The Brand
Ryan Lo was born in Hong Kong but educated in London, England. A fairly new face on the fashion sphere, and an emerging designer, Lo has created five inspirational collections. Three Spring/Summer and two Autumn/Winter. Whilst being self-taught from youtube videos, the designer developed and mastered his skills with Charles Anastase. Upon deciding to design indepedently, Ryan Lo as a result was discovered by Lulu Kennedy from the Fashion East Collective.
The support provided by the Fashion East Collective significantly raised the mid-range designer’s profile, who currently works with the London Showrooms. The brand is stocked at Net-a-Porter, Farfetch and Opening Ceremony in the UK. Ryan Lo merchandise is also avaiblable in stores globally, in the Japanese fashion group Yoko Aunty and the male boutique store V Files located in New York City.
Fashion forward publications Dazed and Confused, Love, i-D, Dansk, 10, Clash, and Wonderful have been recognised as fans of the brand. Ultimate style handbooks Vogue, Teen Vogue, and Womens Wear Daily, have also shown interest in the designer through articles and interviews. Famed blogger Susie Lau from Style Bubble is a key supporter of the brand. Ryan Lo describes that the aim of the collections are to “bring out the inner girl in every woman” whilst hoping to appeal to “crazy, sexy, youthful” women who crave love”. Inspiration derives from the Sex and the City actresses, by which each collection is designed for. Lo’s ‘dream girls’ are Blythe Dolls (Rosie Red, Ichigo Heaven and Penny Preciou), Dior designer Victoire Castallene, displaying the ideal combination of Japanese style and French elegance. Actress Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette is another muse.
Lo’s extended influences lie in various aspects of life, primarily Japanese and popular culture, Victorian drawings, cakes, candy, tinsel, ribbons, glitter, and accents of pink. A brand of maximalist means, wishing to create an eccentric dream world of fun and romance. The S/S14 collection features handcrafted designs incorporating chiffon,mesh, knit and mohair textures. In terms of models, Mila Miletic, Eleanor Hayes, and Tommy Marr are among a few the designers favourites. A pop up event and experience would be beneficial for the brand, enabling Ryan Lo to distinguish a concrete presence in the retail sector, inviting potential and existing customers to enjoy the upcoming S/S15 collection and be apart of a memorable experience.
Target Market
Ideal client;
‘a woman who likes to spoil herself’
Ryan Lo designs unconventional. feminine, clothing that is tailored for and to inspire modern women. Lo desires to bring out ‘the inner girl in every woman’ and make women feel confident and beautiful through indulgence. Those with a substantial disposable income, that enjoy extravagance and spoiling themselves, are targeted to this brand and certainly should be aware of its existense. The
Social, Cultural, and Economic Trends
Social-cultural changes in society highly impact lifestyle and trends. Mordernisation, and technological innovation are two forms of lifestyle and trends impacted by social-cultural changes. Fashion constantly shifts and innovates, as does consumer lifestyles and culture. Trends are developed by people from different environments and often involve three key factors; pop culture, low culture, and high culture. When new trends are invented, they effect people’s culture and lifestyle. Celebrities are the main influencers of the pop culture. At the end of the 90s and into 2004, the show ‘Sex and the City’ was seen to be very influential as many women aspired to dress in the way of the main characters. Recen years have shown that the mass media is responsible for the increasing exposure, limelight and authority drawn upon celebrities. Celebrity culture is vastly impacting the fashion industry and designers are wanted to emulate the power and success of celeberities within their products and clothing. Hollywood stars are fastly replacing the faces of major models in fashion promotions. Certain fashion labels and designers want the glamour attached to the hollywood idols and project this onto their collections, products and merchandise. This is create the theory that although there may be economic crisis’s in the world, the luxury fashion industry is still increasing sales and surviving well despite the financial turmoil.
The Event
Promotional Press Event The opportunity has arrised for a pop up event to be held for this brand, that is both exciting and beneficial, as it will enhance the brands visibility whilst expanding the range of customers and supporters. The pop up will be a promotional press event, showcasing Ryan Lo’s Spring/ Summer 2015 collection. The aim is to design an experiential space, inviting a selection of London’s key fashion influentials and authorital figures, which will create a buzz prior to the launch of the colletion online. The event will involve several groups of invited guests who can interact with the designer as well as browse the new collection, and have the opportunity to purchase seleced pieces. There will be six themed areas within the event space where guests can encounter an immersive and memorable experience of the brand. By the end of the event, guests should feel beautiful, happy and confident, just as the brand ethos aims to convey.
