WE ARE HQ

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by the lovely Tiffany Baron for the online magazine and store wearehq.com 

You can check the interview out HERE

NOTION MAGAZINE

Everyone should go out to their nearest WH Smith and buy the new copy of Notion magazine!

It features a spread about 'Fish and chips, twice please?!' and it includes a nice image of my new designer showcase taken by the lovely Alexander Jordan.

LIVE PHOTO SHOOT

So a while ago I styled a live photo shoot during 'Fish and Chips, Twice Please?!' and i'm happy to say the images are finally out! The photography was done by Alexander Jordan who once again did an amazing job...

Above is the image of my work in the exhibition space the model Roksana from LOOK was such a great model and was perfect for the concept of the shoot. 

This image I think is my favourite and features the work of Scott Ramsay Kyle, NOKI and Dashing Tweeds. To see the rest of the photo shoot and to read more about it visit the 'Fish and chips, Twice Please?!' blog.

CREDITS

Photography: Alexander Jordan

Hair&Make-up: Britta Tess 

Model: Roksana @ LOOK 

Stylist: Emma Box 

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - quartier21 / MuseumsQuartier Wien

Read about my time in vienna on the 'Fish and Chip Twice Please?!' BLOG. 

The exhibition I was showcasing in received their 10,000th visitor today! Congrats to all the people involved in the project! 

'FISH AND CHIPS, TWICE PLEASE?!'

After my show at GFW on the 7th of june i headed over to Vienna with my collection to take part in exhibition 'Fish and chips, twice please?!' located in the heart of the city's Quartier21. The exhbition is here to showcase the design talent from the UK, introducing something a little different to what the Austrians are used to!

Work is featured by designers Emma Bell, Scott Ramsay Kyle, Louise Amstrup, Charlie Le Mindu, Louise Gray, Piers Atkinson and Shoe Designer Nicolas Kirkwood and more. 

I was lucky enough to be included in the new designer showcase section where i got to show pieces from my graduate collection. The Exhibition has proven to be a huge success with hundreds of visitors each day! Below are a few snaps taken on my iphone...

My collection in the 'New Designer Showcase' section

I will get some decent pictures taken to post up soon! Be sure to check it out if your in the area! 

AMELIAS MAGAZINE

Check out the illustration of my collection by Lesley Barnes  featured on amelias magazine.  

Wicked illustration with a little review of my work go check it out!

DAZED DIGITAL

So as mentioned in the previous post i will be taking part in the exhibition 'Fish and chips, Twice please!' you can read all about the event on Dazed Digital which includes and interview with its curators Emma Bell and Polona Dolzan. 

The article went online today in which i get my very own little mention! 

...which i was quite excited about...hence the lame circling of my name. Anyway have a little read and if your around the city stop by and check it out for yourself! Here is a link to the Facebook page to find out more info and you can follow the progress of the event on its Twitter Page so check it out everyone! 

VIENNA HERE I COME

I can now officially announce that at the beginning of June i will be taking part in an exhibition titled 'Fish and chips, twice please' in Vienna's Quartier21.

One of the main curator's of the exhibition is friend and designer Emma Bell. The Exhibition will feature many great british talents including Scott Ramsay kyle, Charlie Le Mindu, Louise Gray, Nicholas Kirkwood and many more! I will be presenting my graduate collection in the new designer showcase section the week beginning the 10th of june!

EXCITING!

SECRET PLANS UNDER WRAPS

I do have some good and exciting news which I am looking forward to unveiling! A great opportunity has been offered to me which will take place as soon as I finish uni. I can't let slip exactly what it is yet but i have been allowed to say "watch this space for Viennese Juiciness!" Excitement!

EMMA BELL INTERVIEW

As you may know this time last year i carried out a full time work placement with designer Emma Bell, which provided me with some great fashion experience!... along with many funny ones which included flying mugs and two men who go by the name of sun beam and gnome... anyway! I help out where needed from time to time and I got to interview Emma for a section in my dissertation so i thought i would post up a few of the questions on the blog for those fashion students anxious about graduating and the industry that they face.

