Table of Contents

Entry #1 Page 3

Entry #2 Page 4

Entry #3 Page 5

Entry #4 Page 6

Entry #5 Page 7

Entry #6 Page 8

Entry #7 Page 9 & 10

Entry #8 Page 11 & 12

Entry #9 Page 13 & 14

Entry #10 Page 15

Entry #11 Page 16

Entry #12 Page 17

Entry #13 Page 18

Entry #14 Page 19

Entry #1

BLADE RUNNER

Entry #2

Original Article: The allure of the superhero this summer isn’t limited to blockbusters like X-Men or Thor: For his cologne, A*Men, Thierry Mugler handpicked South African Paralympics athlete Oscar Pistorius to front its futuristic campaign. The 24-year-old sprinter competes with the aid of two carbon fiber artificial limbs—thus earning him the nickname Blade Runner—and holds the Paralympic world record at 100, 200, and 400 meters. In a landscape populated by screen idols and rock stars, Pistorius (like his fellow Paralympic sprinter Aimee Mullins, who just signed on with L’Oréal) isn’t exactly the traditional choice for a cologne spokesman. But his combination of physical prowess and inner fortitude caught Mugler’s eye. For his part, Pistorius claims a natural affinity with the patchouli, coffee, and vanilla– based scent—though in a promotional video, the bare-chested sprinter lets his raw speed do the talking while sporting ergonomic silver leggings that meld with specially designed blades in place of his prosthetics. Because of a congenital disorder, Pistorius was born without fibias; both of his legs were amputated below the knees when he was 11 months old. Still, he grew up wrestling and playing rugby, water polo, and tennis before discovering running at the relatively late age of 17. Though he has since conquered the Paralympic world, he’s faced a number of obstacles in his quest to take part in able-bodied events. An initial ban suggested his prostheses gave him an advantage, but he now races in both arenas. Currently, Pistorius is training hard with the goal of representing South Africa at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, while also establishing a foundation to give prosthetics to those who can’t afford them. As for the “Muglerized” blades he nabbed from the A*Men shoot: “I’m not sure I’ll wear them again,” he says, “but they’re a great souvenir.”

When Oscar Pistorius was just 11 months old he had to get both of his legs

(below the knee) amputated. Oscar was born without fibulas because of a

congenital disorder. Even though he was different, it did not stop him from

water polo, tennis, rugby, and even running. Oscar has since conquered the

Paralympics world and is training hard to represent South Africa in the 2012

Olympics. Fashion power house Thierry Mugler was intrigued by his story

and appointed him as the new face of Mugler’s new cologne A*Men. The

promotional advertisement pictured above shows Oscar running with

blades in place of his normal prosthetic legs. I think this is an amazing

opportunity that Mugler is doing. I love the dark edginess to the brand and

especially love pop queen Lady Gaga’s involvement with them.

Entry #2

Plastic Is Fantastic ♦

The article Plastic Is Fantastic featured on the

Wall Street Journal web site is about... you guessed

it! Plastic! Widely noticed in the 1930’s was when

Surrealist designer Elsa Schiaparelli started to infuse

her revolutionary clothing with plastic. Later

throughout the 1960’s was when plastic kept showing

up in clothing but seemed to always be considered

experimental or even playful. This season a handful of

designers, such as Marc Jacobs and Dolce & Gabbana,

are in their futuristic Jetson’s mode and are going all

out with plastic. I personally love this movement; it

reminds me of when I did a media report on a new

Mulberry handbag that was made with silicone and

other Botox ingredients. The superficialities in

everyday life joined with fashion are a very fun thing

to see happening.

Entry #3 *November 2011

Accessorize Resort's Surf-Inspired Looks +With a Splash of Self-Assurance.

This article is a recent feature of Indian-American actress Frieda Pinto. The article

discusses mixing resort or safari type pieces with apparel that’s more professional or

formal. The dress Frieda is wearing is

by Diane Von Furstenberg and I

think she was the perfect choice for

this feature. I think she is the perfect

choice because this works well with

her refreshing image of being

ethnic, beautiful, and elegant. Frieda Pinto’s Indian roots are known for their vibrant

colors and dresses as common apparel; the infusion of the safari fashion fun with a clean

cut dress is truly electrifying.

Entry #4

The fashion observation I have noticed a lot is the off-white and dirty-white colors for

men’s fashion. The three designers here were creative in applying that trend to

different aspects of their collections. The photos above are all from Spring-Summer

2012. The model pictured to the very left is wearing Dolce & Gabbana, the model in the

middle is wearing Dries Van Noten, and the one on the right is wearing Roberto Cavalli; All

different brands with a similarity of applying the same trend. I really like how D&G had the

dirty white vest with the very casual outfit; it definitely gave it the pop that it needed. I felt

the DVN outfit is carried by not only the off white pants but the white shirt with the pop of

color design. Lastly, I found it very interesting how Cavalli used off white pants in what

appears to be suede with stripes and even a shine.

