Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Art Deco Architecture
Monday, 18 April 2011
Greta Garbo
I figured Greta Garbo should have her very own post in this blog for obvious reasons.
Popular movie database website imdb.com puts Great Garbo in the top 100 greatest actresses of all time. In 1997 Empire Magazine also ranked her number 38 of the top 100 movie stars of all time. She also once appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most beautiful woman who ever lived.
There are several reasons as to why I decided to name my company Garbo
Firstly, Greta Garbo is widely considered as one of the greatest actresses of all time. Her career was at its most successful during the 1930s - her name is synonymous with old Hollywood glamour. Garbo (the company) sells evening wear inspired by fashion of this time. Fashion at that time (and even still today) was exposed to the public through celebrities. People would have been interested in what famous actresses such as Greta Garbo were wearing, and would aspire to emulate her style. I want Garbo to sell clothes that the great movie stars of the 1920s-1940s would have wanted to wear - whilst also appealing to the modern customer. Old Hollywood glamour is the epitome of timelessness - it is a look that has survived the decades and one that translates well within a modern context. I'm sure that many people, when hearing of a shop called 'Garbo', would probably presume it sells vintage inspired clothing.
As explained previously in this blog, the word 'garb' refers to clothing - fitting for a fashion business i'm sure you will agree.
The name 'Garbo' is therefore a culmination of references to Greta Garbo herself, old hollywood glamour and vintage fashion. Having a vintage inspired evening wear business that makes people think of someone who was once considered the most beautiful woman who ever lived can surely only be a good thing - it sends a message to the customer of "buy something from Garbo and you could be as beautiful as Greta".....
Popular movie database website imdb.com puts Great Garbo in the top 100 greatest actresses of all time. In 1997 Empire Magazine also ranked her number 38 of the top 100 movie stars of all time. She also once appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most beautiful woman who ever lived.
There are several reasons as to why I decided to name my company Garbo
Firstly, Greta Garbo is widely considered as one of the greatest actresses of all time. Her career was at its most successful during the 1930s - her name is synonymous with old Hollywood glamour. Garbo (the company) sells evening wear inspired by fashion of this time. Fashion at that time (and even still today) was exposed to the public through celebrities. People would have been interested in what famous actresses such as Greta Garbo were wearing, and would aspire to emulate her style. I want Garbo to sell clothes that the great movie stars of the 1920s-1940s would have wanted to wear - whilst also appealing to the modern customer. Old Hollywood glamour is the epitome of timelessness - it is a look that has survived the decades and one that translates well within a modern context. I'm sure that many people, when hearing of a shop called 'Garbo', would probably presume it sells vintage inspired clothing.
As explained previously in this blog, the word 'garb' refers to clothing - fitting for a fashion business i'm sure you will agree.
The name 'Garbo' is therefore a culmination of references to Greta Garbo herself, old hollywood glamour and vintage fashion. Having a vintage inspired evening wear business that makes people think of someone who was once considered the most beautiful woman who ever lived can surely only be a good thing - it sends a message to the customer of "buy something from Garbo and you could be as beautiful as Greta".....
Friday, 15 April 2011
Vintage in the spotlight 2
Lily Allen is another celebrity who has put vintage back under the spotlight. She has famously taken a break from her music career to open a vintage boutique with her sister - called 'Lucy In Disguise', situated in Covent Garden.
This move from popstar to boutique owner has been documented by Channel 4 - 'Lily Allen - From Riches to Rags'.
The boutique sells (mostly designer) vintage clothes from the 1920s right up to the 1990s. The store also houses a Blow-Dry Bar and a Vintage Makeup Salon. There are also select garments that are for hire purposes only. Pricing is not available via the website - which usually point to one thing - expensive!!
Celebrity status means that Lily's new business venture is common knowledge to pretty much anyone who reads newspapers and magazines (there have been countless articles about it!). This is a good thing for vintage clothing - people have always, and will always, want a piece of celebrity lifestyle. It has, in many ways, cemented vintage clothing as 'cool' territory.
