The Final Report

When given the brief to design a collection for a specific brand, as a group we wanted to chose a label that had an iconic and easily distinguishable colour philosophy. Miu Miu was chosen due to its more fashion forward stylings, a label we could experiment with in terms of colour and design to put across a theme. Research was carried out into the previous Miu Miu collections to establish the proportions of colour used, the range and chromas so when we design for our individual projects, this data could be applied accordingly. 

Within the collections, childhood inspired elements blend with unnatural colour combinations in a fantastical but somehow sensual world. The philosophy behind Miu Miu reflects the multi-faceted nature of the brand, how “Miuciana Prada’s vision of the Miu Miu woman is continually redefined”, utilising each seasons’ collection to make commentary on current social or political issues of importance to her and establishing a “complicated feminine ideal”.

A theme was then defined on an individual basis, mine Dada to design the collections towards. I began researching suitable colour palettes at this point and identifying which colours would be best suited to the brand.

After completing initial testers for colours, I was able to refine these to formulate a final colour palette including 12 colours and also a set of patterns from Dada imagery. The designs were drawn based on research carried out into current and forthcoming trends of Autumn Winter 09/10 in a Miu Miu style. A consumer profile was built up of a Miu Miu customer so the designs were rendered suitable for the target demographic. After which the colection was finalised, whittled down from 40 design to 22, sorted into the various colour families as ahown above.

The Final Collection

The final collection for Miu Miu Autumn Winter 09/10 in colour families of red, caramel and biscuit.

Refining the Collection Theme

To accurately present the final Miu Miu collection I need to pin point the exact image I want to portray. After carrying out research into Dada inspired artworks I felt it was appropriate to carry with the theme of revolution, of upturning the norms and looking in a radical way towards form and silhouette, just like the Dadaist did in reaction to the government and authorities of the time. I like the fact that the Dada movement was not only in terms of art but as a philosophy and lifestyle, as an alternative way of viewing the world. This was a key factor I wanted to put across - Miu Miu as an alternative lifestyle, a concious choice to break away from the norms of other labels and to embrace the wearer's inner individuality, as the Miu Miu brand philosophy reads - "Where independence improbably meets sensuality... The very definition of creative transformation to compliment a woman who is impossible to define."

The incorporation of linear drawings within Dada imagery is one of the main points of inspiration. I wanted to present the collection as angular and linear in silhouette but with a more collaged effect created by the use of patterns within. This reflected the rectangular papers of the Dada artworks then the combined images together - I like to think of each outfit as a piece of the collage and the whole collection the page, with each piece of collage combined to produce and overall effect on the paper.

I wanted the colours used to evoke a sense of rebellion from the norms but also of tea-stained nostalgia with a modern twist, perhaps evoking memories and provoking thought, especially in terms of the artworks. It is for this reason I have chosen to contrast the beiges and mushrooms with high chroma saffrons and violets to add an edge of the unexpected whilst maintaining a synergy towards the theme.

Refining the Consumer Lifestyle

To accurately pinpoint the target demographic of the collection, I developed a pen portrait of my target consumer. As a result the designs and colours will appropriately reflect the consumer attracting them to the range and in turn encourage the consumer to buy into the brand.

Pen portrait:

• Female aged 21-40
• Career minded and ambitious in some form of media / journalism job
• She lives in Herne Hill, London
• Avid reader of novels and loves buying Tashen coffee table books of art and photography
• Loves travelling, occasionally with work but wants to visit Russia and Eastern Europe in her time off
• Enjoys mixing vintage finds with designer labels for a touch of quirkiness
• Her bedroom is decorated like a Parisian boudoir - she loved mixing rich patterned fabrics
• She uses Benefit and Clinique make up and This Works cosmetics, enjoying the aromatheraphy based ingredients
• Her favourite coffee is from Cafe Nero
• Her favourite cocktail an Old Fashioned
• She drives an 1985 Porsche Carrera and likes going on road trips to isolated British pubs with her boyfriend
• On the high street she shops in labels such as Zara 
• Her most recent purchase was a red seventies telephone for her flat

