Wholehearted. The Brand Concept.

Open publication - Free publishing - More brand

Above I have displayed a digital copy of one of my final books, Wholehearted. The Brand Concept. The concise, formal book introduces and presents Wholehearted, the new fresh and contemporary bridal brand I have created.

Directed at investors, this book details the creation of the brand, describes the reasons behind Wholehearted's concepts and explains why Wholehearted will be a successful bridal brand and a worthwhile investment.

Wholehearted. The Brand Concept. The physical book.

Wholehearted. The Image.

Open publication - Free publishing - More bridal

Wholehearted. The Image, the book displayed above, uses a range of photography to effectively illustrate the contemporary, fashionable and creative style of Wholehearted, my new bridal brand.

The book is aimed at Wholehearted's customers to help them understand and appreciate Wholehearted's image.

Wholehearted. The Image. The physical book.

Wholehearted. The Research.

The book displayed within this post documents the research, inspiration and ideas which have developed and influenced this project. The work presented within this book has enabled me to produce the outcomes of this project, ‘Wholehearted. The Brand Concept’ and ‘Wholehearted. The Image.’

I hope this book provides the reader of an understanding of my development and journey through this project and how the work has helped me to achieve the final outcomes, ‘Wholehearted. The Brand Concept’ and ‘Wholehearted. The Image’.

Open publication - Free publishing - More branding

Wholehearted Range Plan and Website

As my new bridal brand has taken shape, the idea of creating a range plan for the boutique has developed and become more appealing. It seems only right that after designing the boutique and identifying my customer, I present the garments Wholehearted will offer. Presenting a range plan will enable me to further illustrate the style of my brand and will evidence my buying skills.

Although I am unaware of the exact costs of the dresses I have included, I have tried to be as realistic as possible. I have chosen designers that share a fairly similar ethos to Wholehearted’s to ensure the brands compliment one another. I have also  chosen a collection of dresses which incorporate different features however are of a similar style genre in order to appeal to Wholehearted's target market and form a cohesive, united collection. Through incorporating a variety of features and dress shapes, the collection will appeal to a wider range of people and cater for a variety of body shapes.

Below I have included an image of a website page I have designed for Wholehearted.

Wholehearted Bridal Boutique Exterior

Wholehearted Bridal Boutique Exterior

The image above illustrates the exterior of Wholehearted Bridal Boutique which takes inspiration from research I have carried out into boutique exteriors, window displays and brides impressions of bridal boutiques. I have been conscious to design a fresh and inviting boutique frontage which eliminates any possible feelings of intimidation from the brides perspective on entering the boutique.

The boutique exterior is white, a fresh and welcoming colour that is closely associated with the bridal industry. The clean, tidy and stylish frontage appears luxurious and professional and well highlights the black and lime green Wholehearted logo.

Taking inspiration from a couple of London boutiques and Kleinfeld (USA), I have designed a quirky and elegant shop front which consciously uses colour to create a unique, relaxed and contemporary feel. The large, simplistic yet effective window displays are vibrant and quirky in order to catch attention. Within the window displays, two solitary dresses which best illustrate the style of the Wholehearted are exhibited. In an attempt to reduce the mannequins static nature, the mannequins are positioned creatively in flowing postures which give the dresses shape and life. Through the suspension of the dress fabric viewers can appreciate the texture and drape of the beautiful fabrics. On exceptionally busy days, the fabric could even be gently blown using a wind machine. This would exhibit the beauty of movement in the fabric and create a very eye catching and imaginative window display.

Kate Walker Bridal, Honiton Interview

Kate Walker Bridal Shop Front

Kate Walker Bridal Interior

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my interview with Kate Walker and learnt a great deal. In the same way I was inspired by the success of Wedding Time, I am very encouraged by the success and demand for designer bridal gowns in the local area. I was interested to hear of the increasing popularity and demand of bespoke wedding gowns however perhaps this is another indication that consumers have an increasing desire for quality products that justify their cost.

Kate’s boutique is very similar to how I envisage Wholehearted Bridal boutique; it is modern and luxurious however so homely and welcoming that it eliminates any feeling of intimidation. I love the fact Kate can be so hands on, designing and constructing her own bridal gown designs as well as altering other designs.

Kate has many years of experience in the bridal industry which without doubt has helped her to understand what it takes to run a successful bridal boutique.

Visit to Bath

Today I visited the city of Bath to consider in more detail whether it makes a good location for Wholehearted's first bridal boutique. I studied the city centre, the main shopping streets and the shops and boutiques as well as Bath's existing bridal boutiques and vacant boutiques.

I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the city and was inspired by the abundance of unique and contemporary boutiques which well compliment the style of my new bridal brand. I was surprised by the lack of both quality and quantity of bridal boutiques in Bath which proves there is a gap in the market for a contemporary and stylish bridal brand such as Wholehearted. 

