Michalina Kedzior

Fashion Journal

Intro to Fashion Business

Table of Contents

Entry #1- Women’s Wear Daily- Cosmetic Industry Article 3-5

Entry #2- Business Week Fashion Article 6-7

Entry #3- Vogue Trend Article 8

Entry #4- Fashion Observation 9

Entry #5- Crossover Trends 10-11

Entry #6- WGSN Trend Report 12-13

Entry #7- 3 Fabric Trends 14-15

Entry #8- 3 Color Trends 16-17

Entry #9- Global Trends 18

Entry #10- Visual Display 19-20

Entry #11- New TV Show Fashion Trend 21

Entry #12- Balmain Spring 2014 Collection 22

Entry #13- Career Descriptions 23

Entry #14- Fashion Don’ts 24-25

Entry #15- Career Opportunities 26

Entry #1 - Women's Wear Daily- Bobbie Brown Launching YouTube Channel- September 6, 2013

Bobbie Brown has recently launched her own YouTube channel. As with many brands who are putting themselves on different YouTube channels Bobbie Brown is hoping to attract the Millennials and has goaled herself at 100 million internet views in the next 12 months. The YouTube channel will feature comedy, makeover, and inspirational programs. The videos will feature other make up brands and Bobbie Brown has stated that this is not just going to be a long video commercial for her brand. She sees that bloggers are very important when it comes to attracting the Millennials attention and since a lot of them were already using her brand she decided to collaborate with them. The videos will not be edited and will be a real representation of what the bloggers use. I think this is a great idea for the brand and I think it will really help spread awareness about the brand and increase its sales. Personally I like getting an inside look into the brands I use and this seem to be exactly that. I think the fact that she realized that bloggers as well as YouTube are so huge among the Millennials will really help her market to this audience.

September 6, 2013

Bobbi Brown Launching YouTube Channel

By JULIE NAUGHTON

With her newest project, Bobbi Brown is turning herself into a YouTube impresario with an eye toward luring Millennials, with a lofty goal of attracting 100 million Internet views in the next 12 months.

Together with Collective Digital Studio and Multi-Channel Network, the makeup artist will launch I Love Makeup, an online beauty channel on YouTube on Monday. The channel will feature comedy, makeover and inspirational programs created in collaboration with popular YouTube personalities, including Grace Helbig, Weylie Hoang, Taryn Southern, Alexa Losey, Sophia Chang and Claire Marshall.

Make no mistake: These videos won’t be nonstop commercials for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics — although there is a second channel in the works, tentatively slated to launch sometime in the next six months, which may be. In fact, Brown noted, hers is not the only beauty brand that will be used in the content being created for I Love Makeup.

Brown said this channel is intended to communicate with youthful consumers where they live: online. It’s meant to aggregate content across YouTube and other social media entities, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr to create a multifaceted offering that adds beauty-centric comedies and aspirational content as well as the more typical tutorial and makeover programs that

comprise the great majority of beauty programming on YouTube. At least three shows a week will feature artists using Brown’s products, but the content will be free-form. “I’m not editing any of these videos — these are real representations of what these bloggers are actually using,” she said. “When we were looking online, I noticed that a lot of artists were already using my products in their videos, so this all evolved organically. And I learn from them. It’s tremendously enlightening to hear their points of view. Bloggers have become very important in the beauty world, especially with the increasingly influential younger consumer.”

Added Maureen Case, president of Bobbi Brown, “The point of this is that it’s a radical departure from the way beauty brands normally market products, and it’s a bit of a free fall in that sense. This isn’t about Bobbi preaching or about product infomercials. These [bloggers] all have a very specific point of view on makeup and whatever floats to the top is what will run. Millennials don’t want to be marketed to. They want to do the discovering. YouTube allows us to experiment, and this channel is a great opportunity to go where the Millennials are playing.”

The brand is considering retail partnerships created around the channel, although nothing has been inked. “We want to make sure this doesn’t come off as a Bobbi Brown commercial,” said Case. The brand plans giveaways and other incentives to viewers.

