Jennifer Anne

As I've previously mentioned on this blog, I am a Fashion Management student and I have made it through university to my fourth year. The final hurdle I have to face before finally being rewarded with the much sought after graduation certificate is my research project.

I've chosen to study consumer opinions on British clothing manufacture which means I'm looking to collect lots and lots of people's views!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FILL IN MY QUESTIONNAIRE


This is a topic that I cared about before I started, but the more I have researched, the closer it has got to my heart. Not just British manufacture though, ethical and sustainable manufacture as a whole. My understanding of this has improved greatly through my research but I have to say the documentary called "The True Cost" really hit home for me and I highly recommend that everyone watch it! (And it's on Netflix so super easy to find!)


However this post is not for me to preach to you about the importance of ethical manufacture or to share my views on the British manufacturing industry - although feel free to let me know if you would like a post full of my newly developed knowledge. I am writing this post simply to beg you to (anyone who knows a final year student will have guessed it) fill in my questionnaire.

I would be so grateful if you would take a few minutes to help me out, it really shouldn't take you longer than five minutes and I am desperate for responses!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FILL IN MY QUESTIONNAIRE

If there are any other students out there looking for responses feel free to comment your links in the comments below, I am more than happy to return the favor!

Thank you so much in advance!

Yesterday some very exciting news was announced - Alexa Chung has collaborated with M&S and her range will be launching in April. The range is called Archive by Alexa and consists of 31 ready-to-wear items.


"It was so fun to be given the keys to the M&S archive and such a treat to get to cherry pick the very best of their vast collection of pieces" Alexa told Vogue.
The collection will consist of designs inspired by and taken from the M&S archive that Chung has updated through pattern, colour and restyling. She stated to Vogue that she feels the looks are "every bit as relevant today" as they were then.


With current trends being a real mixture of the decades this seems like a great premise for a collection. The high street is brimming with seventies style, but there is also a little influence from the sixties, seventies, eighties and even the nineties creeping in. We seem to be loving the clothes of all the bygone eras and simply cannot make up our minds on which to copy, so we're mixing them all. I love this though, why stick to one when you can have it all, I think it's much funner to change it up and also prevents us from looking like we're simply stuck in a time warp - no one wants that.


This collection is the first of the M&S &... series for which the retailer will invite designers and trend setters to create capsule collections. After creating my own theoretical range for Marks and Spencer for my university course I am really excited that this is a route M&S have decided to take. When I studied them it was apparent that they really needed to make some sort of change that would encourage our generation to shop with them and I think this is exactly the sort of change required. I'm looking forward to seeing who the rest of the ranges are by and I think for the first collection Alexa is an absolutely perfect choice.

Last year Alexa caused a fashion frenzy over an M&S suede skirt costing £199, causing the item to sell out almost immediately simply from being pictured in it. She's exactly the kind of fashion forward yet relatable celebrity that can catapult the brand back into the limelight among us millennials.


I cannot wait for April so I can hopefully get my hands on this range. I absolutely love Alexa's unique but classic style and I'm positive this will be reflected in the collection.

I've also recently been loving Alexa's series for British Vogue on their YouTube channel and if you haven't seen it I highly recommend you head over to watch that here. If like me you are studying fashion or if you just have an interest in the industry this documentary gives a really interesting and lighthearted insight.


*Disclaimer - images of Archive collection copyrighted to Marks&Spencer

Unfortunately this is not a blog post where I'll be reviewing the products or showing you all something that I have bought - I do not have the pennies to pay for these dream items! However I cannot get over how much I love this incredible collection so I decided that even though I won't be owning any of it, I'm gonna blog about it.

Recently I was lucky enough to travel Italy, where every city has a Dolce & Gabbana store, which meant I got to spend a fair amount of time lusting after their window displays - yeah that means I wasn't brave enough to go in wearing my grubby travelling clothes.

The Italian Fashion house has often incorporated a theme of traditional Italian Majolica ceramics in their collections, their new one being no exception. The Fall Winter 2016 preview collection has used tile motifs in a tonal blue and white colour pallet to create a playful, pretty and feminine print that is very in keeping with the brand's Mediterranean heritage.

The tonal blue print inspired by traditional Italian Mojalica pottery

The collection consists of pretty silk and poplin summer dresses, long flowing gowns, casual separates and accessories such as bags, shoes and scarves.

So today saw the launch of brand new online luxe basics label, Novem & Knight.
The London based brand, was founded by YouTube's beauty, fashion and lifestyle vlogger Samantha Maria "Beautycrush" and her partner Jason Davis.

The idea of the brand, is that the wearer can style the pieces in their own fashion, incorporating them into their style and creating a unique look. The focus is on the simple things done well, which Novem & Knight achieves through high quality materials and manufacture.

Novem & Knight's products are cut and sewn in London factories under a strictly ethical work environment. Having the whole process occurring so close to home allows Sammi and Jason to ensure the highest quality and service.

Novem & Knight Co Founders - Samantha Maria and Jason Davis

I love how in a majoritively fast fashion market, Novem & Knight provides a slow moving yet edgy clothing alternative.The pieces they have created are timeless and the quality of them ensures that they will not only remain stylish, but they will also remain in good condition for years to come.