Entry #5

Soft & Hard Line Stripe Cross-Over’s

Entry #6

The stripes trend that

was very apparent and

mentioned in my previous

entry had a strong

reinforcement through WGSN.

Many reports, along with

many pictures that had me

gazing and not realizing how

much time I was spending,

were very informative and interesting. From Sao Paulo to Milan many designers had

featured stripes in their collections. Some of those designers range from Louis Vuitton,

Salvatore Ferragamo, Ermmano Scervino, and even Missoni. Stripes in spring are a

definite plus this season.

Pictured Left: Missoni S/S 12 sketch.

Entry #7

Three Colors I found to be trends in 2012 are

Tangerine Tango, Bellflower, & Driftwood. This

season definitely shows a mixture of bright colors,

neutrals, and darker colors.

Fabric Name: Silk

Fabric Content: natural filament fiber

produced by the silkworm

Country of Origin: China, other Asian countries

Fabric Name: Lace

Fabric Content: looped variety of yarn

Country of Origin: Italy, Belgium

Fabric Name: Chiffon

Fabric Content: twisted crepe fibers, cotton

Country of Origin: France, globally found

Entry #8

Global

Predictions Luckily the fashion industry is one of the not

so many industries that are ahead of its time.

Nowadays when looking into the future of fashion it

only requires a few simple computer clicks. It could

be spring time and I can already know what to look

for when winter comes around because designers

release their collections ahead of time to keep the balance throughout the industry. Based

on viewing the collections of many international designers around the globe, you can feel

a sense of their inspiration from the countries they are drawing their spark from.

The three designers that have high potential to influence fashion in the upcoming

seasons are Jason Wu of Taiwan & Canada, Reem Acra from Lebanon, and Yves Saint

Laurent of France.

The first trend I see taking over

is the differentiation of pencil

skirts. This Reem Acra pencil

skirt is more than the typical

skirt. If you walk in a room with

this on you could bet all eyes

are on you. This skirt grabs and

keeps attention and I definitely

expect to see inspired ‘fun’

skirts a lot.

For the upcoming winter season

you can expect tons of black and

lots of double breasted jackets

and sweaters for men. This Yves

Saint Laurent double breasted

look is helping men get through

the colder days with style and

comfort.

The silhouette of this Jason

Wu dress could not have a

better fit. The tailoring of it

has been given obvious

special attention which is

going to be even more

obvious during the next few

seasons. There is also a

strong use of velvet on this

dress which is something

that is going to have a large

fabric emergence. I especially

like how this, along with the

rest of the collection, has a

military feel to it. I love any

edginess in all fashion. One thing I can’t help but notice with all of these future

trends is that the way the apparel fits is going to be a main

focus. Pencil skirts, tailoring, and double buttoned clothing all

meet at a common ground which I see as shape being the

main objective.

Entry #9

♦Retail Sight Seeing♦

This picture to the left was taken at

the store A’Gaci on State St in

Chicago. I didn’t really like the looks

on the left and right because I felt

they were styled poorly, but the look

in the middle of the two was

fabulous. The material of the dress

was silk which, as previously

mentioned, is what’s really trendy for

this spring season.

This picture to the right was also taken

at A’Gaci. I liked this look as well

because it reinforced my statements on

the chiffon but also had a polyester mix

into it as well. Each of the colors, which

aren’t too far from the trendy

Driftwood color, all complements each

other really well.

♦Retail Sight Seeing♦

This photo was taken at Forever 21. I

thought it would be a good idea to

include men and women’s looks

together. The mannequin in the picture

to my left is wearing a very weather

appropriate outfit. I like this because it is

something I would wear; the shirt over

the v-neck has the ‘working class’ look to

it which is huge this year. This shirt in

particular has extra details that make it a

little more special, and it’s also very

affordable!

This photo was also taken at Forever 21.

Before I walked into the store, I was

hoping to find something that would

compliment my stripe trend report

section and surprisingly I didn’t even

have to walk in the store to find it! I

especially like how it has an overall

effortless feel to it. Don’t mind my

reflection, ha-ha!

Entry #10

A new movie that I recently saw was The Hunger Games. The

Hunger Games is a movie that has broken box office records and is even

proclaimed as “the new Harry Potter". The general fashion in this movie is very fun and is a

cross between futuristic and edgy during the majority of the film. There was a dress on Katniss,

one o f the main characters, that had a Valentino red colored gown on and when she turned

she was able to spark flames from the bottom of her dress. Although that seems to be quite

dangerous and not very likely to be a public item; I can definitely sense a lot more innovation

with gowns to come. Even today there are men zip-up sweatshirts with built in head phones,

which can give you a feel for the direction were headed in. In this movie I also noticed one of

the male characters wearing a side button asymmetrical sweater that I would totally wear.

