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This week I continued with ways to show what the quote means without any aid of imagery, just through the use of type and color and layout. I continued with the usage of some colors from my previous reading responses.

I definitely don’t have a color story for this weeks reading responses. My design intentions were just to experiment with different ways of portraying these quotes. I’ve specifically experimented with the graphic quality of the quotation mark.

This week I again went with a certain color story, this time more diverse and random. I tried to parallel my design with the meaning of the quote I was showing.

I chose a color story for this weeks reading responses blue, yellows, and oranges because they make interesting contrasting layouts. I decided to experiment specifically on splitting the page in different interesting ways. Through obvious columns and rows, and some splitting through the use of typography.

After reading The Crystal Goblet, an article on how wine glasses were paralleled with typography,  my design intentions were definitely inspired by the colors of wine. I chose a mustard yellow to complement the wine colors.

My consumer product obsession is definitely lipsticks. I honestly just received a package from ColourPop and I ordered 7 new colors. I have multiple nude colors, multiple shades of pink, purple, red, brown. I even have colors like black and dark blue. I have metallic finishes, matte finishes, velvet finishes  but I definitely don’t have any glosses. I’ve always had really big lips and when I was younger big lips weren’t as big a trend as they are currently, I used to use lipstick as a way to make them look prettier. I used to be quite self conscious about them. But now, I really like embrace them and I like to wear different lip colors all the time. I guess my collection has become a bit obsessive now because no one needs 10 versions of one color. I also have the ability to wear a lot of colors based off my medium skin tone. Of course, I stay away from the really light shades and glosses. I think my product obsession also comes from the youtube makeup guru phenomena, I’ve been so hooked on to makeup tutorials and I kept looking at new products and new looks and it started becoming an obsession. But the difference from the documentary is that I actually wear these products, some more than others but its definitely not a collectible its something I use.

Celebrities are very influential in this trend when they attend Coachella; Coachella is known for having a huge celebrity crowd not just movie stars but a vast array, musicians, models, youtube personalities. I hesitate to say “basic white girl” adoption but I feel like thats what comes to mind when one thinks about who adopts these trends. This style tribe is definitely influenced by contemporary events, it’s currently festival season. With Ultra, Lolapalooza and Coachella coming up, each slightly different in style due to the music differences but there are aspects that go across all festivals. Ultra is more about bright colors because of Electronic music and Lolapalooza and Coachella are more bohemian vibes however based off the current trends of colored glitter and gems, beauty looks are currently quite similar for all festivals. The glitter trend goes beyond just the face, we now see this trend for the hair and the body. Glitter roots are currently very in. Last year, flash tattoos were definitely the accessory that was trending around this time, now its more about glitter and highlight and colorful gems. A very unicorn ethereal look. Makeup is also used to achieve this look. Also a current popular accessory for these festivals are body chains, not just simple ones but ones that resemble clothing. 

The color I’ve chosen for this Color Forecasting Blog Post is “Warm Taupe.” Its a very subdued color, extremely low saturation and it is a tint of brown. A color that I would definitely classify as a “classic,” just because it can be paired with anything, its a neutral after all. Its a muted color, which just emphasizes simplicity and sophistication. Pantone describes this color as “trusted, organic and grounded and approachable.” You can perhaps classify this as an earthy color. We see this shade of color appear in the collections of Chanel, Derek Lam, MaxMara, Loewe, Valentino and Ralph Lauren just to name a few. We see it appear numerous times in the form of a trench-coat but because of the versatility of the color it can be on almost any item of clothing.

If I had to pick a group I would say this color definitely appeals to the ‘color loyal’ group who play it safe with color. But regardless, I think anyone can wear this color, they can choose to pair it with a much more bold color or other neutrals. Especially people who have to dress for work or meetings or any office setting but not limited to. This color could be very “preppy” however it can be worn with so many different things and colors that it doesn’t really have any limitations. This color definitely falls under the “lightening phase” of the Long-Wave Color Cycle. Essentially this color would come back into trend after the bright colors, high chroma, multicolors fade away.
There definitely can be some kind of Seasonal Continuity with this color, I would say no matter where the trend cycle is in regards to what color is currently “trendy”, this color will always reappear every fall and winter.

