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. 

Project Proposal

For this project I have been asked to produce an FMP on my choice of range. I decided that I would want to produce a range for TOPSHOP as it is my favourite retail store and as I shop there regularly, it will be easier for me to see what goes in and out of the shop, speak to customers and people who work within the industry and have a good knowledge of the store itself. After researching into the shop and deciding that I wanted to produce a 'Mini Me Collection' for my range I made a project proposal talking in detail about the range I wanted to achieve.