From this project, each member of our group did a great job, especially our team leader, chichi. She arranged the work for us at the first stage and told us which part we should do. Our teammates were all maintaining motivation and responsible for their work. I was in charging of brand moodboards and concept moodboard, I need to finish my part first before other teammates and they can do their parts based on mine. A good teamwork is not only you focus on your own parts because every part is connected with each other. We were working together in unity, we also discussed a lot in our WhatsApp group and meetings to share a lot of ideas and give suggestions to each other, for example, we discussed the colors, design details and so on. I have learned how to collage pictures in different styles and find relevant pictures to make our moodboards, and in this progress I improved the aesthetic of layout of pictures. For COS, simple is the best, so the designs of moodboards are minimalist which match its concept. Also in this project, creative is very important, I am lack of designing knowledge and I should look around to find more inspiration from outside but I gained a lot of knowledge from this module during the research. In the future, if I could do this again, I hope I can improve my drawing skills and design the clothing, having a stronger sense of responsibility like our team leader.
Trends in fashion are changing quickly all the time. If I work for the marketing department, our concepts for COS are architecture and mirror lights. I recommend that COS stores can display those elements of those concepts, for example the store can have parts of architecture, knife pleats style of mirrors or colorful lights inside the store which make it match the concept and attract people to take photos or have a look. Not only the inside of the store but also the outside decoration of the store can use those elements of concepts. And window display is very important because when people pass the stores they are first looking at the window display.
COS × Studio Swine , source: COS, 2018
In additional, fashion shows and brand events can also be applicated with trends. For example, COS has studio swine every year in different countries to present its concept of sense of nature’s impermanence, it attracted a lots people came to see and it’s a good way to advertising the new concepts of COS. The fashion shows are more and more creative than before.
Chanel Created an Indoor Beach for Paris Fashion Week, source: Spellings, 2018
Nowadays, such as Chanel, they created the concept of the beach of its indoor fashion show, models feel like walking by the beach, this made the audience not bored about watching the show. For COS, the fashion can be like walking in the huge brutalist architecture with stairs and also the colorful light, and mirrors put at two sides of the stage which can reflect models, in this way can combine all the elements of two concepts for COS.
By searching from WGSN, Sara Maggioni discovered that the womenswear print and pattern for A/W 19/20 will be including Repeated Icon, Retro Geos, Animal Hybrid, Vintage Florals, Micro Checks, Tigers and Zebras, New Retro Stripes, Tie-Dye Skins, Opaque Florals, Dense Conversationals, Fuzzy Textures, Duo Block and 1980s Florals (Maggioni, 2018). They all have evidence that shows a lot of brands are using those kinds of pattern such as Cholé and Miu Miu and have data showing that there is a big increase in the use of these patterns in the UK and the United States.
Duo Block
1980s Florals
Retro Geos
Repeated Icon
Animal Hybrid
Vintage Florals
Micro Checks
Tigers and Zebras
New Retro Stripes
Tie-Dye Skins
Opaque Florals
Dense Conversationals
Fuzzy Textures
Silhouette and design details are both elements of design. The silhouette is the overall shape of clothing. It can be described by letters such as A-line, T-shaped or V-line(Rousso, 2015).
Source: Rousso, 2015
Charlotte Casey reported that V-neck will be the main design detail for the knitwear of women for A/W 19/20 including oversized, classic, fitted and so on(Casey, 2018).
Oversized
Classic
Fitted
By the WGSN Womenswear Team, they have reported that the design development for dresses, jackets&outerwear and China apparel. And range plans have been shown below :
Design development of dress, Source: WGSN | Creating Tomorrow | Trend Forecasting & Analytics, 2018
Design development of dress, Source: WGSN | Creating Tomorrow | Trend Forecasting & Analytics, 2018 Design development of jacket&outwear, Source: WGSN | Creating Tomorrow | Trend Forecasting & Analytics, 2018 Design development of jacket&outwear, Source: WGSN | Creating Tomorrow | Trend Forecasting & Analytics, 2018 Design development of China Apparel, Source: Zhang, 2018 Design development of China Apparel, Source: Zhang, 2018
These are the prints, silhouettes and design details for two concepts of COS, one is for autumn and one is for winter. For winter, the inspiration is from the brutalist architecture within repeat pattern and knife pleats, elements such as stairs and mirrors. Within the shape of architecture, the high-waisted trouser is very trendy for the age between 30 to 50 which is very suitable for customers of COS. For autumn, the main style is a line skirt with puffy sleeves and bright colors. Those prints already have details of its own from the textiles. For silhouette, the overall shape of clothing is A-line which makes people look tall and slender.
