Brands

You’ve been Vogued



1 vogue-festival-2014-photo-by-disneyrollergirl

Having seen the evolution of fashion blogs over the last seven years (this blog started in 2007), I’m interested in the shift from blogs to brands. Many of the fashion blog pioneers have extended their remit, transforming their blogs into successful creative businesses.

And this approach has spread beyond the bloggersphere to the wider world, hence these days, far from simply aspiring to ‘be a celebrity’ (how 2010!), everyone wants to ‘be a brand’. This thought was crystalised last weekend at the third Vogue Festival (in association with Harrods) at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Vogue, one of the biggest publishing brands is not content with being a print publication. It wants to be a multi platform destination, an event, a lifestyle brand. And as such it has created a means to engage with its future customers, who themselves have become pretty well versed in the stepping stones of brand-building. (more…)



Charlotte Olympia’s bags mean business



Charlotte Olympia business handbags

Question: what do sexy-shoe designers do when footwear fashions shift from £600 super-stilettos to £100 trainers? Well I guess they switch focus to bags. Is this the reason for Charlotte Olympia’s forthcoming business-friendly line? The new line of work-appropriate leather handbags launches for AW14, focusing on structured top handles, totes and clutch bags. (I love this ruby red ‘Bogart’ top handle, above.)

But shoes aren’t totally neglected. There’s an accompanying ‘Nine To Five’ line of lower-heeled pumps that nod to Dellal-style whimsy (think leopard print and peekaboo details). Served up in a briefcase-style box, complete with matching stockings, look out for them in June on Charlotteolympia.com and Net-a-Porter.com.



Beauty bits: Sephora’s social platform, upcycling Diptyque, Bobbi’s new foundation stick, the best lip balm ever…



SEPHORA’S SHOPPABLE INSPIRATION BOARD

Sephora-The-Beauty-Board

Done well, Sephora’s shopping platform could be a gamechanger. Launched two weeks ago, its new Beauty Board is a Pinterest-esque gallery of user-generated photos, which customers engage with, posting reviews, comments and tips. It’s what beauty forums do best, but this adds an all-important shoppable component and the ability to share widely on other platforms. With mobile’s increasing importance in syncing content with commerce, I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot more brands attempting similar feats. Read more here. (more…)



Vogue time



4 Nigel Shafran Paris Avenue Montaigne

What a surprise to see a Nigel Shafran shoot in Vogue. And styled by Joe McKenna too. Shafran’s last Vogue shoot was 21 years ago and he has brought his quiet observational style to the the UK title with this ode to consumerism (beating Karl to the punch), shot in the temples of Vuitton, Chanel and Celine on Avenue Montaigne… (more…)