An eve with Yves Saint Laurent:

I'm sure most of you know the very talented designer and fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent. For those of you who don't, Yves was the first designer to introduce the iconic women's suit. On Wednesday night the LISOF students and staff were privileged to see a preview of the film about Yves Saint Laurent. The movie is now on circuit at Cinema Nouveau.

We were all invited to come in our interpretation of the iconic Le Smoking Tuxedo which Yves himself introduced. It was fun to see what everyone came up with. I decided to wear a cream suit instead of the usual black suit,  which was a hand me down from my sister. This was the first time I wore a suit and I accessorized it with a white laser cut out shirt from Saudi Arabia, my Steve Madden heels, a red clutch and of course a red lip.

As for the movie itself, it was far from the usual. The movie is not structured in the standard start middle and end manner but rather with flash backs and flash forwards of the designers life in the chaos and wonder that it amounted to the life and times of Yves Saint Laurent. SPOILER ALERT: the ending was flamboyant as models danced on the runway in colourful dresses by Yves which was by far my favourite part. To me the ending made up for the confusion and artsy way the scenes were presented in the beginning of the film. The last few scenes capture media personnel discussing their accusation of Yves being dead having died from a drug overdose. Although at this point this is not shocking news to the audience because the film depicts his misuse of drugs.

The movie ends with a close up of Yves smiling back at the media -and the audience- as they enter his design room, proving that the legend he is, is far from being dead. The movie reiterates that despite his passing thereafter the legend and brand Yves Saint Laurent continues...

Image of YSL

The Cotton On Brand Ambassador Challenge

I was approached by LISOF recently to take part in this Cotton On Brand Ambassador challenge as one of three finalists with Kira Gimpel and Katlego Magano. Cotton On is looking for a trend setting student with both style and a significant following to wear their clothing and thus be their Brand Ambassador.

The first task I had to do was justify why I should be chosen as a finalist for the competition. This was the email I sent through:

To whom it may concern

My name is Ranaa Patel and I am a third year student at LISOF, Johannesburg. I decided to study at LISOF after winning a fashion show competition while attending Parktown High School for Girls and have never looked back since.

In 2013 (my first year of studies), I started a blog called RMfashionary. This blog is my outlet for all things fashion related, it helps me show my readers my own sense of style, clothing and everything I am passionate about. While blogging for the past two years, I have come to gain a decent following, with my blogger profile gaining over 200 000 views and counting. I have a growing fan base as I have started blogging more, my Instagram followers has doubled within the month of January alone and with that I have an increasing following of people on several social media platforms. Due to my significant following I will be able to reach many of your cliental by wearing Cotton On clothing as an ambassador. I have a talent and a knack for styling clothing in unique ways which most of my readers enjoy seeing. My readers often want to know where I get my clothing and accessories from, so they can buy it too; because of the way I put a look together and make it appeal to them. This, is my unique characteristic that I can offer to the Cotton On brand by helping to sell the product to Cotton On's ultimate targeted consumer which in turn is the same targeted consumer my blog is aimed at. I would appreciate and make the most of the opportunity to do so.

 I love what I do and I love fashion.
 

Next, after the three finalists were chosen we got given a brief that is composed of three tasks:
We were also given Cotton On gift cards in order to carry out the challenges from both Cotton On and LISOF.

 

Task 1:
Pick a 2015 trend and explain your explanation of this trend in ONE tweet.
D DAY: 1 April 2015

Task 2:
Go to the closest Cotton On and pick key items that emnody your trend for under R100. To be posted on Instagram.
D-Day: 8 April 2015

Task 3:
Go back to your closest Cotton ON and create one look that is relevant to your trend for under R500. To be posted on the LISOF Facebook page.
D-DAY: 15 April 2015
The winner will be announced on the 22nd of April.


The trend that I personally chose to do is called EMOJI OVERLOAD (cited on WGSN) which is to do with the trend of emojis appearing on clothing in a quirky manner. Cotton On always has quirky finds and this trend is an apparent one in store at the moment. I cant wait to carry out the rest of the tasks and share it with all of you. For now, may the best trend win!