Sequins also seem like they would be even more infused with men's clothing. In the movie I also

had noticed sequined blazers with ruffle shirts underneath that looked really good. Lastly,

something throughout the movie that was very present was the collars on shirts were

exaggerated. The collars were turtle neck high and had the collar fold which I loved. All of these

items have potential to inspire the fashion of tomorrow. Calvin Klein was also very inspired by

this movie and had designed a new dress appropriately named

Katniss.

Entry #11

The designer I chose is Dean & Dan of DSquared². The collection that I really loved is for

Fall/Winter 2012. Many of DSquared² shows have theatrical aspect to them. This one in

particular had the first male model walk out in a very sharp suit and had made his return to the

end of the catwalk, drapes were pulled and the stage turned into a classroom setting. The first

male model was supposed to be the teacher and the other models were the students whom

had walked afterwards. I absolutely loved it and was honestly even shocked when I saw that

happen because it wasn’t a typical fashion show. The types of retailers that would typically

carry DSquared² are Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, and other various higher end stores. It’s

very hard to choose a favorite from this

collection but if I had to pick one it would

be this one pictured because it styled

together very well and this outfit is

something you could re-create using less

expensive labels because most people do

not shop in the DSquared² price range.

DSquared² fashion is great and the

runway shows seem to be lots of fun. I

would love to be able to attend one in the

future.

Entry #12

Responsibilities of Fashion Careers

The responsibilities of a fashion designer are more than the typical thoughtful creative

process. A designer is going to have to first do research. Searches of current and future trends

through trend reports by fashion trade groups are a part of the beginning stage. After the idea

has been made the sketching follows right after. Many designers use just paper and pencil and

many also use computer software. Choosing your materials and sampling your designs are great

for seeing your vision come to life. Finally the marketing stages can begin and the product can

soon then reach the customer.

The responsibilities of a fashion buyer differ from those of a designer. The main

objective of a buyer is to provide the latest fashion to the customers. The buyer also must

follow fashion trends just as a designer would but the buyer also has a heavy focus on keeping

track of selling percentages, delivery, knowledge on analyzing trends, and also keeping a good

communication with clients and management. It is also common for the buyer to have ties with

dealing with the fashion shows and promotions.

The responsibilities of a development manager are more skill based rather than direct

given tasks. Developmental managers must formulate and develop training, define, design,

organize, and conduct various learning and development programs within the organization or

company. Manager must search course to office staff to equip their professionalism as well as

evaluate, assess and monitor the effectiveness of overall learning & development programs.

Entry #13

4 Fashion Don’ts

Don't wear running sneakers with

your dress or skirt. This grabs

unwanted attention and removes the

professional purpose.

Don’t wear athletic socks with

business attire. Dress socks are

thinner which look better with

shoes and when your pant rises

your leg isn’t exposed with a thick

sock specified for sweat.

Wearing a tie with a short sleeve

button-up is never a good look. It

looks very tacky so if you get hot wear

a long sleeve shirt with rolled up

sleeves. It really does make a big

difference.

Wear tops that fit you and

compliment your body, not

outline your poor breast shape

or muffin tops. There are too

many fabric types available to

your benefit to even be guilty

of doing this.

Entry #14

Possible Career Opportunities

Fashion PR: I feel that the typical perception of working in PR is mainly based on working in

politics or corporations. I think fashion PR would be my best fit because it is tied in with

something I have a genuine passion for. Working with campaigns and seeing progressiveness of

projects you are a part of must be a great feeling.

Stylist: Being a stylist would be another good fit for me because I already am doing the job! I’m

the first person my friends come to for fashion advice or when they are in need of a helpful

shopping partner. I also think it would be a really fun experience to work with celebrities and be

a part of the team that puts the looks together for award shows and other events.

Editorial Assistant: Lastly, I think an editorial assistant position would be another good fit. I’m

usually really anal for spelling and grammar so I feel that is a definite plus for this job. Working

for a magazine or a hip and trendy publication would be a refreshing experience. With jobs like

these it’s really important to network and have strong contacts. Thankfully, I am grateful to

have friends in these fields to hopefully be of assistance sooner or later.

The types of careers that interest me most in fashion are the ones that are mainly

considered to be “behind the scenes”. I love the business side to marketing and PR so I feel that

combining that with my interest in fashion can open up doors to many opportunities. I also feel

that our career reports were very beneficial to me because I have a stronger insight on what

companies are looking for.