Nalini’s Diary- The last word

Completely devastated! Those have to be my last words on the closing of the LFF boutique at Bluewater. I suppose there is always that old adage as one door closes another opens but I still can’t believe why anyone, any Government body or agency would want to close such a successful project.

There are many acknowledgements that I am going to make, but the first and foremost must go to my team at Bluewater and the London Fashion Forum head office team. The support and motivation over the past year to promote the designers and the success of the project is completely owed to them because the effort and commitment has been overwhelming and this contributed to everyone’s brilliant achievements. Special thanks go to: Clare, Ruth, Melvine, Saran, Gemma, Tracey, Rachel skinner, Rachel Costa, Hayleigh, Vanessa, Stephanie and, of course, Jenny Holloway. The project would have never have escalated to the high degree of achievement, without these people as the core foundation.

Let’s talk first about the accomplishments and progress that the designers and the LFF made through this project. We had a retail outlet in Bluewater! This is such a fantastic achievement. Bluewater is currently one of the largest shopping centres throughout Europe with over a ‘100 fashion houses’, three department stores, over 40 bars and restaurants, its own cinema and many other recreational facilities.

Bluewater gave the foundation for the designers to sell in a commercial market, and create the products to suit that clientele. Bluewater Management Team themselves were incredibly supportive of the project and welcomed the new innovative businesses. The boutique provided newness and excitement as each week new merchandise was displayed by new designers.

The concept of the boutique was to have a rent free period – we had to pay a service charge however! It was the rates that we could not support at a staggering £11k a month who on earth could pay that but the big brands themselves such as the Topshops of the world.

Nevertheless, despite this obstacle of funding the rates bill we had glorious success and saved many designers from going out of business by providing that much need “genuine” access to market. The designers have had a valuable learning experience and some have received sales of tens of thousands of pounds The designers now need to use the project to an advantage and it has provided necessary evidence and figures behind your label to go further.

I would like now to run through some of the designers that made Bluewater Boutique store such a success – in the last twelve months we have built up an impressive clientele that was loyal and dedicated to fashion.

 Femini- This label came to the LFF boutique in April of this year, and straight away became one of the biggest and amazing designers available in the boutique. Femini spring/summer range was the hottest and unique occasional wear to buy. The Wedding season, Ascot, Christenings, Balls, were all perfectly suited for Femini and the value for money is outstanding. The winter collection brought along beautiful dresses, coats all in original designs and again excellent value. Femini would be perfectly suited as a concession in a department store House of Fraser, or even in a boutique its own right. This designer is certainly destined for stardom and needs to be appreciated.

·        Romeo Pires- The most amazing and strikingly different designer that I have seen in a long time, and this was certainly reflected in his sales figures and consumer response. The label included tops, skirts, dresses, blazers all covered in fantastically bright bold prints that will certainly get you the attention you crave! Romeo Pires is available in Topshop Oxford Circus, Spitalfields market and various other boutiques around the globe. They are continuously expanding and should become a well established fashion brand one day. The collection was a personal favourite to many of the staff.

·        Tanya Dove- Talented designer with superb collections for occasional wear. Appealing and flattering tops and dresses, mostly using silk and other luxurious fabrics. There are intricate designs that are imaginative and fun to wear. This designer is very successful.

·        Actar Actar- This label was perfect for the Bluewater customer, as it was very commercial and easy to wear, at an affordable high street price. These two talented designers were valuable to the boutique and particularly good at recognising market demand and then providing a quick reaction to stock to capitalise on the market need.

·        Claudette Joseph- Exquisite coats, made with a signature collar and ribbon design, generally made form wool. Great for customers who wanted to stand out from the crowd and be noticed. There is no other coat on the market that has the refinement of Claudette Joseph.

·        Forest- Intricately beaded and detailed garments, with a high quality production. Occasional wear, suited to all markets looking for that extra special classic piece. This brand is perfectly suited to high end exclusive concessions.

·        Red Stones- Young and funky prints in cute dresses and tops that can be worn from day to evening. First rate value for money, and very easy to wear garment, this designers was very popular with customers.

·        Mami London- Urban trendy brand, with fabulous dresses, jackets and t- shirts, that is comfortable to wear at an affordable price.

·         Julia Van Caysel- Lovely collection, appealing to all ages, with dresses, tops and jackets to flatter most shapes. Every woman feels feminine and special in these garments. Julia’s designs are a personal favourite of mine.

·        Emure- Exceptionally unique dresses that grab the attention of the figure conscious body that wants to look gorgeous and eye-catching. The Go get Dress which is designed to fit any body silhouette making every woman feel extraordinary and stunning.

·        Mertel and George- This is also a very commercial label and made a hit with the customer from the day they launched into the boutique. The shapes of the dresses and tops suit most women and are easy to wear to a variety of occasions.

