Elements of Design: TEXTURE

There are several elements of design that go into making wearable art we know as fashion. Some of the main elements include texture, color, shape and line. One of the best ways to make an apparel item stand out is through its texture. Texture refers to the properties held and sensations caused by the external surface of objects received through the sense of touch. Adding fur, flowers, wrinkles, ruffles, feathers, glitter, studs and beads to clothing creates texture. The type of fabric and the way it is draped also determines a fabrics texture. Here are a few examples of how texture in fashion emulates everyday items we are surrounded by.

1. Lanvin dress & lettuce

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009RTW-LANVIN?event=show1862&designer=design_house54&trend=&iphoto=48

photo courtesy: http://www.harvestwizard.com/lettuce4.jpg

Lanvin's creation for his Spring 2009 collection looks identical to a head of lettuce. The drape of the fabric creates poufy twists emergering from various directions similar to that of my least favorite food.

2. Christian Lacroix dress & cupcakes

photo couresty: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009CTR-CLACROIX?event=show1902&designer=design_house29&trend=&iphoto=20

photo courtesy: http://img.timeinc.net/recipes/i/recipes/sl/04/07/cupcakes-sl-653448-l.jpg

YUM! Christian Lacroix's latest designs screams edible, vibrant, fun detail. Christian Lacroix's texture of the garment looks identical to that of a cupcake with jelly beans sprinkled on top.

3. Elie Saab dress & Shar-Pei puppy

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009CTR-ESAAB?event=show1902&designer=design_house183&trend=&iphoto=46

photo courtesy: http://www.shar-pei-orlando.com/images/liza-6.jpg

Wrinkles, wrinkles, and more wrinkles can describe this Elie Saab creation. This season ruffled, wrinkled, exaggerated items are hitting the runways. What else is abundant in wrinkles? None other than a cute Sher-Pei puppy :)

4. Valentino dress & origami rose

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009CTR-VALENTIN?event=show1902&designer=design_house67&trend=&iphoto=24

photo courtesy: http://blogs.gnome.org/xan/files/2007/04/origami.png

This Valentino dress appears as though it is made out of paper, similar to that of origami. The dress looks stiff and conducive to any number of paper cuts. The flowers lining the bottom of the dress appear to be specially crafted origami roses.

5. Louis Vuitton dress & teddy bear

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009RTW-LVUITTON?event=show1862&designer=design_house59&trend=&iphoto=22

photo courtesy: http://img.alibaba.com/photo/12202625/Teddy_bear_with_jumper.jpg

Who does not love furry things? Perhaps Louis Vuitton played on his inner 5 year old when creating his Spring 2009 line. The texture of this jaw dropping dress is that of fur, fur that is identical to a teddy bear's.

6. Versace dress & glitter

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009RTW-VERSACE?event=show1862&designer=design_house69&trend=&iphoto=24

photo courtesy: http://www.luremaking.com/catalogue/images/metal_glitter-photo.jpg

One of the most popular textures on apparel we have seen this spring is glitter. This Versace model looks as if she walked straight out of a glitter shower.

7. Badgley Mischka dress & blackbirds

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009RTW-BMISCHKA?event=show1862&designer=design_house256&trend=&iphoto=18

photo courtesy: http://s3.amazonaws.com/camiles_WebImages/2007_ADTCAM/0710+Flocking+Blackbirds.JPG

Feathers are also a big hit for spring! Here Badgley Mischka utilizes as many feathers as possible to make this dress truly stunning. The feathers look as though they are straight from blackbirds.

8. Elie Saab dress & flower

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009RTW-ESAAB?event=show1862&designer=design_house183&trend=&iphoto=41

photo courtesy: http://www.fabiovisentin.com/photography/photo/9/flower-wallpaper.jpg

Elie Saab uses fluffy flowers to emphasize texture in his Spring 2009 dress pictured above. His flowers appear to be incredibly realistic, much like the purple flower above.

9. Valentino dress & beach

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009CTR-VALENTIN?event=show1902&designer=design_house67&trend=&iphoto=29

photo courtesy: http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Peter-Hendrie/Tropical-Beach-Cook-Islands-Photographic-Print-C12895325.jpeg

Valentino is known for creating smooth, sleek, and beautiful dresses. His Spring 2009 couture dress above emulates the water you would find off the coast of a peaceful beach.