Guests Strong emphasis is to be made on the promotional aspects of this event, which enforces the importance of the guestlist. Therefore, a variety of London’s key influencers will be invited to ensure the brand and collection recieve much deserved recognition through social media and press coverage. Globally recognised internet sensation, blogger Susie Lau from Style Bubble will be one of the honoured guests of the event. A prominent force of the bloggersphere, this bloggers youthful, fun and girly style and persona will bring a euphoric energy to the event and display the true essence of the brands target market. Susie’s social media following on Instagram, Twitter, and personal blog are impressive and will in effect, allow for the event to be promoted and documented to an array of online viewers. This will allow those not attending the event to gain insight and a unique online experience.
Senior Fashion Editor of i-D Magazine, Julia Sarr-Jamois will be amongst guests as the modern woman represents sophistication and class, whilst also demonstrating confidence and youthfulness. Constanstly reinventing and experimenting with style, Julia is a wonderful example of the diverse clientelle of Ryan Lo. Inviting an icon of fashion, street style, and the journalism world, it will encourage the promotion of the event. As 30 journalists are to beinvited from specific hours, and are superior guests of the event, allocated time for private meetings with Ryan Lo will be arranged.
Celebrity and TV Presenter Laura Whitmore will be invited as one of the VIP guests and as a key figure of the fashion and tv press. Inviting a VIP such as Laura, will encourage variety and diversity within the event. Not only being a figure of authority in the fashion and media world, Laura displays various advocate roles. It is identifiable that Laura Whitmore is seen as a brand-appropriate VIP because of several reasons. Primarily as the presenter and model highlights the impacts of gender-discrimination and inequality experienced by girls within developing countries. Laura is an avid spokeswoman for the ‘Because I am a Girl’ charity clothing campaign, which adresses these issues faced, and the campaign by result encourages facilities and opportunities for girls to recieve such help and support, and develop legal rights. Laura Whitmore’s awareness, of social, cultural and economic issues within society make her a unique and inspiring guest at the event.
Theme
The theme of the event is a fusion of inspiration derived from the designers S/S15 collection. The collection showcased a tropical, barbie-like paradise, comprising of an aquatic beach theme. The theme will explore a specific colour palette of feminine pastels, combined with garish glitter and the designer’s signature; accents of bright pink. The overall theme will be inspired by ‘times gone by.’ The aim is for guests to feel they have been transported to another relm, a fantasy world in which they can indulge and pamper.
The event will provide an unforgettable, unparalled experience, in which guests will gain knowledge of the brand’s narrative and motives behind the collection. Each guest will activate their senses upon arrival, through the signature scent of Ryal Lo, comprising of sweet cherries, whilst allowing their ears to experience an eclectic girly mixture of music inspiration. Through the chosen venue’s current shabby-chic interiors, extensive props and furniture, and generous source of natural light, the idea of a beachy wonderland and a truly brand-right immersive experience will be created.
Event
Concept
The Venue
The Venue is Dalston Heights- a spectacular loft space within a converted factory. Situated on the top floor of a renovated carboard box factory, the space provides a distinctive urban essence, enriched with textured surfaces and timeless antique furniture. Located in Hackney, next to Hackney Downs station, the space is a short 5 minute walk from the closest underground station, and offers parking facilities. As the space is within Hackney, the location is ideal for attracting those of the East London party crowd. The venue consists of two main rooms allowing plenty of natural light to shine through. One room will be allocated for storage, employee facilities and dressing rooms. The other will be used to present the event. The venue encompases various benefits, such as; the antique furniture already in the space, which compliments the theme of the event, and a photographer included. This prevents any added costs of buying new furniture. There is also a kitchen seperate from the rooms mentioned that can be used for catering purposes.
Venue Layout A layout of the venue was designed to demonstrate where each themed section will be featured, and the arrows were placed to show how guests will move through the event space and immerse in the experience.
Designed Spaces
S/S15 Showcase Recreation: This is the first themed area guests approach upon arrival. When entering the venue, the showcase will be the first section to capture the visitors attention. Taking inspiration from the designers collection, the showcase incorporates the memorable elements of a tropical beach-scene, such as the trees, deck chairs, bright pink flamingos, and unforgetably, the glitter. Once leaving this area, visitors will then explore a section with carefully designed lookbooks exhibiting inspirational imagery behind the collection.