If it's good enough for Lily Allen....
This move from popstar to boutique owner has been documented by Channel 4 - 'Lily Allen - From Riches to Rags'.
The boutique sells (mostly designer) vintage clothes from the 1920s right up to the 1990s. The store also houses a Blow-Dry Bar and a Vintage Makeup Salon. There are also select garments that are for hire purposes only. Pricing is not available via the website - which usually point to one thing - expensive!!
Celebrity status means that Lily's new business venture is common knowledge to pretty much anyone who reads newspapers and magazines (there have been countless articles about it!). This is a good thing for vintage clothing - people have always, and will always, want a piece of celebrity lifestyle. It has, in many ways, cemented vintage clothing as 'cool' territory.
If it's good enough for Lily Allen....
Vintage in the spotlight
Livia Firth, wife of multi-award winning actor Colin Firth, owns 'Eco Age' - a shop dedicated to all things 'eco'. The website http://www.eco-age.com/home states that; "We at Eco Age work with the best of national and international designers to bring you the best from the sustainable world. From toys to bespoke furniture, green cleaning products to energy saving gadgets, this is the place to be." This lady clearly knows a thing or two about green products.
Livia decided that, for one entire awards season when she would be accompanying husband Colin, she would only dress in ecologically sound, sustainable fashion. Vogue followed her 'Green Carpet Challenge' for the award season - which saw Livia dressed in a plethora of sustainable outfits. What's all this got to do with vintage, i hear you say?
Well. One of the dresses Livia wore during the awards season was a dress, made by Gary Harvey, that consisted of 11 recycled vintage dresses. It was a 'green' dress because it was made from pre-existing fabrics and trim - it was recycled.
Some have criticised Livia's choice as actually being more wasteful than 'green', due to the fact that 11 dresses were used to make one - thus resulting in a lot of waste. However, whether the dress is 'green' or not - it still put vintage clothing under the spot light, perhaps even appealing to those customers that now see it as a 'greener' alternative to buying something new. Although this would have no real benefit for Garbo (the dresses are neither genuine vintage, nor specifically made from 'green' fabrics) it has still put vintage clothing back under the spotlight and made some people more aware of it.
Livia decided that, for one entire awards season when she would be accompanying husband Colin, she would only dress in ecologically sound, sustainable fashion. Vogue followed her 'Green Carpet Challenge' for the award season - which saw Livia dressed in a plethora of sustainable outfits. What's all this got to do with vintage, i hear you say?
Well. One of the dresses Livia wore during the awards season was a dress, made by Gary Harvey, that consisted of 11 recycled vintage dresses. It was a 'green' dress because it was made from pre-existing fabrics and trim - it was recycled.
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| Livia Firth wearing her recycled vintage dress |
Some have criticised Livia's choice as actually being more wasteful than 'green', due to the fact that 11 dresses were used to make one - thus resulting in a lot of waste. However, whether the dress is 'green' or not - it still put vintage clothing under the spot light, perhaps even appealing to those customers that now see it as a 'greener' alternative to buying something new. Although this would have no real benefit for Garbo (the dresses are neither genuine vintage, nor specifically made from 'green' fabrics) it has still put vintage clothing back under the spotlight and made some people more aware of it.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Veronica Lake
Here are some shots of the absolutely stunning Veronica Lake. Her look is actually quite a modern one for a vintage Hollywood movie star.
The fact that the model in my promotional video looked similar turns out to be quite advantageous - it makes her look more accessible to a range of customers due to some modern references in her look. It shows how the overall look would translate to the modern customer.
