Premier Vision- Welcome to The Fashion World.

One thing my mum has taught me which has stuck with me throughout my 22 years is that every experience is a good experience. And what we can learn from it, be it good or bad is equally as important in informing our future choices and decisions. My day at Premier Vision was one of those experiences where a bit of optimism is needed.

After the amazing day spent at the Maison et Objet show I was very excited for Premier Vision which I'd heard on the grapevine would be bigger, better and most certainly the best thing in Paris since Poilâne sliced bread! However I was met with bleak, vast halls full of private little booth and zones for each designer. I understand that the designers are there to SELL and that the last thing they want is a load of students trooping around sketchbooks in hand and fingering through their prized fabric samples. But the hostile environment was unbearable. Before entering any booth I was immediately asked if I had an appointment by the sleek model'esque bodyguards and if not to be on my merry little way. Even over in the future fashion trend zone minders were watching eagle eyed as any form of note taking or sketching was forbidden as if you were copying the code to access the Royal Mint. It really did seem a bit silly and pretentious. During Maison et Objet although designers were eager to sell they were also passionate enough about their products to explain them to students and those without a chequebook to hand. I am still totally overcome by the extent of the secrecy and security at Premier Vision. It has given me a real bitter taste of the Fashion Industry and once again made me question choosing a career within it.

Anyway despite all this there were a few small information areas around the show which gave significant insight into the forthcoming trends of Autumn Winter 12-13. For example in the print zone, geometric disorder, urban and poetic messages, fantastical animals and modern metaphors were among many themes predicted to become trends. So I am very much looking forward to wearing a knitted jumper with hybrid, imaginary animal motifs next Winter!

Joking aside, our colour teacher had asked us to analyze the language used to describe colour palettes and particular shades. As I am keen on descriptive words I found this particularly interesting. What colours would one place under the theme of Urban Nature and Tribal Spontaneity. The colours grouped within the City Air collection featured a cendre lavande (ash lavender), anis citrique (citric anise) and a rose salée (briny rose). The language used was so fascinating and inspiring and I could really tell that a lot of thought had gone into the naming of each shade.

One of the focal point of the show was the colour prediction zone. It generated a vast crowd of frantic fashion buyers running around, panatone swatches in hand trying to put a number to each shade. Bees around a honeypot would be an apt description. With our current work on colour palettes it was really interesting to see which colours had been grouped together, to note the dominance of dark and vibrant shades and the lack of natural tones which have been present in past seasons.

The colour predictions were seperated into three groups which I have recreated below-

HARMONY NO 1



Sang Froid (Cold Blood), Lac Acide (Acid Lake), Magma Mauve (Mauve Magma), 80%, Ambre Massif (Solid Amber), Métal Végétal, Tout Flamme (Fired Up).

HARMONY NO 2



Juste un Peu (Just a Bit), Paille de Fer (Steel Wool), Papier Mais (Corn Paper), Rose Polaire (Polar Rose), Blue Lunatique (Moony Blue), Lumière Souffrée (Sulphorous Light), Chair Framboise (Raspberry Flesh), Gold Silver.

HARMONY NO 3



Rayon Bleu (Blue Ray), Presque Rien (Almost Nothing), Marc de Cafe (Coffee Grounds), Extra Magenta, Pulpe de Bois (Wood Pulp), Radical Crimson.

Towards the end of the day, myself and Aki were able to get our hands on tickets to get into the Maison d'Exceptions which despite being about the size of my apartment, was incredible! The majority of the show was made up of commercial designers and I found that a lot of there prints and fabrics had a mass-made, cheap feel to them. This small section however was full of artisan craftspeople who made fabric with love and passion. It featured some small weavers, e.g. Japanese silk weavers who gave a fascinating demonstration-



One particular designer really stood out for me- Janaina Milheiro, an artisan weaver. Her weaves were absolutely incredible! So fragile and delicate and unlike anything I ever ever seen before. It turns out she is an ex-graduate of ENSCI Textile Design and was coursemates with my flatmate Cecile! Such a small world. I will post images of her work soon.

Javier Mariscal presentation

Last night the talk at ENSCI was less industrial design slanted as it usually is which made for a refreshing change. We were given a presentation by Spanish illustrator Javier Mariscal. He has recently drawn the animations for the film 'Chico and Rita' written by Fernando Trueba as well as released a comic style graphic novel adaption of the film.

The storyline follows the passionate love between a Cuban pianist and a singer in Havana and New York in the 1950s and the lively jazz music accompanying the film give it a real latino feel. Javier spoke to us about his research process in the essence of the 50s and in particular the ambience of the two contrasting cities, Havana and New York. Interestingly enough (and rather relevantly as we are in the middle of our colour workshop) he spoke a lot about the importance of capturing the iconic colours of the cities in portraying their character.

50's Havana was a city oozing with joie de vivre and plenty of personality. As well as the vivid green of the natural world, three colours dominated the cityscape- pastel yellow, swimming pool blue and an earthy red. Javier noted that the abundance of sunlight within Havana meant that all the colours had been bleached and were pale and easy on the eye. The colours of 50's New York couldn't have been more different. Of course the iconic primary yellow of the cabs was to be seen everywhere as well as tomato red. Also the colour gold, the colour of wealth, money and hope was everywhere. These were set among a sea of grey architecture.

It was really interesting to learn about his research and the extensive work over the 6 years it took him to create the animation, I only hope that viewers will really appreciate the accuracy of his colour choices as I know, like us in our colour workshop, it took him a lot of mixing to create the precise shades!

The evolution of business....

I know the heading may sound really dull and boring but please do read on as my point actually is quite interesting! And all will be come clear with regards to the boulangerie picture!

Every so often, ENSCI invites practising designers to the school to give evening talks, seminars or debates. On Monday a round table evening was hosted by Parsons School of Design in New York and a number of individual European product designers were invited. The evening revolved around the debate of the pros and cons of setting up your own small business after graduating as opposed to working for a larger company. Can a small practise really exist in a global world?

An argument was put forward that working for yourself makes you more pro-active and stimulates you to present yourself. One designer from Belgium made the comparison of himself with a 'local bakery'. His company sits within the community, services the neighbours and this connection allows it to be better acquainted with the people and their material needs. This is a comparison that has definitely stuck in my head!

Despite the advantages, others argued that small companies do not attract investments from large clients, e.g. BMW who do not feel reassured to put work to a company with less than 11 employees.

It was interesting how the conversation then turned to how companies have evolved in our modern day. Nowadays many companies rely on public input in generating ideas. The Apple App Store is a fine example. Despite being such a global company, apparently it actually only employs around 14 people as new ideas and product initiatives are submitted online from the public. There are several other companies such as Quirky, an American company. Ideas are posted online and the public contribute advice and alterations which determine the final product. I think Etsy is kind of similar in the textile world! I suppose one could argue that this is a step in the right way of reaching the utopian ideal of the community designing ONLY the products needed. However most would say it is actually a clever and perverse way of global companies taking advantage from free ideas. Hmmm what an interesting debate!