Programs on the channel will include “Grace’s Faces,” Helbig’s show, which will do pop-in makeovers; “The Pretty Party,” which features the channel’s YouTube influencers doing various beauty challenges, makeup demos and road testing products like waterproof mascara and smudge-proof lipstick; “Haute Wheels,” which weekly will award a fan a custom makeover and makeup lesson — in a tricked-out “Haute Wheels” beauty mobile — to get them ready for an upcoming event. There’s also “Make Up and Go,” the channel’s signature “getting ready with me” series which features the makeup routines of different beauty gurus; “Say It with Makeup,” where artists including musicians, painters, designers and chefs will trade out the tools of their normal trades for a box of makeup and a bunch of beauty tools; “Inspiration Nation,” intended to be an aspirational spin on the standard makeup how-to, and “Beauty Dos, Don’ts, and Duhs,” devoted to quick fix-its and beauty basics.

The channel’s cast of talent and Bobbi Brown makeup artists will interact with viewers with pictures, videos, polls and more throughout the week. The channel is executive produced by Davida Hall at Collective Digital Studio.

“It’s refreshing to have a brand partner as forward-thinking as Bobbi Brown,” said Reza Izad, chief executive officer of Collective Digital Studio. “They understand the value in truly collaborating with content creators and ensuring that the content is authentic. Our goal is simple and ambitious: to create a must-watch experience for everyone that loves makeup.”

Brown believes in digital marketing so strongly that she and her husband opened 18 Label Street, an 8,000-square-foot studio complex, last year in Montclair, N.J., where they live. “I was traveling so much to do shoots and QVC, and whenever we were shooting closer to home we had to find a crew and rent a studio in the city,” Brown said. “After awhile we realized it would be smart to open our own.” Brown said she uses the studio for her projects about five times a month, and at other times the facility is rented to others, including the Food Channel and even rival brand Clinique (“I wanted to jump in there with a white lab coat,” Brown said). She also did satellite media tours for her last book from the studio.

Entry #2- Businessweek.com- Urban Outfitters New App Strategy: Be Cool- September 24, 2013

After 42 years in the business Urban Outfitters is doing whatever they can to remain on top and relevant in the fashion industry. They have recently opened up a new rewards program as well as a social networking-style app that goes along with the rewards program. In the app you upload a photo, customize the background, and fill out a few details about yourself and then it is synced with the users social networks and gives you reward points whenever you mention the brand on Twitter or Instagram. There are more perks to the reward program as well as advanced warnings of sales and early access to merchandise as well as concert tickets. Urban Outfitters hopes the app will drive sales and encourage loyalty to the store. Another perk of using the app is free shipping when purchasing through the app. The app can also recognize when shoppers are inside the store if they check in through Four Square. I think this idea of a rewards program as well as the app will be great way to increase sales. Since young people are so into social media sites and apps I think this is a great way to get through to this crowd and it seems like a fun and interactive app that offers great perks. I think this is a great way for Urban Outfitters to stay on top even after 42 years.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Companies & Industries

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-24/urban-outfitters-new-app-strategy-be-cool

Urban Outfitters' New App Strategy: Be Cool

By Kyle Stock September 24, 2013

At 42, Urban Outfitters (URBN) has what we could call a Brooklyn dad problem: It’s trying to stay cool, keep the kids on its side, and do the grown-up, responsible thing, all at the same time. The company’s latest effort to strike the right balance is its new rewards program and the social networking-style app that goes with it.

The app asks users to upload a photo, customize the display background, and fill in a few personal details. Then it syncs with users’ social networks and distributes reward points when users mentioning the brand on Twitter or Instagram (FB). It also gives credit to those who respond to in-app promotions such as a prompt to buy a vinyl record (a major part of Urban Outfitters’ inventory). The rewards give users a range of perks, including advance warning on sales and early access to popular merchandise and concert tickets.

If the new mobile platform works as planned, it will drive sales, encourage loyalty, and harvest users’ photos and Tweets—marketing gold these days. If it backfires, Urban Outfitters will be just another

retailer alienating young consumers with annoying requests for data: How old are you? What music do you like? How was school?

“It’s extremely sensitive,” says Senior Marketing Manager Moira Gregonis. “I don’t think anyone really likes to be marketed to, and as a brand, we don’t want to be pushy.”

The company’s website is already filling up with somewhat fuzzy, ultra-saturated photos. Curalate, a social marketing company, routes the content straight from the accounts of Urban Outfitters fans via the tag #uoonyou (as in “Urban Outfitters on you”).

The app embodies a bid for sales, the latest tool in a retail world bent on seamlessly processing orders between digital sites and brick-and-mortar stores, so-called “omni-channel” service. While only Web orders over $50 are shipped for free, every product purchased via the app will be delivered gratis.

Urban Outfitters will also be able to recognize when shoppers are inside a store, providing they check in on FourSquare. The company is still trying to decide how aggressively it will ping users with location-based offers and information.

