Monday 26 December 2011

Merry Christmas!

Somehow denim Santa does not look as jolly???

I wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas, I hope the real Santa delivered everything you wished for and more! May you have a Happy New Year filled with great adventures!.. XXX

Monday 19 December 2011

Virtual Rising...

I have booked the day off work today. My mission is to complete ALL Christmas shopping, so why am I still sat here in my pyjamas?? Answer: There is no chance I am going to traipse around London in the rain, fighting the crowds when i can sit here in luxury (cup of tea in hand and cat on lap!!) in front of my mac, browsing the world wide web! What a miraculous discovery!!..

Anyone working in retail will know internet sales are growing year on year. With the new generation of social networking- Facebook/twitter/tumbler/blogs its easier than ever to spread marketing campaigns and sales promotions which of course reflects the traffic to our sites and subsequently our sales!.

Top 5 retailers on Facebook:

Zara= 10,738.378 fans
Burberry= 9,945,914 fans
H&M= 8,847,902 fans
Gucci= 5,730,092 fans
Louis Vuitton= 4,541,963 fans

Wow.. right!?!!!.. There is huge potential to build further, as long as you have the newest App to send out! As a complete technophobe my mind boggles as to what else can be achieved but one thing is sure, invest in a computer whizz if you want to beat the competition!!

No matter how nice it is to shop from home, I do worry for the future of our British high street, yes you can get everything delivered at a touch of a few buttons but wont we miss the whole store experience? Trying on clothes/feeling the quality checking out the visual merchandising and generally getting inspired? Where else is better than London at Christmas??.. Got to run, off to Liberty... Wish me luck!!

Friday 9 December 2011

the elusive pair..

Back in the day, in one of my former lives, I was a 'fit' model... which basically means a clothes horse so to speak for brands that needed a certain size to build a block, arrange a pattern and get a PERFECT fit. Sounds easy right?..   
In my role as a denim buyer I can appreciate the importance in every measurement, a slight tweak to the height of the waistline or leg opening will mean a good pair of jeans or a great pair!.

Quite a statement huh!!..  

Achieving the 'Worlds best fitting jeans' is quite simply an impossible task! Its a very arrogant brand that will profess to such a feat!! (and they do... tut tut). The reality is every one of us is a different shape, unique, special and defo cannot all fit into my perfect jeans no matter how much I wish you did!..

Levi has at least tried to remedy this with their 'Curve' collection. Its a good idea, if only the styles were a little more sexy??..

My advise to you guys would be go searching, its out there I promise! If you want a 'boyfriend' block- buy a pair of actual boy jeans, if you want a 'slim slouch' buy your usual skinnies but one size up, if you want a pair of cool 'high waists' go vintage!..  Good Luck xxx

Sunday 4 December 2011

Denim PV

I am extremely lucky to travel around the world in search of inspiration for work. Last week I was in gay Pareee.. Such a beautiful city, it always inspires me and looks amazing in December covered in Christmas sparkle!
 Twice a year we pop over for a denim trade show, exhibiting all the new fabrics and trends for the coming seasons.. A little sneak preview so to speak! The warehouse is filled with the biggest mills presenting their latest development, its a denim geeks version of a SciFi convention only we think we are much cooler!?



Without giving too much away, there were a few boys that stood out from the crowd of course! Leading the pack with innovative new techniques were Isko, well done guys! Unfortunately for the purists out there we are still a few seasons away from bringing back denim with true character. The trend continues for clean colour, flat washes, new coatings and compact power stretch, as they say- if its not broke why fix it??..

PS- Loving your work Fabio, have never enjoyed the VIP lounge as much, Yummy!!