"For me she embodies woman with her subtleties and intricacies. She's sensual and intellectually engaging, elegant with a very strong personal style." Miuciana Prada talks of model Kim Basinger , used within the SS2005 advertising campaigns for the brand. Kim Bassinger who was 52 at the time, appeared alongside Camilla Belle, who was only 19 in a stark contrast in age. This decision worked well for Miu Miu thereby declaring the brand was accessible to not only younger women - as originally thought due to the more fashion forward direction fo the label - but to an older audience too. Thus rendering Miu Miu's marketing based not on demographics by psychographics instead. As opposed to targeting the consumer in terms of age, Miu Miu cleverly addressed them in terms of similar personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. For example the pen portrait above could apply to any woman between the ages of 18 and 50, as long as they could be grouped as having similar kinds of lifestyles. According to the New York Times,a spokesman for Miu Miu says only that the appeal of the label is "psychographic, not demographic."

SS 2005

Initial 40 Designs for the Collection

To create a well thought out and balanced collection, I developed the colour palette into 40 models to try out different ways of putting the hues together - which ones complimented each other, which clashed, which harmonised and which contrasted. The results are quite interesting as shown below. I really like the effect of some - others were not so successful, therfore I will elminate around half to be left with the defnitive collection for Miu Miu Autumn Winter 09/10.

Within this 20 there will also be an element of divide, the colours having split personality families in terms of their chromas and values, which will sit well with the Miu Miu schitzophrenic element of both design and colour to suit their target demographic. 

The combinations that worked best were:

• reds, grey, violet, slate and yellow
  
• slate, caramel, and violet
• teal, tea, caramel and peachy beige
• dark green, teal and caramel
• reds, violet, tea and peachy beige
• teal, dark green and reds
• yellow, tea, teal and dark green

I will now select the 20 best combinations to submit for my final Autumn Winter collection.

Defining the Colour Palette

Whilst carrying out research into design inspirations and Dadaist artworks, I continously worked on picking up ideas to develop my colour palette. Lots of the works included peaches, beiges and golden brown so I wanted to obtain a good range and balance between these, and when combined with black and the darkest charcoal grey, will act as the base neutrals that all Miu Miu collections rely on. The rest of the palette will consist of dark reds and oranges as seen from previous collections and within artist's work, moving through to greys and teals on the colder end of the spectrum. To highlight and exaggerate the schitzophrenic nature of Miu Miu's brand philosophy, injections of warm yellow saffron and ultra violet will keep the Autumn/Winter 09/10 colour preditions up to date and fresh. The palette has Pantone references marked on so the correct hue can be universally selected in industry.

Also incorporating patterns within the designs was a key requirement of the brand so I have developed a palette of patterns to be used accordingly. The artwork from the Dada period relied heavily on simplistic and graphically strong linear drawings, collage techniques and the use of text, all of which feature in my patterns. Out of the collection, 9 outfits will featue an element of pattern, the ratio calculated from previous Miu Miu collections.

This caught my attention from Style.com, asking viewers to vote on the most eccentric make-up from the catwalks of John Galliano. The results are quite surreal in appearance, especially the model with the additional face trapped inside his own. The colours used here have been selected to orchestrate a feeling of oddity, which I immediately associate with Surrealism and Dada. The fairytale nature of the models, looking as unrealistic as they do, also links to the Miu Miu brand in a more exaggerated form.

Applying Colour Palette to Current Trends

To confirm the suitability of my colour choices I found these pages within Vogue of the colour combination of red and nude, giving many examples of the colours used together for Autum/Winter 08/09. Therefore this is definitely something I can develop further for 09/10 season.

Some of the items here also share similar patterned formats as I was intending to apply, for example the large patterned jacket in the centre of the page and the cardigan towards the bottom.