·        Cinema x- Punky brand, very trendy and suits the younger market and sold quite well. They also have a very successful website www.cinemax.co.uk and are featured on www.fashioncapital.co.uk. This is also available for other designers to advertise as well, do get in touch to advertise.

·        JPK- Urban, one off vintage label, with pieces that were limited due to their exclusivity and exceptionally trendy. A varied market appreciated this clothing, mainly young and they continuously sold very well.

·        Georgee ready to wear- This collection was again perfect for the Bluewater consumer, at valued prices and easy to wear designs. There was also the opportunity for customer to have special garment fit requests from this designer, good marketing and was gratefully appreciated by the customers..

·        Trend Station- Bright and up lifting underwear brand that will be set for higher things. The quality is excellent, design is outstanding and the owner Majeic Wilan is fantastic. He is always so diligent and full of enthusiasm. He will be showcasing at Clotheshow Live in December 2^nd-7^th and this will be perfect for this label.    

·        Melanka and me- These designers created both children’s and women’s wear brand that was particularly noted for its different and creative dresses in ethnic fabrics. In particular they were the winners of the Huw Williams Tribute Award and a personal favourite of Isabella Blow too.

·        Natasia- Handbags for casual wear, and intricate vintage style evening bags, at a great price, these were the best selling accessory brand in the boutique.

·        ICY- Great metallic handbags in a variety of shapes and styles, made from real leather and fabulous quality.

·        Rebel Dogg- A very stylish leather brand of belts and bags to jazz up any outfit, perfect for changing your look and having something classier any belt available on the high street. Now being stocked in Whistles this is one brand that will elevate through the ranks and make it “large scale” in the UK and beyond. Another Bluewater staff favourite!

·        Longfordrockers- The brightest furriest bags you ever seen, along with tutu’s and p.v.c corsets, it the ultimate “gothic” brand going. They are also available at Camden market

·        Pure Sagacity- Precious stones made into interesting jewellery that complement particular emotions. Each piece comes beautifully gift wrapped with a certificate to describe the benefit of each product – again clever marketing that just makes that difference to the customers. Great label for gift ideas.

·        Gillian Rice Jewellery- Lovely original designs; would be a great accessory brand for Christmas shoppers.

Unfortunately I have not mentioned all the designers that did contribute to Bluewater, but everybody that entered the boutique certainly had the advantage to merchandise their label within the best atmosphere you can find – it was filled with raw passion and genuine fun and excitement unlike many of the boring high streets of today.

I would still like to thank all the designers that did exhibit at the boutique. Who knows what the future may bring but I do know that Jenny is working on a host of other options so keen your eyes peeled for information on the two websites.

Nalini’s Dairy- After the Easter break @ Bluewater

The regulars are remaining faithful, and many are relying on us to dress them for their holidays and big events. With more and more new stock coming in, the customers follow happily, as we can see from the pictures from the week, we can see the customers and staff alike adoring these new collections.

Here we have the staff trying ‘Mami London’s’ latest jacket, which has been a hit over the weekend, already nearly sold out completely, being a useful item to wear casually and to easily dress up for most occasions. ‘Emure’ has also brought in some new lines, as seen in this picture a customer trying on the godet dress in aqua, these were so popular, just in one day we sold out! There are also more jersey dresses in bright prints and an additional lingerie collection. ‘Actar actar’ have also extended their spring look with more casual skirts and dresses as seen here which are again helpful garments to have, as they can be used for either day or eveningwear. ‘Actar actar’ have also used bright colours as an attraction to their market, by introducing prints like the following top  being very pretty and incorporating all the top colours for the season.

In the next week or so the boutique will change its window, to a new theme which is still under discussion at the moment, but to get ideas, as always we looked at neighbouring shops at Bluewater for inspiration! To our advantage ‘Republic’ has opened a new store this week just below the boutique, so we checked it out! The team and I came to the conclusion the shop was definitely worth the refit and the labels available in store are top notch! The window idea is very appealing, spread out into three separate windows, and the centre window being occupied by not only mannequins; on the staff’s tea breaks at the weekend, they have the option of taking a break in the window for all to see!

Obviously this became a popular idea for our own window, but I do not think we can adopt this ideal I’m afraid our window space is far to narrow! The labels available in store are: Bench, Hooch, French connection (which are probably the labels that are too widely available from Bluewater), Von Dutch (which I felt was the biggest let down to the whole shop!), Replay denim and G-star for men and women. I was particularly impressed with G-star for women, because there are not many places in the UK that stock this, and they are a good quality denim brand.

The boutique should hopefully be getting some new designers coming our way including the following who have shown particular interest Evelyn Stone, Frocked, Elisabeth Poppe, Strumpets, more bridal designers and many more who have been calling me since Profile5. I am very excited about the new stock and the continuous growth of the store, the customers are always excited to see our new additions so it will be great for sales as soon as they all come in. If anyone who has beach wear or knows or anyone who perhaps sell well at Bluewater please do call me and get in touch.

