Wearable Technology- Caeden

Start up brand Caeden have developed a new wearable which includes the usual sensors found on a fitness gadget for counting steps, a heart rate sensor and an overall sensor to measure health and stress levels.

It seems strange that a start up company would make a wearable when big brands like Apple, Microsoft and Samsung are all doing the same. How would this small company compete? Nora Levinson, Caeden's chief executive says that there is still a lot of room to compete and enter the market. Caedens key selling point is that the wearable looks like a leather bracelet, a fashion accessory not like a gadget.

“We focused not only on designing a beautiful piece of jewelry, but also on incorporating advanced heart sensor technology that gives a more well-rounded picture of overall health,” Ms. Levinson said.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/caeden-a-wearable-tech-start-up-introduces-a-smart-bracelet/?_r=0

From looking at Caedens website their brand identity is extremely modern, sleek and sophisticated. They are trying very hard to make their technology appealing to the consumers who find self image very important.

On a blog post I wrote the other day I spoke about Topshop x Bpay who have also come into the market of wearable technology. Topshop have focused on the contactless payment side of wearable whereas other companies have explored the fitness side of how this tech can help people in their everyday lives.

Personally I feel that the contactless payment side of this technology is a lot more exciting and convenient, I myself would be interested in investing in a piece of wearable that I could pay with. However, the technology for fitness reasons doesn't really appeal to me that much. If I wanted to count my steps I would rather do that on an app on my phone than pay for a bracelet to do it.

I predict that more and more companies will be creating a type of wearable, whether that be fitness, contactless payment or something else, but trying to make it look like something people would actually want to wear, something on trend and not just a gadget. To do this successfully tech brands will most likely team up with fashion retailers to give their product the 'on trend' look.

If I find any more information about brands teaming up for wearable tech I will let you know!

Street Style

It was time for the group to get onto the streets and see what the consumer was wearing and if it matched our trend research.

We tried to look for a number of different trends in the coats we looked for e.g.- camel with fur, camel in a biker style. 

From our street style we found that- 

-Older women seemed to be wearing fur the most, maybe because they have owned the coat for a while, think of it as a classic and wear it season after season. 

-A lot more fur in the stores than on the street. We found it a lot more difficult than we thought it would be to find people wearing fur. However, we did see a lot of fur elements like collars or hems. 

-Camel featured the most. We saw so much camel in a number of different styles whether that be ankle length, a bomber style etc. 

-Tie around waists were very popular, especially in the camel colour. 

-Buttons were main focus on long line coats. We didn't see any zip detail or any other components which were the main focus, 

-Varied lengths, from thigh to ankle length. 

Missguided Underwear

Fast fashion retailers Missguided are expanding their range of category extensions for Autumn Winter 15, which includes lingerie. Misguided were featured on http://www.drapersonline.com and this is what they said:

In mid-September, a new 50-piece collection of nightwear will launch featuring slogan bed T-shirts and loungewear designed for a girl’s night in, as well as a more sexy line of playsuits and robes. Prices will range from £12 for a pyjama shorts set to £25 for a robe.

This will be followed by Missguided’s first lingerie collection, which is set to drop online from mid-October.

“While we’ve been really successful with crop tops and bralets already, these have been mainly for outerwear, so this is our very first lingerie collection and we’re really excited,” Owen told Drapers.

“Lingerie is obviously a perfect fit for us to build on our brand image so you’ll see a really seductive collection designed to be worn in the bedroom and for special occasions, with triangle bras and lots of eyelash lace.”

The launch collection will be 50 pieces, with bras in cup sizes from A-D priced from £12 to £20 and briefs in sizes 4-16, priced from £6 to £10.

I think this new range will be very successful and exciting for a fast fashion brand, which mainly focuses on online sales as their customers will be able to see Missguided as a ‘one stop shop’ for all their fashion needs. Misguided have also included shape wear in this range. 

The tag line for this extension range is 'It’s not what’s on the outside, it’s what’s underneath that counts.' 

Misguided as a brand are using a very sexualised narrative so that their customers relate that to their brand identity, a sexy, fashion forward site where you can find everything you need to stay on trend but that you can afford. 

Retail Analysis

Now we have our three trends fur, camel and long line we need to look in store and online to see which retailers are offering these trends at all the retail levels – value, mass, middle, high.

We then looked at how the 7Ps of the marketing mix are being employed for each example and level of retail? -

1.    Product – what? What is it? Details/ materials etc. Note down details of each product if you do notice variances in style, material etc. Consider who the target customer is for each example you find; the examples might be the same price but are aimed at different customers and could be designed in different ways.

2.    Place – where? In-store and on-line. Is it just on the rails or has it been featured on mannequins or in the window? Where is the store in the city or town? Does this reflect its market level? What does its location add to the product?

3.    Price – how much does it cost? Look for examples from as wide a range of prices as possible. How does the price affect the experience/ the product/ the promotion/ the packaging?? etc etc.

4.    Promotion – how is the product promoted? In-store and on-line? What is the language used? Is it featured in promotional imagery or offers? Observe and photograph how the product is being sold and who this is appealing to. So, is it part of an over-arching trend ‘story’? how is it displayed in the store? What other products is it paired with? (either physically in the store or as part of an outfit with other garments and accessories)

5.    People – who? Customer service, employees, points of contact. Who does the customer see/ interact with? Who else is in the store?

