miramodhvadia

[miramodhvadia]

Evaluation

Within this project I wanted to create something that hasn't been done before and I think I achieved this aim. I. started this project thinking about what trends and styles mean a lot to me and I think its safe to say that in the end I got there. I found a gap in the market to explore so this is what I thought would be a good place to start as a brand, especially as it linked in so well with my family history. 

As I further researched into the history I wanted to keep a feminine edge but ensure to add a practical touch to ensure I am creating fashion for the 21st century working women.

I think the idea of the brand is very cohesive and as a visual it reflects our vision and purpose very clearly, with everything being in the theme still tailoring towards Asian women.This was thought about in the promotion techniques by using ads on instagram. I am very happy with what I achieved from a promotional point of view as I think everything in the range of ideas worked well together and was clear and cohesive.

If I was to have another go at this I would have tried to make the garment that I have designed. I would try and research into more fabrics and ideas on way to develop it to fit the initial brief. i would also work at the target market to be finalised.

Overall I think our brand has a good starting point and what I wanted to do could be a great idea and has major scope for growth as i have come up with a successful idea for the gap I saw in the market and tried to fill .

[miramodhvadia]

I also created a mood board in order too showcase the different types of outfits that could be taken inspiration from, for the outfits that we are going to provide. clearly showing what we want from our brand. It also shows us the garments I have taken inspiration and that have helped develop the brand. This is a nice break in the presentation to just appreciate looking at something, add it is an easy way to show people what we are selling, rather than them having to be heavily focused. 

[miramodhvadia]

research that lead me to creating what I did

when I searched for online shops for Indian bridal clothing not a lot came up. 

I went through watching a lot of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNfP_q9YSN4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ktQHJSwRjQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA3LVYVnfkg

To find there wasn't much out there that was reliable and suitable for a bride to wear. which was when decided that's what I wanted to do. I read lots of bridal mags, and I also looked at “Anarkali To Saree: 31 Fabulous Outfits For Your Temple Wedding!”https://www.shaadisaga.com/blog/outfits-for-your-temple-wedding

which inspired me to look at the different types of dresses. 

I also looked into celebrity weddings. e.g.

Trendy Bridal Looks From Deepika Padukone

1. Her Mehendi Look

As you know that Deepika is the queen of slaying oversized earrings. Be it her movie promotions or her bridal look, she looks gorgeous with her jewellery. She chose a lightweight outfit for her Mehendi ceremony with double dupattas. She wore a dainty satlada haar for the ceremony.

You must be aware of the two styles of weddings that took place. Firstly, we will decode Deepika's bridal look from her Konkani wedding. Dressed in a traditional Kanjeevaram saree, what stole the show was her superb smokey eyes. Another highlight of the look was her intricate jewellery with layered neckpieces and oversized earrings. 

3. Sindhi-Punjabi Wedding

And in her Sindhi-Punjabi wedding, Deepika wore a simple Sabyasachi lehenga, personalised with 'Sada Saubhagyavati Bhava'. Every piece of jewellery was as grand as the wedding celebration. Tell us what did you like the most from this look?

Reception In Saree 1

Just like any other Bollywood reception, there were many reception parties. Starting with the Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla's gorgeous ivory saree, she looked no less than a queen. If you are also wondering how to style your ivory outfit, take some inspiration from Deepika Padukone.

Trendsetter Lehenga

The Internet broke with this look of Deepika from her reception. She wore a Dil Guldasta lehenga from Sabyasachi's collection. Her hairstyle was very much inspired by Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. Many brides opted for the dil guldasta lehenga for their wedding ceremonies after this.  

https://www.shaadisaga.com/blog/bridal-looks-of-deepika-padukone

Some primary research that I did was ringing and talking to some of the women that my grandmother designed and gave wedding dresses to. These women were very grateful for what she would do for them however when I asked what was the one they they wanted to change, 9/10 of the women said the outfits were uncomfortable to wear. traditionally they are used to wear the uncomfortable and heavy clothes however they said someone who wasn't as used to it would find it difficult to sit through the long ceremonies in these outfits. 