Bath Shopping Street

Bath, Milsom Place

I also visited Bath's Wedding Fair. The fair was held in a luxurious hotel which mostly paid host to photographers, cake makers and florists.

Following my visit to Bath, depending on the rates of rent for the vacant shops I identified, I believe Bath makes a very suitable location for Wholehearted Bridal Boutique.

Wedding Time, Dorchester Interview

To aid this project and to help me build upon my market research I have planned to interview a number of local bridal boutiques. These interviews will be invaluable experiences and will hopefully provide me with information which justifies my plans for my new bridal brand. 

Wedding Time Shop Front

Overall, I found my visit to Wedding Time very enjoyable and beneficial. 

Tracy highlighted a number of points which are of particular interest to me. Firstly, she mentioned that several of their customers come from elsewhere in the country to shop with their mothers who have retired to South West England - many young women value the opinion of their mothers and enjoy sharing the shopping experience with their family. This is important due to my desire to remain local in a rural part of the country. I felt sure that there is a market for bridal boutiques in the South West however it is reassuring to hear it from a real business. 

I was inspired by Tracy’s adaptable approach to her business and her sheer determination to make it work, although I appreciate running a business is hard work, I feel determination is a characteristic I have which will benefit me in the future. Another aspect Tracy mentioned a number of times was how the business benefits from a long established good reputation. Reputations like this take years to build up but prove extremely advantageous for the business. 

Although I have no doubt Tracy has worked extremely hard to make her business a success I am aware she bought the business 9 years after it’s creation. As my next step, I’d very much like to speak to someone who has set up a bridal boutique from scratch, possibly a more contemporary boutique.

Progress...

I am pretty happy with how my major project is developing at the moment. Although I constantly feel like I have a lot to do, it's beginning to come together.

My research book is fairly full, I now need to edit this information down to create a brand introduction book/business plan. My next step is to also consider my digital feature story board with illustrations to explain the theory and practise of my digital ideas.

Also I have nearly completed my market research. I have had some great response from brides about their bridal shopping experience and have a interview lined up with a bridal shop in Dorchester.

Always plenty to be getting on with...

Umbourne Wedding Exhibition

As if on cue, my local village church held an exhibition of the parish resident's wedding and christening gowns from past years in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The country church was very small therefore I was expecting the exhibition to consist of only around 10 dresses; I was amazed to see about 40!


The exhibition was a great opportunity to take my research into the history of the wedding gown one step further and see a real history of wedding dresses from local people in one area of the country. As I plan to remain based locally in the future, it is important I understand the local bridal market. 

1958 May

1977

Bridal Visual Merchandising in London

In order to understand and fully appreciate the glamorous appearance and atmosphere of high end bridal boutiques I recently took a trip to London to visit a number of high profile bridal boutiques.

The boutiques I visited were generally located in areas with excellent transport links on fashionable streets full of equally high profile brands. As I expected, the shop fronts were extremely neat, clean and simple creating a good first impression. The name of the designer/boutique was generally clear and contemporary with an equally simplistic and effective window display. In most cases the boutiques displayed a small number of bridal gowns presented on mannequins with little or no additional visual merchandise cluttering the scene. The boutiques appeared to employ the ‘less is more’ approach; the stunning gowns spoke for themselves and illustrated a quality and professional bridal boutique.

Major Project Logo!

My project is still coming on well although I am feeling very aware that yet again time is ticking by very quickly. It's only two and a bit months before the deadline. I think I'm conscious of this fact as it's my last project, my final chance to show myself and my skills in the best possible way and possibly the work I'll be presenting to perspective employers!

I have recently designed my bridal brand logo which was very enjoyable - the first real creative task within the project. I am very pleased with the outcome and feel I have managed to achieve the fresh, stylish, modern and quirky impression I desire for my brand.

Exeter, Devon Wedding Fair

Exeter Wedding Fair was another fair I felt would be beneficial to visit in order to further develop my knowledge of the local bridal industry. Exeter is a large town in South West England and caters for large parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. The show was a similar set up to Lyme Regis however a in slightly more luxurious atmosphere.

Again, I was surprised at the lack of bridal boutiques exhibiting and feel this is something I need to investigate further, perhaps I can ask this question if I am fortunate enough to secure interviews with local bridal boutiques.

Ideas on Paper...

The first and second years have been away this week which has meant no timetabled lessons for the third years. This has given me some valuable time to get on with my project and allow me to get all my ideas on paper. I feel far more on top of things at the moment but as usual there's still plenty to do!

I keep thinking about how I'm going to present my sketch book - there are so many options but I've decided it can wait. I need to get on with the content and think later down the line about how exactly I present my work.

Major Project Continued...

So we're a few weeks into the project now. My initial ideas are definitely developing and I have a more certain idea of what I hope to include in the project and produce. We've had a number of tutorials and lessons recently to talk about our ideas but, at present, I feel I want to do less talking and more doing, I'm feeling like I need to slightly ahead than where I am at the moment.

