Summative Brief

I can't believe that I have finished my first term at university already! It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in the lecture theatre for welcome week and now Ive been given my first big individual project to complete over the christmas break.

The purpose of the summative brief task is to take us through each stage of the FCP process and see if we have learnt all the information given to us throughout the first term. We will be assessed on how well we can apply this information to a new task. It is a report document, that will include research into a fashion concept, developing a variety of Big Ideas, creating a set of mood boards, producing an image/ set of images to be used on social media. 

As part of the brief, we were given a trend to research. We had to look into the history and cultural influences of the trend, as well as the way that it has effected industries other than fashion. The trend that I was given was 'The Purist' trend. I had never heard of this trend so naturally I began to panic. So in order to come to terms with it, I decided to use Pinterest as this is a great way to visually research something. Creating a Pinterest board for the trend really helped as I was able to see exactly what my trend was. Overall, I collected over 150 pins. Here are some screen shots from my board:

DKNY resort collection S/S 17, Calvin Klein and Jil Sander designs

R.I.P| 3 beauty trends that we should leave in 2016

2016 was the year of excessive makeup tips and new 'trends'. Being a makeup obsessed teen who spends the majority of her money on makeup, I was excited for all the new trends and products being released. However, to my disappointment, half of the trends seemed like a complete waste of time. People have become so extra to the point that they are adding features they never had and reducing their body shape through excessive makeup. 

So I decided to pick three of the trends which I hated the most. 

1|Faux Freckles

Polka dots or faux freckles?

The Execution stage pt 3 | Final idea and images

After lots of brainstorming, the next stage was  to come up with an idea for the shoot. Initially we wanted to use dance as the main theme since this was the main theme for Day's shoot. We first thought of doing it outside in the dark and using street lamps as lighting. Then we would have a model doing a dance pose and we would throw coloured chalk in the background to represent vibrancy and movement. Here are some of our brainstorms from this idea:

The Execution Stage pt 2 | Photoshoot prep

So now that we know what our creative concept is, we were then given a product that we had to use as the main prop/theme of our shoot. We were given makeup, which meant that we had to incorporate this into our shoot somehow. Since I am makeup obsessed, I was ready and rearing to go. 

For the next stage, we needed to come up with 5 key words that we felt reflected the elements that were present within the original shoot, in order to inform our photoshoot. These words were:

Degraded Glamour
Isolation
Intimacy
Grunge
Raw

We chose 'degraded glamour' because we felt that the shoot was inspired by a french photographer called Brassai, who was known for capturing the dirty/gritty side of behind the scenes at dance shows in Paris. I felt that Day portrayed a similar vibe within her shoot as all of the images looked as though they were backstage before a show. 

The next word we chose was isolation. Looking at the photoshoot, there were a group of women but there was one main girl that was always staring into the camera whilst the others just looked like props. When I was analysing the shoot, I thought that the message within the original editorial was that despite the fact that many people can be included within a show, there is always a main star and the focus will always be on them therefore we chose this word. 

The Execution Stage | Corrine Day style photographs

I was so excited to find out that Corrine Day was the photographer for the editorial we got and that we had to shoot in her style. I love Day's photography as there is always an element of rawness to the photographs as they aren't overly composed and unrealistic. As well as this, it looks like all of the subjects that Day photographs look like they trust her which means that the outcomes of the photos are very relaxed and not forced which add innocence and I think this is effective.

Its a boy girl thing! | The evolution of the makeup industry

Benefit Babes! Patrick Starr, Kathleen Lights and Manny MUA (left to right)

Finally! The conventional and outdated stereotypes of mean and women within the beauty industry are being pushed aside thanks to the younger generation changing the way things are done by celebrating self expression and individuality.  After decades of it only being acceptable in society for females to wear makeup, the beauty standards are shifting with more and more males entering the makeup industry.