[miramodhvadia]

future of Kanya.cHiC

For the future of the company I want to start making ready made items that can be easily ordered. these items are going to be part of collections and themes, so that the family members at weddings can also start perching items from the website. for example some brides maids collections, as well as a whole section for the spouse. to be able to. design what they are wearing. Further more I want to look into being able to create. these traditional dresses using. sustainable fabricant try and adapt them to being ecofriendly. 

[miramodhvadia]

packaging

packaging would be an experience in itself. I want the customer to know we have put time and effort into making it look as perfect as possible. alongside having a small hamper that goes with it, the box itself would be customised with the name of the customer. the box would be lined with felt and the actual dress would be folded and wrapped in tissue paper with a sticker of our logo sealing it together. it will then be place into the box. that box can also be something the customer chooses to store the dress in for years to come. I feel this is very important as presentation of the garment is key. Its the first look for the customer so its important it comes in the best possible way, wrapped neatly and carefully.  

[miramodhvadia]

The starting price for these pieces would be £1100. the reason behind it being quite pricy is because I would aim for a luxury brand. I want it to become a high end fashion trend and for it to be a boutique where women go when they want to find the best, high quality items. 

I can't put an exact price point on the dresses as each one would be different. the more intricate the work the higher the price of the garment. 

[miramodhvadia]

promotion

Again I took some of these photos myself and edited all of them to fit my theme. 

One way of promoting my brand would be by having them future in wedding exhibitions across the country. Being up against competition face to face, will allow my company to showcase what these other brands just aren't doing at the moment. neglecting the customised element I feel is a great mistake and there's a Real gap in the market for the product idea I am promoting. being at the wedding exhibition would also allow me to grow my contacts and become friendly with different types of suppliers who work in the same industry and ensure they spread the work about how we are different. 

another way I would promote the business is by having adds on social media, on pages that specialise in promoting wedding images. and collaborate with page for things like give away, and chances to get disccounted items. 

I would also look into reaching out to brand ambassadors who are planning their own wedding. someone that would blog and promote my product and in exchange I would give the a great discount on their own customised piece. 

[miramodhvadia]

customer

This slide explains my target market audience, as well as what I want to provide for the consumer. I felt this was extremly important as it is the most vital part of the entire business. However one thing I did find was that it was very hard to find a specific target market for this concept as marriage can happen at any point in your life. so I didn't feel the need to limit myself and stick to an age range. however I do feel as though my brand is for someone who want to put in the little bit more money for higher quality goods. considering we are offering custom made, hand embroidered dresses that are also fitted according to what the customer wants, I feel as though the cost will also be higher which means we are catering for an up market buyer. 

[miramodhvadia]

website

I created a website sample on photoshop to show how I would present my work. To do this well I looked at many different asian bridal websites and took inspiration from them. for example I took inspiration from: 

https://www.anjumodi.com

https://www.azafashions.com/designers/manish-malhotra/171

https://www.lashkaraa.com/collections/lehenga-choli

all these pages were really inspirational however I felt like all of the backgrounds looked a little bit bland, which is why I also decided to add the elephants. 

[miramodhvadia]

our product 

on this slide I have gone on to explain what exactly I am trying to provider the customer. powerful silhouettes and shapes to ensure the bride has a stand out appearance which would be flattering. often these Asian dress. aren't very practical in. the. sense that they have no pockets and are often made from quite heavy uncomfortable fabrics. I have resolved this by choose lightweight and more breathable fabrics to make the dresses out of. for example I will be using cotton or silk. I have also decided to add pockets to the skirts or provide brides with the option to have a clip on pouch that m matches with threes so that she can keep her phone with her, this would also make for a trendy accessory. all these things will help to make her feel at easy and confident in herself. further more to make things even easier I have put together a quiz that can be taken on the website which will tell her what style of dress would be most flattering for her body type, as well as this there will be other questionnaires that they could take which will give us a clear indication of what exactly the bride wants on her big day. 

