The Ability to Draw

For me the ability to draw in Textiles and other design courses is very important. Drawing can be widely incorporated and could be in the form of photographs, mono-prints, stitch, collage, photocopies or variations of media. I feel drawing expresses and reflects each person's individuality, as no one can have the same mark. The individual's characteristics and personality can come through in their choice of media, colour and style. Initial drawings can be developed further into designs by the use of computers or expanded with different processes and techniques. Without an ability to draw, i don't see what makes a design unique to a person. If you are a designer you want your mark to be somewhere, something that suggests it's yours and no one else could ever easily reproduce it. i think drawing is sometimes completely overlooked and computers are becoming a more and more popular choice for design. This i feel is bad because anyone can be taught how to use a computer and there isn't as much scope for individuality or expression and the computer is doing the work for you.

Fake copies...

Louis Vuitton

On the left is a genuine Louis Vuitton 'Carryall' bag costing £595 and on the right a replica that is £158.

I have chosen Louis Vuitton, as it's one of the designer brands which is copied and replicated the most. If i saw someone, unless it was Victoria Beckham walking down the street with a Louis Vuitton bag, my first impression would be that it is fake, as so many copies are easily available. This i think has degraded the actual brand in a way and gives it a cheap feel.

Some of the copies are genuinely good quality and unless you are an expert, it would be impossible to tell if it was real or not. Even if a bag was genuine, because they are extensively copied, it wouldn't have the same exclusivity.

I think it is good and bad that you can get fake copies. I think it's good because like the examples above you can pay a third or less of the original price, so its available to a wider market and you don't have to be a celebrity to have the designer look. But the more copies and the cheaper these replicas become, the less desired and exclusive the real designs become. The price of some copies are still ridiculously expensive, the quality is not going to be as good and could easily break. But they are still cheaper than the real thing.

If they are not obviously fake i don't think its a bad thing. Although if i had the money i wouldn't like to know that someone else could have an almost exact replica, as it wouldn't seem as special, therefore i would stay clear of Louis Vuitton. Designer's don't like copies beacuse they lose custom, money and their exclusive status, so maybe designers should reduce the prices or do more collaborations with high street stores.

Kate Moss for Topshop

Genuine talent? or shoddy excuse for corporate commercialism?

Kate Moss' new Summer collection has just been released at Topshop and within an hour and a half, 200 dresses had been sold at London's flagship store. 2.5million online views were also expected for the release, proving that the Kate Moss collections are definitely popular. But is this because of the quality of the clothes or because of the label of high profile label of Kate Moss?

My personal opinion is that Kate Moss is talented and definitely has good taste in clothes, but by no means is a designer. I see her as a style icon, as i think many other girls my age would agree and would love to have a fashionable wardrobe like hers, but her actual ability to design clothes is questionable. I think her label for Topshop is to help the success of the company commercially. By having her name on the clothes, i think it makes them more desirable. You get the impression that you could achieve the Kate Moss look if you bought an item from the collection. By buying that one special piece you are on your way to being as trendy as Kate Moss. Some of the items like vest tops are plain and simple and could be bought in a similar style elsewhere for half the price, but seems better because of the name.

It is said that some of her designs reflect some of her past outfits, but is this not just copying of other existing designers? I do think her collections are nice, but are too pricey and i would definitely love to buy an item if i could afford it, which i would probably save forever for sentimental value. i don't think her range is suited for everyone, unless you are a young girl with a Kate Moss slim figure.

Overall i can appreciate her collections, but i think it's unfair for her to be classed as a designer with genuine talent, when any other person would need to study for it for years. I think the range is successful for Topshop and is helping to raise their status globally.