LCM 2015: MY REVIEW

As the London Collections: Men draws to a close, I looked at the upcoming trends for men for 2015 that have particularly caught my eye.

As a fan of mens fashion and someone who takes mass inspiration for my style through menswear, I always look closely at the upcoming collections to see what may be appearing in my wardrobe this summer and winter.

It is argued that a lot of what gets displayed through Mens runway shows is hardly wearable or even slightly appealing to the average straight man. But nevertheless there will be a few things which I am sure high street designers will tweak to make it sellable to the average fussy fashioned men. But despite this, there is still a few things which I will be loving (and possibly wearing) next season, and I've made a note of a few of them here:

Xander Zhou 

Baggy pants, loose fitting tshirts and slider sandals were all the rage at Xander Zhou SS'15. Although this look may not be the most flattering on the average bulky male, I love these silk pants matched with the high collar long-line blazer. Definitely a trend I'll be following next season.

Topman

Definitely the most shocking look of the season was when Topman (WHO ARE A HIGH STREET STORE) opened their runway show with a Clueless inspired checkered pantsuit. They then continued to bring out more and more models wearing the craziest of garments (which included a seventies style flared jean matched with a cropped floral jacket, and a shearling coat which looked like it had come from David Bowie's wardrobe). I will be baffled if Topman ever release this collection to the mass public, they would certainly have to tone it down completely before bringing it into stores, otherwise expect to see a lot of it in the bargain bin...

Baartmens and Siegel

Possibly one of my favourite collections from LCM, purely because I could generally see a normal UK male wearing half of it. It features a hell of a lot of khaki and navy colours, and consisted of everything from a summer suit to shorts and tshirts. I would love to see men wearing this collection, and I am positive high street stores will be recreating a lot of these looks shown throughout it. I can't wait for their collection with River Island to drop, and I will definitely be hoping that normal men take to it just as well as the fashion forward ones do.

Burberry Prorsum

Every fabric, every style and every colour was basically shown at the Burberry Prorsum AW'15 collection. But there was one thing I noticed which I am hoping gets brought back soon and that is the duffle coat. This was shown with loose fitting t-shirts, cropped trousers and these dodgy flappy hats (which I'm sure will not catch on). Despite this it's about time the duffle coat was brought back for men and I am glad Burberry have done it. I guarantee that these will sell well and I am hoping that the mass high street will bring them to us too.

Moschino

Since Jeremy Scott took over Moschino they have starting featuring menswear within their womenswear collections. What I love about this is the collaboration and pairing between the looks combined with the male and female models. With Scott being as whacky as ever, the SS'15 collection featured a lot of $ signs and black and gold indented into the clothing. If you see yourself as a bit of a Kanye West wannabe and want to give these looks a try then be my guest, but I'm not too sure they'll be catching on to the mass market anytime soon. But congrats to Jeremy Scott for finally bringing the man to Moschino.

Overall it's been a whacky year for LCM 2015. As a PR student I've been astounded by the amount of press it's received over the past week. I really hope menswear collections continue to grow as fashion for men is just as important as fashion for women. I have loved watching this week and how much it is being talked about within the fashion world, let's hope we continue to see this!

BRAND YOURSELF THROUGH FASHION

As a Public Relations student, understanding branding is an industry must. Throughout my degree, it is imprinted into our minds that brand and reputation stand for everything within PR. If you damage your businesses reputation, it'll usually be because you went out of your branding guidelines. This will usually result in crisis management, and if you are an in-house PR, it'll probably be job threatening.

When we think about businesses, certain things usually spring mind. For example, whenever I think of Chanel I usually picture expensive, high-end glamour. I also think of the monochrome CC logo and the chic and tailored clothing they design. This is all because of their branding. To designers like Chanel, branding is everything, and everything they do within the business will be down to their image and reputation within the industry. And who will be behind all of this? The PR's of course.

But it's not just businesses who build themselves up based on their brand image. Celebrities are also classed as 'one big advertisement' because they brand themselves to follow through with an image that people will see. Lady Gaga for example, brands herself through her crazy clothes and whacky stage presence. This is how people view her and how they remember her. This is her brand.

And whether you like it or not, people in society will view and stereotype you. It happens to everyone. Usually people will judge others based on how they look, dress and act, people may disagree with this, but it's how our brains work.

