw his 2011 A/W collection, I become his fan.. look at the colours and tactile fabric like silk and elaborate embroidery! I love designs with a clash of the different cultures or past and modern elements.

*Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) is Indian fashion week organised by Lakmé, the cosmetics and beauty services brand in India and IMG, the global leader in fashion weeks and event production.

http://republicofchic.blogspot.com

SABYASACHI MUKHERJEE 1- LFW(Lakme Fashion Week) 2011 A/W

Resources: http://republicofchic.blogspot.com

JARDIN DE CHOUETTE - SEOUL FASHION WEEK 2011 F/W

Resources : http://archive.seoulfashionweek.org

JAIN SONG-SEOUL FASHION WEEK 2011 F/W

Resources : http://archive.seoulfashionweek.org/

2011 CONSUMER TRENDS & MARKETING CASES

1. Consumer Trend - ‘Bringing the Best of Online to the Real World’

Trendwatching.com (2011) announced one of the 2011 consumer trends is ‘bringing the best of online to the real world’. The sales of online shopping are increasing. This does not mean consumers would stop shopping in the off-line stores. Consumers would continue to visit the shops in person and enjoy experiencing events in the stores and the atmosphere of shops, visual displays, and service of staff. Today, the shoppers also want to enjoy the advantages of both online and off-line shopping (Trendwatching.com, 2011). This means that consumers would prefer the retailers bringing the merits of online shopping such as the convenience, reviews, and the cheaper cost into their off-line shops.

There are several cases of retailers which this trend ‘bringing the best of online to the real world’ is reflected. In February 2011, Burberry, a British high-end fashion brand, streamed a live fashion show into Piccadilly Circus and in its stores during London Fashion Week. People also could enjoy the live fashion show online. In an interview with Telegraph (2011), Christopher Bailey, who is a Burberry's chief creative officer, pronounced

"we are thrilled to be bringing the Burberry show to our widest audience yet in an immersive, interactive and entertaining experience. Whether you are at home online, watching in Piccadilly Circus, using a mobile device or in our store in Beijing everyone will be able to feel the energy and attitude of the brand and the excitement of the show."

Norma Kamali, a New York-based fashion designer, offered a 3D runway film of her 2012 resort wear collection, as well as a 3D fashion game on her website (Manderfield, 2011). This can provide visitors with the experience that they are watching the fashion show in person. Since February 2011, an American department store JC Penny has offered a service named ‘Findmore’ in their stores. Shoppers can not only check the online catalogues and inventory but also share the products which they are interested in with their friends. Tom Nealon(Costedio, 2011), a group executive vice president of JCPenney, claimed that merging online and in-store shopping experiences plays an important role in differentiating JCPenny from other competitors. Department stores such as Macy’s, Sears and Nordstrom added wireless Internet in their stores. This allows shoppers to check the inventory and review of the products by means of using the free Wi-Fi with their smartphones (Chuang, 2011).

2. Consumer Trend – Citysumers

The second consumer trend is citysumers. According to Trendwatching.com (2011), citysumers mean ‘ the hundreds of millions of experienced and sophisticated urbanites, from San Francisco to Shanghai to São Paulo, who are ever more demanding and more open-minded, but also more proud, more connected, more spontaneous and more try-out-prone, eagerly snapping up a whole host of new urban goods, services, experiences, campaigns and conversations.’ Canton(2011) claims that the consumer marketplace and society will be redefined by over 20 Megacities like Shanghai and Sao Paulo. These kind of cities already have had an huge amount of impact on the world’s markets, consumers, societies and population. Brands have considered developing the products and services targeting citysumers’ busy and various lifestyles.

In March 2010, the One Tree Coffee Co., an urban espresso bar located in New Castle, Australia redesigned their packages. The city’s heritage was reflected in the package design: being inspired from the local coal and steel industries of this coastal town (Lovely Package, 2011). This espresso bar also sells its own nostalgic postcards depicting the past scenes in the city.

In April 2011, Milan Public Design Festival was held having the theme: changing unused spaces and buildings across the city into a space for citizens. Designers in the festival showed inventive ideas. For example, an ancient farmhouse was turned into a design showroom and a public street library was erected on the railways of the local station (Vedovato, 2011). Bond No.9 makes scents of New York and releases the perfumes. Recently, Bond No. 9 pays homage to Andy Warhol, a famous New York pop artist, through a series of fragrances which are themed and named after him (Delgado, 2011).

3. Consumer Trend – Social Media

The next trend is social media. Consumers desire to possess the best products at a cheaper price. An increasing number of consumers are turning to online sources during the information search phase of their decision making process before purchasing (Linnell, 2010). Social media allows consumers to share their thoughts about products and helps people to contact each other, it is likely social media will continue to influence consumer behavior. Consumers welcome the opportunity to be able to read product reviews and receive recommendations on certain types of products they may be interested in purchasing. There are lots of brands using effectively this social media to catch up with the consumers’ needs.