During our lesson yesterday we had to each present our work placement experience or entrepreneurial unit. I found this a particularly helpful and beneficial exercise as I'm keen to incorporate an aspect of a business plan into my project. Fortunately I watched Tiffany's entrepreneurial presentation, the only other student in my class particularly inspired by bridal fashion. I found it really reassuring and inspiring to hear from someone who shares my passion and has the same aspirations as myself. Within her entrepreneurial project she created a hypothetical bridal boutique and carried out the appropriate market research and costings etc.

First Major Project Review

This was the first time in a while I've sat down to discuss the development of my project with my tutors, in recent weeks I've been working on my initial ideas and research.

I felt the tutors were happy with my ideas and, despite original concerns, once assured I wanted to create a stylish and contemporary bridal brand as opposed to a 'frilly', dated brand were supportive of my plan to create a brand centred around bridal fashion.

Anya mentioned that I will need to be careful how I incorporate a business plan into my project; at the moment I have a desire to create a visually attractive and interesting book to present my business plan however Anya mentioned this is unusual and that business plans are usually formal documents.

Major Project Ideas

My ideas for my major project are coming on well at the moment. I'm beginning to form ideas of the kind of pieces and publications I will produce as an outcome of the project. At the moment I'm hoping to produce a project centred around the opening of a new bridal boutique. I've been thinking of ways to make my bridal boutique different, perhaps with a digital aspect to ensure it is contemporary, hopefully an aspect and concept that could be applied across the entire fashion industry.

I received my placement report mark recently which, unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed with. However I don't wish to dwell on it too much so shall put it behind me and use it to drive my passion and determination to do well in my major project.

As part of my major project and for my own information purposes I've been looking at the head office location of bridal designers. Unfortunately, as I expected, most designers are based in London HOWEVER there are a couple based more locally which shows there are some out there!!

Lyme Regis, Dorset Wedding Fair

Conscious that in the future I would very much like to be based locally, or at least within South West England, I felt Lyme Regis Wedding Fair would be an invaluable experience in helping me to understand the local bridal fashion industry and local competition.

The fair was set up like most other fairs with a variety of exhibitors displaying examples of their work on stands placed around the room. I was interested to see how many photographers, cake makers and venues were exhibiting compared to bridal shops - I counted only three out of approximately 25 exhibitors. 

I was lucky enough to arrive in time to watch a catwalk during the afternoon. Bearing in mind, as a result of my work placement at Jenny Packham I have been used to viewing dresses worth £3000, I could see the dresses on show were worth much less and were no where near the quality of the Jenny Packham dresses. This is by no means a bad thing, it may simply infer that these are the quality and price of dresses in demand in the area.  Personally, perhaps naïvely, I had my sights set on selling the likes of Jenny Packham etc in my boutique however if there isn’t the local demand then it is unlikely my boutique would be successful. This is an issue I need to research in more detail and an aspect I will need to seriously consider when deciding where to base my boutique and what bridal dresses to sell. 

Dissertation Complete!

Today I handed in my essay so I now have two of my final year units behind me which is kind of scary. I feel relieved my final essay is complete....now it's full steam ahead with my major project! I will consider my initial ideas in more detail and hear feedback from my tutors within forthcoming tutorials.

Think Tank Project

For the last few weeks (our first few weeks back at uni) we have taken part in a 'Think Tank' with Anna Pegg who used to work for WGSN. We set about predicting a spring/summer trend for 2013. As advised by Anna, we thought about the colour, materials, silhouettes, styling and key details of our new trend.

We took inspiration from a variety of sources including:

• Blogs
• Art and Culture
• Catwalks
• Celebrity
• Vintage
• Magazines/Newspapers
• Trade Shows

After a great deal of mind mapping and research, we came up with a number of trends and themes. These included tie dye, Gaucho, Halston, Sports shapes and denim with an over-riding theme of patchwork, whether it be a patchwork of colour, texture, material or theme. We considered how these themes worked together and choose the best images to represent the themes. We gathered together a number of colours we felt tied into the themes. Within the third session we considered the materials, silhouettes, style and key details. 

Below I have included two images that I plan to include within my portfolio to illustrate my team work and forward thinking skills. 

Back at Uni for the Spring Term...

I thought it might be quite strange being back at uni considering I haven't really been there properly since May, it's gone so quickly. I've been in a couple of times this week and am loving the feeling of knowing this is really the last leg! I have enjoyed the sessions I have had and seeing everyone again, it's nice to hear how every has been and what they've been doing and be around like minded people again.

I am majorly working on my essay at the moment, not my favourite task for sure! I am seriously looking forward to my major project and putting my all into that, I can't believe it's probably going to be my last big project! My idea's are really developing now and I feel very positive about my initial ideas and thoughts.......first things first, getting the essay behind me.......