We all want to be young

We All Want to Be Young from box1824 on Vimeo.

Berlin Film

Did not really take a lot of footage in Berlin so this is a bit of a botch job but it shows what we got up to for the first day (before i ran out of space of my memory card)

Insane

So good, you have to do it

Inspiration

So many points for my fmp from this

Brand RMX : EPISODE 2 pt 1/2 from R+I creative on Vimeo.

Bathtub

Really really want to learn Tilt Shift photography, as if I would ever be able to do this though.

Kilian Martin

I am not even into skate videos but this one is quite beautiful and I cannot stop watching it.

When did London get so dull?

Before anyone jumps down my throat I am talking about retail in specific. This time last year I researched into east vs west and the ways the retail space was changing. What I found was innovative and engaging. The west was utilising the shop as a gallery and the east was a great place to spot up coming trends and really get inspired. To start researching my final major I decided to retrace my steps and see what developments had been made as well as visiting some of the new retail spaces. 

My first shock came from Beyond Retro on Cheshire Street. As I walked to the entrance I saw this sign;

In store everything was Mad Men. All the displays, all the stock, everything. It seemed alien to me that a shop known for inspiring new trends had to follow such an obvious one. 

The next thing I found was the new Aubin & Wills on Redchurch Street.

The building Aubin & Wills is in is situated over three floors. The top floor is a gallery, the middle, the shop and the basement, a cinema. Aubin & Wills is not a brand I know much about but my preconceived idea was that it was a more expensive version of Jack Wills. The clothes followed this theory but the way the brand was trying to communicate with the consumer did not. There was no sign of the 'fabulously British' catchphrase nor the flocks of gillette wearing floppy haired boys. Instead, an exhibition called Bazooka and a cinema showing the films you could see in any Odeon in the country. In my eyes it is a shame to see a brand like Aubin & Wills occupy a really interesting space. The cinema is most definitely a waste, why would I pay £13 to watch a film that would cost me £8 anywhere else. Granted, I didn't go into the actual cinema so I can't comment on the experience, but from what I saw it did not convince me to try it.  Big brands have been popping up in East London for some time now, but there is definitely something about this one that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Because of my boredom I am going to Berlin next week.

Lets see what this can bring.

Prada Winter/Fall Ad

Just as amazing as the print campaigns.

Who's To Blame?

Working under the brands consultancy Magpie last year we predicted 4 trends for 2012.  One of these trends was Who's To Blame? As explained below.

Whilst researching on WGSN earlier today I came across a report of Youth Attitudes for 2011. This confirmed the line of thought we had predicted with this trend. 

"Facebook is increasingly becoming a portal for news and this is perhaps an indicator of how the young will start mobilising around key political, social and environmental issues."

The youth market are one of the most important future consumer groups and I think current advertising campaigns are starting to realise this and adapt to new digital technology. Although the youth market are not yet at the stage to buy into labels such as Louise Vuitton and Calvin Klein the use of fashion films and QR codes make this eventual consumer pay attention. Brands have to work a lot harder amongst youths as they are more skeptical towards advertising, savvy on the way in which brands promote a lifestyle and completely aware of advances in technology which just come naturally to them. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next 10 years.

A daunting thought from the Todays Teen in 2020 Survey:

"Consumer trends suggest that today's teenagers will be known as "teens" until they are 35 years old, as the cost of living independently will become too expensive. As the price of energy rises due to an increase in consumption, so will living expenses, forcing most teens of today to be still living with their parents in 2020. Salaries will be lower, and young adults will have to prioritise small, functional and affordable products."

Joy.

I believe I will die young.

You scare the shit out of people and then they don't see how scared you are.

Fashion is not art. Fashion is not even culture. It is advertising.

Being of the moment is everything.

It was always about the sex, every look, every minute, every day.

Sex was never the goal. Sex was never the issue.

Sex was really easy, sex was every were it didn’t really mean to much, love, love was the hard thing to find.

I know, I know, life is so disappointing, here you are, you have arrived, you are here, this is your moment. 

When you have everything what do you have? 

You have nothing. 

When everything is right, everything is wrong, its disappointing its confusing, this is life, what can you do?

Work. 

You have a gift, use it, life will be there later, when you have worked and lived and know who you are, life is easy.

 Work, it’s the only answer I know.

 

A tribute to Corinne Day

Vintage At Goodwood

I cannot explain how excited I am for this weekend. I am working with UCA at Vintage At Goodwood doing styling and photography. I do get a lot of free time to explore though and will be taking full advantage of this, photos to follow next week!

Bad Customer Service

There is nothing more infuriating than a brand not giving good customer service. Whether it is due to bad manners in staff or frustrating policies the only way in which they can make up for it is by listening to the complaints and fixing it. Recently on another blog a complaint had been made about American Apparel to which they responded and rectified the issue, this to me is a brilliant way of showing the customer that the brand does actually care. Today Penny and I have sent letters through recorded post to two of the many brands that have provided bad customer service, Apple and Phones 4 You. Both boast excellent customer service so lets see who responds first. Here are the letters;

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to complain about the customer service I received in your Bluewater store on 30/06/10.



I took out a contract through the Phones For You branch in Epsom at the beginning of February. This was an orange contract, with which I was given a Blackberry Bold. Within 6 months of having this phone it has broken, the trackpad has stopped working which I have now been informed is a very common problem.



