Lanvin loves H&M

So I just found out about another collaboration today: Lanvin artistic director Alber Elbaz worked on a haute couture collection for H&M. It began selling in select H&M stores on November 20th. Here are some key pieces from the campaign. Clothing prices range from about $50 - $300. (This may be old news, but bear with me).

Promotional Concept: Different stories all happening in one French hotel. Seems very inspired from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shinging" (mostly because of the twin maids).

Fashion Concept: Seems very "Va va voom" French girl combined with Juicy Couture princess.

Video Promotions:

Interesting video. I don't think it's amazing, but it has a brand and personality. This concept is overused though.

So this is the fashion show. It's a bit cheap looking, but I'll admit... I wouldn't mind having a few of the pieces. Personsally the jewelry seems the weakest to me. Plastic flower? C'mon Lanvin. You're SO much classier than than. I do like their shoes though.. as well as the t-shirts. I would have to see the dresses in real life to see the details before I judge those.

Not sure that I've heard of this blogger before, but she is ADORABLE. H&M is obviously trying to key into the "blogger trend" by having this promotional video on their website.

Website:

The stylized bubbles are interesting. They look illustrated and not digital. They pop up ad fade away, creating a kind of "story."

You can "zoom up" to a room.

You can also "zoom in" on the details of the clothes.

One also has the ability of rotating the model to see the clothes from 3 different angles.

So overall.... EH. Nothing too amazing. They've created a brand. It works with the H&M look. But somewhere along the way, Lanvin got lost. Where's it's class and personality? It's barely tricking where it could be shining.

I say: Too much press and not enough REAL value.

Visit the H&M website: here

shu umeur(aya Takano)

So I spotted this beautiful ad in a magazine in Kinokyunia.

Yes, it's shu umera's collaboration with Illustration artist Aya Takano. Together they've come up with some beautiful and cute packaging.

I reaaaaaally want this one!

Love how it comes with the heart and star.

They've come up with a game for the website, using the "symbols."

They're also promoting their "symbols" as horoscopes. If you finish the game, you get a horoscope-symbol sent to your twitter. The more you play the game, the more symbols you collect.

It's also possible to upload a photo and decorate it with symbols.

So, the promotion isn't the greatest, but the packaging sure is fun. Collabs are really trendy right now possibly because of the lack of "new," so infusing concepts together can be refreshing. This packaging reminds me a lot of Tokidoki's make-up collection, which I also want. Tokidoki is a great example of collab. They're even a company that seemes to thrive on collab and without it, would have ceased to exist (without LeSportSac supporting it's beginning).

Check out shu umera x aya takano site: here

And Tokidoki's site: here

Oh and, HAPPY THANKSGIVING :). Hope everyone has a great day with family/friends.

"Ugly but Great"

So something came up in class recently that was very interesting. The idea of "Ugly but great" things. I thought to myself, that's true but really hard to do. Well, here it is on something I spotted while internet shopping - and it's hilarious. Take a look:

Stretched type is one of the biggest "no-no's" in graphic design. Yet there's something so funny and great about this.

Walking that fine line of horribly outdated, corny, and "geek, vintage, cool" that seems in be a trend these days.

It's funny how the section title arcs when I click on it. lol

^Taken from "Brand New."

Bing's stretched logo isn't nearly as charming though, as the "Brand New" blog says HERE (*Apparently, Urban Outfitters was also seen on the "Brand New" blog: HERE)

Cheers to taking chances UO! I like it. Even if this is just a corny/trendy thing, they pulled it off and that's a hard thing to do. :)

CYS, CB2 - See Ya Soon, CB2

So I JUST discovered the wonders of CB2, a great home decorating store. Check out their awesome stuff!! And at really good prices too! I just adore the site design as well. Easy to navigate, clean, friendly, yet DESIGNED :).

Nice use of Helvetica.

And very beautiful white space.

They have such nice photos of their products!!!!

When I get my manhattan studio apartment, it will have a sofa like THIS!

Isn't this just the greatest vase ever?!

Yes, I'm definitely going to use CB2 when I get my dream studio apartment! It will be in a very modern style ;). So far, I've bought a decanter from CB2 and it arrived in only 1 day! What can be better? Nothings wrong with this site if you ask me.

CB2 is the sister site to Crate and Barrel (which is also awesome btw). Check them here: CB2 / Crate & Barrel.