DISCLAIMER

This used to be my first blog which I wrote while at University and I have kept it for portfolio and examples of work purposes. If you are here, I hope you enjoy seeing my early work.

Is technology the new black?

In 2006, during one of his shows, Alexander McQueen has used a hologram to project Kate Moss, appearing out of thin air, wearing a dramatic gown from his newest collection. On April 13th 2011, as a part of launch in the new Chinese market, Burberry has hosted the first ever 3D hologram only fashion show. It featured only six models (normally around 30). The show was presented as them walking through one another, bursting into raindrops.

Kate Moss' hologram during Alexander McQueen's show in 2006. Source: metro.co.uk

For Burberry, which was in the middle of brand repositioning at the time, it was a perfect opportunity for promotion and the much needed media attention. From the headlines came out a new face – originating from a traditional and a little dusty, old designer re-emerged a modern, trend-setting brand, that respects its history (after all, that’s where the name Burberry Prorsum came from; ‘prorsum’ from Latin, means forward). It seems that thanks to wide use of technology at their shows, Burberry managed to reach the peak of glory for just a moment, but for the rest of the fashion world as a whole it sparked a discussion whether traditional fashion shows and technology go hand in hand or perhaps they should remain 'pure' and speak for itself in their usual setting.

Fashion benefitted not only from the spectacle that technology can create for the events but also the new market some technogical advances create. The Burberry case died down but not for long, as only a year later, Diane Von Furstenberg caused another upset in the industry by teaming up with Google for her fashion show featuring the new Google Glass in her collection, aligning them in terms of design with the collection pieces. The still relatively new market of ‘wereable technology’ finds as many followers as it finds opponents, the latter accusing the former that it has nothing to do with fashion apart from the clearly regrettable fact of product placement becoming a part of high fashion shows to raise sales and the numbers of 'fashion victims'.

Fashion is characterised by its seasonal nature, there is no place for stagnation and boredom, and as a result it has to be slightly unpredictable. We are quickly approaching the finale of another bi-yearly Fashion Week, this time uniquely rich in technology. The most spectacular example seems to be the a highly experimental event design by Louis Vuitton. The brand has had an event venue custom built for the specific purpose of using a drone to watch the front-row celebrities arrive. This use of technology as part of the event is becoming a staple. Each season the brand has built a one-off event venue, and in 2015 the aim was to take the guests into outer space. Well, not literally – the technology isn't quite there yet – but taking the guests into the space-age biospheres, their design based around technology developed for extraterrestrial colonies.

While for Louis Vuitton and this particular event the grandeur and extravagance is partly expected, and those expectations have been met with flying colours, serious questions about technology and its place in this context arise. When technology like this is so advanced and widespread, the line between innovation and kitsch becomes ever so thinner, especially when analysing the case of the fashion industry, where the creativity in clothes is paired with an exclusive and traditional, almost elitist environment. While some are lauded for this marriage of old and new, others see it as a tacky trick, a mesalliance of sorts. As Karl Lagerfeld proved several days ago, building a theatre style set for his show to make his catwalk resemble a classic french Brasserie, traditional events design can still be successfully used to transport the audience to a land of wonder.

So do fashion events need technology and if they do, where exactly is that thin line? As per usual, things are rarely monochromatic and it seems that the golden rule lies somewhere in the middle. While technologically plausible, it seems unlikely that all shows will soon be replaced by holograms or the accessories by Google Glass or Apple’s iWatch (as recently seen on the cover of Vogue China following the month the watch premiered), simply due to the nature of the industry. Digital displays are so far not able to replace such essentially physical elements as complex catwalks or custom venue design and likewise, digital accessories will not replace craftsmanship. Technology should remain useful and utilitarian, while imagination and creativity remain at the helm of the industry. Its role should rather be amplifying the show and enabling more possibilities for innovation.

Links:

Alexander McQueens Show featuring hologram of Kate Moss, 2006 [VIDEO]

Burberry Hologram Show, 2011 [VIDEO] 

Chanel's Show 'in a French brasserie', 2015 [VIDEO]

Burberry's use of technology for their shows, Business of Fashion

British Fashion Awards 2014: Teeny-tiny Anna Wintour and funny-not-funny Jack Whitehall

I'm sure most of you are sleeping as I'm writing this. I really do want to consider myself as a super busy person - job, uni (shoutout to all my deadlines), events, people staying at my house, planning trips for the next couple of months and life after graduation, not to mention my social life that I don't even have anymore. And yet I still feel like I should be doing way more because if not now then when. It's just that it's only 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (The Beatles lied), 30ish days a month and 365 days a year. So with 1:26am on my alarm clock from IKEA, barely half an hour after submitting my essay on terrorism in events, I am writing this post on what happened two days ago.

