The Style Bubble blog

This is from a blog named Style Bubble. I read it everyday, I love all that she finds and all that she debates about in regard to Fashion. I brought this clip over because it's something I have been debating for for the last year. Where are we going in the world of fashion. With the invention of the designer collaborations high end in some frugal interpretation can be found at the low-end cost stores. Target had Alexander McQueen, Rodarte and Anna Sui just to name a few. Then you have the middle designers, end up at Urban Outfitters. Forever21 is at the bottom of this fashion food chain. But let me tell you, if you want a trendy item, it is the place to go. They even have their in house vintage line, that can create some treats you'll love forever (No pun intended). They also have created Faith21 for the plus size which they think starts at size 10. So big designers are trying this "branding" idea. Which means (I think) a style that can be had by all. I wear my cute little Jean Paul Gaultier striped dress, Liberty of London scarf and an Eugenie Kim fedora to a party. It's all from Target. It was less than 100$ for all over it. But the biggest branding moment happened to me at my brother in laws wedding this year. I was wearing a Liberty of London dress, and a pair of Olivia + Alice chunky black slingbacks with pink on the sole. A woman walked over to me from across the room and said," are those Louboutins?" I smiled deeply inside and said no I got these at Payless. She about fell out of her chair. "When"
I had to disappoint her because they were last years. But it was a fun moment for me. Had another one of those with the Anya Hindmarch handbags from Target, a lady at Starbuck's thought it was the "new Fendi bag" . So read the little starling's blog, she is cute, works hard and finds the most fun items for all of us.

http://stylebubble.typepad.com

I'm hesitant to add factual/concrete affirmations to this post so apologies for the plentiful use of 'Perhaps', 'Maybe' and 'I feel'.

As this blog has chugged away in the past four years, I feel some pivotal things have been changing up in the high street which I've been trying to make sense of it all without being able to work out a longview trajectory. By high street, I'm including international stores in the fold... well... Forever 21, Sportsgirl and Target really...

Without wishing to imbue importance from a fashion perspective, on a period of time that ten years from now may just be an insignificant blimp in the scheme of things, the latter part of this decade and probably hereforth, there's been a wild burst of activity on the high street to mid-street, everything done to continually up their game. Designer collaborations, stores as exhibitions spaces, different approaches to campaigns, new creative directors, rebranding, rejigs, refits - renewal in various senses of the word - all well-documented and well-pressed. Perhaps these things were happening before this decade and I just never picked up a copy of Draper's Record to grasp it all. Perhaps not.

Actually this ties in with the wild bend of a theory that has been gestating in my head - that a shift has occurred in the past ten years so that on the whole and in amongst the general population, fashion-consciousness has grown in importance - this feels like something that could be laughed off entirely as complete rubbish. I have to ascertain whether this is just my very specific environment and situation that makes me come up with this theory. Does it feel this way because the internet has made things all the more pertinent and important through various avenues - i.e. has the cocoon of the blog (to use a phrase of a commenter on my Skinny and Strappy post) elevated the importance of fashion in my eyes, and in my mind, enforcing it upon the general public in a cloud of self-delusion.

Hmm... alright, to scale it back a bit, and just speaking from living in London as a city - does the theory apply there? Totting up the aforementioned ways that budget, high street, mid-street and beyond that strata of retail have been trying to one up on each other over the past five years, their reactions seem to cater to a more fashion 'savvy' customer. A knowledgeable and more aware customer. This of course needs to be investigated from other angles to see whether the theory is supported by say, fashion's infiltration and development into mainstream media. I guess I only have a teensy weensy bit part of something vaguely concrete here. The problem I seem to always stumble onto when trying to piece together a proper theory for a zeitgeist is proof... which can't be acquired by one hour doses of blogging a day. Another post, another unfinished bit of fluff...

I had half a point that was supposed to lead in nicely into another development in the "Upping of the High Street/Mid Street Game". British high street to mid-level Reiss, last week unveiled their A/W 10-11 campaign that has taken a vastly different approach from previously non-descript ones. They've enlisted the help of Jamie Morgan, via the connecting link of Pop magazine to direct a film 'Elements' (trailer of which is below) for their campaign which is striking to say the least. In short; black and white smokey atmosphere, a slow mo Natasa Vojnovic, a visceral looking horse and dog that is of course symbolically placed in the film just all doesn't sum up to equate err... Reiss, the go-to place for 'professional' people's attire - i.e. people with PROPER jobs who sit on the Tube reading a mixture of Metro, a Dan Brown book and a thick wad of paper that looks VERY VERY IMPORTANT. You may know of Morgan's work from his beautiful portraits of Tavi in Pop magazine but further back and more significantly, he was one of the founders of the 'Buffalo' collective that shaped the visuals of The Face. "Not another fashion short..." may be what comes to mind but add Morgan to the mix and it becomes an intriguing prospect... especially when you consider the source. You know, important working people with wads of important paper and all that...