31/03/2010

AD 2000 eh? It won't amount to much!



Look at this amazing video I just stumbled across!
It is a 1930's prediction of what we will be wearing (or in our case what our clobber was like) in the year 2000.
Weirdly, trends like transparency, exposed zips and high volume hair are just some of their thoughts.
However, I'm yet to see the menswear utility belts on the catwalk to emerge. Maybe they meant A.D 3000? Silly old beggers!

I think I've got some explaining to do....



Well I think that I need to clear a few things up.
There is kind of stigma attached to the fast-fashion business these days, and no wonder when seeing documentaries like this one. It was Primark: On The Rack, a panorama documentary investigating Primark's initiatives, policies and what people don't know (or pretend the don't know) about where it is made. People do ask, why would you want to work for them? And not go somewhere more high-end? As if it some kind of 'second-best' mentality of mine!
In fact, the reasoning behind it is that, as soon as I get into a company, I would like a very hands-on, fast paced job role. It best suits my work ethic and clever quick-off-the-mark clothing companies best suit my wants as an employee.
Primark's Founder, Arthur Ryan says, 'people don't want to pay £59, because another £59 will give them a week in Lanzarote'. Aside from being hilariously funny, Ryan has his head firmly screwed on, if you ask me. I honestly believe that young people, generally whom this mass-produced fashion market appeals to e.g Primark: 16-35, will always be interested in saving money and may have limited funds. I can also say this because I have worked at 'Primarda' through the biggest national recession ever and, of course their profits have soared compared to other retailers at this time, but it is fair to say that their profits have always generated millions a week. This is simply down to the fast-fashion retailers getting the runway looks first, and for a lower pricepoint. This is why, that they have survived in this dog-eat-dog financial time.

However, this area of the market faces huge issues in the fashion world;

THE ISSUE> SUBCONTRACTING.
As the rate of fast fashion get faster and faster, retailers are having to re-stock their shelves and compete with their rivals. It's beginning to spiral out of control for the suppliers. These are primarily in India, where most high-street stores are linked to. The problems lie here. For example, the factories are quickly realising that they cannot produce the garments quick enough. The demand is to high (1 million units in 4-6 weeks) allocated factories that are no doubt, regularly inspected.
The suppliers, allegedly unbeknown to the reatiler, have subcontracted the workload to other areas. Other areas meaning, in sweatshops, homes and even shacks, with the machining being done by children as young as six years old, and with their parents eating sleeping and breathing my their sewing machines.

The issues that this subcontracting tells us about is, that it is a viscous cycle. As the demand for more units goes up, the more the suppliers are faced with. The more the suppliers are faced with, the more they will do because, they need the work, the children need the work, and more importantly, the suppliers need their custom, again and again.
The subcontractors are driving the issue, yes, but only because the have no other choice. The real culprits are the companies inspectors. They should be aware that the factories are not the only place where their clothes are being made.

AFFECT ON ME
Sadly, I believe that this will be going on for many years to come. I am not a money-hungry employee. I do think that this problem can be resolved by proper use of these inspectors, and ultimately stopping the 'ignorance is bliss' attitude that we all have. Do I think this is coming any day soon? Not a chance.
I can't however say I am not fascinated by this side of the market. I have to see for myself.




A little snippet of history.

Here is a rather embarrassing 5 minute presentation that I did at the start of the year. I won't mind if you read whilst blushing for me....

WHERE ARE YOU?
> Currently I'm studying Fda Fashion and I'm 100% driven in my ambitions to become a fashion buyer for a large fashion company.

HOW HAVE YOU GOT HERE?
> After studying A-Level, I realised that I wanted to become a buyer after a chat with a careers advisor. We came to this decision after dicussing things the interested me and what I was good at (probably what most fashion buyers do, I'd imagine).
I have also been working at Primark for 3 years and it has given me many opportunities. I have met buyers from menswear, childrenswear, lingerie at the head office and I hope to do a work placement there also. In store as a supervisor I regularly controlling visual merchandising and have to be in the know of company and store best/worst sellers which really caught my attention.
Then my placement at Tesco really opened my eyes. I am confident now I can fill a trainee buyer position.

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO NEXT?