We had British Fashion Awards in London on Monday, December 1st and it was my pleasure to help out with preparations for the gala. I got an email from British Fashion Council literally just three days before so I had to reschedule a few things but you just don't say no to BFC.

The Awards have been hosted by London Coliseum (home to the English National Opera) for the second time in a row and I must say that it was a perfect venue, very prestigious with striking architecture and interiors, exactly for this kind of events. The BFAs have previously been hosted by such venues as The Royal Albert Hall, V&A Museum, Royal Courts of Justice or The Savoy Hotel so this only seems like a confirmation of continuing this tradition of highly recognised venues. I got there half an hour before I was supposed to so I grabbed a quick Christmas latte at Costa and took a quick look around the set up. It was roughly 9am and the workers and producers along with BFC have already been there for hours. It always amazes me how they wake up at 5 in the morning, get to the venue at 7, rush around the place until the evening, then coordinate the event, go to the after party and THEN go home. Event day is usually very exhausting and fashion industry is all about the look so everything has to be per-fect. 

We continued to work for nine hours, only with a quick trip to the nearest Pret. HRM of fashion Anna Wintour, who was to receive an Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Award poped up somewhere in the middle of the day probably to see how the preparation was going and to discuss how she was going to receive her award. At first we haven't seen her face but she is so characteristc that we immediately recognised her because of her hair and dressing style. Naomi Campbell also turned up for a rehearsal as she was presenting the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator to W’s Edward Enninful. It’s weird because all your life you’re reading about those people and then when you meet them you’re kind of excited but when they’re actually standing there and doing whatever they’re supposed to do you just realise that they’re just people. Anna Wintour is so tiny that she almost has to look up when talking to people and Naomi Campbell looks way different than you usually see in pictures and seems very shy and insecure. And then Jack Whitehall, the host, comes up on stage for his rehearsal and starts receiting the earlier written jokes about how after the last Burberry campaign (Romeo Beckham starring) David Beckham has become the least known member of his family or how Harry Styles' presence at the Awards can get pregnant at least three women. Did you write it yourself Jack?

I really had great fun preparing the Awards, I've heard that the gala was great fun and fortunately everything went perfect. I met a lot of people from the industry, some fellow students or BFC interns. So a massive massive shoutout to the BFC and INCA Productions for holding this great event, I am truly grateful that you let me see all this and hoping to be a part of this team in the future.

+ My thoughts on the best and worst dressed. There's been a lot of great dressed celebs but I only decided to pick four from each category.

Cara wearing Burberry | Suki wearing Burberry | Rihanna wearing Stella McCartney | Jeremy Irvine wearing Burberry

Lily Allen | Ella Eyre | Ellie Goulding | Courtney Love and Lana del Rey

Paris in one day

They say 'Paris is always a good idea'. But is it really?

I've been dying to go to Paris for literally years. Well, basically I didn't really take no for an answer. So imagine how happy I was when I found a September sale of Eurostar tickets to Paris (for those who have no idea what Eurostar is - it's a trainline connecting London with both Paris and Brussels via the English Channel or La Manche as the French people would 'prefer'. And it only takes about two and a half hours to get there so very convenient!). Normally, I wouldn't say that but as for Eurostar, a £60 return ticket is nearly for free!

So Damian and I went for one day (luckily I skipped the least productive lecture and seminar ever), literally just to get out of the city, or should I say the country? We left at 7.00am from King's Cross St Pancras International (trust me, waking up at 4.45am knowing your going to Paris is almost like waking up at noon with the difference that you desperately need a coffee to even think about being alive not to mention walking the whole day! ;)) which is the best thing ever because it's in the heart of the city so no need to travel for ages to get to one of the low cost airline London airports when in fact none of them is in the actual London, not even within the M25.

I must say, I had great expectations. I'm one of those people who have a constant need of travelling, exploring, discovering, whatever else new places. And even though I'm not always able to do it, I have a list of places that I imagine are the best places on the planet. Paris was one of them I guess. You know all the movies and books that give you an impression of the romantic city of love with the unique climate? Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris' is a great example. Watching the film, I got this impression that Paris is a magical city with little streets and great plazas (I know it all sounds like a one big cliche). So you're going with this perfect image in your head, expecting God knows what and when you get there, you realize that it's just a city, like many others. Obviously, it has it's architecture and people but still, it wasn't indescribeable and breathtaking so I guess I was just slightly disappointed.

