JAY TIMMS PORTFOLIO U1163349
WORK EXPERIENCE
JAY TIMMS
07771543886 Jaypt123@hotmail.co.uk Manchester 29/01/1993
Graduate from University of Huddersfield BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Promotion. I am a very passionate and creative person and over my years I have developed a unique view of the world, influenced by places I have visited and the people that I have met. I am very interested in art, in all of its forms whether it be dance, portraiture, architecture or fashion. I am also interested in world history and world culture in general and these all provide a rich source of inspiration for any project I am presented with. I keep up to date with global news as I think it is very important to know what is going on in the world around you. I’m a very optimistic person, and generally rather happy, and I think that this helps me with most tasks I’m confronted with.
I have a very broad knowledge of the fashion industry having studied marketing, public relations, advertising, journalism and styling for a number of years, And have alot f experience in photography. I have experience from many levels of the industry from the production factories to creating look books and promotional material for companies. I have a great deal of experience with customer service and customer relations. I am friendly and motivated and would be an energetic addition to any team. I have worked at Selfridges luxury depatment store, where i learnt the skills of excellnt customers service. Groomed and Glossy magazine, where i tailored my journalism skills, fashion editing and working with people in public relations. At Benaiah Matheson, a street wear designer, i work extremely close with the designer, helping him with all of his creative ideas and concepts, working on Photoshoots, social media and his marketing in general. At Med-One i have worked behind the bar securing bookings and table management, i have also improved my customer service skills and now have experience in the catering industry. Selfridges – Dec 2010- Jan 2012 G & G Magazine Sept -2013-Jan 2014 Benaiah Matheson Design - Feb 2014- Oct 2014 Med-One -May 2014-Jun 2015 EDUCATION Oasis Academy: Media City UK 2004-2009 9 GCSE-Grade C + Above The Manchester College 2009-2011 Btec National Diploma in Fashion Clothing & Textiles Triple Distinction (Equivalent to 3- A’s at A level) University of Huddersfield 2011-2015 BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Promotion References Available on Request
cURRIcULUM VITAe
Second year work Raf Simmons Menswear I love the Raf Simmons Autumn Winter 2012 menswear campaign. A very intelligent advert, it uses photography and suggestion to display pieces from the collection whilst hinting at others that are not shown. It hints at a Silhouette that is not in the image and I think it displays a very powerful use of digital Manipulation. The adverts contain a strong brand image of clean cut simplicity. Menswear adverts are usually rather dull, showing a man in a clean cut suit with a designer name stamped at the bottom of the page; this offering however, tests the mind. The advert makes a statement in its design, about its design, a rare feature in fashion Advertising that so often relies on famous Faces to sell products, instead of having faith in the clothes themselves.
This was a piece completed as part of a marketing critique in my 2nd year of University. It discusses the above advertising campaign by Raf Simmons and how its intelligent design is more engaging than the overused tactic of celebrity endorsement.
This is a 2nd year project forecasting a trend to be adopted by REISS. The forthcoming trend was Scandinavian Minimalism and how it would translate for the brand. It looks at similar retailers like COS and how they use Scandinavian Minimalism throughout the brands image. The report also features a detailed consumer profile and possible inspiration for the trend such as Norwegian artist Hildi Krohn Huse and ceramist Reichenbach.
PUBLISHED ARTICLES In 2013 I was given a placement at Groomed and Glossy, an online magazine focusing on luxury fashion , beauty and lifestyle. I was given the role of Fashion Editor and Writer. Each week I would have to work on around 10 features, ranging from fashion edits, interviews, interiors edits, fashion news and I was given my own weekly opinion column my editor decided to name Timmswatch. I tried to keep the opinion pieces to the point and what I honestly thought at the time. Looking back, they aren’t as well written as I remember but I think that everyone’s writing skills continue to develop throughout their life.
TIMMSWATCH: THE SHOCKING SLIMANE
Since Slimane began at YSL it seems he has been on a mission to cause controversy, but should he be allowed his artistic license to freedom, or should he respect the traditional style established by beloved house that he has the honour to be the creative director of?