None of this is surprising, given Urban Outfitters’ performance of late. In the most recent quarter, e-commerce orders were up by 40 percent over the year-earlier period, while sales at Urban Outfitters stores open at least a year improved by just 5 percent.

Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Kaness says the company has started to think of itself as “a pure play e-commerce” outfit that just happens to have 500 or so brick-and-mortar stores, including outlets for its Anthropologie and Free People brands.

You know, just like a little Web startup, but with $3 billion in sales. #nobigdeal.

Entry #3- Vogue article- December 06, 2013

The trend article which I found on Vogues website featured an article on how to get looks inspired by the Bonnie and Clyde movie. The article featured different sets of looks that would fit the fashions of the original Bonnie and Clyde movie since there is a new series airing on TV. The movie first came out in 1967 and featured fashions relevant to that time which can be brought back into modern fashion with a few classic pieces. Many of the pieces featured in the article that were seen in the movie include A-line skirts, baggy sweater tops, and berets or head scarfs. One of the outfits featured that I think can be seen in the current market place was an A-line white skirt paired with a black knit sweater and completed by a black beret and skinny belt. A-line skirts have always been present but with the upcoming spring tea length skirts are to make a huge come back and I think we will see many A-line skirts in this length. Another trend this article featured was the beret which I have seen worn more often recently and have seen it at many stores. I think that this trend is very interesting and looks very classy and feminine and I think we might see some of it especially the longer length A-line skirts.

This Sunday, the first installment of the two-night miniseries Bonnie & Clyde, starring Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger, airs on A&E. Wardrobe designer Marilyn Vance (Pretty Woman, Pretty in Pink) created more than 100 costumes for the criminal couple whose portrayal triggered a fashion revolution after they were played by Faye Dunaway andWarren Beatty in Arthur Penn’s 1967 classic. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow began their run from the law in the thirties, but Penn’s film was shot in the sixties—so his Bonnie is a hotheaded, gun-wielding, cigar-smoking broad, who wears A-line skirts, but with loose-fitting tops and a bit of beatnik edge. A beret and head scarf are her signature, and she trades in a kind of pared-down glamour (minimal makeup, clean hair). The look won costume designer Theadora Van Runkle an Oscar nomination and lent a visually stunning element to the visceral thrill of the chase. As we anticipate the latest take on Bonnie’s outlaw style, we turn to the original for inspiration on how to dress the part.

Entry #4- Fashion Observation

There seem to be two big trends in women’s fashion for fall 2013: the color emerald and plaid. The color emerald was declared Pantones color of the year for 2013 and was often times seen on runways for fall 2013 in anything from dress to pants to tops as well as purses and accessories. Many fashion bloggers and celebrities can be seen sporting this trend especially in blazers as well as bottoms. This trend is similar to fall 2012 in that a darker shade of green was popular at the time. It's different since in 2012 the Panton color for fall was tangerine tango which is a huge difference from emerald. I based my criteria on what I saw trending during the fall 2013 fashion runway shows as well as opinions of fashion bloggers and fashion trend websites.

Entry #5 - Crossover Trends

Trend #1- Prints

The store which I visited was TJMAXX Home goods which carries apparel as well as furniture and other home good items. The first trend I spotted that was similar in the home goods area as well as clothing was prints. I found an ottoman which was printed in different lines and in a neutral color. This trend also carried itself to the clothing section where I found a skirt with a very similar print on it. Some other common prints included cheetah and other animal prints.

Trend #2- Leather

The second trend I found was leather. Many items in the home goods section were made of leather like for example these chairs. When I went to the apparel section it was also easy to spot this trend and it frequently occurred in leather jackets which are always popular

Trend #3- Embroidery

The third trend which I spotted was embroidery. This trend appeared in the home goods section on jewelry boxes which were embroidered on top of the boxes. In the apparel section this trend can be often times found on blouses. The one I found was from Emilio Pucci.

Entry #6- WGSN Trend Report for Entry #5

Trend #1- Prints

Prints are still relevant but take a backseat to materials and details of the item. The patterns that are trending are mostly of plaid and checkers. The colors of these patterns are most commonly layers of grays and monochromatic colors.

Trend #2- Leather

Leather is still relevant and now trending again through the new trend of quilting. This trend will continue to be strong through next winter. This trend has always been somewhat relevant but now has been updated with decorative and experimental stitches.

