BeStill: March 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

CULTURAL SIGNPOSTS

MUSIC......

- Analyze what sort of media is used to encourage the public adoption of the trend.

TV – There are programs on TV. (Such as RAGE) People can listen to the music and watch film clips. This is a great way to show off new and old songs.

RADIO – There is always new and old artists on the radio. They are always interviewing them and promoting new songs. When people here the songs on the radio they are encouraged to purchase music. They also are always talking about up and coming festivals and concerts and tell you how to buy tickets.

MAGS – There are pacific music magazines such as Xpress or J-MAG. They are direct music advertising, people can see up and coming festivals, concerts or new albums and read up on bands.

- HOW MUSIC HAS APPEARED IN THE CYCLE OF FASHION..

Music has been a major influence towards fashion in the 20^th century. A few examples are the following:

The Beatles (60’s)- People were cutting their hair into the signature “bowl” cut and they were the first major band to start wearing full suits on stage.

http://auspop.blogspot.com/2010/11/beatles-hit-itunes.html

Nirvana (90’s)- The Grunge look had people wearing ripped jeans, baggy shirts, cardigans, converse shoes and shaggy hair.

http://www.shazamers.com/2009/10/nirvana-bleach-re-issuelive-at-reading/

Motley Crew/Ramones (80’s)- The punk look encouraged people to start wearing skinny black jeans, black converse shoes, mullet., rocker styled hair and band t-shirts.

Madonna (80’s) - Madonna made the ‘cone’ shaped bra popular. She was huge on lace and vinyl and the beauty spot mole which later on had the piercing named after her.

http://shessel.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/madonna-me/

The Spice Girls (90’s). The Spice Girls had a huge influence on fashion, having each of the 5 girls sporting a specific look. Sporty Spice (sports wear), Baby Spice ( pinks, mini skirts, platforms and big blonde pony tails), Ginger Spice(English flag prints, orange hair, platforms ) Posh Spice ( Black bob hair, black dresses and black platforms) and last of all Scary Spice ( Huge afro brown curly hair, lots of animal print on everything, dark lipstick and platforms)

Bob Marley (70’s). Bob Marley made “weed” cool having it printed on nearly everything, hippy clothing, tie dye, baggy pants, dread lochs, scruffy beards and the cute little beanies in Jamaican colours.

http://www.google.com/

Fashion and Costume Plates

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36954560@N07/3499974435/

Costume Plates shows costume as it was worn in the past. Costume plates peaked in 1640's when they were black/white engravings and more men than women. The first person to make them was Albrecht Durer.

Fashion Plates are a way of promoting possible future fashions. They reached their peak when they were hand coloured engravings in the 19^th Century. They first started in the Ladies Magazine in 1770. Fashion plates from the ladies magazine ran until 1837. Some big magazines that included fashion plates were 'Le Beau Monde'(Bell's court and fashionable magazine addressed particularly to ladies'), The Ladies Monthly Museum', Cabinet des Modes', Journal de la Mode et du Gout' and ' Grahams Magazine'

So much time and effort went into each plate. It is all such beautiful work. Technology is great but I think every known again it is good to appreciate what they did once upon a time to make do. I love looking at all these old styles and colours, they all look amazing!

http://www.fashion-era.com/fashion_plates_old/0001_antique_costume_plates.htm

Magazine history… .. . . … . . . . . . .. .

Here’s a picture of the cover of the first vogue mag. It was published 1892. It’s in black and white and I think it’s adorable!

This is an image of Le Bon Ton

This is a picture of the Delineator with is a magazine published by Butterick. Some of the things he included were; photos, drawings, embroidery and needle work.

The Cosmopolitan magazine was first published in 1886. This is the original cover.

Vanity Faire was first published in 1983. This is an image of the front cover.

FREE WHEELING... . FAD, TREND OR CLASSIC?

FAD: A fad is a short-lived fashion, an interest followed with exaggerated enthusiasm.

TREND: A trend is a general direction in which sometimes trends to move.

CLASSIC FASHION: Is a fashion that stays indefinably.

A current fad is, Jeggings.

http://looseleafwriting.blogspot.com/2010/07/go-forth-and-anosognicate-or-new-weekly.html

Jeggings came about in early 2009. This was the first time they came out and they only lasted 1 short year (thankfully). The trend bubbled up from Japan street fashion. Top shop were the first ones to catch on and come up with the name ‘Jeggings’.

The most fashion influence is:

1. Streets 2. TV 3. Magazines 4. Clubs 5. Movies stars 6. Movies 7. Music videos 8. Internet 9. Fashion Innovators 10. Advertising 11. Friends and families 12. Billboards

A current trend is nerdy glasses.

http://www.shopnastygal.com/products/Nerd-Alert-Glasses%252dTortoise.html

This trend has been growing quite a following since around 2008. This is when the glasses started taking the new vintage, nerdy look. This trend bubbled up from the 1950’s school wear. I remember seeing photos of my dad as a little boy with them on. They were not classified as “cool”, they were just what was affordably and available at the time.

The most fashion influence is:

1. Streets 2. Fashion Innovators 3.TV 4. Magazines 5. Movies

6.Movie Stars 7. Internet 8. Advertising 9.Music videos 10. Billboards 11. Clubs 12. Friends and families

A Classic fashion is, the little black dress.

http://www.news.com.au/gallery-0-1225705763792?page=2

The little black dress trickled down from Coco Chanel in 1926 and has been around ever since. The original was just above the knee and was sleeveless. It was truly simple, yet appropriately sexy! Over the years the shape and length has changed slightly depending on what’s in at the time. It was influenced by the great depression.

The most fashion influence is:

1. TV 2. Magazines 3. Fashion Innovators 4. Music Videos 5. Movies stars 6. Movies 7. Advertising 8. Internet 9. Streets 10. Billboards 11. Friends and families 12. Clubs.

I think an up and coming trend is very feminine garments. Fitted in the right places and flowing in the most flattering. I think we will see these fashions this year. I think they will be featured in peaches, creams and beige.

Monday, March 14, 2011

RESEARCHING BIRD TEXTILES

In Byron Bay, on the edge of the rainforest is where Bird products are all hand printed & made using solar power. Bird is a young brand with a big voice and a strong platform for creating awareness about sustainability amongst their customers.

Rachel Bending is the designer behind Bird. Her work focuses on pioneering sustainability in design. Her work is widely recognized for being environmentally conscious and spearheading a new era of consumerism.

Bird’s fabric prints are all designed at their studio, and are hand printed using water based dies. They also create a range of home wears, gift wears and timeless garments to complement their fabric.

www.birdtextile.com.au

Check out their web site! They have some aswome ideas.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Zine Research

I have seen Zines around before but never took much notice of what they were and what they had inside them. Once i started researching, I learnt that they are a non-professional and non-official publication. They are created by fans of a particular culture, for others who share the same interests. They are always loaded full of current trends, music, art and culture. People like to create zines as a way of expressing their interests and showing people their passion. I can’t wait to start putting mine together :)