[miramodhvadia]

our vision

For this page I decided to give a small resining behind why I picked the name I did. I also explain what we want to provide for our customers. our vision is to create an online platform to help planning outfits for Indian occasions less stressful. this is another image i took and edited myself. I also have the same elephant border. on this slide alongside my logo at the bottom of the page. 

[miramodhvadia]

The title page

The title page is setting theme for the rest of my brand of red, gold and black/grey. having the name as a white border is just a small touch I added to enforce the importance of the name of the company. the photo used in on this page was taken by myself last summer during wedding season. During the wedding season, in my spare time I was hired help, and kind of an apprentice. I learnt different photography skills during my time with the professional photographer. I also edited the photo myself on photoshop, this allowed me to brighten the Reds in the image which allowed the true impact of the red colour to come through within the image. I chose the catchphrase, ‘Making your special outfit, perfect’ as I feel as though every outfit you wear on your wedding is special but its not always perfect. I did this with the intent to reassure brides that they would have the perfect dress for there. big day. 

[miramodhvadia]

The first thing I did was draw a garment, to create a visual of the kind of piece I’d be selling to the customer. Doing this sketch let me become a customer of my own brand which allowed me to really look at what I would want from a brand like the one im creating. I would want an easy to use website, the website should contain a section where I can browse jewelry and I would also want to look at pieces made for previous brides. The type of dress that is currently in fashion is also something I would want to see. Baring all of this in mind I made a sample website on photoshop. I created a background that would run as the theme throughout my website of elephants as they are also deemed lucky. On the homepage I have all the option for the brides to browse through all the different categories. As well as this I also thought it would be a good idea to showcase the sketch I drew as inspiration, and to show the kind of work we would be doling to the outfit. I have my logo. And the name of the company on the website to ensure they know they are on the correct page, as well as contact details for if they want to get in touch with the company directly.  And the second sample page I have put up images of the kind of jewlery set we would be offering and the way they would be presented/ modeled.

[miramodhvadia]

I have decided to call the business, Kanya Chic. I did this because ‘Kanya,’ is the Hindi and Urdu word meaning "girl, maiden." From Sanskrit kanina meaning "new, fresh." Pronounced: kan yā. Chic means elegantly and stylishly fashionable.which is why I feel this is a great name for a modern day British asian bride.  This is the logo design for my brand. The reason why. I chose a red and white as the background and font of my logo is because  they are auspicious colours for the Indian bride to wear. What I am striving to do with my business is to create a platform where asian brides can purchase high end bridal outfits. Indian Asians have a lot of traditions, and a lot of pre wedding ceremonies which means the bride needs a number of outfits. in these trying times there have been many stores that I myself have heard of and experienced when my sister got married of how she brought outfits from more then one suppler which lead to a number of issues. for example there were fitting issues all all the separate vendors had different ways of making the piece. some of the outfits were very oddly fitted on her which meant my mother had to put in a lot of time an effort to redo what my sister had initially. paid someone else to do. So I want to create a space where the bride has access to multiple stayers of outfits and can design her own unique dress, for each and every occasion. this mean all the fitting and shaping of the dresses will be customised to what she wants.

[miramodhvadia]

why I changed my idea

Im more passionate about Indian bridal wear as it has a direct link to  my heritage and culture and I would like to learn more about it.

Why I have picked the theme?

I have chosen a bridal theme because my late grandmother used to design and create bridal outfits for the girls in the village and would donate the outfits to the poorer class citizens that would not be able to afford the clothes. It is also easy to research into my own culture and I want to find out more about my roots. I want to combine the traditional way my grandmother would have made things with my modern take as a british asian. I love the traditional embroidery, colours and patterns that run throughout each design making each bridal dress unique. The culturally appropriate designs were modest yet extravagant which is why I want to combine them with modern day asian bridal looks.

I will start this project off by researching into the history of the culture itself and look into why they use specific materials and colours, as well as designs.

Secondary research sources will be existing magazines, articles based on village life in India and historical films.