Her story is quite a tragic one. After her rise to fame, she had an equally quick fall from fame. Marlon Brando (one of Lake's ex lovers) famously sent her a cheque for $1,000 after hearing she had been forced to return to waitressing to make money. Lake never cashed the cheque out of pride, but instead framed it to show those who visited her and perhaps to remind her that she was once a famous and successful actress. She died of hepatitis at only 53, after years of battling with alcohol addiction and mental illnesses including extreme paranoia. Apparently only her son and a few unknown strangers attended her funeral. Some of her ashes were even found being sold in an antique store many years later.
The fact that the model in my promotional video looked similar turns out to be quite advantageous - it makes her look more accessible to a range of customers due to some modern references in her look. It shows how the overall look would translate to the modern customer.
Video Concept
The initial concept for this video was to shoot a model running away from the camera in slow motion, wearing a billowing dress. Initially I had wanted to film it in a corridor (preferably one in an old cinema or a vintage looking hotel). However, getting permission for this proved hard and so I decided on an outdoor location for the shoot.
The idea for simple black and white shots of the model running from camera in slow motion actually came from Katy Perry's music video for 'Waking up in Vegas'. There is a really quick glimpse of her running away in slow motion down a casino corridor. Chanel's advert for their No.5 perfume (named "The One Night Stand") features Nicole Kidman exiting a taxi in slow motion and running from camera in a beautiful evening gown that billows as she runs. This also provided inspiration for my own shoot. Both Nicole Kidman and Katy Perry look glamorous, expensive, exciting - and ultimately, you want to be her. Who is she? Where is she going? Why is she running away? I wanted this feel for Garbo's promotional video and I wanted my viewers to ask these same questions about Garbo. It would be the first time anyone had seen anything about the company and so I wanted the viewer to be curious about it. I wanted them to want to be the girl in the video. I wanted them to want to know more about her. I wanted them to feel that, if they shopped at Garbo, they too could be transformed into a glamorous woman being chased by admirers through beautiful gardens.
The video ended up having a real romantic, flirty feel to it. It is very subtle in its message. I didn't want any dialogue in it at all. I wanted the viewer to take from the video whatever they felt the story meant to them. I have asked several people who watched the video what they thought the story behind it was. Many of them shared my vision - that this was a glamorous woman inviting a male admirer to follow her through passageways and gardens. You never really find out why she wanted to be followed, or even where she ended up. It is like a 'grown-up' Alice in Wonderland in some ways - the girl is the White Rabbit asking us to follow her into her world filled with glamour from a time gone by. Others thought the video looked "very perfume ad-ish" - but again, surely the purpose of these adverts is to make you want to be the woman in them?.....Someone else added, when asked what they thought the video was about, "Who cares? All I was thinking about was that dress and how good that girl looks in it!". The video ends with a shot of her 'admirer' looking at her from afar. It is meant to show a sense of mysteriousness - what would have happened if he had caught up with her? Vintage clothing in itself is very mysterious. You never really know where it has been, who it belonged to, what stories are tied up in its fibers. Although Garbo's garments are not genuine vintage - they take influence from a time that is so different to modern life. The clothes are an escape away from modern life, back to a more mysterious place in time - a time before everyone posted what they had for breakfast on Twitter!
The video title - "A Thread In Time" - is a play on words (as is "Garbo". Obviously you would think the company's name is down to Greta Garbo, an iconic actress whos career spanned throughout the 1920s, 30s and 40s - which, mainly, it is. If you think 'Greta Garbo' you don't think modern. You think classic Hollywood glamour. However, the word 'Garb' also means clothing. These two things tie in pretty nicely with a glamorous vintage inspired evening wear company I'm sure you'll agree.) "A Thread In Time" also refers to Garbo's vintage credentials. A thread in time, evokes a feeling of time gone by - in this case Vintage. 'Thread', again makes you think of clothes. 'Time', because Garbo's focus is on a specific period in time.
The model coincidentally ended up looking rather similar to Veronica Lake - another gorgeous movie star of the 1940s. It was probably the long blonde hair with that distinctive Lake wave that did it!