6.    Process – how does the customer acquire the product? What is the ‘journey’?  What is the sales process? On-line and in-store. How does the customer locate, try and buy the product?

7.    Physical evidence -  packaging, publicity, physical forms of communication and branding.

Here is an example slide from our presentation. 

Now we have seen what is popular in stores its time to see what the consumer is buying and wearing on the streets. 

Trend Analysis

As part of my FCP course we have been given the task to look at current trends for AW15. We were given womenswear and decided that our sub category would be outerwear.

After we found out what our category was we split up and over the weekend collected all the research we could about what was in trend for outerwear. We looked on websites such as WGSN to see what they had predicted, looked in fashion magazines to see what they are featuring in their editorials and anything else we could get inspiration from.

In the next seminar we put all of our research together and tried to group the information to see if there were any links between them, such as colour, particular silhouette or materials that were being used.

The three main trends we had grouped together were fur, camel and long line coats.  We then created names or slogans that we thought associated with our trends, the fur trend was called ‘Feel the Fluff’.

Next we are going to see if we can find these trends in retail.

TOPSHOP X BPAY

I received a promotional email this week from Topshop, as I do most days it seems, expecting to be shown all the new looks for the Christmas party season or an array of outerwear, but I was surprised when I saw the subject was 'More reasons to go contactless'.

Topshop have linked up with BPAY to create a new and exciting way to pay with your phone case, key rings, wristbands and stickers.

I am impressed with Topshop as they are obviously trying to keep their brand up to date with new technologies and take their consumers with them. All the prices for the items seem quite reasonable as well, perfect stocking filler?

I will be interested to see whether this takes off and people really start to use accessories to purchase everyday items or if people will see this as a gimmick. Maybe we will start seeing more high street brands try and get technology into their jewellery or even clothing.

Clip In Man Buns...Really?

Man buns, love them or hate them the trend for men to experiment more with their hair is here and this might just be the start!! 

I saw an article on Grazia Daily about how the popular email subscription website Groupon were selling man buns. The Groupon blurb was very tongue and cheek but seeing as over 5000 people have purchased one and the item has a 5 star rating maybe the appeal of an instant style update for men has the same attraction as hair extensions for women, aren't they really the same concept? A quick change of image and you can take them out as quickly as you put them in. 

If you want to read the article itself and see how great the man bun really is here is the link: 

http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/beauty/hair/clip-in-man-buns-sold-on-groupon-20151157538

I then saw another article related on the same website about the 'Man Braid'. Another new style that men can experiment with. Apparently the trend started on Instagram and if you search #ManBraid you can find some serious inspiration for your own locks or a male friend who wants to get in on the new trend. At first I feel people might not be too keen on the idea, but personally I think its great that men are being inspired and encouraged to try new styles and step out of their comfort zones. Women are always being told to mix up their styles and not to be afraid to colour clash or wear that neon fur coat that is 'totally in style this season' so why can't men? 

Again I will leave the link below so you can have a read and don’t forget to have a bit of an insta stalk by using #ManBraid. Who knows what kind of braided creations you will find.

http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/beauty/hair/man-plaits-hair-fashion-trend-man-buns-over-20150953916

Another hashtag to have a look on if you are a fan on the man bun is #manbunsofdisneyland. This particular craze focuses on sharing pictures of handsome men, sporting a man bun, in a Disney park with their children. This might not be your cup of tea, but social media have been going crazy for this. The Manbunsofdisneyland instagram page has over 61 thousand followers. Is it safe to say we haven’t quite got over this trend?

http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/hot-topics/trending/man-buns-of-disneyland-instagram-account-20150851200

Favorite Bloggers and YouTubers

I've been reading blogs and subscribed to YouTubers for quite a while now so I feel I have some good recommendations to get some inspiration from or just empty your bank account when you see and hear all the lovely new things you 'definitely need'.

Viviana Does Makeup 

http://www.viviannadoesmakeup.com

Lily Pebbles 

http://www.lilypebbles.co.uk

Amelia Liana

http://amelialiana.com

Chriselle Lim 

http://thechrisellefactor.com

Claire Marshall

http://www.heyclaire.com

Clothesencounters

https://www.youtube.com/user/clothesencounters

Deliciously Ella

http://deliciouslyella.com

Cupcakes and Cashmere

http://cupcakesandcashmere.com

Lexi A-N 

http://www.fashionfilth.com

Lisa Eldridge 

http://www.lisaeldridge.com

MelSoldera

https://www.youtube.com/user/MelSoldera

Mimi Ikonn

http://www.mimiikonn.com

Patricia Bright 

http://patriciabright.co.uk

Sunbeamjess

https://www.youtube.com/user/sunbeamsjess

TheLineUp

https://www.youtube.com/user/thelineupjm

Tijan Serena 

http://www.tijanserena.com

Buy Now, Blog Later

http://www.buynowbloglater.com

I have linked to either their main blog or youtube page but from there you can find all links to their social media, you can have a major follow spree on Instagram!