10. Betsey Johnson dress & wedding cake

photo courtesy: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/S2009RTW-BJOHNSON?even=show1862&designer=design_house14&trend=&iphoto=46

photo courtesy: http://www.wedding-flowers-and-reception-ideas.com/images/fountain-wedding-cakes05.jpg

Betsey Johnson is known to be a risk taker. Here her dress has been graced with ruffles emulating layers of a wedding cake.

Location, location, location

http://changeonesmind.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/kroger.jpg

Location is the most important part of considering the placement of a business. While home on Spring Break (in Atlanta), I started to take note of all of the different businesses along my travels. One of the most vital ones to my family and I is Kroger, which is approximately five minutes away from my house.

I live in the town of Lilburn, which is about 15 minutes outside of Atlanta. Lilburn is a fairly large city surrounded with families which is why there is a Kroger or a Publix on almost every street corner. Why is this great? CONVENIENCE!! With the average person having to run out to the store multiple times throughout the week for groceries or small items convenience is important.

I especially took this into account when I had to run out to grab ingredients for dinner. Taking a five minute drive to the store was excellent :)

Sharper Image: A Failed Retailer

http://www.businesspundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sharper-image-closing1.jpg

Sharper Image was founded by Richard Thalheimer, an American retailer that specialized in high-end electronics and gifts. Sharper Image had been in business since 1977 up until its bankruptcy in 2008, and at one point employed 2,500 people nationwide. The company had 184 locations nationwide, which represented close to 60% of the total company revenue. According to an article by the "San Francisco Chronical," Sharper Image filed Chapter 11, liquidating 96 of its stores, leaving only 88 stores still functioning under the company's ownership as of May 28th, 2008. As of August 23, 2008, all retail stores had been closed, and the company vacated its former corporate headquarters. What caused bankruptcy? Several factors.

According to an article by Mark Huffman, of consumerreports.com, "For the last few years, Sharper Image has suffered from a lack of liquidity, stemming from its legal action. The trouble began in 2003 when Consumer Reports published a report claiming the expensive Ionic Breeze air cleaners don't clean air. The magazine later claimed its tests showed that Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze Quadra Silent Air Purifier and four other units also release potentially unhealthy levels of ozone. Not only did the company lose the lawsuit against Consumer Reports, investors mounted a class action suit against Sharper Image, claiming fraud."

Not only did the lawsuit hinder Sharper Image's success so did the lack of consumer spending. High oil prices, high food prices, lack of employment and the collapse of the substantial housing bubble have all helped spark the ongoing financial crisis. Consumers just are not spending what they used to, they can't afford to. Causing numerous business to file bankruptcy :(

Citation:
1. Huffman, Mark. "Sharper Image Closing All Stores." 03 June 2008. Consumeraffairs.com. 02 Mar. 2009.

2. Colliver, Victoria. "Sharper Image wants to close 96 stores." 08 Mar. 2008. SFGate. 02 Mar. 2009 .

Target Audience for Retail Stores

Determining the target market of a company is vital to that company's success. Surveys ask questions ranging from age, gender, income, leisurely activities, interests, likes/dislikes and so on. Those answers can ultimately help a company make their best possible profit by selling what consumer's are interested in.

The VALS segment in our book divides adult consumers into eight different personality types. There are the innovators, thinkers, achievers, experiencers, believers, strivers, makers and survivors. VALS measures the underlying psychological motivations and resources that many consumers share that predict each group's typical choices as consumers.

The VALS survey labeled me as an experiencer and a striver. This is very true, I absolutely love to try new things and experiencing as much as possible. I also strive for alot of things in life. I strive to make good grades, have great relationships with my friends/family, and be the best person I know how to be. I normally don't take surveys because I never believe the overall outcome of them but this one was 110% right!

