Ad Campaign

The part of the project that I think all of us didn’t look forward to as much was the ad campaign side. None of us are fashion promoters so we found this part the hardest. Because of that, we decided to do a very simple shoot that has a clear narrative to it. We want to feature just the one model in a dark space wearing one of the outfits. To start off with we was going to leave it at that, but we didn’t feel that there was enough narrative and story in it for the reader to understand our concept or to take anything from it. So we decided to add a white head piece to the model making it more obvious that she is symbolizing a nun.

We took a lot of inspiration from the pop magazine shoot that manuela pavesi did that also showcased nuns. We loved the simplicity of the images and the styling of it and wanted to translate that effect into our own outcome. 

I was the director for the photo shoot that we did and Sophie was taking the photos. When it came to doing it i really enjoyed myself, even though at the beginning i was apprehensive about it, and i think this was because it allowed me to develop my vision off the page and start to create something that was more physical. i think this was really important at this stage because everything that i had previously done was very conceptual. 

i think the decision to do the shoot was very positive, as without it, the whole project would have been a lot weaker, not just because it was the only physical evidence (besides the sample outfits we produced), but also because advertising is such an important part for any brand no matter how established and well known they already are. without the campaign, the collection won't be seen by as many people and could also dramatically effect sales. it is extremely important that brands like Prada stay at the front of fashion, otherwise they will start to be overlooked. 

The advertising also allows Prada to reach a completely different audience that doesn't usually get the opportunity to appreciate their work in person. the campaign would be featured in magazines such as vogue and Marie Claire, which is bought by the masses including people from completely different backgrounds. This keeps Prada on its unreachable pedestal that "normal" people tend to put it on, keeping the brand as prestige as it already is. 

Fashion Show

The theme for our fashion show is going to be a traditional Italian family dinner. The reason why I chose this theme was because in this scenario the woman is in control, even though the man sits at the head of the table, the mother decides what is put in front of them. Stereotypically in TV shows we see the mothers demanding respect from the other members of the family and this is what we want to portray. We envisioned a large dining room table with real food cooked by real Italian housewives from local villages that is bordered with a runway all the way around the perimeter. The audience will be lower down as if they were sitting at the table, which will make them have to look up at the models, giving them a sense of empowerment. 

Some of the people we thought about inviting to sit in the front rows were people such as Anna Wintours, famous actresses who are repeatedly seen wearing Prada and has a positive female image such as Gwyneth Paltrow.  I also think its important to include celebrities that will be big at the time. The Oscars are usually held around the same time as the show, so celebrities such as Anne Hathaway would be good to include as she is predicted to win best actress for her role in interstellar. Bloggers are also very important to have at events like this because if they like it they can reach a large audience and create more discussion in the public about the collection. Some bloggers I have hand chosen is Susie bubble (who writes reviews on all of the big brands collection) and Yvan Rodic who is the writer of face hunter, which does collaborations with brands to advertise their work on his site, which can actually be really helpful.

The Guest List 

Anna Wintour 

Gwyneth Paltrow 

Anne Hathaway 

Rihanna

Beyoncé and Jay Z 

Susie Bubble 

Yvan Rodic

Karl Lagerfeld 

Baz Luhrmann 

Leah Chernikoff

Bryan Boy 

Lupita Nyong'o

Elle Fanning 

Lea Seydoux

The venue that I have found is called the Palazzo Serbelloni and has been used to hold some of Milan fashion week’s most prestigious events. The catwalk will be placed in the courtyard as this is the largest space and the event will be held on the 28^th February 2015.

 Before this point I was quite enjoying the group environment that we had going on. But I think that now I realise how much work goes into doing all of the roles of the promoter I am starting to find it difficult, mainly because it leaves me with very little time to do all of the jobs as thoroughly as I want to and with as much detail. The reason why I am not enjoying the group environment as much as at the beginning is because the other members of my team haven't taken on as many roles as I have and don't seem to be working with the same amount as urgency as me. I don't want this to effect the group dynamics though so I have decided to keep doing what I am suppose to be doing and support the other members with what they need, so that the project is successful.

Hair and Make-up

After choosing what models we wanted to work with, the next step was to focus on what style would suit the theme best. I wanted a really neat look for the models slick back middle partings with subtle make up; all very neutral excluding the bold red lips. The reason why I have chosen red lipstick is because people associate this colour with sluttyness and prostitution, which runs with the established theme of sultry nuns and also compliments the colour pallet, decided by our textile designer. 

Even though I haven't focused all of my efforts on designing the garments throughout this project, I am really enjoying the other aspects. By watching tutorials on make up design I think it has definitely helped to further my knowledge in a different area which I personally feel is really important as it has widened my skill base, allowing me to show that I have a diverse repertoire in interview situations. 

Model Selection

A good model selection can really make a difference within a collection regarding how successful it is. 

For the female models we wanted to go for classic looking models, very italian and feminine looking to support the theme. I did some research and found a few models that have previously done shows for prada such as antonia vasylchenko and zhenya kavata who I believe have the perfect looks to go with our concept. They also use models that are famous to promote the brand further, so kendall jenner to me was the obvious choice. She’s very new and upcoming in the industry and also has an italian heritage.

Even though Kendall Jenner is a high profile celebrity, i think Antonia Vasylchenko would be better as the face of the new collection because where she isn't as well known, it will be easier to mould her identity to the Prada.

As for the male models we were going for something very different in regards to the industry but not particularly that different to prada. From looking at what type of models they use, they don’t tend to be extremely ripped and masculine which is quite unusual for such a high end brand. The main model that we want to use for our campaign and show is Andrej Pejic, a very famous model who is known for is feminine look and the ability to take a picture and leave the audience wondering what sex he is. Our intend is to make the men appear to be feminine so that we are not celebrating the men in the show. 

Styling

As I was the only person in my group looking into the promotion side it was my job to look at the styling of all of the outfits. Prada is known for their bags and accessories, so personally I believe that for a brand like this they are just as important as the outfits. 

To create my accessories I took inspiration from the traditional Italian woman, things that are practical but changing them so that they are suitable to the brand. Something that is seen very often in Prada collections are that they have signature trend pieces such as their autumn/winter 14 mid calf socks, and that’s what we want to do with the netted tights and socks that are going with the outfits. 

The bags that I created were chunky and large to represent the practicality needed for housewives. I explored different colours that worked with the samples that our textiles designer created, and came to the conclusion that burgundy would really work well within the collection. The other main accessories we are including are the headscarves. The reason why we chose to include these was because we looked at traditional Italian women and the sort of things they wear on a day-to-day basis.

I thought that the designs that I created for the accessories were really successful and would work well alongside the garment designs we created as a group and was actually really surprised at how much I am enjoying the promotion side of fashion. I have never really looked into doing styling or the other aspects of promotion and would like to look into it a little bit further.