The Devil Pays Nada?

It saddens me to have seen, while browsing on my university's creative opportunities site, that they have decided to no longer advertise unpaid internship positions.  Being a first year design student, and moving down from Glasgow to London recently, it had excited me to think that placements in top companies like Alexander McQueen and Jonathan Saunders were within my reach, payed or not.  Opportunities like this just don't exist in Scotland, and the chance to perhaps one day work with one of these design houses, even just for a few weeks, was one of the things that persuaded me that moving to London was the best for my career.  Now it seems that these companies will soon be forced to stop offering this amazing chance for people like me, due to campaigns like 'The Devil Pays Nada', which had a stall set up at my freshers fair and were out in force at the recent London Fashion Week.  

At first, I thought "yeah, what a great cause...stopping the exploitation of young students"...but now I feel differently.  I feel that these chances that would have been available to me last year or the year before are very quickly diminishing .  If these companies are forced into paying their interns by government legislation, they will just stop offering them altogether, and where does that leave the many willing under-graduates who would give anything for a shot at working with a global fashion house?  It feels extremely unfair that after having to pay triple the amount of fees as last year to start a degree course, it now seems as if there will be fewer prospects in terms of getting a few weeks industry experience on my cv.

Inspiration

Images Google, Tumblr, WGSN and my own

Topshop Unique Preview

Last week a friend & I were invited to a sneak peak preview of the new Spring/Summer '13 Unique collection for Topshop.  It was held in the personal shopper section of the Oxford Street store & was v impressive.  The garments were quite minimal and over sized with lots of layering & sheer panelling, mixed with a few glitzy, sequenced party dresses.  The colours were monochromatic with a splash of bright yellow and silver.  We were served champagne & canapés, and music was provided by a glam female DJ...

Dolce & Gabbana - The Italian Family

I absolutely adore this campaign!  It is from the Spring/Summer 2012 collection and every time I saw it in a glossy mag, it struck me as being very different from all the rest.  It depicts a typical,traditional Italian family, starring the actress Monica Belluci, models Bianca Balti & Simone Nobili and was shot by Giampaolo Sgura. 

The above image shows a large Italian family in a restaurant, having a great time laughing & dancing.  The use of the three generations in the family depicts a typical occurrence in Italian culture, but it also shows the audience that the D&G brand is accessible to every age.  The mother of the family is at the front of the shot, with several of the others looking up at her telling that although roles have changed and evolved for women in Italy, the mother remains the dominant figure in the Italian home.  The use of Monica Belluci in the campaign evokes a sense of glamour and beauty: she is seen as one of the most desirable women in the world, thus reflecting the brand and making it too seem attractive and desirable.  Everyone in the advert is beautiful and well presented, the males dressed in suit and collar, in mainly monochrome colours which makes the female outfits stand out, as this is what is being promoted here.  The family are all happy, singing & dancing, having a party which evokes the idea that D&G are a fun, young, vibrant company and makes the viewer want to become a part of this.  There is a meal on the table with a caraffe of wine...food and drinks are a very important part of Italian culture, and dinner time is usually a big family affair where everyone sits down for a few hours at a time.  This adds to the traditional nature of the theme here, while also depicting luxury, as food is not something often associated with models or the fashion industry.  The young boy at the front holds an extravagent looking vase, which looks very expensive and something that has been passed down the generations of the family, thus mirroring the qualities that D&G want to convey to the customer, the fact that they are high end, and their clothes are generally only affordable to the rich and upper classes.

I think this is a very sensible move for D&G, to move away from their more risque advertisements, and go with something a little more viewer-friendly and safe.  Their previous campaigns have often brought about controversy, with one even being pulled from public viewing after recieving so many complaints.

Here are some more beautiful shots from the campaign...