Printers

After spend tedious amounts of time ringing around printers in Southampton and South Wales I have found it impossible to get a small quantity colour print on newsprint. I always knew this would be tricky but I did hope that there would be someone out there that would make it possible. After umm-ing and arr-ing and a little bit of panic, I've had to settle for a digital printed 'masterpiece' that will re create a newspaper with a little bit more high tech equiptment. It's going to lack that grainy look I craved but I'm sure the digital version will look a lot neater and prettier, as well as last pretty much double the time as if it was on Newsprint. Two bird with one stone, it has got to last the 6 months right?

Bulk

I've been thinking about whats going to fill the pages of the newspaper besides the content that I already have. I had already decided to add another blogger interview but have recently had second thoughts about this as I don't want the whole thing to be just editorials and internet based content. Especially as it would feel like alot of second hand information. After speaking to Andrew my tutor in a tutorial last week he thought it would be appropriate to feature alot of still life photography suited to each specific trend. I quite like the idea, but I'm struggling to find inspiration on how to photograph the items. I don't want it to look like the images found in the back page of Look or of similar magazines. It needs to be striking and with a difference.

I have also thought about including news style articles to keep inline with the newspaper theme. Something that could round up the trend, reviews of art and film appropriate to the trend to add extra inspiration. For example talking about Barbarella to add to the Primal Futurism theme.

Another feature I've thought about is streetstyle which would cover a double page spread, more than likely on the back two pages. But I fret that this may add too much work before the deadline. The panic of aiming to get the perfect images maybe something that could take weeks, even months to get right.

Publication Inspiration

I've been following Tourist magazine for quite sometime now and I've always been a huge lover of the photos, reviews and music featured. I like what they stand for and the way they feature a range of contributors. Their photos are beautiful and their style features are a lot more candid rather than editorial and I really appreciate this side of fashion. It's a little bit more underground, almost a little bit more original, doesn't seem to fussy but still manages to inspire.

Shoot Inspiration

I have never been a huge fan of high end, pristene fashion editorials. Much more a lover of the gritty images found in the likes of Vice and Tourist magazine. I want The Style Observer to follow in the tracks of such magazines as I have always admired the styling and imagery found in them. I usually work alongside a photographer from my hometown in South Wales as we went to college together and with his success as a photographer we have always collaborated really well. It's easy to talk to him and he understands the outcome of the images that I desire. For The Style Observer I wanted to branch out a little bit and work with photographers who produce images that I feel are more to my personal likening. After days and days of searching through Model Mayhem I came across Francesca Jane, who like me is from Newport. She originates from London but is studying photography at Newport University. After seeing her online portfolio I became a huge fan. 

Ideas - One

Originally I've always wanted the Style Observer to become a publication that wasn't like a magazine. I wanted there to be a clear line between a monthly magazine and a trend prediction publication that forcasted trends for 12 months ahead. However I started to doubt myself as magazines can themselves predict the trends in different ways and act as an inspiration for many. With The Style Observer it needed clear definition and a a unique approach to fashion. I looked at many options; blogs, newsletters, a website and ended up with a newspaper. I ocassionally collect The Stool Pigeon from my local Vintage shop and had always thought it was a lovely idea and just like a newspaper The Style Observer will be used to inform. I liked the idea that I hadn't ever heard of a fashion newspaper before and so pursued the idea. I looked into ideas and came across a printers called The Newspaper Club. People had used them to produce the standard newspaper as well as their portfolios Journals. Heres a few of the examples that I particularly liked;

Emily Karlsson

Emily is a blogger from Sweden who regularly donates her images to Lookbook and Chictopia. Fans can follow her through her Blog as well as her Tumblr. Her unique style has gained her recognition across the globe in a short period of time. Being only 17 this is a huge achievement, her style is an amalgamation of vintage, designer and high street garments as well as her own items that she creates for herself and others. Her look, in my opinion is very inspired by the 90's but features a mix match of other eras. As a fan myself, I have wanted to involve her in the first Style Observer publication as I feel she stands for something similar to the newspaper itself. A mix of vintage and high street looks to become a trendsetter. 

Faux Real Inspiration