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the ones you haven’t even thought about...
chloe jones the designer to watch out for!
#NEWYEARNEWHAIR
THIS YEAR'S 2013’s fashion HOTTEST STYLES
to watch
bloggers taking over the world
are they more important than designers?
tie-dye aztec
sports luxe
jacquard monochrome
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january 2013 £2.50 www.company.co.uk
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Happy New Year! By the time you’re reading this you’ll all have had the best New Year of your life, right? I doubt it. New Year stories are often bad ones, but if any of you can live up to my worst New Year, then I want to send you a puppy or something to make you feel better. To cut a long story short, I was dumped four days before Christmas. More than a year of a relationship ended by text. Whilst I was in the hairdressers. Merry Christmas! I had already blown off my friends to make New Year plans with that charming ex-boyfriend of mine, so a New Year alone was on the cards. All this whilst I knew that he (not one to waste time) was already rekindling an old relationship with his ex-girlfriend – who was sure to know that I knew exactly what they were doing every 10 minutes. Aren’t social networking sites the best? Those were the best of times. As the only single one in my circle of friends I realised it was going to be one depressing night. I knew they all already had plans with boyfriends/girlfriends and,
HANNAH
“and a
Photographs: Katey Costello
crappy new year" Is New Year’s Eve actually ever worthwhile? Company’s columnist tells us about her worst New Year ever Turn to p86 for the ultimate New Year’s detox!
“By the time you’re all reading this you’ll all have had the best New Year of your life, right? I doubt it”
to be honest, I was too busy feeling sorry for my heartbroken little self to even want to go out, so accepted a night in with the parents and the dog was on the cards. Could be worse, there was wine (plenty of it) and all the rubbish ‘comedy’ programs that TV producers make purely for single people that don’t have thrilling social lives. Like myself. So I was filled with wine and not having the worst time of my life – that was until it struck midnight. My mother (who had also had a tipple or two) burst into tears on me, clearly crying at her daughter who was destined to be lonely forever. I think even my dog looked at me in pity. At this moment every one of my repressed tears from the past few hours decided it was okay to be released. It seemed quite a contrast to the previous year when I spend a romantic New Year, watching the London fireworks by the Thames blissfully unaware of how the following year was going to be spent: as a lonely ‘ole singleton, wallowing in self pity. If any of you have had a worse New Year than that, I urge you to get help. New Years can be traumatic enough without unnecessary ex-boyfriend dramas that still leave you reeling years later. That New Year was never going to come at the top of my favourite nights, but who’s New Year ever does? Instead of concentrating on having the best New Year’s Eve we should be concentrating on making the coming YEAR the best yet. Here’s wishing yours is filled with laughter... WWW.COMPANY.CO.UK
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Our Father
who art in heaven
Meet Chloe Jones. Winner of two of Graduate Fashion Week’s most prestigious awards, The Gold Award and Womenswear Award and whose achievement has exceeded her wildest dreams…
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raduate Fashion Week is one of the most sought after places to be for any student, with the awards even more coveted than the latest Mulberry bag. Every year more than 1,000 graduates get ready to showcase their work in front of fashion’s biggest names in the hope of getting noticed and being able to fulfil their dreams.
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For Bath Spa University graduate Chloe, this hope became a very surreal reality when she won the prestigious Gold Award and the Womenswear Award. Chloe’s collection, Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, was innovative and creative. “I would describe it as Six Archangels step down from the stained glass windows and onto the streets of the 21st Century,” she explains. Chloe mixed the luxe,
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sportswear trend with what can only be described as an ethereal and couture-esque quality. “It was inspired by Gothic architecture, I spent some time visiting incredible churches and cathedrals, observing not only the architecture but taking in their incredible atmosphere - there is something so raw and powerful about them. As well as the architecture, I also looked into the subject more deeply, exploring biblical imagery and figures such as archangels, friars and monks. I mixed a very ethereal, vulnerable quality with a harder, sportswear element to create a completely new aesthetic.” And that she
Words: Lisa Bognar Photographs:Toni Hancock Illustrations: Chloe Jones
“It was inspired by Gothic architecture, I spent some time visiting incredible churches and cathedrals, observing not only the architecture but taking in their incredible atmosphere” definitely did. Although we’re not sure we can imagine the Pope sporting the hoodie style top any time soon. “Fashion is something I have always been interested in,” Chloe tells us. “I must have got it from my family who have always been interested in clothes and style. My mum, especially, has a real passion for the industry and we have always loved shopping together and discussing the latest collections. When it came to a career, I never really thought about anything else and concentrated my subjects and experiences at school towards fashion, in preparation for my studies at university.” Like every other fashion design student, any career in fashion was a huge dream for Chloe, and the idea of her final graduating collection winning any award was never something that crossed her mind: “It was very surreal being chosen. Only nine of us from our university were selected to show our collections on the catwalk at GFW, so that was exciting enough. To have my collection put forward for any award, let alone win both the Womenswear and Gold Awards was just incredible. “It took a very long time to sink in, and even now, I still can’t quite
