Henri Lloyd Visit

Today I visited the Henri Lloyd studio on the outskirts of Salford. I met with their designer Rob Charnley who I contacted through Helen Latimer. I arrived at the studio at 9.am and met with Rob and we sat down and began a discussion about exactly what I do at university, how I came in contact with Helen Latimer (his ex colleague at Umbro) and began speaking about a possible work placement opportunity for me. We continued our chat over a cup of tea and then Rob took me down to the design team. In the studio I met Rob's boss Craig and 3 other members of the design team. Craig called his team over to the meeting desk and asked them all to listen to me present my work. I felt confident because of the way Craig and Rob had greeted me on my arrival, and the design team were very friendly. Craig asked me to explain to the group where I studied, what I do, where i live, and tell them as much about myself as possible. Then he allowed me the opportunity to present my work to the team. I gathered round the desk with designers and firstly presented my Fred Perry project (which I am currently working on). I showed my influences, a few of my designs and a few spec sheets along with my sketchbook, I then showed my Lyle & Scott brief and explained how I had improved as a designer this year. They seemed impressed with what I had produced and admired my thought process and could clearly see where my ideas developed from. Craig then asked me to stay in touch with Rob and come back into the studio in a few weeks to do a formal presentation in the boardroom and then they will give me feedback on my work, offer me help and discuss a work placement schedule.

A Monday morning visit to Henri Lloyd..

I have been in contact with a designer from Henri Lloyd, Rob Charnley, regarding a studio visit and possible work placement. Helen Latimer who is another of my contacts in the industry has kindly forwarded me the details of Rob. I emailed Rob some work over straight away and introduced myself and my influences and told him what my area of design was. Rob replied quite soon after and asked me if I was available for a work placement and said he is happy for me to visit the studio and present my portfolio and any other design development to him and his design team. I continued discussions with Rob and I am really excited after confirming a visit on Monday 29th March at 9 a.m.

Continued Contact with Helen Latimer...

Helen has kindly given me contact details for a designer called Rob Charnley who works at Henri Lloyd, He spoke to Helen asking what I do? If I am into sportswear/streetwear? He also told Helen that he is happy for me to contact him and whether or not I can email him some design work over.

I have just sent an email to Rob which explains my current project and I have attached some working sheets that show my designs, visualizations and inspirations. I forwarded the email to Helen before I sent it over to Rob and she replied to me with some very helpful advice about layout as you can see in the image below.



Despite of her busy workload, Helen kindly sent me some ideas of how to approach creating a spec sheet layout. I will use this style of layout in the future when sending work to employers or people in the industry as it looks like it has been produced at a professional standard by a very informed designer.




Helen has also sent me a sheet which demonstrates ideas about how I could possibly present my range plan and show how my garments can be worn together. Helen has reminded me to show back views of my garments because we had discussed this when I showed Helen my portfolio.

Timeless Style... The Jam

I have discovered some quite rare snaps of Paul Weller and Rick Buckler from the Jam with some of their young fans. I discovered these photo's on a fan page about the Jam. These images feel really nostalgic and show the fashion and style of this mod band and their fans. Their style usually consisted of tailored suits, but even out of the suit Weller can be seen in a navy marine cap, big neckerchief, denim jacket and tailored grey trousers. Their fans can also be seen copying the style of the Jam with their harrington bombers, v-neck sweaters and casual trousers. This style along with their angry young music placed The Jam at forefront of the mod revival movement and these images really summarize my historical and cultural influences.

Paul Weller.

Rick Buckler.

The Street Scene, Brighton

It's a place I really want to visit at some point because Brighton's North Laine has such an exciting scene full of music, fashion and designer boutiques. I have found a page in last months asos catalogue that has a feature on the Brighton style and asks the eclectic fashion crowd about their favourite shops, bars, and hang outs, aswell as discussing fashion with them. One student says, "I feel confident in whatever I'm wearing, no one judges you here". It is definitely the place to be if you love the vintage and designer styles and shops, or if you want to see some super cool fashion on the people in the street.

Report - Selling Myself

After I graduate from university the pressure of getting a job really begins. To be a designer who can approach job opportunities and market themselves and their work is a very important skill. Promotion and marketing could be considered two of the most important aspects of being a designer.

Luckily, I have the opportunity to sell my designs at this years New Designers. New Designers provides about 3,500 new design graduates the chance to meet industry employers from around the country. It allows the media to have an insight into your work and provides them to spot new talent.

I have recently been looking on the Internet for websites which show jobs and companies which are employing graduates. One of my contacts Helen Latimer suggested that I looked on Drapersjobs.com, which is designed for people who want to be involved in the fashion industry. This website has really excited me and re-assured me that certain opportunities are aimed at a CAD design graduate, in my position.

When I contacted John Tate from Lyle & Scott, I tried promoting myself through many areas of their company. I explained on their Facebook page about the work I had done, and my passion for creating menswear. Doing this was beneficial to me as I was then put in touch with the HR department who I forwarded my design work to. Luckily, due to my persistence, my work was forwarded to the head designer of the company, John Tate. I visited John and he was keen to suggest I stayed in touch and showed him my developments. This opportunity was great for me as it could possibly open doors with the company and allow future contact and discussion regarding opportunities.