Nalini's Diary- 1/04/05

Spring is here!

I have seen the beautiful blossoms on the tress, heard the birds singing, and when I get out of work I do not need to switch my car lights on anymore, how exciting.  All of the Bluewater shoppers are searching for little vest tops, pretty skirts and bright colours, because yes now is the time to wear them.  If we do not make the most of the nice days we have, before we know it they will be over! 

I am planning to make a statement at the social gatherings I have got; I will wear my ‘Emure’ orange dress, and ‘actar actar’ orange top.  Shops at Bluewater are already stocking bikinis, flip-flops and sunglasses ready for customer vacations.  Many people are still planning their wedding outfit and summer gowns with balls fast approaching.  So designers get your new stock in fast! 

Bluewater is always warm and bright, (it’s a centre!) but people dress up in the most summery of outfits here and they expect the shops to provide the same.  Little skirts are getting a lot of attention as is pretty much anything you can match up your Birkenstocks or wedges with!  We have all noticed feet have come out from hiding, and so everyone is looking for garments to show their new pedicured feet, and considering we are not huge on trousers, our stock is great!  

We have noticed also that retro and bohemian patterns are still going strong; our boutique is still providing some commercial choices of design, which honestly do very well here.  However, it is the colour that seems to be aesthetically pleasing to the customer, anything in bold colours will do well here because colour is what will get a woman noticed, and spring and summer are the seasons to get away with making such a bright statement.

The pictures this week have definitely been of new stock, even though Tanya Dove and Forest still manage to sell well in their winter stock, the summer stock is what grasps the attention of shoppers.  Daniella Benson’s classic style incorporates fun prints and is beautifully bright, and the team managed to put lots of outfits together with her collection, as they did with Forest and Claudette Joseph, shown below:

 Claudette Joseph

Daniella Benson

Hommebody has also been a pleasure for customers to try on, looking even better off the hanger than on!  The fabulous combination of comfort and flattery makes Hommebody products a great success, as demonstrated below by this customer who looked stunning in her new ball outfit.

Hommebody

Nalini’s Diary- 14/03/05

More exciting new opportunities appeared in our favour at Bluewater this week. Bluewater has decided to set up a style consultancy clinic, which meant a stylist (Anna Moore) would personal shop with clients in the stores that offered good product and service. When I heard the news I straight away contacted the stylist, as I wanted our store to be her first stop just so I could show her customers would be well kitted out with the wide range of designers that we offer.

My meeting with her went very well, we discussed that the majority of her customers called on her as an advisor especially if they were planning special occasions, and most of our cliental relied on the fact that our products were unique and perfect for special occasions, gifts, etc. Particular designers that sparked her interest were; Natasia, Ann Ann, Forest, Romeo Pieres, Claudette Joseph and Nadia Ivanova.

After discussing all the designers qualities within the store and the uses for a variety of consumer, Anna told me she would find LFF a very useful store to probably suit a large part of her market. This was fantastic news and just gave us the extra promotion that we needed. The following day after Anna’s visit I received another phone call from her asking if she could photograph a particular Forest outfit that she wanted to use as press for the Bluewater magazine, and she had clients interested in the boutique already! I took this as great news!

Just one day after this stylist wanting to use the Bluewater store, another stylist rang inquiring for Toni and Guy in Colchester, whom had heard about our store from the fashion show in Bluewater, when their branch had helped do the hair for us. This stylist said because of the fantastic collections we had, this would complement their catwalk show very well. To promote LFF in conjunction with Toni and Guy, I will ask for press in the use of our designers. She will be visiting me later next week to pick what outfits she needs. This still proves that being at Bluewater and holding the fashion show has definitely generated good contacts and awareness for us.

This week we have had a new designer join us ‘Daniella Benson’, who has an original collection of patch work and rich fabrics. The collection is lovely and bright, great for spring, with lots of cute tops, blazers and fabulous skirts. The shirts are classically cut perfect for casual wear, and definitely have appealed to the more mature customer (25+).

Forest has also given me new stock in the past couple of weeks, which slots in nicely to the wedding and ladies day outfits that everyone seems to desire at the moment. However, Forest’s winter stock seems to still be selling well because it also fits these categories and it is very versatile for the spring look as well.

I also had more new stock from Natasia, Tanya dove, Tit Fer Tat, Claudette Joseph Red Stones and Mami. These labels continue to sell well and to keep this their market they also need to acquire interest, new stock is very important to maintain our consumers, if you have not given me new styles this year, I will plea with you to do so as soon as possible, to raise your chances of being a best seller!

Nalini’s Diary- Spot the difference!