A pop culture trend that has been booming recently in our society is “feminism.” The recent political election instigated this concept to become a “trend” so to speak, as we see the masses in protests wearing slogans and phrases standing up for their rights. Our efforts to protect our rights as women and protect our equality is reflected in the fashion industry today. As a feminist I have mixed feelings labelling this as a “trend” just because then maybe we start to divert away from the real meaning and purpose of the word and the movement and it just becomes something thats “fashionable” and “cool.” However, it is the current issue and as a result the fashion industry will respond to what society is facing.

At this years New York Fashion Week, Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri debuted a shirt that had “We Should All Be Feminists” which has been seen worn on pop culture icon Rihanna and a known feminist spokesperson at the Women’s March and actress Natalie Portman. Another high-end designer who promoted feminism through his collection was Prabal Gurung who debuted a collection of with messages that said “The Future Is Female” and “Neverthless She Persisted.”

This years political election prompted many celebrities to speak up about their political stances, whether it was through their performances, presence in protests, campaigning with the political candidates or through their social media. Famous examples that come to mind would be Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Jay Z, Katy Perry, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, honestly so many celebrities from musicians to actors to models. Vogue also published an article stating their political opinion, which is extremely rare for a magazine especially one with such prestige. In my opinion, I think these celebrities speaking out had an indirect influence over the trend of “feminism,” I think they prompted their fans and raised awareness and encouraged others to partake in protests and stand up for everyones rights that were in jeopardy which not only meant women rights, but LGBTQ, immigrants and human rights in general.

Through the protests we see “pussy hats” and protest slogans and protest wear and I think that is really what had a direct influence on high-end brands to debut these T-Shirts with feminist sayings. I would say the Trickle-Across Theory would be most applicable to this trend. It wasn’t a matter of the elite introducing this fashion trend, it was due to the social situation and how the masses were reacting. It is also not a Trickle Up Theory just because the elite were simultaneously partaking in the public reaction and protests. We see the protests and the “normal” people with all these feminist slogans and protest signs, we see celebrities speaking up and wearing these feminist slogans and then we see them debuted in Fashion Week by high-end brands, and now there are going to be readily available T-Shirts at our fast fashion stores. I made a graph that resembles a “classic” fashion trend because I believe that “feminism” is a concept that has been going strong for years now and it has recently picked up even more due to current events, but it cannot be a concept that just fades away like a fad because it will always be a pressing issue.

As the article The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry states “Fashion is a $1.2 trillion global industry.” At then end of the day, a designer designs clothing and the consumer will buy the product if they like it, that itself is a measure of the designers success. If times are tough, for example if theres a recession then fashion trends start to reflect the hardship of the time. Yet if we look at the economic situation currently, after Trump winning presidency the stock market is doing great which means consumers are happy and that would mean they are willing to spend, to splurge. So it would be my educated guess that fashion trends would lean towards more extravagant and more lavish styles. That is just one potential example of a direct relationship between economics and fashion trends.

There are numerous indirect and direct relationships in my opinion between economics and fashion trends. Sometimes fashion trends are more artistic reflections to whats going on in terms of current events, for example the grunge period during the Bush presidency was a rebellion to the previously popular super polished look. During the Clinton presidency, NAFTA took affect and the EU was formed and a there was just a lot of deficit reduction, meaning that commerce was increasing and stimulating wealth. This was correlated with the rise of denim, high end raw denim perhaps there is a correlation? Regardless, correlation does not prove causation. Sometimes economics impacts trends, or music, or art or other current events.

In terms of focusing on New York City and the fashion trends here, New York holds the status of a global fashion capital with over 900 fashion companies, huge amounts of attention to all the events around fashion week. Because NYC is a fashion hub, a productive center for top fashion designers, wholesalers, retailers and  it would be one of the first places to analyze the change of trends. In NYC, fashion is a $98 billion industry their wholesale market for 27% of the US wholesale market., and as the article mentions that hubs and clusters starts to “research shows there are economic benefits when businesses in a particular industry cluster together in close proximity.” As I mentioned before in regards to how economics have a relationship with fashion trends, this is applicable to almost any place in the United States but more specifically places like New York and Los Angeles. I guess, New York would just be a place we would really start to see these trends start emerging and notice the public opinion.