Primary research will be, getting in touch with some of the women my grandmother designed the dresses for, as well as making a survey to show what modern day brides are looking for in their dresses. Some fashion designers that are going to give me modern day inspiration are,

Sabyasachi

Manish Malhotra

Anju modi

Concept/Narravtive

I have looked into the fashion of India and chose images that relate to brides of today compared to the brides thirty years ago. I looked into traditional patterns and colours that I thought would inspire and help my vision.

Im going to create a business idea which will include all of these aspects to help showcase a the rich cultural garments that women would wear when they would get married in my culture this project I will be exploring marketing and branding, and i will design some garment ideas. Using this blog I am going to document the development of an overall brand and business idea.

My brief:

The name of my Company is Kanya.chic. And my slogan is going to be making your special outfit perfect. The aim of this project with myself to collect arrange of classic Asian dresses and make them sellable to customer. I want to be able to stand out as a brand and a company and in order to this I have decided to make my addresses be more customisable. And I want to showcase all of this in a how good presentation with my business idea and intentions.

The overall motivation behind is the fact that my grandmother used to have the wedding dressmaking hobby and for the poorer girls of our village she used to create design and gift wedding dress is so that the parents wouldn’t have to pay for any of it. This allowed the girls to get that special outfit even though they weren’t as well off. The styles I chose to showcase are similar to the styles that my grandmother would create the only difference is, that these outfits had been adapted for the modern day British Asian girl. I am planning on achieving the outcome my research and different types of styles with in our Asian wedding fraternity I’m looking into big brands and big designers to see how they have adapted a very traditional looking dress to fit a modern day working woman.

Something that makes the objective personal is the fact that from a young age I have always wanted to be dressed up in something my grandmother created. However this will probably not happen now as she has died therefore I thought the need to recreate what she’d started. This lead me to look at the status of my mother and aunts endeavoured in dresses and to see how the evolution of the cultural dresses has changed over time.

Some background behind the idea is that I want to make it easier for people to buy these kinds of dresses in the traditional form so they can wear something more traditional but not feel uncomfortable in it as I am trying to customise each outfit for the individual. My aesthetic vision is for there to be a lot of red and golds as well as whites, as these were the colours that were often used and thought of as good luck colours during the wedding. I am hoping that this entices my target customer and allows them to feel as though the culturally appropriate.

[miramodhvadia]

The trench coat

Chic and casual, modest and immodest, office and evening style. The trench coat has it all. This classic item has never intended to become a worldwide style icon. Originally worn by British soldiers during World War I as a powerful weapon against rain drops, designed by Thomas Burberry, this piece of clothing has become a signature look of Burberry and a permanent resident of many celebrities’ closets. Celebs like Victoria Beckham, Rihanna and Miranda Kerr have been spotted with the trench coat.

While the trenchcoat is recognisable for its sleek and chic design, it comes with many functional features. It keeps you warm and protects you from the rain and wind, allowing ease of movement.

Aside from its functionality, they look good on pretty much everyone and are great to combine. The different looks you can achieve with a single trench coat are endless. Throw a trench over a t-shirt and jeans or a cute dress. Wear it open or buttoned up. Match them with sneakers or heels. It literally goes with just about everything in your closet.

A white tee

It might sounds dramatic, but honestly, every woman needs a good, plain white t-shirt in their life. Of all classics, there’s no doubt that this is the most simple and fresh item. Due to its versatility it never goes out of style. This piece can be worn for every occasion and has many styling options. Whether layered under a lace top, tucked into a shirt, combined with a blazer, or even with sweatpants while working out, under and over clothes as well as on their own with a pair of jeans or a skirt, this indispensable piece of clothing is compatible with literally anything. Have it fitted or loose and flowy, it’s up to you. You’ll be surprised how much wear you get out of this simple item.

Black heels

Feminine, sexy, classic and black. You probably expected this one coming. Black shoes are a wardrobe must have for every woman. You can never go wrong with a classic pair of black heels and there’s no limit to what you can wear this essential with. These shoes will take you from the office and dinner to a night out. They are the safe solution when you want to go for a classy and elegant look. You have a chance of looking a bit dull with these black heels, though. Pick a pair with an interesting detail like an ankle strap, tie, flower or diamonds to perk it up a little. Black heels are definitely a worthy investment and they will serve you for a decade.

