"Not Traditionally, But Aggressively"

My bed is warm, the air is crisp; the trees are whispering outside my window.
And the clock just struck 12:30 a.m.

Where am I?

I am here.
Do you have those nights where your mind is so flooded with ideas you just can't sleep? And rather than put it off till morning, you have to just get out of bed, and seize the moment?

That is exactly what is happening to me right now.

All day I have been thinking of writing. And more and more, I have been coming to the conclusion that my immediate goal needs to be in the fashion magazine business, especially since I have been keeping a library of old fashion magazines starting with my sister's Seventeens from 1997. Have you ever felt that you could run to your goals faster than you could naturally achieve them? It's a strange feeling, a feeling that I am still trying very much to understand myself; I have the desire to just go outside and run, Forest Gump style, for miles and miles. Somehow, someway, for some reason, in my mind, doing this will bring about my desired solution. I suppose it just means that I am really becoming more and more determined to reach my goals, hungry for them, thirsting for them; ready to taste the sweet satisfaction of victory.

And in that spirit, I have decided to list my steps for success here.

Step one: Brand and Market Yourself
According to dictionary.com, "brand" is defined as "kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, or the like." This definition gives way to ponder. I read this article on the web, about how to market yourself. It suggests taking simple routes such as including your name or website in simple tasks you do each day, such as writing an email or sending a simple thank you. Contacts are very important in every aspect of business, especially the fashion industry. Make sure to professionally and appropriately brand yourself based on the type of company you apply for, as well as the type of company you want to one day become. For example, my portfolio includes several different types of themes and inspirations; make sure to break them down, one by one, label them, expand on them if necessary to better get the theme/idea across. Also, be sure to be age appropriate. That is one of the best pieces of advice I feel I can instill; age appropriate gets you everything. I was rejected by one company purely because my sketches weren't "age appropriate", a.k.a.. they looked too youthful, and therefore, did not reflect the company's target market at all. You want to show that you can identify with the brand, so be sure your designs are a reflection of your original creativity as well as the company's audience; If it doesn't look like the company, take it out and move on.

(I shall post Step 2 after Step 1 has been appropriately achieved.)

Going back to fashion magazines, I took the time to research a few in my spare time today. And I have come to some very interesting findings.

First of all: Trends
Sleeves, sleeves and more sleeves; the bigger, more pleated and gathered, the better. With the emphasis there, it was hard to not notice the 80's reference to good old-fashioned shoulder pads. Hit up the Dolce and Gabanna website for your full 80's flashback experience: you will notice the Nintendo inspired theme music for the website, a mixture of the Rocky, Die Hard, and Leathal Weapon video games. Here's a taste of what you will find there under the "Runway" heading.





And speaking of gathers, hello Balenciaga, I am in love with you. The gathered skirts, the ankle-biter boots, and who could forget my favorite part of the Balenciaga girl: the delicate looking lace bandeau, spidery yet soft, sequined and delicate, featured under every top for the Fall 2009 show. I'm convinced everyone needs to have one.


And again, with the shoulder emphasis, here comes Jonathan Saunders:

I love this gathered cape effect


Givenchy also featured pleated shoulders:



Then comes the beautiful side-hip detailing from designers such as Marchesa and Moschino.





Salavatore Ferragamo: how do you do it?


Graeme Black was also a surprising find, his work seemed very inspired by classic art pieces this fall, especially Klimt.


Here's the picture, Danae, by Klimt; see the slimilarities?


And hello Zac Posen. Another 80's shoulder emphasis whore, who I could never get enough of, Zac Posen just evokes the balance between classic art and modern creativity.





Ports 1961 followed, and set, the trends; the similiar cape-like shoulder detail as Jonathan Saunders, and Lanvin-esque saris.



And Balmain. Wow. That's all I have to say. Everything was leather, shinny, sequinned, and incredibly sexy.


And check out this boot detail. Strap it on, girl.


The cake-topper was the Diesel Black Gold collection; it was a complete visual tribute of the 80's-90's timeline. Madonna, Michael, and Marilyn were all there. Check it out on the Diesel website.

Jil Sander also features a very interesting take on the traditional winter coat.


And here, fashion dears, is the creme-de-la-creme. Matthew Williamson.


I know this is all a little late coming, but soon to be reviewed is the Spring 2010 collections.

I will leave with a quote I really enjoyed: "One's company, Two's a crowd, Three's a trend."