The look is purposefully overtly glamorous. Not only does this make the viewer aspire to be like that - it also confirms in the mind of the viewer that Garbo's look isn't an 'every day' one. It isn't casual. It isn't low-maintenance. Wearing a piece from Garbo is meant to feel like an occasion - it should make you feel like Veronica Lake or Greta Garbo and co.. You should feel like a bona fide Hollywood movie star.
The message then that this video should send out (however you interpret the story) is a simple one - put on a piece from Garbo and become your own movie star - .....and then maybe get someone to chase you through a garden....
The idea for simple black and white shots of the model running from camera in slow motion actually came from Katy Perry's music video for 'Waking up in Vegas'. There is a really quick glimpse of her running away in slow motion down a casino corridor. Chanel's advert for their No.5 perfume (named "The One Night Stand") features Nicole Kidman exiting a taxi in slow motion and running from camera in a beautiful evening gown that billows as she runs. This also provided inspiration for my own shoot. Both Nicole Kidman and Katy Perry look glamorous, expensive, exciting - and ultimately, you want to be her. Who is she? Where is she going? Why is she running away? I wanted this feel for Garbo's promotional video and I wanted my viewers to ask these same questions about Garbo. It would be the first time anyone had seen anything about the company and so I wanted the viewer to be curious about it. I wanted them to want to be the girl in the video. I wanted them to want to know more about her. I wanted them to feel that, if they shopped at Garbo, they too could be transformed into a glamorous woman being chased by admirers through beautiful gardens.
The video ended up having a real romantic, flirty feel to it. It is very subtle in its message. I didn't want any dialogue in it at all. I wanted the viewer to take from the video whatever they felt the story meant to them. I have asked several people who watched the video what they thought the story behind it was. Many of them shared my vision - that this was a glamorous woman inviting a male admirer to follow her through passageways and gardens. You never really find out why she wanted to be followed, or even where she ended up. It is like a 'grown-up' Alice in Wonderland in some ways - the girl is the White Rabbit asking us to follow her into her world filled with glamour from a time gone by. Others thought the video looked "very perfume ad-ish" - but again, surely the purpose of these adverts is to make you want to be the woman in them?.....Someone else added, when asked what they thought the video was about, "Who cares? All I was thinking about was that dress and how good that girl looks in it!". The video ends with a shot of her 'admirer' looking at her from afar. It is meant to show a sense of mysteriousness - what would have happened if he had caught up with her? Vintage clothing in itself is very mysterious. You never really know where it has been, who it belonged to, what stories are tied up in its fibers. Although Garbo's garments are not genuine vintage - they take influence from a time that is so different to modern life. The clothes are an escape away from modern life, back to a more mysterious place in time - a time before everyone posted what they had for breakfast on Twitter!
The video title - "A Thread In Time" - is a play on words (as is "Garbo". Obviously you would think the company's name is down to Greta Garbo, an iconic actress whos career spanned throughout the 1920s, 30s and 40s - which, mainly, it is. If you think 'Greta Garbo' you don't think modern. You think classic Hollywood glamour. However, the word 'Garb' also means clothing. These two things tie in pretty nicely with a glamorous vintage inspired evening wear company I'm sure you'll agree.) "A Thread In Time" also refers to Garbo's vintage credentials. A thread in time, evokes a feeling of time gone by - in this case Vintage. 'Thread', again makes you think of clothes. 'Time', because Garbo's focus is on a specific period in time.
The model coincidentally ended up looking rather similar to Veronica Lake - another gorgeous movie star of the 1940s. It was probably the long blonde hair with that distinctive Lake wave that did it!
The look is purposefully overtly glamorous. Not only does this make the viewer aspire to be like that - it also confirms in the mind of the viewer that Garbo's look isn't an 'every day' one. It isn't casual. It isn't low-maintenance. Wearing a piece from Garbo is meant to feel like an occasion - it should make you feel like Veronica Lake or Greta Garbo and co.. You should feel like a bona fide Hollywood movie star.