A textile is a flexible fabric that is woven, knitted or assembled using other methods of construction, and often composed of layers(Rousso, 2015).
There are many types of fabrics, including cotton, linen, jersey, silk, canvas, polycotton, crepe, lycra, lace and velvet(Contrado UK, 2018). According to Charlotte Casey, the fabrics for A/W 19/20 will be jersey. For A/W 19/20, people are more focusing on innovation and sustainability. She has written that the intensive Sport Tech area emphasizes the importance of sportswear, also the integration of high-performance fabrics, technical fibers, and more finished product demonstrations help the participant understand this trend. The trend includes Abstract Markings, Fun Fur, High-Octane Classics, Casual Fades, Cosmic Shine, Sumptous Velvet and so on(Casey, 2018).
Fun Fur
High-Octane Classics
Casual Fades
Cosmic Shine
Sumptous Velvet
Abstract Markings
We have chosen three types of fabric for the concept of ARCHI LUMIERE: scuba, corduroy, wool and knit. The type of scuba is a double knit fabric, corduroy fabric is very similar to velvet, wool and knits fabric is light that can wear easily. All of them can keep warm, especially for the winter.
Textiles
We have chosen three types of fabric for the concept of LUMIERE CHALEUREUSE: corduroy, cotton and crepe, wool. The colors of cotton and crepe are light that suitable for the autumn. The fabric of wool is colorful and have printed detail. Corduroy is a warm fabric suitable for both autumn and winter.
According to the trend prediction leaders, WGSN predicted the key colors for A/W 19/20 will be Moonstone Violet, Blue Lightning, Pumpkin Latte, Reddened Brown and Living Green.
Moonstone Violet
It shows there is a trend of lilac tones rather than pink because pink reaches its saturation points, and this color remains the lightness that can be used for both men and women.
Blue Lightning
Most blue colors are going with the season of summer but turquoise-tinged blue adds a freshness for winter color palette and it goes well with darker hues.
Pumpkin Latte
Pumpkin Latte can be used for both fashion and interiors.
Reddened Brown
When you talk about autumn and winter people can always associate brown in their mind, and when you put a little bit red with it, it feels exotic and it looks more interesting as fashion tones.
Living Green
Green with an earthiness is suitable for winter. The tone of Living Green looks natural than before and energetic
Premiere Vision also reported best colors for A/W 19/20. For women, top and dress with mid-tones, coats with darkened tones. For men, tops and shirts with tones between cold dark and bright tawny. Tones for casual and sports are deeper colors and those make people feel more relaxed(Première Vision Paris, 2018).
Best color for women
Best color for men
Best color for sport and tech
Best color for casual
Color board of ARCHI LUMIERE
This is the Color board of the concept: ARCHI LUMIERE. The reason we have chosen those colors for our trend is they are simplicity including both dark and light colors such as dark and cool gray, also based on the minimalist styles and natural look of COS, they are suitable for COS style and match the concept and similar to the best colors predict from Premiere Vision.
Color board of LUMIERE CHALEUREUSE
This is the Color board of the concept: LUMIERE CHALEUREUSE. The reason we have chosen those colors is for this concept is northern lights and light reflection of mirrors, those elements are colorful and brighter than another concept of COS, colors such as orange purple and pink are very suitable for the autumn season and match the concept.
COS is a sister brand of H&M that found in 2007, and now it has 255 stores around the world(About.hm.com, 2018). And it is quite different from H&M when you go to the store, you will notice COS looks more organized, for example, COS put a similar style or similar color of clothing together. COS is focusing on high-quality clothing and minimalist designs for both men and women(Business Insider, 2018).
Clothing display of COS, source: Morby, 2018
Brand profile
The style of COS is quite mature and simple, from the research we found most age range for COS is from 25 to 50 years old, but based on our observation and experiences, older people are buying COS more often, so we set the age range for COS’ target customers is between 30 to 45 years old and most female shopping for COS.