Damian was laughing at me because the first thing I said when we got to Gare du Nord was 'Why is there no WiFi and the loos are paid?!'. He calls it 'problems of the first world' :D So we took tube (see, another thing when you're a Londoner. Wherever I go, I always call underground, metro or subway 'tube' because I'm so used to it, I can't help it.) for just a couple of stations to get to Marais and then started our 10 hours walk. Yes, ten hours!

Paris felt slower in life than London (but maybe only because in London everything you need is located in the city so everyone goes there, that's why it's so full of people), but I had to be very careful so I didn't die hit by a car. Parisians literally drive like crazy! And they seem very unfriendly which really makes life more difficult because you won't get a good deal anywhere if you don't at least try to say something in French. If you do, maybe they'll feel sorry for you and laugh at you, but will think that you're cute and eventually give you the damn baguette you'll be walking the city with so you feel more like in Paris. It really felt calm and peaceful in Paris compare to London, that's why I really liked it. A complete opposite.

Laugh at me as much as you want, I'm lauging at myself too, but what I had for dinner was Chinese. Because I like it, yeah. But also because it was cheap (well, not really but the cheapest I could find within a mile). So me, Damian and Cyrille, Damian's friend from Paris, just sat in a little square and ate my Chinese and some fab bread from a typical French boulangerie (which was amazing by the way). Then we continued our little expedition further into the city. I had plans to go see the Fashion Museum but I ended up in Vintage Kilo Shop and Galeries Lafayette (my love <3), I wanted to go get Laduree, I had Chinese, I wanted to see Luvre, I only went to a little Adam Mickiewicz Insitute (very lovely place, go if you have a chance!). Might be funny, but there is so many things worth seeing in Paris and it's impossible to see all of them in one day, literally a few hours.

So after walking the whole day, the last thing we went to see was the Eiffel Tower and sunset at Pont Alexandre III (yes, the bridge from 'Midnight in Paris' again :)). Imagine the surpise when we got out of Metro to see this:

Thank you Paris for this warm welcome, the planks! But we managed this little situation quite well, got there anyway ha!

Back at the station, I eventually got to buy Vogue Paris and US which is what I secretly went to Paris for. Yeah, just to get the mags (no, I'm just kidding). It's been nearly three weeks since we came back home and they're still in the bag, unopen because I had no time at all to read them. I can't tell if it ever felt so good taking my seat on the traing than that moment, after a VERY long day. I slept during most of the travel and was back home at midnight. Thank you Paris, I will be back soon!

NOTE: I'm writing way too much, probably no one is going to get to this bit so I'm just writing to myself woooo!!! I'll just post some pictures (my phone died half day, YES! I love iPhones :/) so you can see my day from the beginning till the very end. Enjoy them if you at least see this! And go to Paris, maybe you're gonna like it! If not, go anyway, why wouldn't you go everywhere in the world! Wanderlust all the way! :)))

Paris said good night to us in this beautiful way:

Home on my mind

Często zdarza mi się, że ludzie, których spotykam po kilku miesiącach albo i latach pytają mnie 'Jak tam Londyn?'. W pewnym sensie jest to miłe, ale czasem też trudne, bo nie ma na to dobrej odpowiedzi. Też kiedyś zadałam to pytanie i usłyszałam 'Stoi, a jak ma być'. Wtedy nie rozumiałam, teraz rozumiem. Ciężko jest wytłumaczyć jak wygląda życie w Londynie komuś kto nie mieszka w Londynie (a to odkrycie). Ale tak samo ciężko jest wytłumaczyć jak wygląda życie w Poznaniu komuś kto nie mieszka w Poznaniu. To wszystko jest kwestią tylko i wyłącznie doświadczenia i to nie takiego, w którym przylatujesz British Airways na tydzień, mieszkasz w czterogwiazdkowym hotelu w Kensington, jadasz w Jamie's Italian, a na zakupy chodzisz do Selfridges, ewentualnie high street sieciówek na Oxford St. Żeby zrozumieć Londyn, trzeba wydać majątek na metro i pociąg, bo autobus w godzinach szczytu dojeżdża do centrum w godzinę (jeśli w ogóle dojeżdża, a nie w połowie drogi kierowca oświadcza, że dalej nie jedzie), spóźnić się na zajęcia, bo kierowca nie wpuścił do autobusu albo kolejka po kawę była kilometrowa, być na 'ty' ze wszystkimi swoimi wykładowcami, pójść z nimi na piwo i mecz tenisa i kilka innych dziwnych rzeczy. 