I went into the Bluewater branch on Friday night and waited roughly ten minutes before I was approached by the manager of the store (his name now escapes me). I explained to him the problem and he told me the only way this was resolvable was to send it off for repair. Understandable, but poor customer service as the phone is barely even 6 months old so in my eyes should just be replaced. So the manager took me to a table and told me the next person available would come over to help me. I waited another thirty minutes before a very helpful girl assisted me. During this time though the manager who had originally approached me just walked around the shop and was not in fact serving anyone. I asked the girl who booked my phone in for repair if he could have done it to which she confirmed he could. So in total I was in the shop for nearly an hour when it only took 5 minutes to send my phone off for repair.
I am told it can take up to 28 days for my phone to get fixed which is appalling as I am paying £40 a month for a phone that is practically new that I cannot use, and the staff who work in your stores did not make me feel like a valued customer to compensate for this.



On your website it says ‘We work hard to ensure that after shopping with us, you have a massive smile on your face because you’ve also received great customer service.’ Well this is certainly not the case here.






Dear Sir or Madam


I am writing to complain about the way I was treated in the Apple store in the Lakeside shopping centre on Monday 2nd August.


After thoroughly reading about the Ipod Nano I was really excited to go into the Apple store for the first time and buy my first Ipod. However the experience as a whole left me feeling unwanted and unwelcome as a customer.



I understand the store was very busy with people buying your newest phone but after my third attempt at approaching your staff it was clear no one would talk to me about an IPod and there was no way I would be taking a new IPod home with me that evening.



After leaving your store feeling very unappreciated I decided to try Curry’s digital where the staff were more than happy to help and even gave me a smile as they handed over the bag with my new mp3 player inside.



Safe to say my first shopping experience in one of your Apple stores will be my last

Ready for Autumn?

Being one the few people who actually enjoy Autumn a whole lot more than the Summer, I cannot wait for the weather to soften and the jumper wearing to begin (not that I am not already wearing my Winter jumpers in my overly air conditioned office!). I adore the trends for AW 2010 but feel the majority are a bit too grown up for me. Yes I love Mad Men and the 1950's look but it doesn't mean I will be wearing it, I am 21 and this is how I want to look. These are the looks I will be channeling this Autumn/Winter;

Celine

Leather pockets, big & baggy, short & sleek, cant go wrong!

Chloe

Both of these looks will be perfect for riding my bike on.

Burberry

The obvious Aviator jacket, is there anyone who doesn't actually dream of wearing this?

Dolce & Gabanna

Sheer polka dots, leopard print, baggy jumpers, what else do you need.

Acne

Fur (or at least faux fur) all the way

Marc Jacobs

Long layers and socks, lush.

Before Summer Is Over

This shall be my new tattoo.

Image from Researchtattoos

Courtesy of Mr Phil Quinn

Weirdly my good friend and genius, Phil Quinn sent me these images yesterday. It was only the night before that I had been on a blog looking at images of the film bubble boy. If great minds think alike then I am extremely happy to be in the company of his.

Harpers Magazine 1963

Last night whilst I was working at one of the finest establishments in Dartford, ahem, there was a bit of an uproar about the new Ipad. The customers had an issue, one person in particular, with the fact that the landlords son who is 6 had one. The usual grumbles of ‘I didn’t have one in when I was younger’ and ‘What does a 6 year old need with an Ipad’ were being thrown around. This is a debate me and my sister often have. She is 8 years older than me and got her first TV for her room when she was 16, I got mine when I was 11/12. She holds a massive grudge against me because of this. TV’s, Ipads and the like were not around when that generation were younger, ergo they did not have them. If they stepped back and stopped being so jealous for a moment they would see that a 6 year old having an Ipad is a brilliant thing. This kid is learning so much from it and will grow up to be far more intelligent than the majority of Neanderthals who berate him.

On another note my Blackberry has broken. The trackpad has just stopped working. This is the second Blackberry I have had and before my first one met its end in a glass of orange juice it didn’t work either. It loved to delete everything whenever it felt like. I received really bad customer service last time from Orange and Blackberry and never got my phone fixed. If this is the case again this time, which is the way it is leaning at the moment, I wont be using Blackberry or Orange anymore. I hate it when brands do not take care of their customers and for some reason its always me that gets given the crappy service. I would love to be surprised and receive good customer service, but it is doubtful. Watch this space.

Final thing. The office I am temping at is the same place I have tempd for the past 3 summers. Every Friday without fail a man and woman park their mobility scooters outside the front of the office and go the fish and chip shop next door. Today there was only one scooter and the woman was sitting in there alone. The man has died. Me and Penny are in mourning.

A while ago Emily and I did a shoot for Milkshake magazine. The images never got used and I can see why, they are very dull. We should have gone with our first instinct and done it on location but fear got the best of us and we went ahead with using a studio, which has left the images flat. I haven’t been able to look at them as I tried to forget it but the time has come to resurrect them. I have an idea of what I want to do and I think it involves illustration, so any illustrators that want to help out please get in touch. But for now this is my starting point...

GroundHog Day

I feel like I am waiting for something to happen. There is nothing at the moment, just work. Its driving me insane. It is killing me not even having someone to discuss anything with, I am just becoming an empty shell.

Roll on September.

All images from fffound

I really dont understand this last one but just love it.