Collaborative Lookbook: London Fashion Week

Collaborative brief, working alongside a fashion photographer, to produce a lookbook zine that focuses on shape form and colour in order to enhance the subjects 'looks' (clothing). The focus is on aesthetics and how to best present the trends of fashion week, as captured by the photographer.

Lookbook defined:

A lookbook is a collection of photographs compiled to show off a model, photographer, style, stylist, or clothing line. Usually, bloggers or vloggers will "model" fashionable looks for that month or season. This gives viewers ideas on how to style outfits, or to show what the latest fashions are. It is an especially popular term with "fashion bloggers".

Lookbooks in their online form can be described as "fashion diaries" because bloggers are constantly updating them on a daily or weekly basis. However, sometimes they are made to compile the looks of other people such as a celebrity, politician or socialite. They can also be used as an artist's portfolio.

Initial brainstorm:

• Type of Lookbook - Publication form
• A physical zine, colloquial style publication that incorporates the clothes in their context to accentuate the success of the garments in relation to colour, structure and surrounding
• Focus on the capturing of colours, shape and forms of the fashion photography
• Using collage enables this colloquial approach, almost sketch-book like, reflecting on the process of design from the drawing board to final productions
• 15 photographs - could make some sort of poster spread that is detachable from the zine to hand out for cheap / on the streets 
• combine colour and shape in a way that doesn't manipulate the photo itself, but rather trick the eye into thinking beyond the photograph

As fashion is a huge part of popular culture, especially fashion week that draws together celebrities and their fashions into trends directed at a mass audience. As such, the publication should appeal to the youthful generation interested and up to date with current fashion trends.

Research

Target Audience:

• 16-35 year olds
• Male and Females into fashion 
• Popular culture - those who keep up with current trends
• Streetware / urban culture - basement subculture

Business Insider 2016 article: 

'Millennials, the 18-34 age demographic, are one of the most powerful consumer groups on the market.' 

- Millennials are more cash rich and willing to spend money on goods and holidays because saving to buy a property in an incredibly inflated market seems like a fantasy. 

- They have zero brand and company loyalty, meaning it's great for upstart fashion labels to draw in the millennial and Generation Z crowd but hugely challenging for incumbent famous "legacy" fashion houses to draw in new customers.

- "For example, luxury group Kering said in its results statement that revenue in the fourth quarter jumped 16%, mainly because of the resurgence in popularity for its Gucci brand. Gucci sales rose 13% in the fourth quarter. Gucci is cool again." 

London Fashion Week:

• First took place in 1984
• LFW is one of the highest profile fashion events in the world 
• Over 100 million orders are estimated to be purchased at the event each season
• Over 5,000 people visit from around the world
• Attracts significant press attention
• Celebrity presence and 'expensive' image
• Instagram and blogs are a huge contributor to publicising and spreading image / trends
• Multi-million pound industry
• From high end brands to high street chains

Conclusions:

It is important to note the huge online presence that has grown with especially the fashion industry - with the growth of social media outlets and online buying and selling communities. Despite a huge market for online lookbooks, having a physical publication works as a USP for the concept. Young people are resorting back to old ways as they start to reject the contemporary digital (e.g. vinyls). In this way, the satisfaction of a physical publication could thus go far and thrive in this environment if executed well. 

Current trend for spring 2018: Primary Colours

I wanted to find a recurring theme throughout the photographs I was given, in order to give the publication a flowing quality, where the images become connected by a common factor that can be communicated to the viewer (instead of just a random selection of 'good' photographs). Someone who picks up a Fashion Week Lookbook is looking for inspiration and ideas of current trends within the fashion world, so capturing colours through the minimalist qualities of the images themselves makes for a specialised and purposeful publication. 

1. Ana Colon writes for glamour magazine online, Jan 1, 2018:

"You don't need to have spent too much time (as in, literally a few hours) in the new year to know what fashion trends are going to dominate 2018. The writing's been on the wall: Designers, influences, and all the incredibly stylish people you see on the street seem to be on the same page about a handful of trends—a certain type of coat, a particular kind of sleeve. Before you know it, those trends will be at your neighbour purveyor of fast-fashion; and from there... You won't be able to go anywhere without noticing them. So, before they reach that level of pervasiveness, brush up on the eight fashion trends we're betting on big for 2018."

2. Vogue - the leading institute of fashion news, has also stated that 2018 is the year for primary colours;

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/summer-fashion-trends-2018-553795

3. Summer fashion trends 2018: Crayola colours

"Designers raided the Pantone colour chart for pulsating primary colours – tomato red made a strong showing, seen everywhere from Preen to Victoria Beckham. There’s cobalt, emerald green and bright yellow. See Balenciaga’s head to toe take – canary yellow dress, layered over a long-sleeved top in the same shade, and accessorised with matching platform Balenciaga Crocs – taking the prize for coolest/craziest collab of the season."

Primary colours / blocking is also visible throughout other trends of the year. However, as colour is an easier recurring theme to evidence in a magnitude of separate looks, the publication should draw to thus these qualities rather than materials or in trend 'features' e.g. flared trousers or ruffled sleeves.