Ta 'kartka z pamiętnika' powstała spontanicznie, godzinę temu. Nie będzie jej w wersji angielskiej, ponieważ cały ten blog powstał jako miejsce głównie do recenzowania eventów, wyrażania opinii, szlifowania umiejętności pisarskich po angielsku, ale też w celu wpisania go do CV jako twórczości własnej. Niektórzy mogą to uznać za jakiś tam ekshibicjonizm, ale tak naprawdę to tylko dzielenie się refleksjami na temat życia, które kilku osobom, z którymi rozmawiałam wydawało się idealne, bo przecież każdy chciałby mieszkać w Londynie (tu TEŻ płaci się rachunki za prąd, czynsz za wynajem mieszkania, kupuje jedzenie i bilety na komunikację).

Powoli zbliża się dzień, w którym miną dwa lata od momentu kiedy po raz pierwszy postawiłam nogę na brytyjskiej ziemi. Każdy powrót do domu z jakiegoś powodu obfituje w różne dziwne refleksje na ten temat, weryfikuje decyzje, bilansuje plusy i minusy. Przez te dwa lata było dużo lepszych momentów, trochę gorszych, jeden kryzys. Zmieniło się wiele perspektyw i punktów widzenia, pojawiło pomysłów. Ostatnio jadąc przez miasto zastanawiałam się jak bardzo widzę je inaczej niż dwa lata temu, jakie inne rzeczy zauważam, doceniam, ale też jakie zmiany w nim zachodzą. Przykład, zupełnie nie ogarniam karty PEKA, szczerze mówiąc to mnie przeraża. Nie ogarniam też tramwaju 201 i bodajże 20. Nie rozumiem przejścia z City Center na przystanek tramwajowy po drugiej stronie, dlatego idę na ten przy Targach, co z tego, że jest dalej. Takich przykładów jest pewnie więcej i każdy z nich tylko potwierdzi jak wiele mnie omija przez to, że nie jestem tu na stałe. Omija mnie mnóstwo spotkań, urodzin, imprez, koncertów, wyjazdów, wyprzedaży, biletów lotniczych za 20zł na spontan i dzisiątki innych rzeczy. Ale z drugiej strony nie muszę męczyć się z USOSem, zaliczać wejściówek, kół i dwóch sesji rocznie i spędzać 30 godzin tygodniowo na uczelni. Chyba mogę przeżyć. 

Jakie zaszły zmiany na przestrzeni ostatnich kilkunastu miesięcy? Jest kilka rzeczy świadczących o przesiąkaniu tym 'angielskim stylem życia', które przychodzą mi do głowy i jestem przekonana, że będąc osobą z boku zupełnie bym ich nie rozumiała i prawdopodobnie uważałabym siebie za idiotkę ;)

Jak zapewne da się zauważyć, nagminnie, ale też mimowolnie wplatam wszędzie makaronizmy (założę się, że znajdę mnóstwo moich znajomych, którzy to potwierdzą, a potem mi wybaczą, right? :D), bo często angielski odpowiednik słowa przychodzi do głowy szybciej niż polski, a czasem jest po prostu bardziej trafny (przykład: pisząc jedno z pierwszych zdań tej notki, przez dobre pięć minut szukałam dobrego odpowiednika słowa 'confusing', w końcu zrezygnowałam i zastąpiłam je innym). 

Kolejna rzecz to używanie slangu, nawet przed siódmą rano, kiedy ze snu wyrywa mnie taksówkarz żeby zapytać dokąd będzie kurs. Swoją drogą zadziwiające jak bardzo w szkołach nie uczy się języka, którego na co dzień używa się w UK. Jeśli wybierasz się do Londynu, wystarczy, że znasz jedno słowo, a właściwie zwrot - Cheers. Możesz go użyć dosłownie w każdej sytuacji, kiedy dostajesz resztę w sklepie, zostaniesz przypadkowo nadepnięty, kiedy ktoś kichnie i przede wszystkim jako słowo dziękuję, w UK w 80% przypadków 'cheers' zastępuje 'thanks', pozostałe 20% to prawdopodobnie 'ta'.

Jest jeszcze więcej takich rzeczy, pisałam o nich w poprzedniej notce. Niektóre z nich są zabawne, niektóre wkurzające, ale to wszystko składa się na jeden, spójny obraz bycia Londyńczykiem.

Dobra, no więc to byłoby na tyle na dziś jeśli chodzi o pytania 'Co tam w Londynie', 'Co tam w wielkim świecie' i komentarze w stylu 'Zamieniłbym się', 'Każdy by chciał' i mój ulubiony 'Po studiach wypieprzam z tego kraju'. Gratuluję tym, którzy dotarli do końca, fajnie móc czasem przełożyć myśli i frustracje na tekst (założę się, że już nikt mnie nie zapyta 'Jak tam Londyn?' :D). Anyways, dziękuję za przeczytanie, mam nadzieję, że udzieliłam trochę odpowiedzi.

