In the afternoon, we took the coach to Leeds. The trip was incredibly useful to me as Marks & Spencer has been a hugely recurring theme throughout my academic year so far. It's already played a huge role in my critical journal as events have unfolded surrounding the brand and now I am beginning to write a feature article intended for Drapers to contribute to my Fashion Writing & the Industry module. After visiting the archives, I decided to focus my article on the idea of public perceptions regarding the brand changing throughout history - given that this has become entirely topical with the recent overhaul of the M&S clothing and retail structure. I expect that as I narrow down my ideas for this term's critical journal presentation, Marks & Spencer will play a large role.
On Wednesday, we had Charlie for the lookbook project which is starting to come together quite well now. Over the week, we individually put together moodboards which we collectively discussed in order to achieve an overriding theme. Inspired by the tweed, country style of our allocated jacket, we all agreed that it would suit an outdoors shoot in moors and marshlands. We chose an area up in the moors on the outskirts of Huddersfield, based on Phillipa's previous knowledge of it. We discussed outfit ideas, agreeing to each pull a few items out of our wardrobes to bring next week as we begin to style the shoot. As a team, we have reached out to a few different models and photographers, securing our wider team for the shoot overall. We discussed the idea of adding a narrative to our lookbook, brand and overall campaign by introducing the idea of walking a dog. This act is symbolic of an active, British lifestyle. We discussed our ideas with Charlie and she seemed positive about what we had come up with, asking us to decide on a brand name for the following week.
On Wednesday afternoon, we had tutorials to discuss our progress for the comparative culture presentation. Beforehand, we pooled our individual findings as a group and allocated new tasks for week four. We set a plan in motion to put together our presentation layout, introduction and conclusion in next weeks session and we all plan to stay behind in the afternoon until it is complete. I have emailed four influential Indian bloggers who I hope to make contact with in order to gain some primary research about style and culture from.
On Thursday, we began the day with a lecture from Stephen about more detailed analysis of branding and our handbooks. Then I had a meeting with my group, which we noted down to add to our Project Management document. We discussed our brand's values and positioning in the UK market. We also brainstormed some names, taking influence from natural elements and outdoors associated words. Some of our ideas include Ridge, Fauna, Fibre and Hinterland. We flicked through a Pantone book to select a colour theme, choosing a mixture of earthy green shades and deep navy. After a tutorial with Stephen, we agreed to increase the price point of our brand in order to match the current economic forecast. As we really want to emphasise the origins of Bonmarché as a Yorkshire-born brand, we are marketing our sub-brand as a product of heritage and durability - therefore, under Brexit conditions, our products must be more expensive so that we can offer quality.
On Thursday morning, I discovered that I had been asked with very short notice to have a Skype interview for a potential placement so during the day, I did some further research into the brand. Then I attended Abi's placement drop-in session where she and Laura Bird gave me some tips on what to expect. After that, I nipped up to Stephen's drop-in session where he gave me some useful advice about the positioning of the company as a luxury retailer as this was something I felt worried that I was lacking enough insight into.
On Friday, I had an over-the-phone interview for a journalism placement position with a small premium luxury designer e-commerce company. The interview was slightly unorthodox and having asked a lot of important questions, the position may not be quite right for me. However, the experience was really valuable. The interviewee had been impressed that I submitted a mock-article to compliment my CV and cover letter and it was a good achievement overall to face the nerves and accomplish something quite daunting. I also made contact with an blogger based in India who agreed to help me with my comparative culture presentation by providing me with some primary research and insightful feedback about my group's chosen city, Mumbai.
On Friday, I had an over-the-phone interview for a journalism placement position with a small premium luxury designer e-commerce company. The interview was slightly unorthodox and having asked a lot of important questions, the position may not be quite right for me. However, the experience was really valuable. The interviewee had been impressed that I submitted a mock-article to compliment my CV and cover letter and it was a good achievement overall to face the nerves and accomplish something quite daunting. I also made contact with an blogger based in India who agreed to help me with my comparative culture presentation by providing me with some primary research and insightful feedback about my group's chosen city, Mumbai.
Post a Comment