Sales figures from Saint Laurent have sky rocketed since Slimane has been appointed, and the collection is the second most viewed on Nymag.com where before it didn’t even make the top 10. No matter what you think of Hedi’s tactics, you cannot deny that they are certainly working!
It all started with his much anticipated rebranding, removing the Yves and renaming the house, Saint Laurent Paris. Many were up in arms whilst others approved of this more minimalist persona for the brand. Now after showing his second collection just a few weeks ago in Paris, he has the industry up in arms again. His relationship with the press may be the reason for so much negative criticism. He is known to ban certain Journalists from his shows and to publicly confront them. “I feel like he’s playing a huge joke on the entire fashion industry.” —Anonymous editor quoted by Eric Wilson in the Times. This seems to be the general opinion of Hedi’s work at the moment but are the fashion media really paying attention to his work, or just disgruntled because it is not what they expected? “It’s haute couture made grunge ... its very L.A.” —Kirsten Dunst who was seen on the front row. The clothes were very beautiful, but the grungy inspiration behind them and the styling made the whole thing look a little lazy. Whilst there were no particularly stand out looks from the show, each look was made of individually amazing pieces, and let’s not forget, these individual pieces will be used in editorials across publications around the world upholding the brands popularity. I predict that much as with the collections of Balmain under Olivier Rousteing, Slimane’s Saint Laurent will become a cult brand with a loyal following and it is clear to see certain pieces that will filter down to the high street and change the way we will dress in the forthcoming season.
He is tearing apart a much adored but not necessarily commercially successful house, and I think that it should be remembered, sentimentality does not always have its place in business. At first I thought he went too far, being utterly disrespectful to a beloved fashion house, but after some consideration I think I rather like it. Fashion should be progressive, different and it certainly is that. He has taken his clothes and styling to the rawest ideology and what may be perceived as ugly and dull, is actually beautiful In a way that we have not seen before. Despite my initial reservations, I think that Slimane has used his provocative strategy to propel himself to the forefront of the industry, bringing Yves Saint Laurent, or the now sleeker Saint laurent Paris, back to relevence. I think the established fashion media has found someone who will not be pushed around by it like so many designers are. Successful fashion should provoke thought, and it is certainly making us all think. By Jay Timms 08/10/2013
Here is a piece I wrote about Hedi Slimane’s second collection for Saint Laurent, which at the time was widely criticized.
Rick Owens: Reinventing the Runway
TIMMSWATCH: THE BRUTAL BUISNESS
The grand spectacle has been missing from this fashion month’s collections, most designers preferring to go for the classic runway parade, until the ever rebellious Rick Owens stunned with his thrilling collection that was more a performance art piece than fashion show. Avoiding the typical models we see every day in the industry, he chose to use urban dance troupes who specialise in a new movement called Stepping, a mixture of hip hop and traditional African dance that emulates the power of the Maori Hakka displayed at the begging of a rugby match. Owens pulled in four stepping troupes from the States from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, and one from New York to show this unique collection. It wasn’t just the show that was remarkable but the clothes. Each piece was shown to its full potential with the movement of the dancers showing that they can not only be elegant clothes but wearable and manoeuvrable. The overall look was of sportswear at its chicest, a couturiers view of American urban street wear, executed with such perfection that it could be worn by Brooklyn youth and Parisian high society alike. Democratic fashion. I think that perfectly sums up this show; it was a collection for everyone. And that was highlighted by the variety of the dance troops. Diversity in fashion has been a big question raised within the industry but with the dancers/models coming in wide variety of shape size colour and creed Rick Owens crushed that question in this magnificent performance. Owens is leading the change in fashion, adding diversity, changing the way collections are presented and changing the way we think about fashion. Its more than just a pretty piece of clothing hanging on a model, it can be politicised and it can speak a very strong message. There hasnt been for years an audience so engaged in a show, actually cheering on the models and for a brief moment even putting down their smart phones to show their support! This was truly the most important shows of the season if not the past few years, and we think that we witnessed a piece of Fashion History. By Jay Timms 03/10/2013
Fashion News piece written about Rick Owens SS14 show in Paris
Last week, it was confirmed that Jil Sander will be leaving her eponymous label….Again. After returning from a 9 year selfappointed exile, for just two seasons, she will be retiring from her namesake brand for the third, and what we can assume to be final time. This is after a series of disputes with the Prada group CEO Patrizzio Bertelli, who purchased 75% of the company in 1999.