Price range for coats is from £110 to £250, for dresses is around £90, COS’ price range is higher than its sister brand, H&M, but much lower than high-end brands such as Celine which also keen on minimalist designs(Mail Online, 2018). So our group came up the income range for COS customers: £2500 to £3500 per month and social class is middle class. Occupations of them would be high school teachers, doctors and interior designer. Customers might interest in fashion, design and cosmetics because they care about their appearance and nowadays consumers demand clothes with a conscience. Also, COS’ customers might have confident, minimalist and elegant lifestyles, from the interview with the head of womenswear design and Martin Andersson by Diana Budds: “Our customers have a keen interest in art, in architecture, in design. They know about good design, they read blogs, they go to galleries, and it’s very important in their life.” (Fast Company, 2018). So the hobbies for the consumer of COS could be travel, sport, yoga and visit exhibitions. Furthermore, the location of COS consumer could be urban cities such as London, New York and Tokyo.
Nowadays, not only COS but most designers inspired by the natural landscape. COS had a lot of collections inspired by architecture and natural landscape including shifting form, the one under the control and one breaking free.
Our group has discussed 5 macro trends: Iceland, Architecture, Sport, Mirror and Technology, then we chose three macro trends for COS: The Brutalist, Northern Light and Mirror. After combined those macro trends we decided our collection: Miroir lumineux which means mirror light. We have two concepts: Archi lumiere and Lumiere chaleureuse.
Concept board
Concept board
I found different pictures of northern light from websites, northern light has many different colors such as green, red, pink, yellow and purple. The concept board shows that a different type of power, unexpected and underrated, also the power colors that come out from the dark sky. And for brutalist, we put different shapes of architectures of brutalist and mirrors pictures.
Color board
For this concept, the main colors are black, white and gray. Those color are more simplicity and match the concept of mirrors and brutalist architecture.
Color board
For this concept, the color board including colors with deep blue, purple, orange and pink for northern light. Those color quite matches COS’ style and we also looking for some new and interesting mixed colors for COS.
Design detailsDesign details
After done some research of design details, we have design details for the collection such as contrast line and knife pleated for trousers and dresses, layers overlap for jackets or coats. Turtle neck for sweaters, puff sleeves for both t-shirts and dresses.
Consumer boardConsumer Board
By looking at the target customers of COS, we came out the gender, age, occupation, social class, location, income, lifestyle and hobbies for COS consumer. And we found the relevant pictures which can present that information of target customers such as reading, travel and sports.
COS is known in Europe for its simple and non-fading aesthetic design. It’s low-key and innovative fashion collection not only emphasizes the actual wear but also brings unexpected surprises. The conception of COS is brand new, it combines extreme attention to garment design details with pragmatic pricing to bring high-end fashion into the mainstream. The UK flagship store of COS was designed by William Russell and launched on March in Regent Street of London in 2007. In addition, in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and other countries have opened COS stores in their prime location. COS doesn’t have its own factory(About.hm.com, 2018). The garment series is produced by about 60 independent suppliers, 80% of which are produced in Europe and 20% in Asia. (cosstores, 2018) have new products on the market almost every day, so customers will find exciting new products to dress up themselves. COS has many competitors such as Whistles, Miss Sixty, Jigsaw, French Connection. Comparing COS and Whistles, COS’ designing is more focus on last beyond the season, but Whistle is much more trend led. Whistles create stylish, smart clothing with similar prices to COS. In terms of Brand positioning, Miss sixty brings a personality and creativity to the sexy and fashionable women denim design. It’s the world’s first brand dedicated to women jeans but COS’ brand positioning is different. COS is not as focused on sexy elements as miss sixty, COS emphasizes the four seasons design, the style is simple and exquisite, it injects high-end fashion into the mainstream.
positioning map, source: MEG in Idn.com,2018
Trend forecasting theories:
The reason why people forecast fashion trends is they want to understand and know what consumer desire and want, it helps the designers and manufacture to make decisions. Therefore fashion industry can delivery the right product to customers at the right time (Rousso, 2015).
People who predict fashion trends combine knowledge of fashion, history, consumer research and so on. They must be talented to think creatively and have a sense of curiousness about all the thing. Forecasters find their information anywhere such as fashion shows, streets, red carpet events. Forecasters are always alert for fashion elements that can catch their eyes, they are using social media to survey fashion such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter(Rousso, 2015).
In short-term, forecasting concepts are developed, color boards, textiles and silhouettes are made. In long-term, trends need to be predicted at least 2 years ahead, even 5 to 10 years in advance. There are five stages of forecasting: Research, Editing, Interpreting and analyzing, Predicting and Communicating. Forecaster gathers information, edit the data, analyze the materials, make predictions and communicate the information as clearly as possible. After they gather all the information, they start thinking ideas of a new concept, color, textiles and design details. A typical forecast includes theme, color, materials and look. There are many influential fashion forecasting services, for example Peclers Paris, Trend Union, Trendstop and WGSN(Rousso, 2015).
