SUMMED UP IN ONE PHOTO...
This is me summed up in a single photo. Interpret it as you will. Burger courtesy of The Hunger.
xx
p.s. the River Island giveaway winners will be contacted today and announced on Twitter tonight.
DEAR JEFFREY CAMPBELL, YOU SUCK.
They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery... but surely that doesn't hold true when a California-based brand decides to replicate designer luxury shoes and sells them for a small fraction of the original price.
It's one thing when knock-offs are sold in China, or even on eBay, but Jeffrey Campbell is sold online, in small boutiques and in highly established mega stores like Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters. It's a global brand with a massive reach and substantial customer base. There is no denying that many of JC's products are direct and obvious imitations. Funny then that they've include in the description of each item: 'A Jeffrey Campbell original.' Clearly the bar for originality is at an all time low. Please tell me I'm not the only one that finds this revolting...
Ph./details: Susie Bubble in Simone Rocha vs Upend. Daphne Guinness in Natacha Marro vs Night Walk. Rumi Neely in Balenciaga vs Coltrane
p.s. LOVE the slightly surreal nature of each pair of these shoes.. I want to defy gravity like Daphne.
------------ UPDATE: 15/05/12 ------------
The reaction/comments* to this post got me thinking about inspiration generally and how the concept applies to the fashion world. Obviously there are a million things that could be discussed but let's try to stay focused on the issue of JC... a few immediate questions about the brand spring to mind. My rough online** search has led me to the following conclusions...
1. How does JC present themselves? What do their stockists say about them? '
'Shoes with vintage inspiration and runway trends...' (Nordstrom) seems to be the general gist.
2. What's the connection with Solestruck?
On Solestruck there are over 800 JC shoes. A lot are sold out but the images/product listings are still available - it's like a little archive of JC designs.*** Under the' 'About Jeffrey Campbell tab' it states:
'Based in LA and just starting its 11th year as a company, Jeffrey Campbell has not only become a favorite of Solestruck shoppers but of fashionistas globally. A large collection and our top selling brand on the site, JC combines vintage elements, runway trends and completely original concepts to produce a crowd pleasing array of boots, shoes, flats, platforms and wedges. Stay tuned to spring 2011 as Jeffrey will offer many new shapes, fabrications and concepts within his collection---all coming your way right here on solestruck.com. Oh and did we mention that team JC are like our best friends?'****
No way. I never would have guessed.
3. How does JC present themselves on their own website?
The site is pretty cool. It's engaging and has lot to offer customers - it's bright, it's punchy, it includes a blog and even a section called 'JC Girls'. Ooo, that's intriguing. There are 25 images that have all been sourced from LOOKBOOK.NU. Okay, how about the 'FAQ' part of the site? Quite succinct, it's the last three questions and their answers that I find most revealing.
4. What is their social media following like?
Facebook: 114K - Product/Services: '...truly America's Shoe Sweetheart...'
Twitter: 30,172 - 'GET IT GIRLL' seems to be one of their favorite expressions.
Summed up: JC and those affiliated with the site encourage the misguided belief that the designs sold are original and unique. The brand's online marketing strategy is targeted towards bloggers. It encourages them to engage with the brand and benefits from their influence - in terms of sales, legitimacy and influence. This is unacceptable.
* Natacha Marro retweeted the post. Vin and Omi got engaged on Twitter and left a comment. Within a few hours of the post going live it had over 60 likes (normally I get a small handful). My stats were going a bit mental but that wasn't represented in the comments - some people were commenting but not that many. Why not? Are people uninterested? Do they not care? Are they afraid to say how they feel? These were the thoughts running through my head.
** Online because I've never received any press information about the brand so, at this stage, what's available online is all I have to go by.
*** Which makes the site perfect for playing my all time favourite game: guess the original designer. The rules, you ask? Challenge whoever you can find (friends, partners, pet turtles...) to go through the archives and write down as many designer knock offs as you can spot. 1 point for each correct designer you can link to a pair of JC shoes - bonus points if you can name the collection it came from. Is it bad that I really want to hear how many you guys can get right?
**** 15/05/12 - bold bits added by me, duh.
HEY PIN HEAD...
'Are you on Pinterest?'
Consider this the Instagram question of April... if no one has asked you yet, trust me, they will.
Everybody and (especially) their mom is on Pinterest. It exploded faster than your most recent ill-fated relationship. That's fast. Except, Pinterest isn't a cringe-inducing-stubble-faced memory we wish we could forget... it's only just taking off. Already 2 years old, it's no spring chicken - so why all the fuss about it now? Well, it's one of the fastest growing websites in history. Yeah, that's right... apparently, the site had 17 million unique visitors last month. That's a heckuva-lotta pinning. It's also a big enough number to make companies and designers start raising their eyebrows. Originally it was scoffed at for being a less-good version of Tumblr. Just another social media start-up that would fizzle out. It caters to old ladies and pretty fuzzy things... it will never catch on. Suddenly, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore and now everybody wants a piece of the pinboard pie.
Why am I talking about this? Because, I've been on Pinterest for almost a year and I'm so glad that other people are finally starting to join. I freaking love it. It's revolutionized the way I keep track of things I like online. You can pin photos from any website (I have noticed though that you can't pin on blogs you visit through Bloglovin... so just visit the site directly if you want to pin something). You can be as organized as you want with your boards. Create a hundred-thousand if you want - they can be about anything. I've dedicated an entire board to hot babes (i.e. fashion girls I know and love - not the Maxim sort of hot babe). You can break down your fashion inspiration into seasons, pull together all the yummy recipes you want to cook, make mood boards, plan the redecoration of your flat or brainstorm ideas of where you want to go on holiday. The possibilities are endless.
The best thing? It automatically links back to the website the photo was pinned from so you don't need to worry that you're stealing other people's work - in fact, it encourages people to visit the original source. Not only is this awesome in terms of online copyright protection it also makes your life so. much. easier. Gone are the days of searching through your browser's history to try to find that website where you saw that incredible thing.
Just pin it.
Now, don't forget: follow me here, leave a link so I can follow you back and if you need an invite to join then holler this way - I'll try to send one. Let. the. stalking. commence.
p.s. images from the Monday Issue, Film is Awesome Sauce, LN-CC, Anthropologie...
NO, I DON'T HAVE INSTAGRAM...
If I have to explain to one more person why I don't have Instagram I'm going to go mental... this conversation happened at least 100million times (fact) over LFW. Obnoxious excited person: 'Are you on Instagram?!!' Me: 'No.'... 'OMG, WHY NOT?! Instagram has, like, changed my LIFE. YOU HAVE TO GET IT. YOU JUST HAAAVE TOOO.' O-freaking-kay. I can't get Instagram because I don't have an iPhone. Cue: 'OMG. HOW ARE YOU ALIVE WITHOUT AN iPHONE???'. Honestly? I barely am. I'm using an old Samsung galaxy that is teetering on the edge of death because I'm too cheap to fork out the cash to buy a new one. Cuz... you know... that's how I roll, I like being a little behind the times. That way you feel sorry for me.
All this to say.... just before fashion week I discovered LomatiCamHD. (cool name, huh). In my pathetic attempt to copy what all you iPhone users are doing with Instagram and Hipstamatic I snatched it right up for 1 pound I think? All the above photos were taken with it. Enjoy!