An opinion piece written about the last departure of Jil Sander from her eponymous brand, and the Influence the Business side of the fashion In industry has over the creative side.
What goes on behind closed doors, no one knows, or at least the mass press don’t. We can assume the pair disagrees on a personal level, but we could also assume that they disagree on the level between a creative and a business minded person. The strange relationship between what strikes me as complete opposites that has formed within this industry. The creative side of the fashion industry cannot assume to function without the business side, yet the business side is pointless without the creative. It’s a very…awkward situation. A marriage where both parties hate each other yet can’t surely function without the other, less lovers, more dependents. A tricky case similar to this one is the departure of John Galliano, not from Dior, but his own label. After the controversy leading up to his dismissal concerning anti-Semitic remarks and a drugs problem, it was almost certain that he had to be removed as the figure head of the brand. But without this fashion legends creative direction, should it have continued?? Bill Gaytten, Gallianos replacement and former assistant has undoubtedly been doing a horrendous job at the company, but LVMH who owns the brand, continue to allow Bill to design in order to make money.
This has been a grievous problem within the fashion industry, the restraints of the business side of the creative process of design. Brands producing clothes merely to make money, because of the constraints put in place by the financial forces who buy out labels that became successful due to their unique creative output. It becomes juxtaposition, the designers cannot function without financial backing, yet to please the investors, they have to alter their vision no longer being the artists they once were. This is where important talent identification schemes like the British Fashion Councils NEWGEN, become crucial to the creative process. Spotting talent and funding young designers, letting them flourish in their individual ideas. Since NEWGEN’s inception, its roll call includes Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou and Meadham Kirchhoff. It has become a patron for amazing young talent, without interference. As in the good old days, when fashion legends such as Dior, Chanel etc. founded their houses, they would be funded for their patrons belief in their work and the beautiful clothes they were producing, and not for the big dollar signs in the eyes of the fat cats who choke the life out of creativity with their greed for profit. By Jay Timms 29/10/2013
A selection of pieces from the highsreet and from designers in an edit about white on white styling.
FASHION EDITORIALS Alongside the article I wrote for the magazine, I was also a fashion editor. Each week I would be given certain themes and trends to work on, as well as providing themes that I had chosen. I would have to contact PR companies from throughout the industry to collect high res images of the pieces that I had chosen mostly being luxury items, however sometimes we had to incorporate pieces from the hishstreet. Whilst choosing pieces for the editorials, I always had to keep the reader in mind and not to make the editorials too much my own personal style. Unfortunately I was unable to design the layout of the editorials as this was left to another member of the team.
This was a piece about couture like Techniques that were available ready to wear and available for purchase. I was told by my editor to incorporate these shoes, I do not think that they fit with the theme.
Another feature I would create was New In This Week, where I would select the most Recent items from a certain store, here are two from online designer retailer Net-a-Porter.
A designer edit on a working capsule wardrobe, I selected these pieces so that they could be interchangeable, although in hind sight I think this would have to be a very luxurious office to work in.
BENAIAH MATHESON I began working for Benaiah Matheson, a street wear designer, in February 2014. Benaiah’s design focuses on luxury street wear with a heavy focus on graphic prints stemming from his roots as a graphic artist. Whilst working with him, very closely, my role became increasingly broad dealing with many aspects of the company. I was in charge of marketing and PR, social media, i worked on shoots with him even shooting and styling on my own and I was also integrated into the design process. We would discuss his creative process and share inspiration and develop and share our ideas for the company. I learnt a lot whilst working with Benaiah and I am very grateful for the trust he gave me in giving me such an important part of his brand. I left when I returned back to university after we visited Paris on a business trip.