Within the second page the juxtaposition in formats of pairing chunky knits with soft, sheer and see-through fabrics fitted well with the Dada theme of pushing the boundaries and thinking differently. I also emphasised with the used of beachy beiges and greys and slates as a colour palette, some shades of which will be included within my final palette for Miu Miu

Designing for Miu Miu - Styling and Silhouettes

I was looking to find some fashion stories that captured the essence of my theme in terms of garment silhouette, colours used and suitable stylings. These images from September's British Vogue define

 my theme and suit the Miu Miu brand as being:

• eccentric - redefining and challenging the norms and conventions
• playful and childlike - the cartoons and action figures portrayed in the background reiterate the use of childhood fantasies within previous Miu Miu collections
• fashion forward - the silhouettes and form of the outfits are quite radical and unusual
• avant guarde - the colours and imagery here are thought provoking and eyecatching.

The colours of a mainly grey base, utilising textured fabrics and those with grains for a darker appearance are effective. When paired with the red and violet blue it gives a high level of contrast between the high and low chromas. These colours suit well to my theme of Dada updated for Autumn/Winter 09/10 as a whole package, visually they are graphically similar to the effect I want to create with my collection.

Next I wanted to find evidence of design styles and silhouettes for my collection, so as to ensure my designs were following on from the current seasons. The example below from Vogue details the sharp angular nature of Autum/Winter trends, the emphasis on the shoulders, exaggerated tailoring and the sectioning off of parts into colour blocks. All these factors, along with the black and white tone give the images quite a hard and severe look. My collection will take inspiration from these but with the patterned sections in softer colours, juxtapositioning nicely with the angualr shapes.

Refining the design of the collection

Gathering more inspiration from Dada related artists spurred ideas on the shape and form of the AW09/10 collection. Miu Miu brand is known for its vintage appearance mixed with feminine and fantastical styling, but also as being aimed at a slightly younger and more adventurously fashion forward demographic than its mother brand Prada.

These images from Romanian designer called Dada themselves embody the philosophy of the art movement - eccentric and adventurous. The colour palette here will be adapted to suit Miu Miu brand. The shape of the designs are exaggerated with the silhouete nodding towards loungewear. The incorporation of knitted cape-hoods and accessories such as paper bag hats reflect the Dadaist backgrounds.

Searching on trend forcast website for predictions for fabric for AW09/10 designs, I came across two fabric designers that incorporated the Dada colour schemes into their work:

  

Looking further into design and form, I wanted to find definitive predictions for AW 09/10 to base my Miu Miu designs on. From WGSN website the following silhouettes can be adapted for the next season.

The Diamond and Faceted shaped play with the proportions of shape, a factor that Miu Miu does subtley, linking with Dadaism it can be put across here in a more obvious and vivid way. The discolated shoulder effect here fits in well with the Dada theme of altering the perceptions of the norm -we have preconceptions of where the shoulders should be placed and by changing these, interesting and unusual effects can be achieved. I will include this desing point into the collection. Fluid carrot finishes at knee length - a staple point for the collection to refelct not only the economic situation, but the time of movement women would have worn skirts tight at the knee. The Y-line silhouette here emphasises the shoulder and the use of line, a commonfactor in Dada artworks. The loopback effect is interesting to the theme and would fir well within the collection. 

Taking snippets from all these points of reference I will complete 18-24 designs based on the Dada theme for the Miu Miu collection once the final colour palette in confirmed.

Links to Dada Theme Within the Press

This article was found in Vogue and I really like the concept behind it - definitely something the Dadaists would be proud of! The Dulwich Picture Gallery in London asked forty various famous people to depict their favourite things in the world. There were no rules apart from that - the artists could be as creative as they wanted in materials used and the way in which they presented their pieces. The results are an interesting mix of the things they could not live without, as aesthetically pleasing to the eyes of the viewer as they are to the artists themselves. With celebrities ranging from Jack Penate to Paul Smith to Phillip Pullman each piece is very reminiscent of Dada artworks in appearance. The use of text and images together and esepcially Paul Smith's work using collage effects on tea stained paper, images in harmonious purple, redand brown tones, it all sits together quite nicely as a modern example of a few of the Dada theories in action. 

