Is there more to Fashion than what meets the eye?

Is Fashion really just about the clothes? Can we see anything beyond the runway, the draped and textured garments and the skyrocketing platform shoes?

Well what if I was to say that Fashion does in fact have the ability to voice out societal concerns and address topical issues such as women and civil rights.Clothes have always been used as a way to indicate social class, social position, and occupation and to some extent reveal ones relevance in society.

Take Coco Chanel’s iconic suits for example. She revolutionized how women dressed which in turn changed how women perceived themselves and their role in society. Her suits which were influenced by menswear collections in the 1920's were the perfect balance of feminine style, strength, confidence and power which were the characteristics the post war woman needed to build a career in the male dominated workplace.

Her suits allowed women to envision themselves as equals to their male counterparts in the workplace and challenged the conventional ideals of womanhood. Her interpretation of feminine clothing enabled women to have a voice beyond domestic affairs in the confinements of the home and introduced them to the public sphere where they could be women of influence.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Spring/Summer 2015 Chanel show was no different. The models were seen wearing suits with wide trouser legs, bright chiffon blouses and knee length dresses as they walked down the runway. However this wasn’t your ordinary runway. Karl Lagerfeld used the runway to recreate the concept of a typical street he named it ‘Boulevard Chanel’ where the models walked down the runway to their respective jobs. After the show models returned to the stage holding placards in support of feminist ideals, whilst some models screamed through the megaphones to make their voices heard. 

Although gender equality has a long way to go some fashion designers have been able to use fashion and the runway as a platform to discuss these ideas.

To say the least the runway has presented itself as a space that confronts conventional and social ideas. It constantly challenges us as individuals and causes us to step out of our comfort zone and dares us to walk with purpose and charges us to have a bigger presence in our society.

Students Portfolio Work

Caramel Rock offers a wide range of courses, inspiring and encouraging youngsters to follow their passions and dreams. Our Fashion course gives students the opportunity to develop stills in fashion design and creation. This portfolio illustrates one student’s extensive work in to her design collection, showing us exactly which elements she focused on and the inspiration for her ideas. Students can be as creative as thy like. They get to choose the colours, material and techniques they wish to use to construct their creations.    

The students are able to incorporate, all the aspects they wish to form their original and creative idea. They go through a process of creating many designs and narrowing it down to their favorite design idea, which they can then create within our workshop, with the help of our team, assisting and encouraging any choices the students make.  Various facilities are available for students to use to create, design and help is also provided to construct their products .

Once students have worked out all of the fundamental aspects of their collection they can focus on their designs and hopefully by the end would have created their very own stunning garment.

Final Piece:

Faith Johnson Guest Dragon at the Peter Jones academy at Newham College other dragons on the panel on the day was Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, Peter Holbrook.

London fashion week sep 2012

Breast Cancer Awareness

You may be wondering what Breast Cancer has to do with fashion; ‘Think Pink’ is an inspirational line for Breast Cancer Apparel and Clothing including the exclusive ‘Think Pink Ribbon, Keep Calm and Think Pink and ‘Fight Like a Girl’ tees and tanks. 

Breast Cancer Care is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to providing emotional and practical support for anyone affected by breast cancer. The main aim of the campaign is for better support and care and promotes the importance of early detection, involving people with breast cancer in all that they do.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month when thousands of people across the country Go Pink for breast cancer and raise money for the 48,000+ women diagnosed with the disease every year.

Last year ‘Go Pinkers’ raised £380,000+ to keep families together for longer, will you join in the fun, do some breast cancer fundraising and help us turn this October even pinker? 

HOW TO GO PINK

Going Pink is simple: you can do anything you want from a cake sale at work to a pink uniform day at school. Or why not host your very own big pink party. Whatever you can do to add a touch of pink to your October, and whether it raises £5 or £500, you will be helping to achieve their mission of a future free from the fear of breast cancer. 

Products range from tees, jumpers, drink-ware, head-ware, office gifts jewellery, accessories bags and shoes.

5% OF EVERY SALE GOES TO SUPPORT

THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

http://www.thinkpinkribbon.com/

http://www.breakthrough.org.uk/gopink/

http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/

What to Wear on a First Date

We have all been there, standing in front of our mirror holding up different dresses to see which looks best whilst the mountain of clothes keep piling up on our bed. Then we have the issue off picking the right shoes and accessories to match the clothing. Stressed!! We have the solution we have picked out the 5 perfect looks for a first date.

Dinner: Keep it simple with a shirt, skirt and a gorgeous pair of heels. This look works great from work hour to cocktail hour

Casual Get together: Wearing a fabulous pair of jeans or trousers and layering it always work best. A look like this is great for any occasion. Finish the look off with a motorcycle jacket or a leather jacket.

Easy, Breezy California Style! Although we live in London and we rarely see the sun when we do this look would be perfect for the summer nights. We see it as an easy, lightweight, not overly styled way of dressing very comfortable and sexy at the same time.

Go Bold if you dare!! The 70s are back, high heels are a must with a jumpsuit. Wear colour  A bright pop or two will certainly catch your date’s attention, just don’t go too crazy with the colour-blocking.

If all end fails, just reach for the trusted LBD forget ‘Diamonds’, the LBD is definitely a Girl’s Best friend. The Little Black Dress always works you can dress it up or down. It can go from day (wear it to the office with a cardigan or blazer and a set of pearls and leather pumps) to -night (take off the blazer or cardigan and add some make-up, jewellery, and heels).

DIY Fashion

                                                                Quick fix to Fashion

So despite the showers that have been pouring for the last two days we are slowly approaching summer, and what better excuse to go shopping. But I have news, what if I was to say you could look good but spend less and still have money clinging in your pockets for a trip to Nando’s on the way home. Gone are the days for spending money like it grows on trees trust me I’ve been there and done that and it’s only left me penniless.

I used to go shopping and not rest until I had no money in my account I would enter the store and leave knowing exactly what I would purchase on my next visit. But as the saying goes New Year new me, I know we’re already halfway through the year, but its better late than never. So here I am with a new approach and I say save, save, save. So join on me on this journey to find the best ways to create a unique outfit and cute accessories to go along with it. Fasten your seat belts, run wild with creativity and let the fun begin.

Instead of splurging on a pair of the American flag denim shorts this summer, I’ll be making my very own. After watching a YouTube video tutorial I am proud to say that I’m certified to go ahead and create a pair of jeans. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Let your mind run free and you’ll be surprised at what ideas will come flooding. Now I’ve got another idea, I’ve got an old plain white t-shirt that’s just holding up space in my wardrobe so why not put it to use. So I’ll be recreating it and adding funky jewellery accessories, any earrings that I have lost along the years would be added to the mix. And the best thing about it is that I’ll be the only one wearing my design and it can’t be found in stores. How unique.

It’s all about investing in the future for me right now. With all this saving I’m doing I just had a vision of the future and it seems bright. I guess I will definitely keep saving. So this summer, just think DIY and you’ll be set to go forward in your future. Let me know how you get along with your designs. If you have any other creative ideas then write a comment below and keep us posted.

This month we’re having a competition we want to see what new designs you could think of. The winner gets to exhibit their design at the Caramel Rock Fashion show at Westfield. If you want to be the winner of the Quick fix to fashion competition then why not create a new design and send  in your image to info@caramelrock.com.

We’re looking forward to seeing them :)