Market intelligence:
In terms of competitor intelligence, competitors of COS have some strengths and weaknesses relatively. REISS focused on men suits primitively and then REISS has its own design team and studio to ensure the design quality while entering the women clothing with its own unique perspective in 2002. A bridging brand is one of the strengths for REISS, REISS is a unique brand for its position because it bridges the gap between high and low priced fashion. Moreover, one of the weaknesses of REISS is they don’t have a clear market campaign, their promotion purely through the word of mouth instead of social media. Social media can have a big impact on customers, and they want to find out what’s on your brand. Wool, cotton, silk, scuba and leather are the main materials for COS products. The quality of COS is higher than it’s parent brand H&M, COS is all about high fashion with good quality at an affordable price. Any customer who approaches the brand knows that according to costs. COS has 255 stores and 20 online markets in the world. But in my country, China only has around 30 stores which is much less than the stores in London. I have searched from the website that many Chinese people ask about where can they buy COS clothing and can COS have more stores in China. The style of COS is very simple, there are many potential customers want to buy from COS. So COS can enlarge their market in China as well. The style of COS doesn’t appeal to young people, the target customer of COS is between age 25 to 50.(Blogs.wecreatetogether.net,2018) Understanding customers are very crucial such as their lifestyles, Offering a lifestyle motivates the customers to buy, you can find a coherence in the way the website, magazine and stores are portrayed. It gives the COS customers a feeling of belonging. But the online shopping experience sounds very bad from customers review, especially customer services and the return policy of COS, COS should listen to customers’ feedback and improve their services otherwise they are losing customers. (Trustpilot, 2018)
Macro trends analysis:
According to the leading Trend Forecasting Agencies, WGSN Macro Forecast Team predicted that Future Innovations is a macro trend which relative to Society: micro breaks and the home hub. Technology: collaborative data and borderless communities. Environment: re-engineering nature and resourceful essentials. Politics: the power of local and the inclusion opportunity. Industry: the new authenticity and dynamic networks. Creativity: forensic forums and transhumanist expressions(WGSN.com, 2018).
Future Innovation Index, source: WGSN.com, 2018
FASHIONUNITED also reported four biggest trends for A/W 2019/2020 written by Marjolein Stormezand:
Smart reformation is easy to understand from the name, it involves in the use of intelligent materials. For this trend, clothing will be modest and calm and make people have a sense of protection against the ever-changing modern world. Cybernetic chic: Social media have a big impact on people behavior. Boland predicts the fashion of consumers will be inspired by robots. Glamour, rebellion and femininity are keywords for this trend. Fabricated fantasy looks into the relationship between fiction and fact. Boland said we will be living in a “meta-world” full of surrealistic expressions. Eclectic, organic and historical are keywords for this trend. Off-grid settlers: Boland noticed there many designers inspired from native peoples of American continent, therefore this trend refers to find a way to protect and respect nature (Stormezand, 2018).
The topic of our group is high street fashion brands, there are lots of high street fashion brands such as H&M, TOPSHOP, WHISTLES, NEW LOOK, RIVER ISLAND and so on. The reason I chose AOS is that its not known by many people, but I knew this brand very well. I bought clothing from this brand before, they have lots of clothing within the good design.
AOS was created within the H&M group and it is a female fashion brand. ‘Personal style tells a story’ is the basic concept of this brand. It offers everything that woman can wear including clothing, shoes, bags, accessories, beauty even stationery and so on. Obviously, the target consumers are females of all ages. Most the females are influenced and get inspiration by social media such as Instagram. AOS is aimed at those females who entirely connect their personal style and confidence in reflecting this.
Competitors of AOS including for example, ZARA and TOPSHOP, they are having a similar target market. Those competitors are already set up their reputation and customers loyalty so quickly and AOS is trying to reach the loyalty of those competitors that they already have.
Website of AOS
Currently, AOS is growing very fast from 7 stores to 23 stores in just two years. And it has 1,390,000 followers on Instagram,(& other stories, 2018) the massive growth of AOS across the world shows the success of this brand. However, AOS aims to use social media to influence consumers, there are many people haven’t heard about the brand of AOS yet. So in the future, AOS might consider some advertisement that people can actually see in their daily life not only on social media, it will help AOS to attract more potential consumers.
yuxinhcheng 