The message then that this video should send out (however you interpret the story) is a simple one - put on a piece from Garbo and become your own movie star - .....and then maybe get someone to chase you through a garden....
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Filming Complete!
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Paul Poiret - 'King of Fashion'
Paul Poiret was born in Paris in 1879 and was to become known as the 'King of Fashion'. His designs were groundbreaking and controversial - they went against the norm. He freed women from their corsets and introduced them to draping. He is well known as having never been able to sew,but instead draped the fabric onto the body; even once saying that his dresses should "read beautifully from afar". This lack of workmanship and tailoring was to backfire after World War I, when designers such as Coco Chanel gained popularity for their sleek tailoring and high workmanship.
Poiret is well known as being one of the first designers to understand the importance of marketing - he dressed famous actresses in this designs as a way to gain publicity. However the fashion house crumbled quickly during the 1920s and 30s - there are some reports that suggest by the time the house closed, Poiret's clothes were sold by the kilo as scraps. For someone who radically changed the face of fashion, it is a shame that his name isn't as renowned as it should be!
Poiret is well known as being one of the first designers to understand the importance of marketing - he dressed famous actresses in this designs as a way to gain publicity. However the fashion house crumbled quickly during the 1920s and 30s - there are some reports that suggest by the time the house closed, Poiret's clothes were sold by the kilo as scraps. For someone who radically changed the face of fashion, it is a shame that his name isn't as renowned as it should be!
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Old Hollywood, revived
The classic Old Hollywood look is one that is adopted by many a celebrity come award season on the red carpet. I'm sure this has something, even if it's just a tiny bit, to do with the fact that this look photographs so well. The photos below show some celebrities who I feel have managed to brilliantly execute this look - a look that I will be recreating in my own shoot
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| Sienna Miller |
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| January Jones |
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| Megan Fox |
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| Anna Nicole Smith |
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| Christina Aguilera |
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| Katy Perry in her 'Thinking of You' music video |
Katie Holmes for T magazine
Katie Holmes posed for T magazine (the New York Times lifestyle magazine) back in 2008, with husband Tom Cruise, in a beautiful vintage styled shoot.
'Indochine' - German Vogue
Viktoriya Sasonkina by Steven Meisel
50s/60s Hollywood inspired editorial shoot by Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue.
Although most of the images from the shoot use strong 1950s styling - some of the hair and makeup is appropriate for the sort of look I would re-create for my shoot....even the dress sowing Viktoriya perching on a bench looks similar to the one I will be using!
Although most of the images from the shoot use strong 1950s styling - some of the hair and makeup is appropriate for the sort of look I would re-create for my shoot....even the dress sowing Viktoriya perching on a bench looks similar to the one I will be using!
ta-da!
It's amazing what you can do with £25 worth of fabric...!
This is the dress I will be using for the film shoot for my commercial. It can be tied in many different ways to create varied necklines, straps and details to the back.
This is the dress I will be using for the film shoot for my commercial. It can be tied in many different ways to create varied necklines, straps and details to the back.
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| Slightly reminiscent of the green dress Keira Knightley wore in Atonement |
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| One Shouldered - very Grecian! |
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| Strapless sweet-heart neckline |
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Madeleine Vionnet - "When a woman smiles, then her dress should smile too"
Madeleine Vionnet was a French couturier born in France in 1876. She became known as "the architect among dressmakers". She was extremely successful during the 1920s and was to become renowned for her use of the bias cut, which clung to the body, emphasising a womanly shape. She died in Paris in 1975.
You can see from the photos below, how Vionnet used references from Ancient Greek art in her designs - many of the dresses are form fitting, yet fluid.
You can see from the photos below, how Vionnet used references from Ancient Greek art in her designs - many of the dresses are form fitting, yet fluid.
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