Trend #3- Embroidery

This trend was shown relevant on WGSN through winter folk embroidery which will be trending through spring and summer. This season it will appear more to the junior audience since there will be “folksy” embroidery in sportswear as well as biker jackets. This trend is a good way to make a strong styling statement.

Entry #7- Fabric Trends

Trend #1- Velvet

One of the fabric trends featured on WGSN was velvet. This fabric is soft to the touch and can be used for a variety of apparel items. It was featured for the autumn/winter 2013/2014 on the runways of Chloe and J.Mendel. It is important for party wear as it creates elegant and fluid drapes. It is commonly used on pants and skirts especially in maxi length. It is made from silk and cotton and sometimes polyester. It goes back as far as 2000BC in Egypt.

Trend #2- Metallic leather

Metallic leather was another fabric trend featured on WGSN. This fabric trend is particularly popular in shorts and jackets, especially in the gold color. It was featured on the fall/winter 13/14 runway show and one of the designers featuring it was Kate Spade in a gold leather metallic jacket. The leather fabric goes back as far as 1200BC in Greece and 1300 BC in Egypt.

Trend #3- Teddy Fleece

Another fabric trend featured on WGSN was teddy fleece. This trend will soon be featured on such items as sweatshirts or even biker jackets. We can already see this trend especially featured on oversized coats.

Entry #8- 3 Color Trends

The three color trends for the current season are Cobalt Blue, Emerald, and Maroon.

Michael Kors features cobalt blue this fall for both men and women.

Emerald was featured by many different designers. The ones pictures are Monique Lhullier, Carolina Herrera, Reed Krakoff, Herve Leger. This color was the Pantone color of 2013 and was commonly used on the runways from tops, dresses, to fur jackets.

Maroon color was featured by Christian Dior

Entry # 9- Global Trends

One of the upcoming trends for Spring/Summer 2014 in Young Men’s from China is flowery prints. The inspiration was taken from botanic beauty. We can see it in t-shirts and bombers jackets the most. I think this trend will become popular here but in a slighter way like for example small flower prints on tops, especially in t-shirts but I don’t see the men here wearing all flower covered printed pants

One of the big trends in women’s fashion in Copenhagen right now is androgyny and a more sporty style of clothing for the autumn/ winter styles. They also feature minimalist colors. I think this trend will definitely appear here as we see more crossing over between women’s and men’s wear and I think the “fashion jogger” sort of relaxed fit sweat pants worn in a more fashionable manner will become big here as well.

Entry #10- Visual Displays

The pictures above are of the visual displays at the Akira store at Woodfield Mall. The first picture features a table display of folded tops and bottoms on three different tables. The display not only featured clothes but was also well put together including little items such as vases, jewelry boxes and even a cage with an owl in it. I really liked this display due to the fact that it didn’t just feature the clothes they were trying to sell but it was well put together with other items so it was really appealing to the eye. The second display from this store featured another set of three tables with folded clothes and mannequins on top of the tables. There was also a display of jewelry in the middle of the folded clothes. What I like about this display was the different levels of the display which were really eye catching. Not everything was on the same level one table was lower than the other and the mannequins were also on different height levels which I think as very visually appealing.

The pictures above are from the Forever 21 store at Woodfield Mall. The first picture features the stores shoe display area. I think the stores shoe are is placed perfectly since it is right in the middle of the store closely located to the registers. I think putting the shoes right in this area makes it impossible to miss them and whoever you go in the store you are bound to run into this section, especially while heading to the registers. Another thing I really liked about this section was how the shoes were all displayed and not in boxes so everything is right before your eyes. Also the placement of the mannequin right on top of the shoe shelf was also a very good idea and a great way to tie in the shoes area with the clothing by attracting you to the clothing section to find what the mannequin is wearing. The second picture features the stores jewelry section. The jewelry section features eye catching floor designs ( different from rest of the store) as well as very pretty tables and chandeliers. I think this is a perfect way to display jewelry and really gives it a sort of special, pretty feel. I liked this display because it was very different from the rest of the store and I loved the chandleries.

Entry #11- TV Show Trend

A new show which premiered this fall is Trophy Wife. In the show we can find many fashionable outfits worn by the different characters involved in the story. The main character is Kate who is a mom of two and a third wife to her husband Pete. She is young and trendy and many of her outfits can be considered to be a future trend. One trend that can be seen frequently through the show is Kate wearing blazers with t-shirts underneath like for example graphics or prints or strips. The way she wears the blazers is less structured and less formal and more like a normal sweatshirt or jacket. In one episode she is seen wearing a white blazer worn opened with a blue t-shirt under it with a white feather print on it. I think this trend of wearing blazers combined with t-shirts in a more fashionable and less formal way will definitely emerge as a trend from this show since it is very stylish yet comfortable at the same time and combines two classic items majority of us have in our closets already.

