Trends - Mood Boards

Accessories - Spring/Summer 2012

Style.com - Vionnet - Spring/Summer 2012

Style.com - Phillip Lim - Spring/Summer 2012

Style.com - Phillip Lim - Spring/Summer 2012

Style.com - Arfango - Spring/Summer 2012

Style.com - Brian Atwood - Spring/Summer 2012

Style.com - Casadei - Spring/Summer 2012

Style.com - Aperlai - Spring/Summer 2012

 Style.com - Zoraide - Spring/Summer 2012

Accessories - Research.

Vincent Schoefper SS 2011 Lookbook

Phillip Lim SS 2012 - Style.com

Alexander Wang SS 2012 - Style.com

Alexandre Birman SS 2012 - Style.com

Chunky Cuff Bracelet with fish scales - Dannimays.co.uk

Bottega Veneta SS 2012 - Style.com

Salvatore Fergamo SS 2012 - Style.com

Salvatore Fergamo SS 2012 - Style.com

House of Waris - Style.com

Seahorse Necklace - Asos.com

Giles + Brother SS 2012 - Style.com

 Devi Kroell SS 2012 - Style.com

Fish Print Neckerchief - Asos.com

Goldfish Tights - Bitching&junkfood

Shrimp Earrings - Topshop

Metz + Racine - Still Life Photography

Project Food

Table Manners

Silas In-House

Silas In-House

Sharon Core - Still Life Photography Work

Steak &Asparagus - 2008 

Fish - Bellwether Gallery - 2007

Four Ice Creams - 2003

Around The Cake - 2003

Cream Soup - 2003

Idea 2 - Turkish Delight

Own photography from Harrods food hall

Whenever I think about Turkish Delight, I'm taken back straight away to one of my favourite books as a child - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  The scene where one of the children first enter Narnia is so surreal when all of the factors are brought together.  The boy comes through the back of the wardrobe, through fur coats, into a snowy woodland, where he meets an Ice Queen who gives him some Turkish Delight.  Best of all, he does all this in his pyjamas.

Credit: Youtube

Credit: Youtube

Credit: Youtube

One of the most unusual trends for SS 2012 is adapting pyjama-styles into ready to wear pieces.  Where contrasting patterns were the order of 2011, head to toe prints are of the moment and pyjamas can pull this off well.  They can be made of fine, thin material such as silk or even, in a more utility style, thicker almost 'comfortable' cotton.

(Left & Centre) Topman Design SS 2012 (Right) Stella McCartney SS 2012

Paisley is a pattern that is often used in pyjama prints.  Something about the print is undeniably British while still being exotic in its pattern.  Turkish Delight could be thought about in this way, but not only that, rolled forms of the confectionery bare a resemblance to the shapes of the pattern.   

(Left) Stella McCartney SS 2012 (Centre) Jil Sander SS 2012 (Right) J.W. Anderson 2012

The problem with styling pyjamas for this brief is that they don't usual use a lot of accessories for obvious reasons.  Accessories in paisley would look striking, however, I'm not sure how that would help relate to the narrative.

One accessory that branches from the pyjama trend and is particularly popular in street style is the velvet loafer as it appears like a variation on the slipper.  This I think would be a strong way to link the accessories with the concept of the Turkish Delight and Narnian scene.

Jimmy Choo Paisley Loafer

Topman Design Paisley Postman Shoe

Idea 1: Fish & Seafood.

Own photography from Harrods food hall

The striking way that the fish sat in the ice at Harrods made me want to explore this form more.  Delivering fish to markets and to customers in this way is all about keeping it fresh and the consumer can always tell if its not fresh just by looking at its eyes.  I think this works as a good metaphor for a fashion editorial, bringing the consumer what's fresh, knowing that if the timing is off, then the fashion might already be past it.  

Photo credit: Storm in a teacup

Photo credit: Superdrug beauty blog

I saw in the markets that fish come in all shapes, colours and sizes, but they all arrive stored the same way - in large polysterene boxes filled with ice.  The box and the ice give a stark backdrop to what's inside, so even the greyest fish stand out against in comparison.  The boxes reminded me of shoe boxes - and therefore gave me the idea of using them in this way to display accessories.  

Placing the accessories alongside different forms of the seafood that would usually be in the boxes would make the concept startling clear, and create a striking contrast between carefully sourced beautiful accessories and  what by my own admission I think are quite ugly, unappealing creatures unless they're tropical like below.  

Photo credit: Peter Menzel - ruguru.livejournal.com

Photo credit: Dirty sexy things, E4 television

The spring/summer 2012 collections luckily don't share my thoughts and one of the key trends was fish-related.  Metallic shades and fish-tail dresses were among the styles that gave an underwater feel to many catwalks such as Elie Saab.  Versace's collection went one step further and produced seahorse prints and dresses covered with starfish.  

(Bottom left) Elie Saab spring/summer 2012 RTW (Rest) Versace Spring/summer 2012 RTW

As snakeskin is also a texture for 2012 so is fish skin leather.  This material has been used in shoe design by design houses such as Alexander Wang and Alexander McQueen.