Jeans

No need to mention them, but this essential is surely the hardest worker in your wardrobe. No matter what new trends are introduced on the runway, jeans will never, ever go out of style. Denim trousers are for all seasons. They can take you from work to a casual party, and from casual daytime to a dressier evening with a simple swap of accessories and a pair of heels. A pair of jeans that fit flawlessly is your best friend for life. The perfect pair, however, is hard to find. Once you find the perfect fit, buy a couple of them, maybe even in different washes. That way you will have plenty of wear out of them before you have to go shopping for jeans again.

A little black dress

The blazer

Another wardrobe essential. The blazer is an extremely versatile garment. The outfit possibilities of a blazer are endless. It is considered a suitable piece for any situation, both formal and informal occasions. It’s an easy way to make your outfit look proper. If you get a neutral color, you can pair it with all of the items you already own. It can be worn with a wide variety of other clothes: over a blouse, with a pair of jeans, you name it! Blazers come in a wide range of styles. You can achieve an elegant look with matching trousers and heels, go for a casual style with jeans and sneakers, get a boyish vibe with baggy jeans, and much more. Plus, a blazer looks great on all body types. Find a tailored one that accentuates your waist. You don’t want to look like Snow White’s dwarf Dopey, drowning in your clothes. A blazer is one of the higher priced must haves, but it’s an investment you’ll be happy you made.

Well, you can never have too much black in your wardrobe. A nice little black dress is always useful. The little black dress is a classic for a reason. It comes in many styles, from the fitted one to the flowy one, and the plain one to the embellished one. You can keep it toned down or make it more lively with some accessories. And, when you wear it for the second time, nobody immediately notices it’s not new.

https://www.tinkerlust.com/jurnal/timeless-fashion-items-that-never-go-out-of-style.html

[miramodhvadia]

What skills will you develop through this project?

Through this project I am aiming to further develop my marketing and photoshop skills as well as the use of different technology to create a small look book.

Any new skills/techniques/materials you want to explore in this project?

I want to explore different types of detailing, including different materials, embellishment varieties and embroidery.

What concept/narrative have you chosen?

I have chosen the concept of vintage, classic fashion. I want to combine them both together by adding more of a modern twist to entice an audience of today.

Why have you picked this theme?

I chose this as it interests me and is a concept i truly believe may work in this day and age, looking at the worlds climate we need to be more sustainable when it comes to the materials we are using. Having high end designers be used more then  the fast fashion industry is something I truly believe could work. buying item that are more expensive, classic and that will not go out of date means that fabrics and materials will be used longer and the quality of clothing will also be top end as the designers are well known and trusted. I feel this theme is a good starting place for me and I can do a lot while going into through it. Its easy to research into the idea and create ideas from that inspiration. I like the idea of combining new and old with traditional vintage fashion and modern fashion.

What is it that interests you about the theme?

I love all the colours, patterns and materials used in these high end products. It really entices me to further explore and developing the idea of combing it to work with modern fashion.

What will you research into first?

First of all, I will look into the history behind the culture. I want to research into the culture itself like the materials and fabrics, what factors are common and what the general public seem to be buying. This will then enable me to develop and design my own ideas.

What search terms could you use for secondary research?

For secondary research I have been looking into sources from the internet as well as e-magazines and books.

Where will you begin your primary research?

Some primary research I am planning on doing is to create surveys and questionnaires on what type of clothing and materials my target audience likes. Looking more in-depth into the market research of what is selling well at the moment and what has been on trend in modern fashion as well as classic vintage fashion.

I will also look at they types of garment that were very popular in the past and see how I could manufacture them to fit what I'm looking for.

What fashion designers/artists/stylists do you think you will look at to support your work?

I picked six designers and brands that I felt related well with my aim and gave me inspiration for my concept: Dolce and Gabanna, Burbbery, gucci, Alexander McQueen, Versace and Valentino.

How will you begin your experimentation process? What techniques or materials will you begin with?

I will start by experimenting with different ways to present my look book and see what makes the best look and design.