Cosy Lounge Area:
In this section, guests will be spoiled for choice with an array of personalised cupcakes and other delights to satisfy their sweet tooth. Invited guests will also be served cocktails of their choice whilst relaxing and indulging. A unique aspect of the experience will be a caricature artist located within the space that will offer to sketch a stylish illustration of the guests. The artist will replace the visitors current outfit with a selected piece from Ryan Lo’s collection, giving the illustration a personal feel.
Glitter Bar:
Once consuming their food and beverages, guests then have the option of recieveing a pampering make up session. The glitter bar will have a trained make up artist on hand to accentuate the guests features by providing glittery eyes, nails and lips, matching it to style of Ryan Lo’s models in the S/S15 collection.
Private Interview Lounge:
Selected members of the press are invited to speak with the designer Ryan Lo in this beautifully designed interview loungue comprising of soft antique armchairs, soft lighting for evening and bright natural light in the daytime, as well as a complimentary cocktail. Conversations will take place in order for the guest to recieve private information for their articles or reviews, whilst escaping temporarily from the excitement and buzz of the rest of the event.
S/S15 Collection Clothing:
Other guests not permitted for an interview with Ryan Lo will have the option to browse, try-on and perhaps purchase a selection of pieces from the collection in this unique, retro interior shopping space. Mannequins will be displaying two of the most popular and exclusive pieces, behind a vibrant flower backdrop.
Gift Bag Area:
Just as guests are leaving, there will be gift bags situated, and a large projector will act as a backdrop displaying the unseen and exclusive footage from the S/S15 show. The gift bag will include, a cupcake, small cocktail drink, glitter pot, a Ryan Lo merchandise pen and a voucher for 15% off their next purchase. Through this gift bag, guests will feel inspired and hopefully become loyal customers of the brand.
Digital Experience
For those of which who cannot experience the physical event, a wide array of digital experiences will be provided. Firstly, the hashtag #RYANLOSS15 may be used by guests in order to advertise and document the event online, accross social media platforms. To follow, the event will have free wifi access for all guests to use social media to describe their experience. Whether it be through instagram, pinterest, facebook, tumblr, twitter or bloglovin.’ Three blogger quests will be requested to write sponsored features about the event on their blogs in order for the Ryan Lo collection to gain brand awareness and coverage. Whilst inviting potential customers and supporters.
The final addition of digital experiences at the event is a Spotify playlist, incorporating songs from the S/S15 collection that enable guests to experience the showcase again, or if in case, for the first time. A girly, fun soundtrack is displayed providing guests with the sounds of Lady Marmalade by LaBelle, Barbie Girl by Aqua, and I’m Every Woman, by Chaka Khan. This playlist will create an immersive experience at the event, that enables music fans to interact with the brand.
Budgets and Finance
In terms of finances, it has been calculated that with all the additional logistics, that the event will come in on budget. No additional funding is to be required for this event. Support for the event will hopefully be recieved by three chosen sponsors, Poison Cocktails, Star Gazer Cosmetics, and Crumbs and Doilies, who will each provide products and goods for the event and for use in the gift bags for each guest. In return for their sponsorship,they will recieve promotion to a wide range of fashion insiders and influences.
Logistics Logistical planning must been carried out before the event in order for all aspects of the pop up to be organised and prepared. Each aspect requires specific consideration and planning. The time slots for the three groups of guests were specificially thought out in order for the event space to stay accessible and not overcrowded. The time slots are; EM: Visitors 20 Bloggers- Arrive: 10am-1pm -7 bloggers per hour, Susie Bubble (Prominent Blogger) Zoella 20 VIPsArrive: 2pm-4pm -10 per hour -Laura Whitmore, Caroline Flack, Caggie Dunlop, Mollie King, Pixie Geldof, Daisy Lowe, Nicola Roberts, Jameela Jamil, Kelly Osbourne, Pixie Lott, Edith Bowman 30 Journalists-
Arrive: 5pm-8pm
(to encounter Ryan Lo private meetings)
-10 per hour -i-D, Dazed and Confused, Vogue, Elle, Love, Style.com, 10, Wonderland, WWD, Sunday Times -Range of props that can be reused: blue velvet armchair, blue wooden bench, blue velvet sofa, blue round table, steamer, rails carousel horse, blue candle, blue chair giant letters, giant light up star, wicker chairs, sea saw, pink wooden bench, white rocking chair, pink lamp, photographic lighting, old pink sofa, tricycle, rocking horse, red step ladders, scooter, striped armchair, dolls house,
In terms of general logistics, the event will be held one day in February, just for a day. This is to create an attention buzz prior to the Ryan Lo S/S15 collection being launched online. The times of the event will be from 10 am until 8 pm. There is allocated permission to visit the venue for half a day before the day of the event, and another half day following the event. This will be for the setting up and moving of the event props, interiors and anything else within the space that was not there previously. In relation to staffing, there will be four in-house staff, four models, a caricature artist, a hair and make-up artist, a concierge, and a photographer that is already provided by the venue space. Each delivery to the event will be organised 2 weeks prior to the main event. If catering is necessary, it will be delivered to Dalston Heights at exactly 10 am on the event day. Whilst setting up for the event, a van with two staff will be hired in order to transport the goods from the warehouse to the event venue and so forth.
