Evaluation

Too finish my project I completed an evaluation were I critically evaluated my work pointing out my weaknesses and how I could do it differently if I was to do it again, and point out the strengths and what went well. 

Consultation

In order to make my range the best it can be, I got a consultation off a member of staff within the industry and got there views on my range. I asked them what they thought of my range, do they feel it would sell well if entered in to the shop, if they felt my range was similar to any other range on the market and if there is any changes they would make to make it the best it can be and as professional as possible.

Packaging and Swing tickets

I have produced a range of shopper bags in 3 different sizes for different sized garments or accessories. I have made the bags a bright bold colour to stand out from Topshop's white coloured bags to make sure that customers notice the new arrival of the range. I have included the ranges Mini Me logo as well as Topshop's and added a silhouette of a woman and a young girl to show the customers what the range is about. I have also created a swing ticket which also includes the Mini Me logo and Topshop's along with the silhouette. I have shown both front and back and added a barcode, price and size.

Key Events Calender

I have produced a Calendar highlighting all the key events that occur in the year that may effect the process and purchase of my range. I can see from this that May will be the start of the summer wear and all holiday/ summer clothing starts to get pushed to the front of shops. This means my range will benefit from begin to come in to store at this time. I can also see that through to June holiday and summer clothing is most popular and will sell well as there is a six week holiday and all children are off school. 

Website Homepage

I have shown how I would like my range to be presented to the customers on the Topshop website. I have also shown how the garments will be seen once entering the range and how the garments will be seen before checking out and purchasing the product. I have carried on my on going theme of carnival by using imagery I have used on my presentation, bright colours and included my Mini Me logo. 

Written Range Plan

I have wrote a written range plan that highlights the components I used to build my range and used visuals to help explain the changes I have made throughout the build and show the similarities between the adult and the Mini Me version.

Range Plan

Here is my final finished range for both the womenswear and Mini Me version. I have continued my Carnival and Dark resort theme and used bright bold colours and prints on basic style and shaped popular clothing that is linked to Topshop's famous and well known style. I have adjusted some of the Mini clothing to make it more suitable for the age. For example I have added pockets and changed the collar to a peter pan collar on the boxy shirt as this gives it a more cute and sweet edge for the child, keeping all the same shape, fabric, colour and prints to remain as a Mini version. I have also change the peacock evening dress to a peacock sundress for the child as it was a little too grown up looking and felt that this would be a more suitable shape. 

Customer Profile

I produced a customer profile including a visual description. This gives an idea of the current and potential customers at Topshop. It is a short written profile that describes the characteristics and traits of a core customer. The portrait provides a picture of the target market made from primary and secondary research. It represents a realistic and factual description of the consumers demographic, Age or age bracket, Lifestyle, Fashion style, brand preference, Purchasing motivation, Attitudes towards fashion purchasing. 

SWOT Analysis

I created a SWOT analysis highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that could occur during the build of the range. Once doing this, I found that there are more strengths than weakness which will benefit me. However, I found that there are more threats than I expected and will have to work on making sure these threats stay as threats and do not turn in to occurring problems.

Directional Shop

I completed 2 directional shops, one for adult clothing and one for kids. I chose Reiss and Gap as these are both higher end stores but are similar in ways as Topshop and how I would like my range to be. 

Trend boards

I researched in to my chosen trends of Carnival and Dark Resort and found what key styles and detailing are included, what key prints and materials is used and gathered information on key shapes to help when building my range. I found that the colours and patterns are perfect for my Mini Me range as I am creating my collection for S/S 14 and the bright colours and bold patterns are well suited to the season, and the prints and detailing are suitable for both adult and children. However, I found that not all the key shapes will be appropriate for my mini me collection and I have realised that I may need to manipulate some of the adult garments in order for them to be appropriate for the children.

CAD

Today I am collecting CADs from WGSN to build my range. I will then manipulate these CADs to change the colours, patterns, shapes and styles of them to create more suitable CADs for my Mini Me Collection. I will experiment with both adult and children CADs to create the best range that I can.

Customer Profile

I created a customer pen portrait which is a realistic and factual description of a typical or targeted customer. I wrote a short profile that describes the characteristics and traits of a core customer and provides a picture of my target market.

Photoshop

Today I had planned to create a logo for my range that I could apply to each of my slides on my presentation and also add on to my swing tags when I produce them. However, I found that my Photoshop was not working on my mac which meant that I would have to complete this another day which may effect my time management. I plan to stay on track with my work in order not to fall behind. 

Comp Shops

I visited TOPSHOP's competitors and undertook comp shops for both womens and childrens wear. I then created a comp shop on Microsoft word using images from the competitors online shops. I found getting the images online easier as it could be difficult taking pictures in the stores especially of the childrens clothing as I can not take these items in to the changing rooms. 

H&M

RIVERISLAND

NEXT

Store Competitors

I researched TOPSHOP's competitors and found that RiverIsland, H&M, Next and ZARA are its highest competitors as they are similar in style and price and they all produce childrenswear. However I found that none of the competing shops have a mini me collection which  benefits my new proposed range.

Trendboard research

I started to research and collect information and images for my trendboards. To do this, I searched on WGSN. I found that two main trends for the upcoming ss/14 seaons where Carnival and Dark resort. These two trends include bold prints and bright colours that would be great for my Mini Me Collection as not only will these prints and colours work well with womenswear but will also be suitable to the Mini Me version. 

Blurb

I starting thinking and researching into what I would like my final major project to be presented like. I looked at many different ways and styles and came to a decision that when my FMP is finished I am wanting to have a final presentation that flows and at a professional standard, and then upload on to Blurb and create a book that will help me in future career interviews or further education.

I looked at different sizes and pricing to get an idea of how much it will cost and how much shipping will cost as it an American site and will have to be shipped over.

Project Plan

Once I had completed my project proposal I was able to create a project plan in the form of a presentation which I later presented to the rest of my class. In this plan I included things such as;

• Personal Development Rationale
• Resources needed
• Skills 
• Processes and Practises
• Action Plan
• Project Rationale
• Potential risks

Here I went into detail about what my range will be, how I will achieve it and why I feel this range will work. I also looked at TOPSHOP's competitors and noticed that they were doing a similar range, however they were focused more on children's wear more than a Mini Me Collection. I felt this was good as my range is something that has not been done before.

I listed the resources I will need during the process of making my range. Photoshop and Illustrator for making trendboard's and my range, Powerpoint for presenting my work, internet for access of online sites such as WGSN and Drapers. Online saving websites such as SkyDrive, access to TOPSHOP's website and for industry connections and lastly for access to Blogger to keep an updated blog of my work for my tutors and other blog users to see and get feedback.

I identified my skills that I will use that I have already gained from previous projects but also skills that I may gain in the process.

I created an action plan using dates to stick to in order to complete my work by deadline day and to the best of my ability. 

Lastly, I pointed out what could go wrong and why? I found that  research could be difficult to find on children's and women's wear together, also being able to communicate with the people within the industry as I don't have any contacts that work with TOPSHOP or within the head office.