Since deciding that I would like to pursue Textiles instead of Fashion Design, I have been using the remainder of my time in London to get out of uni and explore lesser known places in London. Alongside this, I have started my own mini project to document my creative process and thoughts as I am influenced by the city.
THE HUNTERIAN MUSEUM
I read about the Hunterian Museum a while back and thought "That sounds like an interesting place, I should go there one day" so I made sure it was the first place I visited in the city; it didn't disappoint! The main attraction of the Hunterian is it's huge collection of jars containing preserved dissections, deformities, how the embryo of animals and humans form etc. As well as being able to read about all the gore of surgery and health treatments (I miss History lessons!), the endless displays of bizarre looking surgical tools were very beautiful to look at. I picked out the most interesting shapes to create the drawing above.
LEIGHTON HOUSE MUSEUM
The fluidity and beautiful colours made this tiled strip catch my eye; I translated my drawings into two prints below.
The first is a red pigment mixed with foil glue and heat pressed with gold foil while the second is a mixture of transparent glue binders dyed with blue and orange pigments.
I love using tape as a drawing material; the solid lines and colours of tape help me to convey the potential of pattern as a graphic print.
Leighton House is definitely one of my favourite places I've visited so far! I think the thing that most surprised me was that such a typical looking Chelsea townhouse housed an amazing temple like interior. It made me think about how I could convey the interior and atmosphere on the exterior of a building and how to translate this onto a print. Also, colour and pattern; the museum had such strong palettes of both of these, I'd love to incorporate that vibrancy into my work.
Glancing
at H&M’s glossy Anna Dello Russo shop display on Regent Street, it was hard
to believe that the cool, refined COS store in the distance was also owned by
the retail giant Hennes & Mauritz. Apart
from their tenuous links as sister companies and a shared desire to deliver
quality clothing at an affordable price, the brands’ visions seem to have
little in common. From browsing their
websites it is clear that H&M strives to design on-trend clothing for the
fashion conscious while COS offers customers affordable minimalist style using
high quality fabrics.
H&M sells clothing for men, women and children. In 2010, they launched their first homeware collection.
COS also sells men's and children's wear.
Located
within close proximity to COS and situated between Banana Republic and Armani
Exchange, the H&M Regent Street store gave me the impression of a youthful,
exciting brand with lots to offer; an accessories collection in collaboration
with Anna Dello Russo, men’s autumnal colour contrast suits and a Lana Del Ray
campaign shoot framed in the distance above the busy tills. As I entered the
store, the sound of No Doubt’s latest girly pop track “Settle Down” hit my ears
and I began to see that most of the shoppers were young twenty-something women
with the odd boyfriend/middle-aged parent in tow. The entrance of the brightly lit ground floor
showcased H&M’s latest Autumn/Winter womenswear clothing while Ikea-esque
white shelving units on the sides stocked specific basics such as slacks, jumpers
and tights. At the back of the store,
escalators to other floors overlapped a chic illustrated backlit wall featuring
the same red light H&M logo as the shop front signs.
NO DOUBT // SETTLE DOWN
Fancy
interior design aside, H&M clothing comprised of cheap low quality
materials such as polyester and acrylic with fashionable designs. There were several garments I noticed around
the store that reminded me of designers such as Stella McCartney, Prada and
Ashish. Typical autumn/ winter shades of
red, brown and grey were dominant across the store’s clothing with hints of
pastels, neon and floral prints lingering from summer collections. Leather, sequins, beads and sparkly fibres
were also popular, no doubt influenced by the recent Fashion Weeks.
Price-wise,
H&M keep to their promise of fashion ‘at the best price’; basic tops cost
as little as £3.99 while a silk shirt from the ‘Premium Quality’ range is
reasonable at £29.99.Some of the more
intricate garments involving machine embroidery, prints and beading range
between £25-£35.When I visited the
changing rooms in-store, I noticed the female shop assistant was wearing a graphic
print skirt with bold eyebrow make up, berry coloured lipstick and a
fashionable hair top knot.To me, her
look summed up H&M’s vision and offering to high street customers; runway
styles and trends replicable at an affordable price.However, items from the Anna Dello Russo
accessories collection were very expensive; prices ranged from £29.99 for a
gemstone ring to £199.99 for a pair of thigh high leather boots.
After a short walk down the street, I arrived at
COS; the store had an expensive feel from the outside as it had prime position on
the street corner with Liberty’s situated next door. The shop window displays consisted of a muted
grey, brown and cream palette with classic white mannequins dressed in typical
COS minimalist design. As I entered the
store, I immediately noticed how much warmer the lighting seemed in comparison
with H&M’s bright fluorescents; the black ceiling studded with spotlights
made the room look smaller and less lofty.
As a result, the store seemed more like a luxury showroom of clothes
than a large retail unit. While H&M
played pop music straight from the chart, the COS store playlist consisted of
hip electro remixes of indie bands such as Two Door Cinema Club.
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB // SOMETHING GOOD CAN WORK (THE TWELVES REMIX)
This photo was taken from COS website; I was told by the Store Manager that photography was not permitted inside the store before I had chance to take any pictures of the store layout.
The wooden stands of minimalist clothing were
clearly separated by colour themes such as monochrome, delicate blush shades
with cream and mixed browns with flashes of neon yellow and orange. Black was also used as an indicator of the
mostly male shop staff; one assistant looked as though he had stepped out of
‘The Sartorialist’ with his tapered crop trousers, wide neck t-shirt and black
ankle socks with brogues. The customers
in COS were older and had a more sophisticated sense of style in comparison to
the young trendy types who shopped in H&M; a man in his late twenties/early
thirties wearing a polo neck jumper and brown suede shoes sauntered around the
lower floor while a young woman with a classic bob haircut and tailored black
coat was browsing the clothing stands.
As I wandered around the store, it was obvious
the clothing had it’s own individual style instead of replicating seasonal
designer trends; I found no obvious runway clothing copies whereas H&M
stocked many. Although most garments
were more expensive than H&M at around £40-80, the clothing was made from
better quality materials such as wool, leather and silk with inventive
tailoring.
Hennes & Mauritz has created a broad customer
base by owning two labels with completely different ethos’ to fashion design
and branding.While H&M delivers
cheap versions of runway trends to the masses, COS has a mature identity and a
select target market seeking minimalist style.Despite their differences, both brands ultimately work towards the same
goal: quality design at an affordable price.