Since March 2011, a Belgium fashion magazine Flair has provided a Facebook app ‘Fashion Tag’. Users tag their clothes or accessories. The app then posts questions about where they found the items to the friends' walls and the friends answer the questions. The tagged items also are posted on the Fashion Tag wall and editors pick the best ones to publish in the magazine (Brandactivation, 2011). In another case, an American department store Macy’s launched a page on Google+, a social network to retailers and brands. Google+ enables retailers to build relationships with consumers on the social network by sharing their thoughts, links and photos with customers in a circle (Stambor, 2011). Macy’s can build existing relationships and create new ones with new consumers through Google+.

NTU PROMOTION- DECORATIVE ART

This term, I worked on NTU promotion project of decorative art in a group. These works are some of our results of the project. 
I attached the project brief below;


NTU PROMOTION BRIEF
With increasing pressures for brands to stay one step ahead in a difficult business climate your task is to develop a strategy and promotional idea for an NTU degree programme. There are many university programmes around the country that propose similar content. How do you choose which university to go to and which course to enroll in?

How will NTU as a brand differentiate itself?

How will NTU position itself against its competitors?

What tone of Voice will it have?

The programmes that we want you to consider are:-

Fashion / Textiles / Knitwear / Multi Media / Graphics / Theatre design / Decorative arts

You should also consider the most appropriate type of format/event in order to showcase the NTU course the most effectively e.g. exhibition, conference, magazine etc. You should include a double-sided business card which may contain a logo, illustration, motif, consideration of font, colour, paper quality etc. You should consider a strap line. your team will give a 5 minute presentation to the programme for whom they have designed the piece of promotion. The presentation should outline the reasons behind the choices for the design and also for the event which will showcase the course the most effectively. You should also evaluate the efficacy of the questions asked of the staff/course (your client). You should decide the most appropriate format for the presentation e.g. moodboards, PowerPoint etc.

VOGUE CHINA

BLUE SHIRTS & BLACK SKINNY JEANS

MY SISTER'S WEDDING PHOTOS

ARBORETUM IN NOTTINGHAM

by Sobin


In January 2011, the photos were taken in arboretum, Nottingham

NEW YORK PRESENTATION

History of American fashion 
Before we start looking into our findings of American retail, we thought it would be important to do a quick study of American fashion history, as it would have a huge influence on the retail today. In the 1800s New York as well as America, was already known for their fashion. In the 1900s it rapidly surpassed other cities as the centre of trade, culture and fashion. Department stores were major attractions, where people would gather.  As years went on, attention to detail in the window displays were already being depicted such as surrealism replaced art deco as a major fashion influence as well as some of the biggest fashion magazines being published.  To this day New York is still known for its
 large contribution to the industry.

Location
New York is made up of some of the most well known designers and high street stores of every kind. When making observations to the location, we looked at New York as we had evidence. When walking around New York, you get a certain feel from different places, due to the shops, the culture and the people. In Manhattan the art vibe comes across from the meat packing districts turned into high end fashion stores. As you move towards central park the higher end luxury stores were placed together, whereas the high street stores were further down. With New York’s shopping experience becoming a huge tourist attraction, the crowds stroll up and down 5th avenue, getting a feel of the shopping area from the brands. The location of the stores and the type of store depends on the geographical region in any country. Different consumers are located in different regions of the country in terms of where the luxury brands are placed to the high street brands and the brands position themselves carefully.

Branding
When looking at the brands of New York and in general the US market. We noticed that the brands were targeting their own market, e.g. Hollister aiming towards college casuals
 as the clothes seemed to slightly differentiate from what we notice in the UK stores  for example the collections seemed to be plainer.
The window displays were equipped to show the brands products, showing a clear image of the brand. Every brand had a unique identity, and from the minute you stepped in to the store minute you stepped out you knew what the brand essence was.  The brands in New York were varied from the UK including a lot from the middle market such as old navy, anthropologie, forever 21, ann taylor and club Monaco.

SWOT FOR THE US
When comparing the US and the UK retailing market we decided it would be best to outline our observations through a SWOT analysis. The strengths of the US retailing market, show strong customer service, through interaction with customers leading to repeat customer visits. Their Stores represent their brand image well through every aspect of the shopping experience. They are up to date with technology and using it in an effective way to show the product as well as interact with customer. However their Weaknesses are, that Sometimes interaction with customers may be overpowering leading to customers feeling uncomfortable. Theirs stores may be turning into more of a tourist attraction rather than the traditional ways of wanting to buy clothing with all the high technology not appealing to all type of consumer.The US have huge Opportunities such as the growth of E- commerce- retailers can experiment with social computers. Information technology has enabled retailers to apply science to markdowns resulting in improved merchandise margins. The Threats of the US retailing market may be the Recession, Implications of inflation and Chinas rising economy especially in technology may be taking over many countries.


Recommendations
Our first recommendation is for UK retailers to adopt better interaction and a personalised service to customers.




(* This is the presentation about NY course trip I made in a group in May 2011.)