get my head around it. When you work on something for so long and really pour your heart and soul into it, it’s very nerve-wracking, then having to present it to the public and some of the most influential people in the industry was unreal! To get such an amazing reaction was incredible, I was so flattered. Looking back at the past winners of the awards is quite daunting. I feel very honoured to join that list.” Like any other budding fashionista, Chloe still looks up to the big guns for inspiration, and who better to aspire to than the UK’s own Christopher Bailey? “I favour different designers, and draw inspirations from different things each season - I think it’s good to keep a really open mind. I have always had a soft spot for British heritage, and synonymous with that is obviously Burberry, the one show I am always aching to see each season. I love the work that Christopher Bailey has done with the brand, and really look up to him as a designer. The brand has such a strong sense of identity, and produces the most exquisitely beautiful pieces each season, right down to the smallest detail.” Chloe has just finished developing her collection as well as creating a small capsule collected for George (GFW’s sponsor) but of course we had to ask where she’d like to be in 10 years time... “Who knows?! I would love to be working with a brand and hopefully have the opportunity to contribute to the evolution and growth of it in one way or another. For now, I’m looking forward to getting into the industry and continue to learn as much as I can.” We think Chloe is really one to watch out for in the future and she left with one golden tip for all you students and graduates out there: “I was once told that experience within the industry is worth its weight in gold - and they were right! Get as many placements as possible. It really is invaluable.” • Chloe’s Graduate Fashion Week collection is now available at George at Asda.
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watch Cloudi Lewis, the girl ready to take over the folk world
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this face
rising star
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eet Cloudi Lewis. A singer who’s personality is decidedly sunny. Bright and bubbly, she’s as quirky as her name suggests. Devon born and bred, 21 year old Cloudi is an indie/folk/pop/rock singer. A bit of everything really. She’s recently supported acts from top music producer Trevor Horn’s band Producers to Scottish folk musician Rachel Sermanni but her route into the music industry has not been an easy one. Literally having to sing for her supper, Cloudi raised her own funds to record her EP, swallowing her pride and asking people to help raise the money. Definitely something you wouldn’t find many other artists doing. We think it’s right that Cloudi gets her time to shine…
Words: Lisa Bognar Photographs: Courtesy of Cloudi Lewis
Cloudi in a nutshell “I’ve been singing as far as I can remember really. My mum was always singing and listening to music when I was a child growing up so it was all very natural. I think it was around my GCSE’s though when I really started to take it seriously and I just knew I wanted a career in music.” Asking Cloudi to describe her music style was no easy feat with lots of umming and ahhing, “it’s always hard to describe your music simply… It’s a mix of folk and indie (that’s how people usually describe it) but I like to add pop and rock elements to it as well to make it my own.” Kickstarting her career Not all musicians have it easy getting their foot in the industry’s door and that’s one of the most interesting things about Cloudi. In order to fund her EP Casual Conversations With A Woodpigeon she created her own project via fundraising site Kickstarter to raise the money to allow her to record it. “Kickstarter is an online creative funding platform for all types of projects,” Cloudi fills us in. “It’s not just for musicians as a lot of independent companies use it but I’d seen a few bands do it so I thought I’d give it a shot. Swallowing her pride “Basically you put your project up, describing what it’s about etc and write how much you are wanting to raise. We originally aimed for £750 but we were so lucky to raise over that as we got around £1000!” It all seems a bit daunting doesn’t it, asking people to give you money? “It all felt a bit wrong to begin with if I’m being honest! You give people incentives in your pledge to
make them want to donate. For example saying £20 could get you an EP, so people can see where their money will be going. It didn’t feel right asking complete strangers to give me money but people were so lovely donating what they did.” Taking a chance Kickstarter is a bit of a risky option though as it does have a huge catch. “Even if you raise under £5 of the money you are pledging for, you lose every penny of what people have given you.” Doesn’t it seem all a bit scary though, the thought of losing all that money? “It was quite scary but exhilarating at the same time to watch our funds go up. Believe it or not, some people go looking randomly for people to give their money away to; we ended up with a £100 donation from someone we’d never even met! I was more worried people wouldn’t find my project but it was so successful in the end.” Following her idol’s footsteps Behind every singer is their idol and when Cloudi tells us how she loves Alanis Morissette, it becomes very clear to us when we listen to Cloudi’s music and how she has influenced her style. “I learnt to play guitar by looking up her songs, so I’d definitely say Alanis Morisette is one of my main idols. I used to learn to play her songs as a young teen and I think it’s really shaped my vocal style quite a bit when it comes to writing my own songs!” No awkward conversations please When we were finishing up we had to find out which musician dead or alive Cloudi would like to meet: “I think I’d love to meet anyone who’s a professional musician. If you meet people you kind of idolize musically, I’d imagine it’d just be really awkward because all you could say to them is “I love your music!” So I’m going to base my answer on the fact that they look fun and we could have stuff in common rather than me loving their music… Kate Nash.” • We definitely think Cloudi is one to watch out for, so keep your eyes and ears ready. Keep track of her latest stuff by following her on Twitter: @CloudiMusic