I want to work in a fast fashion company. Somewhere that needs someone to cater for the fast-pace that fashion is today. I am prepared to do an internship. I would like to work for a compnay similar to Tesco or Primark because I think that the fast fashion culture is still in the forefront of everyone's minds and is not in a hurry to slow down.

WHERE MIGHT IT TAKE YOU?

Honestly, it's hard to say where it will take me.
Hopefull I can porgress within the company and become a buying manager in a specific department that I enjoy. Hopefully I will then get to see other companies structures and see how i would fit in to those. Jo's story has inspired me to get skilled in my proffession and (hopefully) go it alone with my own brand. It's early days yet however.

VALUES

One day, I would like to incorporate some more ethical products into the company. It will work. It may not be on everyone's agenda at the moment but eventually it will be. It's been growning from strength to stregth and as the government starts to invest more time in this issue, we are going to have to shop 'greener'. I am excited about meeting the demands of a typical consumer.

CRINGE.

24/03/2010

I'll show you mine if you show me yours...

Curriculum Vitae

Miss Hayleigh Jayne Dalton

Personal Details

D.O.B 16/07/1990

Address 1 Towers Way

Corfe Mullen

Wimborne

Dorset

BH213UA

Tel: 07515865909

E-mail: hayleighdalton@hotmail.co.uk

Blog: hayleigh-dalts.blogspot.com

Personal Profile

  • Organised and Punctual
  • Good eye for detail and colour
  • Avid trend follower
  • Highly focused and enthusiastic
  • Adaptable to changes

Qualifications

Higher Education

Fda Degree in Fashion Studies (Arts University College of Bournemouth)

A-Levels

Textiles B

History D

Spanish C

French D

GCSE’s

Textiles A

Spanish A

French A

English Literature A

English Language B

Double Science BB

RPSE B

History B

Mathematics C

Employment History

Part-Time Store Supervisor Oct 2006-present day

Primark Stores Ltd (Poole)

General running of the shop floor, organising up to twenty-five retail operatives per day.

Dealing with customer complaints and enquiries.

Working closely with the management team on visual merchandising styles.

Identifying best sellers and poor achievers in terms of stock.

Managing stock levels in store.

Relaying feedback back to management regarding staff and customers.

Tesco Buying Offices May 2009

I completed a four week work experience placement in the buying offices, focusing on Boyswear. I worked closely with the trainee buyers and the assistant buyers and merchandisers, going to range meetings, supplier meetings and Monday morning review meetings. I also spent some time in fit sessions and organising the fit samples from the suppliers. This was an invaluable experience in getting to know a busy buying office and conversing with buyers and merchandisers on all levels.

Skills

  • Excellent time management skills and can keep to deadlines effectively
  • Good communication skills and can converse confidently with any level of management
  • Experienced in working within a team and on my own
  • Ability to work under pressure and to a time limit
  • Enthusiastic and committed to getting the task done
  • Extensive knowledge of IT skills including Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Publisher.
  • Wide knowledge of Apple Software including Photoshop, Illustrator and In Design.
  • Fashion Blogger
  • Full UK Drivers Licence with no points

Hobbies

  • Trend Researching
  • Fashion Blogging
  • Shopping
  • Exercising
  • Socialising
  • Seeing live music
  • Travelling
Here is a copy of my updated CV. I've been working on it for weeks. I have added my own personal profile, a bullet-pointed overview of the document, hopefully to draw the attention to the reader.

I'm in the business....

(click to make it nice and big!)

Here are my new business cards! Sounds very swish doesn't it?
I made them before I went to the Pure Exhibition and handed them out to the suppliers that I spoke to for Fab Frocks.
And also, every sensible fashion buyer worth their salt has a business card, after all, there may be some headhunting going on in the near future eh?
I think that business cards, however dull, are very important for me in my particular field. Not only to me currently, as I'm trying to get into the industry, getting my foot in the door, networking, with the business card, I am totally accessible and they know my name already. I wanted the business card to look slick and professional and an exciting opener to my CV.
I have read also that in such a competitive market which I have chosen, people's CV's are judged within the first 2-3 seconds. By having the business card to accompany that, it gives them the most valuable information in the first second. I think having my business cards is a huge advantage and shows I am serious about my career.
I chose the 'HJD' image on the front of the card as a brand identity. It says a lot about me, in fact. 'HJD' are my initials. I have selected very simple, yet prominent fronts which aligns with my honest, open and dedicated approach. I just hope they are effective...