Since leaving education do you feel you were well prepared for the industry, are there certain areas which you wish you’d have been taught more about?

To be honest when I left Uni I suddenly realised that there was so much more that I should have been taught whilst studying. Yes, you get to leave with all of the technical knowledge and a nice portfolio but all of the things that really matter like experience and networking etc, are the things that are the most important. I think that Fashion courses should put more emphasis on things like brand identity, marketing and how exactly to make those vital links.

Would you ever of considered working for another designer having someone else name on your designs?

Yes and this is something I have done a lot in the past and still do now when it comes to working on freelance or commercial projects. Quite often I do design work for other brands which is most often following their brief so it’s not entirely in fitting with my design aesthetic but it’s good experience and it pays the bills and allows me to be able to work on my own brand.

Do you see fashion as art? Or fashion as industry? What are your opinions on this debate?

I would say it is definitely both in that ‘fashion’ is so multi-faceted that it would be impossible to just label it as one thing. There is no denying that in many aspects there are a lot of designers that are presenting their work as art however at the same time it remains an industry. Commercial design is as much of a sector when it comes to fashion.

Being a young designer do you feel you have been taken advantage of in anyway or guided in the wrong direction?

I think there is a huge amount of pressure on emerging designers and graduates from both the industry and your peer designers. I think its only too easy to be drawn into things that are not necessarily the best starting points for creating a long lasting career that you can maintain. When I was studying I recall it being constantly enforced from all angles that to branch into commercial projects is selling out, which explains why there is that whole Ugly Betty attitude within the industry that sees so many people turning their noses up at something that isn’t considered cutting edge or ‘cool’. When it comes to setting up your own brand the chances are you haven’t had any guidance on how to go about this so I think its only too easy to get sucked into things.

The industry has a very exploitative nature in general from an abundance of unpaid or badly paid jobs, people always wanting something for free and creatives constantly competing for opportunities, so I think young designers and graduates are prime targets. Employers are only too aware of how determined young designers are to succeed so it is very easy to be taken advantage of, which is why it is so important to build up your experience to know your own value.

Fashion Week

So as im sure you are all aware yesterday marked the end of London Fashion Week for another season. I manged to get involved in a bit of stuff through the lovely Alexis Knox who i met through working with Emma Bell. So after an amazing night at coldplay i had to get up and catch a train in the morning to go and meet Russell a.k.a 'Random Bangle' to help him with the finishing touches on his stuff for Designer Ziad Ghanem.

If you have'nt seen any Random Bangle peices here is an image taken from the previous collection which he did for Ziad Ghanem.


It was great to go and help out and see how Russell makes and constructs his pieces i love being able to see how other people work and what their inspirations are. After a day of cutting and sewing i got back home to get some sleep as i'd arranged to help out at the show the next day. That night i had a call from Alexis needing me to do her a favour as two of her interns had cancelled. The plan for the next day was basically get to the Notion Magazine office for 8.30 am to collect suitcases of clothes that needed to be taken to Birmingham and dropped off for a shoot then get back to convent garden for the show. My alarm went off very early the next morning!

I managed to get to Notion offices dead on 8.30 met the other intern who would be joining me on the trip collected to suitcases and jumped in a cab to Euston. It was a challenge trying to move so many suitcases its quite difficult trying to drag 3 fairly big sized at one time but i created my own technique in the end. Anyway we got to Birmingham jumped in another cab which took us on a bit of a tour trying to find the right place to deliver them to but eventually we found it. Once we handed over the clothes we signed collected the money for the travel and headed back to London for this...