Her EP Casual Conversations With A Woodpigeon is available for purchase on iTunes. WWW.COMPANY.CO.UK
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Meet my
JOB Company knows you like to hear about job prospects, and in a climate where all you hear about is the lack of jobs for graduates, we thought we’d introduce you to some more of the weird and wonderful jobs in the fashion industry
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his month we want to focus on the world of fashion forecasting. A dream job to some, it almost seems too good to be true; predicting what everyone is going to be wearing in a couple of years time (yup, it is done that far ahead). One of these fabulous companies is Mudpie. Based in little old Romsey in Hampshire, Mudpie is a leading fashion forecasting company; internationally renowned for providing its services of forecasting, trend books and a consultancy service for specific designs and trends. Formed of three brands; MPDClick, Mudpie and Consultancy, being part of forecasting gives you a fascinating insight into what really goes into putting the latest trends on the catwalk. We grabbed hold of Mudpie’s Managing Editor Jo Hatch to really get the in’s and out’s of the forecasting 60
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industry and how to work your way up that never ending ladder of the fashion industry. After graduating from the University of Brighton and leaving with a BA in Fashion and Business Studies, Jo faced the hard decision of where to go to once university over, and let’s face it, with the thousands of fashion routes, we know this decision can be quite daunting. “For me I decided to go into forecasting because at university I discovered I preferred the research side to fashion rather than the design, but forecasting still gave me the chance to be creative. During uni I ended up hating fashion, it took me eight months to read Vogue but forecasting is more analytically focused, which I found fascinating to see how trends come around again and again. “It took me about five years from starting at Mudpie to end up here, I began as a trend researcher and fair trade editor in 2007 and then began looking at the interior design trends side of Mudpie and then naturally progressed into becoming the Senior Trend Analyst/Managing Editor.” It is quite astounding what actually affects trends and how certain patterns arise every few years – or as a forecaster would call them ‘macro trends’. “I like how clever subjects from the economy, global warming, even biology affect trends. Fashion is often looked down at by some but people do not realize what inspires these trends and how we as forecasters, are expected to research and sift through these subjects.”
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Mudpie start forecasting trends around two years before we see them in the shops: “When this time comes, I clear my desk and prepare for around two weeks of stress and non stop reading,” Jo tells us, “I begin by looking into previous trends, look at upcoming events, exhibitions, major sporting events, films, anything happening over the next year or two that could affect fashion. Google Reader is also my go-to for being able to bookmark blogs and anything that I can cross reference – I would recommend anyone to use Google Reader, even if it’s only for saving your favourite blogs! One of the best things about working at Mudpie is that there is no ‘typical day’ as such. Each project is different, there are always people in and out of the office and you’re constantly switching between thinking about the present and forward thinking about products and trends. It can be quite hectic especially at times when you’re having to look at two seasons at once but the business
“I try not to think about the responsibility I have of predicting what everyone could be wearing in the future”
Words: Lisa Bognar Photographs: Courtesy of Mudpie
keeps it fun. You just have to learn to balance your job, especially with a varied role as my own, you really have to learn how to do two things at once and now I can’t even sit and watch TV without doing something else at the same time!” As with any job, Mudpie and forecasting certainly has rewarding aspects to it: “Seeing the development team work for so long on the trends and then for the trends
to be successful and end up on the catwalk (we haven’t had a failure yet – touch wood!) is so rewarding, it’s like your own little baby!” Of course the job has its pressures (this is the fashion industry girls!) and forecasting can seem like quite a daunting task when you think about the big picture, “I try not to think about the responsibility I have of predicting what everyone could be wearing in the future,” Jo laughs. “I just make sure I do my job good enough, and make sure I know where I’m looking, keeping an eye on social and cultural trends for key themes and it seems to go quite smoothly. When people pay for our services, especially our Consultancy service, we can’t get it wrong.” We obviously had to ask Jo for any advice for you budding forecasters out there (and hopefully we’ve alerted more of you now) and of course, it comes down to the good old piece of advice: work experience. “I had a year in industry when I was studying at university, I did internships at Alistair Carr, Marchesa and Stella Cadente. These experiences were invaluable for me, I was lucky as they really prepared me for the long hours (20 hour days at times), and learning on the job really taught me about timing collections. You’ve got to be enthusiastic about whatever you’re going for, as that could really make the difference between you and another person applying for the same position with the same experience. Everyone knows each other so you have to be really diligent and passionate about helping out, as the chances are if you had a bad attitude, it will get back to the next place you apply for. It always looks good to see applicants that have done a project for that specific company that they’re passionate about, it really shows knowledge and helps you stand out! No one wants to read about your hobbies on your CV!”