23/03/2010

Fatty Fashion.


Obesity is one of the most pressing health problems facing Great Britian. Over the past twenty years, obesity has doubled in adults and children and tripled in teens. Two-thirds of Americans are now overweight or obese.

Chanel legend Karl Lagerfeld said that, “Fashion is the healthiest motivation for losing weight.” While maybe not the healthiest motivation, fashion is still a strong motivation for dieting. However, with the recent plus-size clothing launches, that motivation may be slipping away.

Many critics are asking the same question: Do plus-sized lines promote obesity? MeMe Roth, president of the organization National Action Against Obesity seems to thinks so: “When you look at the human cost, what we’re doing is we’re on the Titanic and rather than forcing our children into the lifeboat, we’re telling them to join the band.”

Stacey London told the Washington Post that “she’d like fashion designers and retailers to broaden their scope to include women from all points on the weight spectrum.”

" XL sizes would sell out of them so quickly,” Heidi Canalizo, a regional manager at Forever 21 told CNN. “Our customers have been asking for this for so long and in the past few years we’ve really decided it’s time to get into it. Not everyone is a size 2.”

Forever 21’s plus-size line, Faith 21, launched last week, yet some obese shoppers are still not pleased:

Jai, of fashion blog The Fat & Skinny wrote, “I am so not amused. They still alienated a whole bunch of people, my size 18/20 self included. I can’t wait for Target’s new plus size line to come out. It is supposed to go up to at least a 30. Even Wet Seal’s plus size line goes higher than Phony 21’s. Some shirts go up to a 3X, but the pants go up to a 24.”
“These brands don’t want the consumer to aspire to be a plus-size, they want them to aspire to be that mini-consumer, that slim model that walks down the runway, that’s a size 0.”

Roth warns “worrying about fashion rather than worrying about the food is a horrible message that we’re sending these kids.”


It is fair to say that as a consumer, and a constant consumer at that, the desire to drop a dress size is prominent everyday. Everyone is on fad diets and super fitness schemes in order to shed those bellies. we are all in this pressurising environment, however I don't feel amongst my fellow students that I am being targeted as a bit 'chubby'. I think it is lucky that we don't experience this at Fda as I'm sure many other university students do.

I think that companies that cater for plus sized lovelies are not adding to the problem at all. They are a business after all trying to broaden their clientelle and their profits. Why should larger people not have access to a stylish wardrobe? The disregard of plus sized fashion is some berserk, communist-esque sort of regime for goodness sake.

Fashion IS an incentive to live a healthier lifestyle, it is the 'role models' within the fashion industry that have the negative effects on body image.

The Future of British Fashion...A Galaxy Far Far Away?

On Fashion Blogs from Mary Scherpe on Vimeo.

One of my 'most viewed' videos this year, this one.

The future of British fashion, I believe centres around blogging. I have been fascinated with fashion blogging since starting mine back in 2008. Blogging has revolutionised how we evaluate the fashion around us.The appeal of a fashion blog is that it can be accessed by anyone, at any time. It allows people to get their voices heard and eliminates the popularity of the ‘fashion elite’ and celebrity.

For example, designers like Mark Fast have introduced his front row seats to fashion bloggers in order to relate to consumers from all around the world. By having a successful blogger such as Tavi Gevinson, who writes the Style Rookie blog, at the forefront of a fashion show, not only can the designer promote themselves by guaranteeing a post about their show on a popular blog, but they can also receive feedback from real people and how they feel about their clothes.

Blogging is rapidly becoming the custom format of discussions within the fashion industry. The impact that this form of new media technology has had on the fashion world, I consider, has bettered the way that we become aware of major events and trends and in effect, has given every fashion enthusiast a voice. Better still, this voice can be the editor of American Vogue, blogging about catwalk articles coming up in the next issue, to a teenager living in Wales, blogging about a her favourite new jumper and how she wears it. And she can do so with no restrictions or word limits. Fashion has now been handed in the hands of the people, rather than an elite few filtering the information as they wish. The phenomenon of blogging is here to stay and it is unarguably a more effective way of learning from each other to create fashion masterpieces of any form.