Sam Treharne Media

Thursday, 12 November 2015

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Did you happen to see Justin Bieber roaming the streets of LA last weekend? Well, either way, he's inspired this week’s Hack of the Week! *Applause* In case you missed the last Knot Cool HOTW, we did a segment on how to turn shoelaces into, cool, unique and interesting wristbands. This can be found on our website at www.KnotCool.co.uk if you weren't fortunate enough to read it.
This week, our hack is to do with something I hope we all wear, Jeans. A shoelace can be a modern and improved take on a belt. Between you and me, I like it because you can use colours that contrast/clash and not look like a crazy person! This lace is tied just like the typical lace in your shoe but I prefer a typical bow/bunny ears tie, however, you can adapt it to whatever suits you.

Top 3 Unique Shoelace Styles

3. The Loop Back

The Loop Back is a cool style where the laces loop back in on themselves giving it that real unconventional look. It is simple, yet effective and can really make bi-colour laces look amazing. The look is best with one of the most popular kinds of shoe there is, the sneaker which means that it is not only easy to do but you likely own a pair to do it with which puts it at number 3 on our list. If you would like to learn how to create this style, just follow the diagram (below)

2. The Star

Now isn't this a look. If you want to completely break the walls of convention down, go for The Star. This look is for the person that can't stand being the same as everybody else. The look coincides amazingly with converse shoes thanks the iconic Converse (star) logo. In theory it may sound strange but just look at the results, it is a spectacle and is worth some attention. The look is probably the difficult of the lot but seeing the results, surely you can put in a little extra time and effort. If you would like to know how to create this look, just follow the diagram below.

1. The Hidden Knot

The Hidden Knot takes the cake in this countdown with its plain, yet effective look. For those that are uninterested in seeing knots in their shoelaces, this is the lace for you (if not, consult number 3 or number 2). This lace goes the best with Skate Shoes in our opinion but that does not devalue the lace, it can be used with practically style of shoe (provided it has laces of course). This is the more complex of the 3 but if pulled off correctly can look absolutely stunning, just follow the diagram (below).

We hope that you can find the kind of lace that you enjoy which defines you as an individual.

Giorgio Rigioni is one of the most prodigious talents in art today. He was born in Turin to an Italian father and English mother. He had always been fond of art and used to create art to pass the time. With his father being a clothes manufacturer, he was keen to create still-life pieces. At the age of 12, Giorgio developed a particular interest in creating artwork of shoes. He attended Liceo Vittoria (High School Victory) to do his A-Levels. Rigioni however would disrespect teachers and truant lessons because he was already confident enough that he would pass his exams. While the method may be undesirable, he did pass with flying colours in art. Rigioni has since moved to England as his work is being shown in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. We had the privilege to interview Region.

Can you remember how you felt when you saw your piece in the gallery for the first time?

“When I got the saw it there for the first time I felt like a celebrity but then I realised, being a celebrity is about being distant but art is about being close to people, so no, I didn't feel like a celebrity, I felt like a true artist, like my work had an audience of people that feel like my work reached out to them."

You have been dubbed many times as being the next Andy Warhol, what are your thoughts on that?

"Of course I'm honoured because Andy was one of the greats. I don't think I'm quite at his level yet but I can get there eventually, maybe I need a bit of madness like he had(...) Andy was a fantastic artist but I don't think I want to be the 'next' anybody. I want to be the first me.”

When you're not creating Art, what do you do? You're still young.

Honestly nothing too special: I like listing to house music (Diplo, Avicii all of that kinda stuff); I like my internet, my Twitter handle's '@GiorgRigioniART' and my instagram's the same; I love YouTube videos, I prefer people like PewDiePie, Smosh, Nigahiga, all of those kinds of videos.

What would you say your muse is, your art's influence?

"Well, growing up in Turin my dad was a clothes manufacturer and he always used to show me the kinds of clothes he made, I always preferred the shoes I think it's because all parts of a shoe are vital, a shirt without a button is still a shirt, however, take any part away from a shoe and it no longer functions as a shoe."