The Silver Back This varsity Jacket is not a Jacket. It is a sports car .A sexy flashy Italian sports car. A masterpiece of engineering. The Ferrari of Jackets. The leather sleeves embossed with precision, like lavish leather seats, upholstering the body of finest 100% Italian wool. The heavy black exterior is like a lacquered onyx, cold and sleek. The silk lining flashing a hint of deep heated red. The fit, like slipping your hand into the tightest pair of driving gloves. A second skin. Like its name suggests, this piece is a beast. If the Ferrari is the stallion of the roads then the silverback is the Gorilla of the streets. Questo è molto Meraviglioso
A press release I wrote to promote the Limited edition Silver Back varsity jacket, featuring Italian wool and 100% leather. Whilst working with Benaiah we managed to send some of his pieces to actress Sooki Waterhouse and Artist Zebra Katz.
Benaiah, as well as myself are both very interested in yoga and meditation, this comes across in some of his designs and we often chose to incorporate this into his photoshoots and other areas of the brand.
These were two shoots I worked on alone, I noticed that Benaiah had quite a following in the skater community and I had the idea that he should target them directly by incorporating skate boarding into a photoshoot.
A photoshoot directed by me and shot by Samantha Milligan.
Here is a shoot I directed and shot myself, I thought that Benaiah should try to target a plus size market where he already had a lot of customers as apposed to his using just thin models. I thought this shoot was funny and sexy and communicated something unique about the brand.
Another shoot directed by myself, however this was shot by Benaiah. A lot of the shoots we worked on were rather erotic, intended to sell sex, but not to benaiahs male customers, but his female ones, bringing out their confidence.
In this shoot, we shot a Chinese girl I scouted called KiKi. Due to Kikis personal style, I thought we should make this shoot themed around luxury, so we used my white fox fur coat, and Kikis Louboutin shed and Luis Vuitton vintage handbag.
Here are some shots by Christian Cassiel from our trip to Paris in October 2014, Benaiah is wearing his mind map print which is his most recognisable.
MAGAZIne PROdUcTIOn: FUnSO Funso is the magazine that I founded for my final year project. The name means conflict in Japanese, This was chosen as Funso was intended to be a sort of anti-fashion magazine, more of a “Meditational clothing guide” a term I coined. This would be a magazine that would not dictate to people the “Hot Trends” but discuss how we dress around the world, and inspire people, even through the challenging layout to engage and think. I worked on this magazine with three others, with whom I certainly wouldn’t have been able to complete this project without. As editor in chief, i essentially thought of all the aspects of the magazine, its mack to front layout and use of negative space, to the concepts for all of the photoshoots, to the Global Network feature.
This is the description written about me by features editor Lucy dixon, Humour was Always intended to be a big part of Funso.
My editors letter, which is essentially a shorter version of the manifesto i wrote for the Magazine.
This article was written shortly after Emma Watsons ground breaking UN speech about gender equality and I found it very inspirational.
This was an article written for Funso by myself, it discusses the current state of the gender equality movement in 2014 and my personal opinions about feminism. I am a feminist, but I don’t always like what feminists do, I’m overall probably best described as an equalitarian. This kind of thought provoking article was vital to Funso, we never wanted it to be tedious we wanted it to be almost confrontational.
FUNSO: PHOTOSHOOTS THE Dialogue between Form Motion & Texture “Shape is what makes a piece of clothing, it structures an outfit and it can say so much. To contort the human form via a piece of clothing, is to create something other worldly. This makes a beautiful image, but how does it move, motion is key.�
I decided on three photoshoots for Funso, all under the title the DNA of dress. They would be inspired by the three things that make up an outfit. Shape, Print and Accessories, as all other factors fall into one of these three. The individual titles are The Dialogue between Form Motion & Texture The Eternal Expression of Print The Embellishment of the Body
This was my favourite of the three photoshoots, I love the Scandinavian looking landscape in contrast to the clothes, and how they move with the wind. I think this shoot communicates very well what was intended. The shoot was shot by Samantha Milligan.
The shoot themed around print, instead of using actual printed clothes I thought that it would be more interesting to overlay digital prints as a collage, using simple prints focusing on shape and form. Whilst i like these images, I think i prefer them without the print overlaid they are very beautiful images of the model, a girl called Vimbaii, this shoot was shot by Nicole Jopek.