This week at Bluewater has definitely got to be spot the difference! The reason being that: every high street shop has the same designers or designs, and quite frankly it is getting tiresome for the customer. At first it did not notice, then gradually over the last month or so we have noticed it from what the customers have been telling us, so we decided to do some investigating. All the stores have gone over board on the ‘Sienna Miller’ look- every style we seem to see is acquainted by a bohemian pattern, which is arguably a very trendy look, I myself was a fan. However, there is nothing else available, if you are not a fan of this style, there is not much else to buy apart from a back to work suit.

 As you can see from the following pictures we have a picture of Topshop and their clothes, then we have Miss Selfridge and can you see much of a difference, because we certainly couldn’t! It did not stop here even the higher market of the high street is doing the same, for example here is Kookai versus Warehouse and here is French Connection matching Oasis. The shops that we felt can always retain their originality are: Levis, Diesel, Lucy in the Sky, Miss Sixty, Ollie and Nick, Strawberry bunny and Zara. All these stores we felt had the value in their products for the consumer and manage to retain a sense of individuality apart from other stores at Bluewater. From the pictures this demonstrates a different yet trendy look for the consumer to choose from, still performing a certain sense of distinction between each designer.

This week at the shop, well after my articles last week and evaluating the success of the fashion show at Bluewater, I am glad to say I am still receiving complements about the show, and am still getting requests for particular items. For example Tanya Dove, Nadia Ivanova, Forest, Hommebody, Emure and Claudette Joseph were all particularly noticed and have brought the customers into the store. So if your stock is not in from the show, it needs to follow, even if it is small amounts at a time, the consumers need to see different stock, the same stock every week, does not sell especially to my regulars and these people need to stay impressed.

We have noticed the types of outfit that the customer is shopping for are the following either Weddings, summer ball’s, Birthday parties, modelling competitions or a killer dress to make an “ex” jealous! Fitting the bill to this has been Forest, Emure, Julie Berube, Romeo Pieres and Tanya Dove and from the following pictures you can see the consumers feeling great in their designs: It is not just customers ordering, its our team as well, me being one wanting too much, it is getting difficult being around such great stock.

Also this week we have made some great changes to the aesthetics of the store; we changed the window and made it a country garden slash hanging window. We used the ideas of hanging garments and accessories because it seems to be the trend for windows in Bluewater to have hanging items, for example ‘Topshop’ and ‘French connection’ both had great ideas, we felt hanging garments gives the theme of freshness and spring. We then took this idea one step further and incorporated this throughout the shop by hanging products from the ceiling. The gives the impressions of the boutique being full and thoughtful to our interior design too. Customers tend to notice more items in store and this Saturday we tended to sell a lot more sales of particular designers because they were hanging. I am very happy with the look to the store of I have received a lot of complements from consumers.

Looking forward to Profile 5 next week, cannot wait to see all the exhibitors and the success I am sure they will achieve from the experience!

Nalini’s Diary-Oraganizing the big show……

This week has been soo exciting, I am loving organizing the fashion and seeing the progress we have made. Please first take a look at the team’s point of views on the show:

·        Alice ‘I’m so glad the fashion show is going ahead. It’s a brilliant way for the designers to get their clothes, etc shown more to the public. People will see how tasteful some of clothes are and will hopefully remember the designer’s name. It’s also a real chance for people to know that LFF is in Bluewater and understand what we’re about rather than just thinking we’re another shop.

·        Ruth ‘The fashion show is a good way to get people more aware of LFF and more interested in our shop. Fashion shows always generate a huge amount of interest and hopefully people will see that we are different from the rest of the shops in Bluewater, we offer a personal touch and unique style of retail.

·        Saran ‘I am really looking forward to the fashion show it will bring awareness to LFF and also the designers, more people will then shop in the shop and also know what it is about! This will also be a good experience for everyone working at LFF! Will see you there!

·        Melvine ‘I think the fashion show is a great idea! It will be good in the future; a great and good “kick” for the sales, to meet new customers (and to let them know what’s going on!), meet new designers let them know what the shop and campaign is all about. Fashion is not only inside London, but it’s in Bluewater with great designers and new and different styles of fashion.’

·        Rachel C ‘The Bluewater fashion show is a great opportunity for all the designers to showcase their collections to the general public and to raise awareness of LFF. This will be a show to remember and one not to miss, so I look forward to seeing you all there, for the boutique’s first fashion show!

·        Ron BLUEWATER FASHION SHOW IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL THE DESIGNER’S TO PROMOTE THEIR PRODUCT AND IT WILL BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR LFF. I’M SURE EVERYONE WILL HAVE GREAT TIME . THIS WILL ALSO BE A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO MEET THE DESIGNER’S.

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO BE THERE ON THAT DAY………………

“FASHION IS JUST NOT TO WEAR ANY THING , IT’S AN ART……..”