Week 4- Input and Output

This weeks lecture was on input and output. Expanding more each day, it is my firm belief that the fashion industry will begin to focus more and more on the relationship between both input and output. Before in the fashion industry there was no input. The fans of a certain look, say Anni Sui Spring 2012's 1940's inspired look, could never tell the fashion magazine they subscribe to that they like or don't like the look.

Running with this example, now with more input choices readers have, they can send vogue pictures they took on their take of the runway looks. Also, they can make a response video or 'funkbeat' infused audio response (as was our lab assignment this week). Likewise fashion magazines can and have become better with their output. Vogue.com now lets viewers see 3-5 second videos of each outfit as it was worn by each model, with a 'move-it' feature. Also, Marc Jacobs, live streams his runway shows live on his website.

Concluding, I was very intersected in how retail is adopting a new form of output, QR codes. Come to think of it, I am beginning to see these maze-like pictures in more and more stores. The fashion industry is famous for it's visual ads. QR Codes will change how we though of ads.Before they were unavoidable and with this new technology for the first time the fashion industry would have people actively seeking to be advertised too.

Week 3- Hardware

This weeks lecture was on computer hardware. I don't really think of fashion and hardware in the same sentence ever. Oscar de la Renta's ill fated computer chip dress is the closest fashion and technology has merged. Needless to say, the two are an awkward pair. But this weeks lecture made me think of fashion and technology in a new light.

Computer hardware may not look good on a dress but it helps a dress look good. Technology is better at serving fashion than being it's equal. As fashion expands in the blogosphere, using the right kind of computer hardware becomes more and more important. For example an interactive multimedia blog will need a computer with lots ram and cache to have lots of programs going at once. Also, bloggers with lots of pictures, video and audio records of outfits and the history on trends could transport data faster with a USB hub that would let readers get info even faster.

Also, computer hardware is incredibly important to the growing online retail market. The computers involved with accounting for online purchases would need lots of internal and external memory storage. The memory would help to keep accurate records of all finical transactions. Overall my fashion blog idea could use the different types of hardware to better serve the audience.

Week 2- Blog Review

cupcakesandcashmere.com is a award winning fashion blog. The blog follows a LA girl through her various outfits and food adventures. I was drawn to this blog first off by the name. Cupcakes and Cashmere two things that I love and both are know for their rich texture. The idea of mixing fabric and style with food was ingenious! A recent post called 'Foot Candy' mixes high end shoes with cheap candy. Also, Emily mixes low and high cost items.

The blog has a few regular features to set a pace for avid readers. Every week Emily includes 5 things that she likes. These are pictures of either clothes or accessories or food. Last week it was a bedazzled sweater and a dessert looking breakfast.The constant mix of desserts and clothes, makes me almost want to eat tweed and wear waffles!

Cupcakes and Cashmere has gotten lots of press from a wide scope of audiences. The blog has a page of all the sites or magazines it has been listed on. I was surprised to see young sites like Teen Vogue and older ones like Forbes "20 best blogs for professional women" mentioned on the same page. I think Emily has been so successful blogging because she mixes both childish things (cupcakes) with adult things (cashmere).

Week 1- Twitter and the Social Media

This weeks lecture was about Twitter and the social media. My Entrepreneur idea was to make a fashion blog. There was already lots of fashion blogs online, but I've realized that every blogger has there own style and way of expressing themselves, so mine would be unique while also just a drop in the bucket. My blog would consist of pictures of outfits that I saw and wore that I felt were inspirational. Also I would give brief fashion/art history lessons on fashion icons whom I feel are influential and the history behind modern trends.

But, back to twitter and the social media. I was fascinated by the video we watched in class about the social media revolution. It's crazy to see how big of an impact the social media has in one 3 minute clip. Therefore, I think it would be impossible to reach the potential in your company without being involved on the social media. Ideas can spread so fast on the internet or just through a twitter post or a status update on Facebook. I've used twitter before, but I was unaware of all the cool things you can do there. For my business I could take pictures of my product,in this case outfits, and post a 'teaser' as a twit pic. The possibilities are endless!

But also I think there is a dark side to the social media, that we didn't discuss in class. As big as the internet is it can also be very small. There can also be a false sense of popularity online. For example on Facebook, you could have lots of people who 'like' your business idea, but none of them are willing to spend time to help you with projects or deadlines. And there's a difference between people following you on twitter versus who actually care about your business. Regardless, the social media opens more doors for your business.