FASHION AND BEYOND

A Conversation With Cissy Huang

Pls

How this explores my topic:
I plan on exploring my second answer through this component. My second answer revolves around fashion influencer's and how they changed the fashion industry through the use of social media. I want to explore this answer because in my recent research, I noticed that most of the actual change that is happening within the fashion industry has come from bloggers and influencers on social media. The fashion industry is no longer exclusive to designers and models, now we are getting multiple point of views into this world from people who started off with the same passion for fashion as I have.

What I plan to do:
I plan on going to fittings at my mentor ship to talk to these influencer. I want to interview the people we style and understand their role as an influencer for the brand.

How this makes up 30 hours:

Like aforementioned, I plan on attending these fittings with my mentor. Additionally, the interviews would add extra hours and depth to my blog.
To get a little more creative with this component, I want to reach out to social media influencers' who has branded themselves through these platforms and possibly have a conversation with them about how they broke into the industry, why it is important, how it has impacted the fashion industry, and so on.

OUR FIRST PRODUCTS  THEGRANDSOMETHING STORE INSTAGRAM TWITTER

I, Ashley Rodriguez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents thirty hours of work. (Click to view my hours logged)

For my first independent component, I teamed up with Victoria Nakai to create a small business. We put in a lot of time and effort into this collaboration. Our brand was created with the intention of empowering females and providing products that we stand by.
Apart from assisting in actual production, and basically all aspects of this project, I mainly focused on running and promoting our social media accounts. 

I think teaming up with Victoria really allowed me to explore my topic first hand. I realized how difficult it is to start a business from scratch and create a marketing plan that effectively represents your brand. I experienced essential components of creating a business and that really taught me that you must fully understand your brand in order to effectively create content without compromising your brand's personality.
From business meetings, supply trips, production days, and photo shoots, I can proudly say that this is only the beginning. We have so much more planned for this brand and I hope it continues to be a learning experience I can benefit greatly from.

Our Front Page (Link At The Top of This Post)

The Process: Planning, Supplies, Production.

Promotional Content

"The Importance of Analyzing and Understanding Social Media Efforts for Your Fashion Brand." StartUp FASHION. StartUp FASHION, 12 Sep. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. 

It wasn't that bad.

Q: What am I most proud of?

A: I think my content was solid and I received a lot of positive feedback on my presentation. That's always a nice feeling. I put a lot of effort into the presentation and I'm glad people learned from it.

Q: What assessment would I give myself and why?

A: I think I would give myself a solid P. I followed the contract and put in a lot of effort. I think it was overall a solid presentation.

Q: What would I change?

A: The only thing I would change is my voice. Although I felt like I had a strong and clear tone throughout my presentation, I was a little nervous and therefore, my voice shook a little. Other than that, I'm content.

Q: What worked?

A: I think my power point reflected my style and conveyed what I was trying to say nicely. It was understandable and aesthetically pleasing. I also think explaining the key takeaways from my hook and activity helped others understand my answer.

Q: What didn't work?

A: I think the entire presentation was solid. I planned my presentation so that it would seamlessly flow together. From the into, to the hook, to the actual presentation, activity, and wrap-up.

Q: What do I think my answer two is going to be?

A: I think my next answer will deal with the relationship created when marketing your brand through social media. Social Media marketing is relatively new, and has opened up new ways for brands to communicate and actually form a relationship with the consumer. I might go in a different direction and explore the idea that any other form of fashion marketing can be done through social media, since we live in a digital age.

Anotha One

I ran out of cool pictures to include in my blog updates.

Q: Where am I doing my mentorship?

A: Formally, I was doing my mentorship at Co Collections, I am transitioning into a mentorship at Current Elliot.

Q: Who is my contact & what makes them an expert?

A: Jonathan is a graduate of UC Berkeley. He majored in Media Communications and Sociology. Previously, Jonathan worked at Band of Outsiders, where he gained new knowledge and experience of the fashion marketing world. At Band, he handled social media accounts as well worked on different marketing projects for the brand. Currently, Jonathan is the Press and Marketing Assistant and Studio Manager at Current Elliot.

Q: How many hours have a done throughout the school year?

A: Twenty-seven.

Q: What did I do?

A: I assisted on a two day shoot for a campaign look book. I helped with prep, set-up, styling, etc.  I got along with everyone since my main focus was to be as resourceful as I could be to everyone.

Q: How do I plan to spend the rest of my hours?

A: I don't like going to mentor ship all the time since its mainly just basic intern things. I did that all throughout the summer for some base knowledge of the job. My main focus is coming along on shoots and styling sessions to really network and learn the most from my experience.

Q: What did I do over the break regarding my project?

A: For the most part of my break, I was on vacation. I did however, network a lot throughout the break. I reached out to the head of public relations at Revolve, a trendy luxury brand, for a possible interview. As for my time on vacation, I used my plane ride to read up on upcoming trends that are predicted for 2016, as well as studied articles posted by the Business of Fashion.

Q: The most important things I learned and why?

A: I've always known how important networking in this industry is. You constantly have to reach out to others to further your own knowledge. It's pretty cool to see myself getting interviews with important people from brands I personally love that can further be a mentor to me. I also learned how fast this industry moves. Being on vacation can set you back, but consistently checking out blogs and articles made me feel like I was still keeping on track. This is a subject I am very close to and it doesn't feel like I will ever stop learning about fashion and the influences of social media.

Q: Who do I plan to interview next?

A: For the next assigned interview, like aforementioned, I plan to interview Revolve's head of public relations. Allison is a good friend of my mentor and will hopefully give me insight on what it's like working for a big company, as well as give me a different perspective on the industry. I am looking forward to hearing her opinions on social media and how it plays a role in fashion / her job.