Thinking About Patterns - Iconic Dada Imagery

To begin establishing a set of patterns that will tie the collection together, I carried out further research into Dada artworks and stylised imagery of the time. One of the main characterisitics of the period was the use of typography and words arranged in shapes to convey meaning. Letters and words were manipulated on the page, instead of merely appearing left to right, top to bottom, were curved, places vertically, enlarged and stretched all for effect. The examples below show some techniques and reiterate the way Dadaists challenged the norms, by radically changing the laws of the written word.

Another possible point for developing patterns is the collage technique, iconic of the movement to depict unusual and surreal juxtapositions of imagery. This is the most interesting point of reference as the images often were politically based, as some kind of criticism or tongue-in-cheek jibe at the government and authorities in the time of war. This fits in well with the Miu Miu brand of distinguishing itself from others by means of its quirkiness and eccentricity, striving to be different to the norm. The abundance in use of black and white, in typography and in various relatively linear drawings reiterates the simplicity of the Dadaists' thought processes - that it was as easy as black and white. This is incorporated into prvious Miu Miu collections by the use of underlying neutrals and a factor which can act as a base to Autumn/Winter 09/10 collection in

 the form of blacks and mushrooms.

This example reflects the provisional colour palette well, with creamy tones into small areas of red and teal. The man's face is taken to replace the slate sections and ads texture within the weathered skin.

  

I love these two images as although not original artworks, capture the modern nod towards Dadaism, interpreted for a new generation - definitely summarising the Miu Miu consumer. The colours used here are also efective, scarlett and burnt reds ranging in chromas and the yellowy golden brown tinge of sepia, conjouring images and memories.

  

The teal used here alongside the golden brown of the aged, almost tea-stained paper is very eyecatching and distinguishing between a peachy beige and this colour may be a good idea to achieve more depth within the collection, rather than only having one of each colour, vary the tones instead. The teal pattern is used as decoration for the trousers and works 

well against the beige in the outfit.

Set 1 - experimenting with fill effects:

Combining patterns here looks a little messy and unfocussed, there are too many colours and not enough continuity through the outfits. However I can analyse these to see which patterns were effective. The first pattern, taken from a linear drawing of a billow fan, is very appropriate in terms of colour ands tyle - I will use this pattern within my Miu Miu projection. The scrabble type letters of outfit 2 could be improved and further tests should be carried out by taking samples from different areas of the main image to gain a range of different results. The teal patterned trousers work well as the colour has a high chroma but simple line pattern. The other outfits were not so succesful. In conclusion, for fill effects, repetitive linear patterns performed the best as a uniform and more professional effect could be obtained, compared to standalone images.

Set 2 - experimenting further with fill effects and standalone images:

This set of patterns worked far better, I especially liked the patterned suit which includes many colours from the provisional palette into the design. Also the beige and black embellished coat combined with teal is one of my favourites, as was the violet and peach swirly pattern down the arms of outfit 6. The red and white striped shirt in outfir 5 was also very effective and may be incorporated into the final collection.

Technique 3 - experimenting with text and single graphics:

Using sections of text within the design was not very successful, rendering the outfits a little cheap looking and unsuitable for Miu Miu collections. The use of the wheel on the teal coat worked well, as did the musical notage from a Man Ray artwork as detailing on outfit 6. This could be repeated for effect.

After collating previous research into the proportions of pattern used within Miu Miu collections over the past seasons, it was seen that approximately 40% of the outfits included an element of pattern. Therefore in a proposed collection of 18-24 outfits, 8-11 of these will be patterned.

Initial colour application to design

After the initial research into colours for AW09/10, I began applying the preliminary colour pallette created to my designs to analyse which combinations worked the best together and which needed altering and improving. Displaying the sets together is a good way of picking up any trends within the work.