Rumour has it you were a bad student at school, care to elaborate?

“Grades on paper don't define me, paint on paper defines me, maybe I was a bad student but I was a prodigy, my methods may have been wrong but I had that exam passed from the moment I joined Liceo Vittoria and if anybody tries to say otherwise, they're lying."

Giorgio plans to start selling his art and donate any profit towards clothes for needy African people. If you would like to see/buy some of Giorgio's art, you can visit his website at www.GiorgioRigioniArte.it.

Sunday, 18 October 2015

Fashion Brand Logo Analysis

Lacoste is a French clothing company that was established in 1933 in Troyes. It's founder René Lacoste was a professional tennis player and was known for his tenacity on the court. This tenacity gave him the nickname of "The Crocodile." This nickname inspired his fashion brand logo that can be seen above.

The iconic logo has big, black and bold letters to show the bold nature of the crocodile. The black letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender. The crocodile is in colour so your attention is drawn to it which is part of the reason that the logo is so recognisable. The crocodile particularly appeals to fans of tennis because fans of René Lacoste will recognise the link between his nickname and the brand. The association between Lacoste and tennis is still around today as Lacoste is still advertised in tennis matches.

Versace is an Italian fashion brand that are particularly associated with selling high-end, expensive clothing. Their founder Gianni Versace had a fascination with Greek mythology. That is why he chose to put Medusa as the main subject of his logo.

Medusa is known to turn any onlookers into stone which is why Versace had the idea to use it as his logo. He thought that it could represent how the high-quality fashion, if seen by anyone, would stun people with its beauty and stop them dead in their tracks.

Burberry is an English fashion brand that was founded in 1856 by Thomas Burberry. The “Equestrian Knight” logo contains the Latin word “Prorsum”, meaning “forwards”. As a founder and owner of the company, Thomas Burberry was very keen and deliberate to protect the interests of his business and products. The Burberry logo shows an equestrian carrying a shield. While the shield symbolises protection, the equestrian is a symbol of pride and purity. The black colour in the Burberry logo represents elegance, strength and durability of the company’s products. The black letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender

Timberland is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. The brand is known for its boots which is further supported by its name and logo. Lumberjacks are known to wear boots that are similar to Timberland's so a clear connection can be made between the two. Lumberjacks cut down trees which is why the logo looks how it does. The large bold font symbolises masculinity which Lumberjacks are generally perceived to be, masculine. The tree could also symbolise nature to show how the brand tries to be environmentally friendly. The black letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender.

Hermès is a world-renowned global French fashion company known for its high-end leather goods, perfumes and apparel and was founded in 1837. Originally Hermès was a saddle manufacturer but moved into the world of fashion in 1922 when they began to manufacture leather handbags.

The horse-drawn carriage in the logo likely pays homage to their origin as a company that manufactured saddles. The slanted logo and the orange colour suggest how the brand is different compared to a lot of other mainstream brands that are around. The font is big which infers that Hermès is proud about their heritage as saddle manufacturers and proud of where they are from (Paris). The orange letters also show how the brand is not aimed at any specific gender.

The GQ Logo are 2 very bold colours, black and red, which shows how the magazine is a men's magazine with it's strong use of colours. The G is red to symbolise love and passion while the Q is black to represent class. GQ is a New York based fashion company so the colours may symbolise how bold New York is and how classy the fashion is. It also implies that the men in the magazines and the readers of the magazine are bold and classy. The letters are quite think to also emphasise boldness.

I researched fashion logos as I felt as though I needed to understand the content before I wrote about it

This is the logo that I created. I gave it a modern look to draw people's attention. It has the letters S and P joining together to show how Synopticity Productions try to remain as close to their audience as possible. I also made the default logo black to represent class but I can and most likely will change to colour to acquiesce to my magazine and E-media product's needs. I put the name of the company below the logo as I feel that the logo itself will not tell the audience the name of the company but I believe that in due time, it can lose the text, similar to nike, because the logo will have become so recognisable.