forecasting companies: others to take note of WSGN STYLUS STYLE SIGHT A forecasting company for the fashion and design industries to the most influential companies in the world. WGSN delivers world class design and customer insight to over 12,500 organisations worldwide.
Stylus provides inspirational and informative research and relates it to prevailing consumer trends. Stylus create five different types of reports for companies to help them get ideas on trends.
Stylesight’s multi-lingual subscription website offers forecasting and trend analysis. Their team make the creative journey not only more inspirational but also more efficient and cost-effective.
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#streetstyle
bloggers
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vs the world Words: Lisa Bognar Photographs: @stylecompanion, @queenrevolution, @lovelittlelulu, @sarahleighw, @chateauboutiqueperth
There are designers. And there are bloggers. We can’t decide just who are calling the shots in the fashion world at the moment. Company investigates...
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loggers vs the fashion industry. It seems that we are currently more influenced by what bloggers are showing us online rather than what designers are showing us on the catwalk. In a time when bloggers are taking over the world (literally), it seems that street style is also taking us all by storm and lets face it, who’s NOT interested in looking at other people’s outfits? For most of us, buying an outfit fresh off the runway is more like a dream than a reality, so it’s understandable that the interest in street style is so influential and captivating. This is where the blogger comes into play. Bloggers are the new style dictators that have been the catalyst in this new shift in the fashion industry. They’re also likely to be the deciders of what you put on in a morning. There are thousands of them contributing their weird and wonderful fashion ways for all to see. It is thanks to this group of internet people that street style has become more and more important and influential within the fashion industry. Toni Ogle, the name behind fashion blog: Fashion Your Seatbelts discusses how bloggers have drawn more interest into smaller brands and street style: “I think that bloggers have made fashion more accessible to anyone and everyone. “The rise of the fashion blogger has affected the fashion industry immensely in that it’s offered clothing brands a new platform on which to advertise. Also, fashion lovers all over the world now take inspiration from bloggers and street style, not just
“Bloggers are the new style dictators that have been the catalyst in this new shift in the fashion industry” catwalks. I think that because of blogs, the world is now much more aware of trends emerging on the street.” Michelle Chai, finalist in both Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire’s 2012 Blog Awards for her super cute blog Daisy Butter also agrees that bloggers have had a huge impact on what’s more influential in fashion: “From inspiring designers directly to then rework the designers’ collections in their own way, bloggers are completely revolutionising the way fashion is seen. “They’ve affected the way fashion is promoted and valued, and with that, digital fashion and online buying
has gone through the roof. Bloggers have proved that street style shows that fashion can be accessible if you want it to be. Having a more relatable and directly ‘credible’ source of seeing fashion means that more non-bloggers than ever are reading the platforms and wanting to get involved, hence the street style obsession.”
“Seeing street style is what makes fashion something that we can directly aspire and reach towards” Street style seems to have evolved the trends, adapting what designers give us on the runway and giving us more accessible and unique trends. “I think that the catwalk is and will always be at the forefront of trend setting,” agrees Toni, “however blogging has started a new sort of phenomenon where mini trends are forming in the blogging world and this tends to trickle down and affect what you can buy in the high street too!” Whether we admit it or not, we are all fascinated by street style, looking at how other people are wearing the things we want to wear, but why are we so obsessed with it? “I think mostly because it is relatable and attainable in comparison to the glossy pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar,” Michelle adds, “I love flicking through Vogue and reading a full rundown of new collections, and hearing about the inspirations and history, but ultimately, seeing street style is what makes fashion something that we can directly aspire and reach towards. “I’m definitely influenced by street style. I do gravitate towards key pieces and trends from the catwalk, and will keep an eye out for those pieces within street style, but I love seeing how one item can be interpreted in so many ways.” The ultimate question is what is actually more influential? Is the catwalk or street style more important for fashionistas worldwide? Michelle concludes with a diplomatic answer to this: “I think both are influential in their own ways. The two media exist for different reasons, and while the catwalk displays the designers’ work in their ‘proper’ state, street style mixes things up and meshes it with real style and how it’d really be worn. This easily transcends back up to the catwalk when designers pull inspiration for future collections.”
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