Set 1: The grey suit here is a little too obvious and slightly mundane for Miu Miu, one of the colours within the outfit such as the red should be raised in chroma and intensity to make a little more interesting. The high chroma ultra-violet colour paired with the neutral black and beige works well, a combination I should develop further. The beige and dark red of outfit three harmonise well as they are both shades, the difference between the colours is small. The teal coloured coat with grey collar is too plain and should have some pattern applied or have different sections as different tones, perhaps. The violet, grey and black combination works well in outfit 4 as the neutrals within the shirt are contrasted well by the intensity of the trousers. Outfit 5 works well but the mushroom coloured fabric should have some kind of texture or lustre applied to it to enhance the image.

Set 2: The teal suit paired with mushroom top underneath works well and is offset nicely by the violet sash. The black and violet striped top in outfit 2 was not successful and should not be combined with the mushroom coloured leggings! The colours in outfit 3 are effective together incorporating the harmony of colours theory, if a little dull. As a result I will raise the chroma of the red, as currently the palette is lacking another high saturation colour - a key part of the Miu Miu collections is the use of bright colours alongside the neutrals. I liked the effect of blocking off different sections of the coat in outfit 4, the mushroom and black working well together as they contrast so well. The shirt and bow-tie combination of outfit 5 should have a larger proportion of violet within it and outfit 6 worked well, even more successful after including an improved, higher chroma and higher value hue of red.

Set 3: Incorporating different sections of colour into the suit in outfit 1 created an eyecatching look with the contrast betwen black, high chroma violet and then the low value mushroom. I began to adapt the colour blocking technique used before into shapes to try to formulate patterns appropriate to the theme, as seen in outfit 2. The mushroom and red combination was successful alongside grey leggings. I liked the look of outfit 3, although a little basic. The poloneck should have a pattern incorporated to liven it up. Outfit 4 is one of my favourites - the violet and red work so well together due to the principle of novelty, the subdued red contrasts well with the almost cold and bright violet. Extending the section of violet down the sleeve was also effective in raising the proportion of colour within the outfit. Outfit 5 use of teal and mushroom was successful as both colours have similar values. The blocking effect used within outfit 6 highlighted the sleeves, each of the three colours sitting well with each other.

Set 4: The beige jacket here with red trimmings and sash fits particularly well with the theme of Dadaism, a twist on the normal train of thought. Although simply paired with black suit trousers the outfit works well. Outfit 2 is too simplistic and the deep V neckinde should perhaps be extended for further dramatic effect. The violet and teal combine sucessfully in outfit 3 but need an additional colour a little higher in value to offset their intensity when paired together. I like the combination of grey for the majority and violet in the minority in outfit 4, but it needs an additional design point or point of colour to add interest. Outfit 5 is too mundane to fit with the Miu Miu brand philosophy and a pattern should be formulated for the shirt fabric to render it more suitable. Outfit 6 works relatively well but should also include another colour to break up the collar and main section of the dress.

Set 5: Here I began experimenting with implementing pattern into the designs as research into previous collection shows pattern in a high percentage of outfits. Outfit 1 uses checks of red slate and teal, checks very on-trend for AW08/09 so perhaps adapted and evolved through to 09/10. Outfits 2 and 3 lack much interest. Outfit 4's pattern was not successful and looked too muddled, although the colour combinations were quite effective. Outfit 5's scheme looked good and one I will develop further - the contrast between beige and violet was great, as with the combination of beige, red and violet stripes in outfit 6.

Set 6: I feel the colour used for the dark red suit was quite characteristic of the Dada period and teamed with the violet camisole, is updated for a more Miu Miu look. Outfits 2 and 3 work well, if a little plain. The pattern on coat four is also emblematic of Dada styling and an element I will further develop, experimenting with different colourways and application into the design. I also really like the vibrancy of the violet dress combined with the subtlety of the collar and cuffs in outfit 6.

With the observances made in bold and other factors to consider such as developing a range of patterns, I will continue to expriment with different combinations to achieve a united result for Miu Miu Autumn/Winter 09/10 collection.