Entry #12- Balmain Spring 2014 RTW

The collection which I looked at was the Balmain Spring 2014 ready to wear runway show. Balmain’s creative director for the line is the French born,27-year old Olivier Rousteing who has been working with the Balmain team since 2009. The collection is for the upcoming spring 2014 season. Balmain offers a few of its own retailers located in Paris,Tokyo, Hong Kong ,Shangai, and Pekin. I would expect this line to be available only at very high end stores. Previous Balmain items can be found at net-a-porter as well. The spring collection is much different than previous ones. It’s more laid back and

comfortable and inspired by the 80's. Hound’s-tooth, plaid, stripes and leather were widely used through the collection. The most used colors were black and white, baby pink and baby blue. What I liked about the line was how the designer brought back overalls but made them trendy and cool by using an all leather black finish. I also like the use of matching bomber jackets and pants for example in plaid and hound’s-tooth.

Entry #13- Career Descriptions

Fashion Designers design clothes, accessories, and shoes. They can work in a team with other designers or specialize in one area by themselves. Some responsibilities include producing concepts and designs, keeping up with trends in fabrics as well as colors and shapes. The designer also has to choose the fabrics and patterns used in the collection. They have to be creative and very visual.

A buyer is responsible for planning and selecting products for retailers to sell. They study market trends, current fashions, customer demand, and budgets. They also have to review current items to keep up with competition. Buyers have to react to changes in trends and be able to adapt with new merchandise. Also they have to analyze current buying patterns and predict future trends.

Product manager has to guide a team that is in charge of a product line. They have to build products from already existing ideas or provide new ideas for products. They have to be able to make their vision into a reality and be business and tech savvy. They have to manage the whole product line life cycle from planning to execution of the product.

Entry #14- Fashion Don’ts

A big fashion don’t is prints from head to toe. Weather its cheetah or flower print it should not make up your whole outfit and your accessories on top of it. Prints like this should be worn to make a statement in your outfit, like for example a cheetah top with black bottoms. Prints should never cover you head to toe.

Another big fashion don’t is sweat pants worn with heels, or sweat pants worn for any other use except lounging around or going to the gym. Sweat pants and track suits are not a fashion statement and should only be worn around the house. They should most definitely never be worn with heels as this looks down right tacky.

There is nothing trendy or fashionable about wearing one designer from head to toe. Once again such items should be used as a statement piece and not the whole outfit. A designer bag, coat, or even hat or shirt are allowed AS LONG as they are not worn all together at the same time causing for an outfit disaster and a very tacky look.

See through pasties, undergarments, or body parts one shouldn’t be showing in public are huge fashions don’t. If you decide to wear a see through top or even a dress make sure you are wearing the correct sort of undergarment for it. This just looks unattractive and trashy to say the least.

Entry #15- Career Opportunities

Store ManagerThis position requires you to oversee all operations of the store and the whole staff. They must provide a clean and safe environment for both workers and customers. In this position you have to achieve financial objectives and report to the district manager. Complete daily operations by scheduling and assisting employees. I think this would be a good fit for me since I have previous management experience which I enjoyed very much. I am very well organized and good at multi-tasking which would work well for this job. I also know that it is important not to micro manage but rather develop a good team who you test and can delegate tasks to so you oversee the whole project and assist when needed.

Visual merchandising managerThis position is in charge of the visual aspect of the store. They work by themselves or in a team depending on the size of the store. They design and maintain store windows and displays This position contributes to the profitability of the store with merchandise handling, replenishment, and inventory. This position has to ensure the image and style of the company is projected at all times. I think this would be a good fit for me since I have previous visual experience and I am very good at operational tasks. I also enjoy researching what products are doing good or bad and having the visual display reflect this in order to boost sales.

BuyerA buyer is responsible for the research evaluation and buying of products for the company. They determine what products get to the store shelves and online. They also negotiate deals to buy product in high quantities. They research and evaluate what clients are buying and what they aren’t and make buying decisions according to those statistics. I think this would be a good fit for me since I will have a degree in fashion business and I will have knowledge of the industry. Also I really like reviewing reports and being able to see from them what products are succeeding and which are not.