But why should that be an issue? If you want to be a certain way whose to say you can't? If you want to look, dress and act a certain way then do! MAKE IT YOUR BRAND.
Personalising your brand can make you appealing and interesting to future employers. If you want to be known as a kooky girl with a strong personality and crazy dress sense THEN DO IT. It makes you so much more memorable then people with who don't have a powerful personal brand and image.

Being able to understand branding starts with being able to brand yourself. If you are able to come across a certain way and show you understand yourself then businesses will be more likely to employ you. And if they don't? Well then they are the wrong business for you and it's probably a good thing that you don't work for them.

And this brings us back to Public Relations Agencies. There are so many different agencies out there who all have different clients. All these agencies are looking for employers who will be able to fit in with their existing employees, who will understand their clients and be able to respect the reps and brands for each of them.

So if an agency isn't suited towards your look and taste, don't be disheartened...it's probably for the best...x

THE FASHION INDUSTRY VS. MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF

In late December, Twitter and blogs went into meltdown over the supposed news that the quirky and extravagant fashion house of Meadham Kirchhoff was shutting its doors due to lack of financial support. The news appeared in an interview where Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff told Style.com that they are struggling to find sponsorship to help fund their catwalk shows for Fashion Week. As a huge fan of the brand, it pains me to hear news like this, and it is certainly making me question that if the fashion industry cannot support conceptual brands like Meadham Kirchhoff, is there even a point in art and creativity within the industry anymore?

Whilst the death of the designer duo brand is not imminent, the end definitely feels nigh. Despite a huge army of fans from all around the world, and a Topshop collaboration that sold out in minutes, the pair have always said that they struggle with the fast pace of the industry, and find it hard to keep up with drastic orders from department stores and boutiques. 

With the instagram and twitter-sphere booming, the demand for rapid fashion has increased tremendously. If its not hanging off the racks the second the last model walks down the runway, buyers just ain't interested. Waiting around for the next season of clothing to drop rarely happens anymore. The industry has quickened, and its leaving behind art, creativity, and conceptualism. Its leaving behind Meadham Kirchhoff.

I have been in love with the Meadham Kirchhoff creations for as long as I can remember. The duo have greatly inspired my admiration for nostalgia, ingenue, and kawaii fashion, and they have also opened my mind to dressing differently and not complying with what society tells you to wear. They were the inspirations behind my A Level Textiles pieces (for which I achieved an A), and they have given me the most perfect pieces of clothing which I will treasure forever (from my cherry print shirt, to my gold pentagon heels and my orange mongolian monster face knitwear). So if the designer duo were to shut down, I would indeed be greatly saddened, but the pieces they have given me are timelessly demiugic, so shall stay with me forever.

Long live MK! <3

DISNEY- WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE

I am exstatically happy while I write this post, possibly because I've just been accepted onto the Disney Cultural Exchange program for 2015, which basically means I am going to be living and working in Orlando this summer for two whole months! WOW.

The programme runs from the 2nd June - 7th August, and whilst I'm there I will be living in the Disney Dorms (accommodation built specifically for us students to live in whilst we work during summer), and working at one of the theme parks to earn my wage.

The program gives students from all around the world the chance to leave University behind for the summer, and come to Disney to culturally interact with one another through living and socialising. The program also gives us the opportunity to meet and network with some of the people behind the Disney brand, which is absolutely perfect given the degree I am doing.

Whilst I am there I will be working in operations, which means I will either be working on one of the many attractions Disney has to offer, or meet and greeting people that enter the parks, or working behind the ticket counter. I won't know my specific job role until I get there, but any one of these will give me the opportunity to interact with guests from all over the world, which will give me the chance to put my good PR social skills to use. Remember- its all about the clean cut Disney image and brand rep, and a public relations student of all people should know how important that is! ;)

I cannot wait to jet off to America for a fun-filled Summer at Disney, I am hoping this experience will help me grow as a person, and will continue to fuel my desire to achieve my primary goals of becoming a public relations professional. Hopefully I will develop life lessons and skills along the way that will be crucial to working in the industry. I am incredibly excited to begin this journey and I am so very grateful to have been accepted from the thousands of applicants that applied...

Orlando here I come!