STELLA MCCARTNEY

Whilst researching further into Alexander Mcqueen; the brand as a whole, Stella McCartney seemed to follow or sideline against it. I think it is important to check thriving brands or competitors when encouraging a completely new collection, as i will need to see how i can better the products compared to other brands. McCartney’s lingerie components actually seem like the complete opposite to Mcqueen’s typical designs; the colour, materials..

The brands are obviously compared because of the exclusiveness and high-end similarities, NOT because of similarities in designs. I think this could be a positive when adapting upon my brand and i could also take shooting / styling techniques from her look books, so Mcqueen could appeal to a much wider range of audience by showing a different side.

AGENT PROVOCATEUR

 

Beginning to research into various other high-end brands that supply similar, fetish-like underwear in which Mcqueen could also supply, i came across Agent Provocateur. Agent Provocateur was founded in 1994, and was established by a couple who engaged in creating lingerie that provided an evocative nature and created imagination for the wearer and possible viewer.

Ive chosen this brand as a main topic to look at as the history behind the designs and the conflictual  themes in which provoke a sexual tale were potentially how the designs progressed. At the time the designs were made, objectification was at its highest and going for a feministic view was a main social factor, so the brand (forgetting about its highly priced value) seemed tragic and tacky – until the realism of undergarments really became noticeable throughout fashion and brands such as Victoria Secret were also released.

Hopefully, my ideas for the styling can also come across similar to this – bondage-like attire with dark, almost grotesque colours and a plain, very simple backdrop.

BRAND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN:

McQueen’s designs are iconic and even more so, the way he portrays them on his models and within the look book. He designs all clothing items, including kids – so how could i move such an open and iconic brand forward, when its already in the high-end market?

McQueen does indeed design bikinis, yet I’m still unable to find a large range of lingerie / underwear, considering his concepts are based upon fetish and tradition (amongst other things of course), i think these would be perfect ideas for underwear designs – especially in the market today where under-garments are an important part of your wardrobe.

So, i am going to look into designing a ‘bed-room’ themed collection to over come the gap in the market for Alexander Mcqueen. Using his bondage-like and futuristic designs, i think his concepts would be ideal for such a broad range of audiences, especially within adolescent years of the 21st century, underwear is becoming much more of an open topic and major accessory.