I contacted Helen again regarding this report and asked her directly about how she promoted herself as a designer after graduation and how she continues to market herself today. she kindly told me exactly what her methods after graduation were. She told me that she spoke to people who visited her stand at graduate fashion week and she supplied the potential employers with a business card which she had made herself. I was then told that she joined all the fashion job agencies and visited some to show her portfolio, and then responded and acted on their feedback and advice. All the interviews Helen got, whether it was from agencies or from her graduate fashion week, she always listened to the feedback and it made her eventually create a portfolio that was suitable for the industry and pleasing for employers. Helen then told me that she had done a years work experience at university, and she recommends this to anyone as it shows a potential employer your understanding for the industry.

Today, Helen markets herself mainly with her own website. She makes sure that all her work that gets sent to an employer is totally relevant to the job in discussion. Helen then told me that before a job is offered by a company they may ask you to complete a project, she believes that it is crucial for a designer to do their best at completing this. The design speaks volumes and could get you the job all by itself.

When selling your work, I asked what factors she needs to consider and think about. She told me that its important to know exactly what you are passionate about and what inspires you. Find out what makes you the best candidate, so you can easily point out why you should be chosen for the job. Also, Helen said that I should make sure that my work shows how I am up to date with trends, that I am are focused and can deliver a range from research through to final design and that I have understood the market I have designed it for. She followed this information on by kindly giving me advice about selling your work. She asked me to consider whether or not the interviewer or client would understand my work even if I wasn't available to present it. She told me that it is important to edit individual projects so that it only displays your best work and so it is relevant to individual clients who may want to see something different. Helen believes that it is essential to always stay professional and keep a good manner when meeting new contacts. Our discussion continued regarding selling yourself and Helen gave me a very interesting piece of advice which was to look online and read about interview tips because they always offer good advice about selling yourself as an individual.

I have learnt a lot through my research into this topic and it is definitely beneficial to me now with only a few weeks left until the deadline of my degree. I feel more confident when speaking to potential employers and more ambitious when finding job opportunities.

Word Count: 816

Specification Sheets

This is the first time when i am really putting a fashion collection together which requires spec sheets and visualizations for all designs. The spec sheets are used throughout the fashion industry and their purpose is to explain exactly how a garment is constructed. It enables a factory to be able to understand clearly what buttons, fabrics, shapes and stitch etc. you require.

I have seen examples of spec sheets from a presentation by Helen Latimer and they are very technical sheets with a lot of information and guidelines. they show a visualization of the garment with instructions about the construction of it.

I have been researching different opinions on how to design a spec sheet which is suitable for industry and found a very interesting forum on the subject at fashion industry network . One poster explained her method of creating one and it says,

"Spec sheets are important to monitor all aspects of your product. My pattern maker is inhouse, so my spec sheets are simplified- including a front and back sketch, brief description, sample size and photoshoot size needed, fabric swatches with fiber content info, lining and trim info along with group, season, delivery date, size range and style number. We use a separate size chart that includes standard measurements." Reply by Karen K on December 28, 2007

This is very useful information to me because I feel a lot more confident in creating a variety of industry standard sheets.

Below, are a few examples of different styles you can create a spec sheet in, it seems to me like they can give a flavour of your style just by the way the sheets are designed.

Matthew Horne

A.K.A Gavin Shipman from sitcom Gavin & Stacey. I have been fan of this show for a long time and to be honest the thing that attracted me to it was seeing some of the clothes that were being worn in the show, particularly by Gavin. From the very first show 'Gav' was seen to be wearing a blue harrington style jacket with grey cardigan and a buttoned down collared shirt, (very Ben Sherman!) and very mod. I really admire his dress sense in the show and it basically represents the kind of style of clothing I am currently creating. Maxim magazine have also taken notice of his style in the sitcom and described his look by saying,

"As with all stylish Brits, he’s gently cultivating a look and attitude of his own, though will gladly stick to an honest pair of loafers and Nudie jeans for down the pub. A tidy chap."

Sebago

I was browsing through Maxim's website, reading up on their fashion articles and found a really exciting one on football casuals. The article gave an A-Z list of everything you need to know about the style and attitude of these casuals. Click here for the list.

I continued to read through the list and when i reached the letter 'Y' for yachting, it explained that the only other attire a football casual would touch in the summer months (apart from tennis clothing) would be yachting accessories. The article states that,

"While the cool months of the year were taken care of, clothes-wise, in the summer the only sport that could compete with tennis for clobber was yachting. Deck shoes by the likes of Sebago were especially popular, though the nearest they ever got to sea water was wading through the puddles in the car park outside Stoke City’s Victoria Ground."

I visited Sebago's website, and found the clothing to be really appealing. Since I have been researching nautical fashion I have discovered that many companies actually specialize in this area of the market. Some are very fashion conscious and others, such as Sebago are making sure that the garments are rugged, hard-wearing and suitable for life out at sea.

Whilst being aware of what is required at sea (clothing wise) and creating clothes that would be ready for action, Sebago have also made their clothing stylish and original.

Norse Projects..

'Norse projects' is a company who have only recently began producing fashion pieces, and I have only just discovered what they do. The companies aim is to create and combine streetwear, classic culture and immerse itself in the best of it. The look of the clothing is based on the Nordic style and Danish climate.

aplace.com describes the company as being, "inspired by Scandinavian weather, natural surroundings, tailoring traditions and fashion. The collection is basic and functional with a Scandinavian and workwear inspired twist."