Stay weird xo

15 things that will happen to you when you move to London.

1. Your bus will be on diversion.
2. You'll be standing at a bus stop for half an hour because some of the passengers have crossed the yellow line next to the driver's cabin and even though there is still plenty of space inside the bus, the driver will not let you in.
3. Getting to convince you to travel outisde of Zone 3 will be extremely difficult.
4. You'll eventually have to go outside of Zone 3 to get a cheap pint.

5. What is personal space in tube during rush hour?

6. You'll get stuck in a mile long queue for literally everything: coffee, pub, restaurant, cinema, galeries.
7. You'll get sick of tourists taking pictures of themselves standing next to red phone boxes when in fact...

8. Everything will be sooo far from your house.
9. You'll stop wearing Primark and start wearing Primarni.
10. You'll become obsessed with detailed travel planning.
11. You'll become a fan of the Queen and the way she doesn't give a fuck.

12. Your bike will be stolen because everyone needs one in London, not only you!
13. You'll get excited with One Direction's new album.
14. You'll mind the gap between the train and the platform and remember to take all your belongings with you (oh, and report anything suspicious to a member of staff).
15. You'll always be tired and in a hurry.

BUT, at the end of the day... nope, it still sucks.

EVENT | London Fashion Week AW14

Now that London Fashion Week AW14 has officially closed, I would like to share a few views of mine, especially given the fact that I attended one of the shows myself. There is no doubt that LFW is one of the most prestigious events in the industry, it definitely is a 'must attend' for people with any kind of connection to the fashion industry.

Luckily, I won an invitation to PREEN by Thornton Bregazzi show on Sunday 16th in National Theatre. I had two days until the show to collect the invitation from the other side of the city and most importantly decide what to wear! I finally decided not to overdress and chose a comfortable set. Having arrived to the venue, everything was so mind blowing to me. Guests arriving by luxurious limos or London Fashion Week vans, dozens of paparazzi looking for some luck and taking pictures of celebs, even the look of the runway. This was my first experience with such a high profile fashion event (actually with any fashion event cause I can't recall attending any) and I must admit that's even though it was pretty shocking to me, I still enjoyed it a lot. The most exciting moment of the event was probably meeting Olivia Palermo whom I didn't recognize at first which is such a shame especially that I knew her before. She looked absolutely stunning as she always does.

(source: gettyimages.com)

The actual show was quite short, it took up to twenty minutes which is usually the time that fashion shows last. The main theme of the show was Star Wars and it's a good thing that the organisers made sure that all the elements of it create a complete experience. The collection, the music, and the space's design, all stuck to the same theme. The team also took care about the WOW factor which was very simple and obvious but also entertaining and unexpected. When the show was over and everyone headed to the exit, a group of star troopers showed up and everyone started taking pictures with them which was very funny to look at. What a good idea to complete the show and make it memorable! I'm not going to evaluate the collection as I don't feel I am the right person to do it, however I must say that I loved the tangerine coat and the metallic green parka. I wouldn't wear a blouse with Darth Vader printed on it and I don't like the idea of it. I think the overall show was very successful and well planned. The only thing that needs improvements is lack of directions to the entrance of the show which was necessary as many guests got confused.

(source: elle.pl)

Living in the UK, I had unexpectedly imbued with its culture so I was very much looking forward to see the Burberry Prorsum show and of course the AW collection. It's THE show that everyone is looking forward to and creates the most buzz in the media because of all the attending celebs. First of all, only very few people (out of all the rest who wishes to be) are lucky enough to be invited to attend Burberry's show so it's a brilliant idea that London Fashion Week is live-streaming majority of its shows so that everyone can see them. Secondly, I must mention how much I worship Christopher Bailey, the Chief Creative (and possibly the next CEO) of Burberry. I love the way he combines tradition and innovation. Every single collection captures what's so characteristic for Burberry but also adds a hint of novelty by creating new patterns, cuts and colours. Pure perfection! Judging by the clues, I knew I would love this season's collection, I am just still not over the fact how amazing it was. What I most long for from this collection is definitely the new model of bag - Bloomsbury which will be available in 40 different colours and it's one of the most beautiful bag I've ever seen.

(source: spottedfashion.com)

I totally loved both PREEN and Burberry Prorsum shows. Hopefully, this September I'll have a chance to see London Fashion Week from the production side. I'm very much looking forward to it.