Health and Safety Ensuring all health and safety precautions are met is a necessity for this event. The terms of use for the venue must be read through thoroughly in order to understand the terms and conditions of the space and the general responsibilities of each organiser/team member. A risk assessment was carried out by the Project Manager to ensure all health and safety specifications were addressed. All hazard warnings were noted in relation to the venue, this included vehicles, electrical equipment, heavy furniture, and assembling projectors and backdrops. Following was potential injuries and damage warnings, then ways in which to prevent these events from occuring. A risk assement is an essential task to carry out to make sure all staff are to be safe before, during and after the event.
Image Referencing Figure 1-http://weareselecters.com/files/resize/640x1200_files/images/ryanlo-ss15-323478.jpg Photography Philip Trengove Figure 2-http://fredbutlerstyle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/weds-17th-sept-london-fashion-week-ss15.html Figure 3Photography Philip Trengove http://images.dazedcdn.com/340/0-312-1300-866/dd/1090/0/1090674.jpg Figure 4-http://www.catwalkqueen.tv/fashion-east-ryan-lo.jpg Figure 5-http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8ZAH5oTR_HA/maxresdefault.jpg Figure 6Prestige Glamorous Watercolor Fashion Illustration by EstherBayer on We Heart It -http://weheartit.com/entry/21986426/via/angel_spawn http://k-98.tumblr.com/post/46200210480/prestige-glamorous-watercolor-fashion-illustration Figure 7- http://www.evoketw.com/2013/html/005-299 Figure 8- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/520025088195094710/ Sofi Wolf Fashion Press Event Figure 9http://media.lanecrawford.com/feature/FASHION-NIGHT-OUT-FEATURE-SUSIEBig01.jpg http://www.lanecrawford.com/landing/featureArticle.jsp?article=16300001 Figure 10- http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0293/2785/files/Susie_StreetStyle_GL_04Apr1_large.jpg?10497 http://www.rarasuperstar.com/blogs/ra-ra-superstar/tagged/vintage-fabric Figure 11http://instagram.com/susiebubble Figure 12-http://www.goianata.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/julia-sarr-jamois2.jpg Figure 13-https://twitter.com/sarrjamois Figure 14-https://twitter.com/thewhitmore Figure 15http://www.whowhatwear.com/img/uploads/current/images/0/40/352/main. original.585x0.jpg
Figure 16-Photoshop moodboard image designed by Bethany Watson- project manager Figure 17-http://www.fashionglossaryuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ryan-lo-ss151135937-300x394.jpg Photography Philip Trengove Figure 18-http://www.fashionglossaryuk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ryan-lo-ss15811871.jpg Photography Philip Trengove Figure 19-http://cfile30.uf.tistory.com/image/252AAF415418E48920DD71 Figure 20-http://dalstonheights.com/images/ Figure 21-http://dalstonheights.com/images/ Figure 22-http://dalstonheights.com/images/ Figure 23-http://dalstonheights.com/images/ Figure 24format
image designed on Photoshop by group member then converted to JPG
Figure 25- Image made on photoshop CS6 by group member Figure-26- Image made on photoshop CS6 by group member Figure 27-Image made on photoshop CS6 by group member Figure 28-Image made on photoshop CS6 by group member Figure 29-Image made on photoshop CS6 by group member Figure 30-Image made on photoshop CS6 by group member Figure 32- Laptop snapshot of spotify playlist designed for event Figure 33-http://www.poisoncocktails.com/ Figure 34-https://www.stargazer-products.com/ Figure 35- http://www.crumbsanddoilies.co.uk/ Figure 36- Gant chart made on Excel document by group member Figure 37-Terms of use document saved to computer from Dalston Heights Venue booklet, can be found; http://dalstonheights.com/new-page/ Figure 38- Risk Assessment made on Excel document by group member
By Stephanie Johnston