This is an interview I conducted for Funso with my favourite artist, Emily Tilzey. Her work uses, shape and form to create images that suggest sexuality. I was very pleased with this interview, Emily answered in depth detail giving a thorough and deep look into her personal views.
The world is becoming smaller with all the technology and social media available to us, people from opposite sides of the globe are connecting with each other and all around the world, people of our generation are developing an UN quenchable wanderlust to travel. Unlike a typical shoot however, we wanted to use social media, which is the key to the international community connecting, to organise a very basic shoot that would encompass people from different countries around the world. The point of this shoot is to get people our age to show us what they are wearing on any random day and to discuss how and why they dress the way they do.
One thing people learn about travelling, is that there are so many people in the world, some are similar and some are so different yet we all take pride in getting dressed and this is the same the world over. The Internet has created a word, Sonder it was invented by bloggers to coin a feeling that has otherwise been UN acknowledged, you can’t find it in a dictionary but it lives on the Internet and I feel that it fully encompasses the motive of this shoot, here is the definition according to tumblrThe realization that everyone around you has a life outside of yours, complete with their own thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You could potentially be just a passing figure on the street to them.
DISSERTATION Abstract Can the international fur trade re brand itself as an ethical industry, to broaden its consumer base to the UK general market? With recent news that the global fur industry has been valued to have the same economic worth internationally as the Global Wifi network and has returned to world wide popularity. However in the United Kingdom, where the anti-fur movement gained its most momentum in the 1980s its is still seen as a taboo. This case study will investigate wether it would be viable for fur to return to popularity in the UK. This investigation will look at the major themes surrounding fur predominantly ethical and environmental. It will be researching the history of the fur industry through its symbolical role in social status as well as its sociopolitical role in pop culture. It will collect information from the UK consumer and their opinions and relationships with fur to assess wether fur could ever return to prominent favour in British society.
Can the international fur trade re brand itself as an ethical industry, to broaden its consumer base to the UK general market? By Jacob Timms
This was my dissertation cover and abstract, the topic was Can the international fur trade re brand itself as an ethical industry, to broaden its consumer base to the UK general market? It was an in-depth research study into the history of fur in popular culture and whether fur could return to the popularity that it had before the anti fur campaigns of the 1980s.
FINAL MAJOR PROJET My final major project, I created a Swedish ethical fur and environmentally friendly brand Pals Vanner Miljo. This brand evolved from my dissertation research results that found the uk market aged 18-24 were willing to buy into fur as long as it was ethically sourced. I completed everything in this project all by myself, from graphics to layout to photography.
Press release for the launch of Pals Vanner Miljo web site.
The mood bard I created for my Pals Vanner Miljo photoshoots, it features work by some of my favourite artists including Ryan McGinley, Thomas Whiteside and Ren Hang.
Images from my photoshoots for Pals Vanner Miljo, I had initially planned on shooting on location in a forest however after a rial shoot the images weren’t very successful and the Forest distracted too much from the clothes. I decided that my look book would be more of a collage of images to create the mood and appearance of the forest rather than actually being in one. I shot these myself.
Images from my look book featuring Lithuanian model Ringaile Narkeviciute.
These are my favourite images, the model is Professional skateboarder Sam Pendlebury and I think that he channels his street cool in these Images.
My final adverts for Pals Vanner Miljo. The inspiration Behind the advertisements were images I found of early 20th century arctic explores, I thought that it would be Interesting to contrast these portraits with images of wolves, fierce animals that the wearer of a Pals Vanner Miljo coat could embody.
OTHER WORK A photoshoot I shot for a friend who was working on a project for Age UK, Promoting fashion for older people. I tried to evoke the youthful joy in these three ladies and I think that really comes across in these images.
A shoot I directed for a friend working on a textiles project whose theme was based around decay. For this shoot, I thought that the basement of my house would be perfect as it is itself decaying i also directed the model to look distressed and together I think they make very powerful images. This was shot by Samantha Milligan