We got to the Vaxhual venue for about 3 o'clock was informed which model i would be dressing and got him into his fist outfit. The show was in collaboration with Fire Trap the denim brand so there was a lot of rewored denim involved! Some amazing shapes were created using triangles and geometric patterns. I know how difficult they are to sew since i used a similar concept in my creative cut project. Ziad used the less conventional models to give more of an impact they all seemed to have that special something about them and a striking look different to what most designers usually go for.

VOTEVOTEVOTE

My good friend and designer Emma Bell has been shortlisted for the British Airways Great Britons Scheme and its all up to the public Vote who wins!


If Emma gets the prize she will be jetting to Tokyo so help her out and VOTE PRETTY PLEASE!!! It only takes a minute you simply register with your email address and click vote! simple!

THANKS ALOT!

FINALLY

Managed to pick up the new copy of notion magazine at WH Smiths today! Wanted to make sure i have it in the collection as i was assisting on the Puma Advert featured on the inside!

Make sure you go get a copy!! its a great read and features the adventures of Emma Bell in New York for the Designers Against aids Event which showcased the collection I helped make! Look out for my name in the Speacial Thanks to section as well!! 

Been a while (shamefully)

I hate it when people start a post with this but i have to admit I've been pretty poor with the blog updates since uni finished! I have been a bit all over the place with a trip to Malta and various places up n down the country! I do hope to get back on top of things very soon though what with my collection looming close by!

I blogged a while ago now about a Puma shoot i assisted on with Emma Bell for an advert in Notion Magazine, well the issue is out now so here are the final images...


I have also just purchased a domain name for my website! EXCITING! Hopefully in the next few hours i shall have my first (basic until the proper one gets made) website up and running at www.emmabox.com so check it out tomorrow!

I think thats about all i have to say for now!

Had a little break

So second year is over and I've managed to celebrate by having myself a little break making the most of the hot weather! it really has been AMAZING! Check out this beautiful view of london,

We managed to find that when we took a trip to Hampstead Heath such an amazing view! Took a while to find it but it was worth it in the end! I've also been to visit my friend in kingston, stayed with my brother and met up with my mum in london and now I'm back in my little village in Leicestershire for a few days! 

I do have something fashion related to blog about though! As I have been assisting Emma Bell since February i got to go and help her out with the styling for a photo shoot the other day. Again it was for Notion Magazine but this time it was for an advert for Puma. Puma are one of Notions sponsors so they sent over loads of stuff which we had to make four looks out of, two for a girl and two for a guy. 

It was a fun shoot and was shot outside on location which was really nice as the london sun was beaming and it was very very hot! I'm looking forward to seeing the final images i think they will look really cool, and Puma had a few really hot pieces who knew they were going all fashion now! 

Little Boots for Notion Magazine

I had a nice day in london today bought a couple of new things including a bargain watch, which is plastic and chunky! and managed to get hold of the new copy of Notion magazine which includes the shoot i assisted on for Little Boots. My scanner is broken so ive just taken a couple of snaps with my iphone's crappy camera...

There you go a couple of pics but if you want to see the rest and see them properly you will have to go buy one! Look out for my name in the 'Special Thanks To' section at the beginning and under 'Fashion Assistants' in the shoots credits.

Hope you like! 

Notion Magazine

I assisted on a shoot with littleboots for Notion Magazine a little while ago! just found out its on sale now! gonna have to purchase that tomorrow! 

Trip to WH Smiths is in order tomorrow then! 

Little Boots for Notion Magazine

So i got to go along and help out on a shoot for Notion Magazine on friday which was really fun! Emma Bell was styling Little Boots so i got to be her assistant again which was nice as i hadn't been able to get over and help her since the show in February! Their was some AMAZING pieces that were brought to the rail unfortunately not many of them got used on the shoot but it was cool being able to have a look at them and how they were made! Ill post up the pictures when the magazine is on the shelves!  

Emma Bell antics

I had a lot of fun working with Emma Bell on her collection last month go check out her blog to hear about our fun ridiculous antics! It WILL make you laugh! 

Backstage at Emma Bell LFW