On Tuesday my group discussed the the target audience of GNC. I believe a GNC customer is both an experiencer and a striver. They strive for excellence with their personal appearance as well as are always willing to try new things to see if they have a positive outcome.

http://www.mediacritica.net/courses/109/overheads/vals.jpg

http://www.winefornovices.typepad.com/lifework/images/2008/05/04/target_audience_2.jpg

The Story Behind Urban Outfitters

http://blog.craftzine.com/urbanoutfitters_office.jpg

Urban Outfitters originated as "The Free People's Store" and in 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focusing on "funky" fashion and household products. Shortly thereafter the owner (now Chairman), Richard Hayne, changed the name to Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters line has evolved from vintage, bohemian, retro, ironically humorous, kischy apparel and furniture to include luxury brands such as Lacoste, Evisu, Diesel, True Religion, and Seven for All Mankind. Headquartered at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Urban Outfitters operates more than 140 locations in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Urban Outfitters owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain and Leifsdottir, a newly introduced wholesale brand for Anthropologie.

According to their website, Urban Outfitters' "established ability to understand our customers and connect with them on an emotional level is the reason for our success." The site goes on to say that "The reason for this success is that our brands... are both compelling and distinct. Each brand chooses a particular customer segment, and once chosen, sets out to create sustainable points of distinction with that segment" and that "The emphasis is on creativity. Our goal is to offer a product assortment and an environment so compelling and distinctive that the customer feels an empathetic connection to the brand and is persuaded to buy." Urban Outfitters truly is a all-around amazing brand.

Favorite Retailer

http://www.blogdubonton.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/urban-outfitters-shop.jpg

One of my favorite retailers and ultimately the company I would love to work for after graduation is Urban Outfitters. Focusing on "funky" fashion and household products Urban Outfitters was founded in 1970 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over the years the multi-million dollar brand has evovled from vintage, bohemian, retro, ironically humorous, kitschy apparel and furniture to include luxury brands such as Lacoste, Evisu, True Religion, Diesel and Seven for All Mankind.

I prefer Urban Outfitters over other brands for numerous reasons. They have an uncanning ability to understand the customer and connect with them on an emotional level which I believe is their main reason for success. Urban Outifitters is both compelling, eclective, and distinct with an emphasis on creativity and individuality. Upon first step into a store you instantely feel welcomed with enthusiastic and helpful salespeople not offering some sort of tacky sales pitch but being themselves.

Urban Outfitters is a brand designed for the innovative, creative, and individualistic consumer willing to take chances. Urban Outfitters is not geared towards one specific type of person, whether you are preppy, punk, urban, or just like to mix it all up they offer something for everyone with relatively reasonable prices. Check them out :).

http://www.shopstyle.com/uim/b8/38/b838f30bc89acd2b903bae7536fc5abf.jpg

Accessorizing

Accessorizing is a topic I am very familiar with, probably too familiar with. I am a firm believer that an accessory can make or break one's outfit. Not only that but accessorizing an outfit also expresses ones individuality. Wearing a spiked bracelet and choker certainly gives off a much different impression than a Tiffany's charm set.

Accessorizing today is a billion dollar industry. Everyone wants to get in on the action. I had an eye for accessories at a young age. Its easy to buy a pair of cute shoes or a great handbag when your surrounded by barbie sized clothing that you can't fit in to. I can wear a simple outfit and always manage to spruce it up with the right accent. Another great thing about accessorizing is that any budget can afford it. Now days you can go to Target and find some great costume jewelry or browse the finer departments for timeless pieces.

Whatever accessory you decide to dazzle your outfit with, shoes, handbags, bracelets, watches, rings, hats, it is all a reflection of our individuality. Personally I thrive off of showing my individual tastes and setting myself apart from the norm. One way to do that is wearing eye-catching unique jewelry, like neon colored feathers or numerous bracelets at once with sayings on them. Not only does accessorizing an outfit give an individual an identity of their own it is affordable and easily accessible. The accessory industry is here to stay for many years to come.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.shoppersdrugmart.ca/english/beauty/beauty_boutique/images/accessories.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.shoppersdrugmart.ca/english/beauty/beauty_boutique/accessories.html&usg=__fMoAqJqs94Ac9UqHayepMdkrrg0=&h=310&w=380&sz=120&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=UnDJBcq5hjLW_M:&tbnh=100&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daccessories%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN