Mr. Price is a publicly traded retail company, and one of the reasons South Africa has become a highly fashion conscious society. It caters to the variety of tastes, quickly making lines influenced by worldwide trends, whilst still sourcing nearly a third of their wares from local manufactures. Mr. Price’s knowledge of the market, on trend fashion and cost conscious pricing gives them the competitive edge against international brands. On top of all this, it is Mr. Price’s subtle and effective transition into the digital era that’s responsible for it’s on-going successes.

  When most retailers make an app it does not become successful because although it may be nicely created, it isn’t useful to people. Mr. Price’s app has five different functions making the app useful, fun and desirable to anyone interested in fashion.

    The first practical use is the  ‘shop on the go’ function. This allows users to shop wherever they are, share favourite items with their friends and create a wish list. The reason this works so well is because it’s not been over complicated. Its emphasis is on easy browsing and slick navigation gives regular shoppers a great reason to download the app.

  The second practical use is the ‘smart store locator’. This is a nice touch to the app. It makes sure that you can find out where the nearest Mr. Price store is and gives you directions to the shop. Not necessarily something that customers would use regularly, but it proves that the app will cover all your Mr. Price shopping needs, whether that be digital or in store.

    This leads nicely into their ‘product scanner’, another useful in-store function. If you find an item you love in-store but can’t find it in your size you can scan a tag and check if it’s in your size in nearby stores. Together these three uses have everyone’s shopping needs covered, making the app irresistible to anyone who likes to keep up to date with fashion.

    To give the app that fun edge, it has a ‘build a virtual wardrobe’ function. This lets users upload pictures of their outfits, or add items from their wish list and create looks to share with friends. This is also the perfect platform to launch competitions. For example, recently, if you bought an outfit you created in the virtual wardrobe you had the opportunity to win double your basket price back.

And if that wasn’t enough there is a ‘fashion inspo’ page for users to check out how other people have styled the clothes and check out the latest trends.

Despite being legally permitted since 1912, it wasn’t until 1951 that voting for women became a reality in Argentina. The transformation towards gender equality in political voting can be credited to Eva Peron. The change she triggered not only gave women the chance to vote, but the right to be voted for.

  Eva founded the ‘Feminist Peronist Party’ in 1949, which only allowed women to be members. If the party amassed enough votes, the women would occupy positions in a new government – and sure enough, they did.

  In 1951, 4 million Argentinian women voted for the first time, and the Feminist Peronist Party received 63.9% of the vote. Six women were elected senators and 23 received a place in the lower chambers. But has the Eva Peron effect continued into the 21st Century?

  In the political sphere Eva’s legacy lives on, with Argentina ranking 15th in the world for female participation in national legislation. However, it seems outside the world of politics, gender equality is lagging. A report by the ECLAC stated that in Argentina, women earn 11% less than men in the same jobs. The judiciary, for example, is run by a large majority of men; the presence of women in the highest court is only 28.5%.

  Another big issue surrounding gender equality in Argentina is abortion. An estimated 500,000 clandestine abortions are carried out each year. Many women hope to regain control over their own bodies, and in this case they are campaigning for change. Numerous feminist groups, together with women from political and social movements, have created the Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito (National Campaign for the Right to a Legal, Safe and Free Abortion). On top of this, Amnesty International Argentina has launched a campaign to collect signatures to initiate a ‘serious and democratic’ debate on the issue.

  Last year, Argentina ranked 71/148 in the United Nations gender equality rankings falling from 61st position. Although they rank well on political representation and education, they fall behind in reproductive health.

According to ‘GermanFashion’ (the German Fashion Association) the clothing industry will be seeing another rise in sales in 2014. Last year there was a turnover of €12 billion, and this year its only getting better with an estimated increase of 3.75%.  

  As well as this growth in the clothing market, the German luxury market is looking luxurious. Germany remains the biggest luxury growth potential in Europe, but how is this reflected in the Fashion industry?

  This week Burberry opened a new store in Munich influenced by the design of their flagship branch in London. The new shop includes similar video walls with enhanced audio-visual capabilities that broadcast Burberry content and live events. Model Suki Waterhouse attended the opening and after party hosted by luxury clothing website mytheresa.com.

Giorgio Armani also opened a store this week in Hamburg selling a ready-to-wear clothing and accessories line for men and women, as well as a made to measure service. The new ‘Luxury White’ collection that includes high quality materials such as cashmere, silk and crocodile was celebrated at a cocktail party after the launch.

  These are just two of the most recent openings, but many luxury fashion brands have already been taking advantage of the market – Louis Vuitton took the step of opening its first German Maison last year. As both the clothing industry and the luxury market continue to increase it is not a surprise that luxury fashion brands are taking advantage of this and opening new stores.

Nigeria produces more films than any other country except India. In Nollywood, the cinema of Nigeria, up to 50 films are produced every week, but can Nigeria expand into the fashion world?

Nigeria’s success in the film industry is a strong argument for them venturing into building their fashion market. Nigeria has a rising middle class with the buying power of $30 billion, and they aren’t the only country to notice this. Shopping complexes are popping up and designers are becoming known worldwide –even Beyoncé has been pictured wearing an outfit from a Nigerian line. Selfridges and Browns UK are just two of the big brands that attended Lagos Fashion Week, and many international brands are studying the growing market.

However, breaking into the international industry is going to be tricky as Nigeria struggles to find a sustainable market. The lack of fashion training facilities and national fashion institute means that young designers have to learn independently. After Lagos fashion week, it was clear that designers who are in the middle of their career, and ready to scale commercially, are desperately needed to help launch the industry.

The biggest challenge will be producing consistent quality lines internally. 90% of Nigeria’s market is informal and there is no trademark protection for designers. The industry needs the government to realise its potential and give it support before it can grow. Furthermore, the increasing numbers of wealthy Nigerians need to be informed that if they want to support their country they should start buying domestically.

Johannesburg did an amazing job at being Africa’s fashion capital this year. It hosted Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa from the 29th October to the 1st of November celebrating the continent’s best fashion designers.

Many incredible designers presented their clothes at the continent premier annual trans-seasonal sartorial showcase. There was a beautiful mixture of warm traditionally African colors seen in shows like Tina Lobondi and Taibo Bacar and more modern collections such as AFI Fastrack winner Jessica Ross’s, whose show involved many monochrome pieces.

MBFWAfrica was such a success this year as the AFI focused on providing more retail access for designers. This was perfectly reflected in the choice of location – Melrose Arch – the premier retail space in Johannesburg.

And it’s getting bigger! Elle and Mr Price are re-launching their ‘Rising Star Design Award’ but this time continent wide. The competition seeks to find a final year fashion student or graduate that is not currently employed by a retailer.

The prize includes a mentorship program at the Mr Price headquarters where the winner can learn the start to finish process of retail. Elle head office also takes on the winner for two weeks where they spend time with the editor and the fashion team. If that wasn’t enough, they also gets to showcase their own line (which is funded) at three different events, the AFI Next Generation Program, the Elle Rising Star Design Awards and most importantly the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa 2015!

Lenor created a campaign in 2013 'It's more than a...' that similarly to Skip, taps into a love of clothes. I thought it would be interesting to divulge deeper into this, asking creatives and strategist's their POV and noting these below.

Print Campaign

Overall the prints appear aesthetically pleasing. They include bright imagery and beautiful models. However, there is a lot of detail which makes them too cluttered and the images do not convey a clear message.

The above print is our favourite shot from the campaign. Unlike some of the others, there is an idea behind this one. The women looks purposeful and the clothes are her weapon. She looks like a women who knows what she wants and dresses in a way that helps her to achieve this.

Consumers have commented saying:

"Just done a load of Washing with Lenor in love with them all soft and snuggly..."

"People always comment on my clothes over the gorgeous scent and it lasts even if it has been in the wardrobe for a while."

"I love it on the bed clothes."

"This is the ad with the dress I love and want but can't get!!!"

Whilst this is a great shot and really attracted us to the image, it also distracted us away from the meaning of the ad and the copy.

The packs feel as if they have been dropped onto the image and do not really fit there. We realise the reason for the Lenor logo is to add a graphic behind the packs so that they stand out from the photo. However, the white graphic jars with the image behind in all the prints. 

Similarly, the text with the white background is over powering and would look better if it was smaller.

TVC

From the storyline to the VO, we found the TVC to be very generic and soulless. The only two things that stood out were 1) the similarity between Skip and Lenor - there is a scene where the actress strokes the fabric of her dress and then the camera zooms in to show the fibres:

This was my favourite part of the advert. I think it looked great visually and I liked how the hand movement flowed seamlessly with the Lenor logo - as cheesy as that is!

2) The beautiful actress - and she distracted us from the actual ad. Comments below the video are all focused on her and her outfit rather than Lenor:

"Love that dress"

"Where can I get dress from? Love it"

"What's the girls name in this advert?"

 View the dress TVC here.

Facebook

Lenor also carried out the campaign on social media; showing behind the scenes footage and getting consumers involved by offering five lucky winners a £200 prize so they are able to re-create the look themselves.

The post above attracted over 2000 likes, 134 comments and 224 shares. This is way more than the 70 odd likes they normally get.

Overall, the campaign has a great strategy but poor execution. We agree with the insight that women love their clothes but this campaign does not show the message effectively. The headlines are weak and the print is passive and slightly generic.

On 15th October countries around the world celebrated International Day of Rural Women. A day that recognises the vital role rural women play in improving agriculture and rural development.

Rural women take on many roles in South Africa, as dedicated mothers, home schoolers and cattle musterers. The problem is that many of these women feel that they cannot contribute and what they are doing is not interesting, is nothing special or not worth a mention but it is actually the converse. They need to rate their ideas and opinions more highly to make a difference. Rural women have many fantastic qualities to share with the world.

There are a lot of people out there doing it pretty tough, supporting husbands and children and properties. Rural women need to make sure they take time-out to look after themselves, to do what makes them happy or gives them a moments joy.

At the moment, there are many rural women who lack access to land, markets, finance, social protection and services. A large number of them face serious security risks during daily tasks such as collecting water or fuel. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General said, “When we give rural women access to productive agricultural and natural resources, we empower them. They, in turn, can contribute more to alleviating hunger and boosting the ability of their communities to cope with the effects of climate change, land degradation and displacement. This benefits all people.”

‘I will do whatever I can to raise awareness.’ – Victoria Beckham.

The fashionista is on a journey to utilise her celebrity to bring change in the world through her work with the UNAIDS campaign.

Victoria said she was "honoured" to be named United Nation's Goodwill Ambassador for its UNAIDS campaign. She even ditched the opening of her first store in London to be at the event in New York City.

Her passion for the cause increased after visiting South Africa in February where she saw the reality of children stricken by the disease first-hand. "I recently visited South Africa and was so touched by the women I met and felt inspired," she recalled. "I came home and I knew I had to do something."

After traveling to Cape Town on behalf of the Born Free initiative that focuses on issues of HIV's transmission from mothers to their children, Beckham used her power in fashion to raise money. She sold 600 items from her own personal wardrobe online to raise vital funds for mothers2mothers, a charity that educates on how to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies.

"I would do anything for my children and I think every woman has the right to health and every woman has the right to give their children a healthy future," she told the UN audience.

This isn't the first time Beckham has worked towards bringing more awareness to HIV and AIDS. Herself and David have been patrons of the Elton John Aids Foundation for 20 years so they have been working with lots of AIDS charities.

"I want to get to know the women and understand them. It was life changing when I went to South Africa." Beckham said. "This is the beginning of an incredible journey for me."

Jigsaw

Making a stir at Oxford Circus, Jigsaw is the latest brand trying to captivate our minds on the Underground. They have taken over a section of the walls with a range of ads including large prints of fabrics and models showing Jigsaw’s latest clothing designs.

The ads try to play mind games on the audience by showing descriptive text such as ‘GO FLORAL’ whilst the model in the picture is wearing denim. It's Style & truth - one doesn't equal the other, it is about embracing authenticity and wearing what you want, when you want.

Jigsaw - WEAR GREEN

Jigsaw - POLKA DOTS ARE IN

Do these images remind you of anything?

I was having a browse on the Skip website and could see similarities between Jigsaw’s campaign and Skip’s Three Word Wardrobe. The outfits and bold white writing make a statement on both campaigns. Great minds think alike!

Three Word Wardrobe

  P&G's Bounce Bursts

After launching in the US in April, P&G pools this TVC North to introduce Bounce Bursts to Canadian consumers. Utilising identical verbiage and imagery from the US campaign, P&G conveys the notion that Bounce Bursts "takes the outdoors indoors" to help consumers feel in touch with the revitalising scent of nature through clothing washed with Bounce Bursts. To target Canadian females with the same scented bead format, P&G positions Downy Unstopables as a way to soften and freshen fashionable wardrobes.

Henkel targets German retailers with a new liquid fabric softener by Vernel

An illuminated droplet of golden oil decorates the page as copy promises that the "only transparent fabric softener in Germany" delivers a "new dimension of softness, fragrance, and fascinating care." Henkel appeals to retailers by hyping premium product aesthetics such as an attention-grabbing, unusual bottle and a patented formula with precious fragrance oils.

It is the only transparent fabric softener in Germany and has a patented formula with precious fragrance oils.

Downy Perfume Fabric Softener

Copy: New. Downy Perfume Collection. Fragrance change. Feel the sensation of different fragrance in every touch.

Brand: Downy

Language: Indonesia

Persil Duo-Caps Banner Ad - Germany

View banner here: http://www.maidata.com/Img/unilever/Support/LrgJpg/1155928405.swf

She’s wowed everyone with her UN speech worldwide, with an issue that is a even more poignant cause in countries such as South Africa – feminism. The recent Oscar Pistorius trial has shown that South Africa’s macho culture is still highly prevalent and puts a spotlight on the pervasive male violence that has survived apartheid, with women all too often the collateral damage. So carrying on with #HeForShe - how to engage men in the fight for gender equality? Two experts from South Africa offer practical advice on making feminism everyone's cause.

Dean Peacock, Executive Director, Sonke Gender Justice, Cape Town, South Africa

Challenge misogyny in public: Some of our most powerful work has been when we've held senior male politicians and public figures accountable for misogynistic statements or abusive behaviour. The documentary film Can’t Just Fold Our Arms shows our case against Julius Malema, then the most prominent political figure besides the president. Our case against him in the Equality Court generated a much-needed national conversation about the roles and responsibilities of male politicians.

Trevor Davies, Director, Africa Fatherhood Initiative, Johannesburg, South Africa

LFW’s welcome speech, customarily given at Somerset House by Samantha Cameron or Boris Johnson, was instead beamed live from the Mountain View office of Google director Peter Fitzgerald. As president of the British Fashion Council’s digital and innovation initiative, he has been coaching British designers how to become more digitally savvy. Fitzgerald revealed that his team had held pre-fashion week “digital bootcamps” with London's designers, at which “they were each challenged to do one thing digitally, this fashion week, that they had never done before”. “We’re showing designers that the internet is truly borderless and many of them are getting over half of their sales now from outside the UK and for some of them it’s up to 80 or 90 per cent,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“For so many designers, it is social media that really opens opportunities,” says Caroline Rush, CEO of the BFC. She also highlighted several new digital “firsts” for London Fashion Week. Twitter introduced a buy button with Burberry on Monday and Topshop is working with Facebook and Instagram on democratising their fashion show by sharing looks with their followers before they appear on the catwalk.

When it comes to choosing which mobile phone you would like, there are many things to consider. One of them is based on appearance – we want phones that are fashionable and look good. This is something that mobile companies have been working on improving over the years. Apple’s Tim Cook described the new iPhone 6 as “the most beautiful phone ever made” – some may disagree but admittedly it does look very slick.

Luxury phone manufacturer Amosu has gone one-step further, offering a 24ct gold iPhone 6. The product was made available to order before the iPhone 6 was even unveiled. It comes with a hefty price tag of $3800.

Whilst in countries such as the UK and Germany a phone’s aesthetics may seem important. In places such as Africa and Asia many people are happy to even have access to a mobile phone, let alone worry about its appearance. But what is more important function or fashion?

From the diagram above it is safe to say that Apple were not the first technology company to launch a bigger screen, mobile payments or a cloud back up service. However, they have clearly indoctrinated us to believe that fashion is more important that function: Apple’s new iPhone comes in 3 colours and has a slightly bigger screen than their previous models. Globally, consumers strive to own the latest shape, colour or size of Apple product simply because we all feel obligated to stay up-to-date with Apple phone fashion.

Fifty-four percent of 14 to 34-year-olds like interactive online ads, according to a study conducted in last year’s digital-focused issue of The Cassandra Report. These young consumers are demanding brands and content creators to invite their participation and engage them in meaningful ways. There are many interactive video campaigns created that meet their desires. 

Eyes on the Road

Mobile use is the leading cause of death behind the wheel. To drive home this point (no pun intended), an interactive campaign called Eyes on the Road, has been created to simulate the consequences of being distracted while driving. Moviegoers at MC Cinema in Hong Kong watched the ad, in which they saw an open road from the perspective of the car’s driver. Viewers were sent a text from a location-based broadcaster unexpectedly, and when they looked at their phones, the vehicle on-screen crashed. The ad was effective in educating viewers, and the video of participants’ reactions has gone viral. The YouTube video has almost reached 28million times.

Moones – Drunk in Session

A band called ‘Moones’ did a set viewable on YouTube where the user was able to switch between the band playing their set after consuming 20, 40, 60 or 80 beers. As you can expect the band were pretty drunk by the end and the video has racked up over 1.3million views so far.

Pedal Heist

Patience may be a virtue, but it’s something that many of us Millennials struggle with. Super fast delivery services make the world a much happier place! There are a growing number of mobile apps and delivery services that have been created to cater to peoples want for things right now. You can get pretty much anything imaginable at your doorstep within a day. The same timeliness now extends to fashion with retail delivery services that provide quick and convenient style solutions - even as quickly as 1 hour delivery.

Forever 21's 'Closet S.O.S' is a new service that saves you from clothing disasters such as someone showing up to a party wearing the same outfit as you. Fashion emergencies can strike at any time and place. For a number of lucky Costa Rican customers, Forever 21 is on hand to save the day with their store on wheels. Closet S.O.S is an emergency wardrobe service the brand offered to the first 100 customers who turned up at the country's latest store opening. When in a fashion emergency, they can simply call the number and a van full of the retailer's on-trend clothing arrives to offer a spare outfit. Watch the video to learn more about this service. 

Don't panic Men! Thomas Pink is here to save your life too! Nothing ruins a day quite like spilling coffee on your suit or discovering the sauce from your sandwich has dripped onto your shirt. British luxury retailer Thomas Pink recently introduced an emergency service to help busy men breathe easy in times of a fashion panic. Men can call a hotline and Thomas Pink will have a fresh pressed shirt available at your door within ninety minutes throughout most of London. 

So you buy an expensive wool cardigan, wear it once and then you don't use it again for a while as you don't want to wash it incase it gets damaged or shrinks in the wash. Fear not! There are ways to wash even the most precious of items regularly without causing any damage.

From blogs to magazine articles, there is endless information available about how best to care for you clothes. An example of a company doing this well is Miele - a German manufacturer of domestic appliances with the motto "Forever Better". Miele has been placing a special focus on clothes care, launching a guide to laundry care page where customers can find helpful hints and tips on caring for their textiles. The company also hosts clothing care events called Fabric of Fashion where people can learn everything they need to know about labels, fabrics and style. The 'Fabric of Fashion' event is an informative and interactive fashion event hosted by Miele’s Director of style Gemma Sheppard. Gemma firmly believes that fashion is an emotional tool – if you look good, you feel good – and Gemma shows you how. 

Don't let the fear of damaging clothes when washing stop you from wearing them often. Learn how to clean them properly and get lots of use out of your favourite items. 

Look good, feel good and love your clothes.

For School of Doodle the future is spelled: G-I-R-L. Their mission is to teach Girls to be Loud, to create a world where Girls don’t ask for permission.

School of Doodle is dedicated to activating girls’ imagination through entertainment, education and community. It is a new kind of digital learning experience where artists, creators and students are the teachers and imagination and creativity are the lessons.

Being Loud means embracing every part of you – the messy and the neat. Being loud is being colourful, curious, compassionate, creative, courageous, and confident. Want to get a sense of what being loud is? Check this out.

The opportunity to empower teenage girls shouldn’t be missed. We are talking about the feminine generation that will lead the future of this world. School of Doodle wants to spark interest in creativity regardless of academic know-how, because they believe imagination is a right and not a privilege.

An IBM poll of 1,500 CEO’a identified creativity as the No. 1 “leadership competency” of the future, and research says that students in arts education programs perform better in school and stay longer than students with low involvement or none. This is not all; there is a particular crisis for women - a vast confidence gap that separates the sexes. Evidence shows that women are less self-assured than men and that to succeed confidence matters as much as competence. It does seem to be relevant to teach and therefore give confidence to the next generation of women. Although this project is called “School”, women behind this idea like to think of it as an endless obstacle course for the imagination. This is an extracurricular activity that complements formal education and gives girls access to today’s most extraordinary creative minds. Girls decide on how and when to learn.

This project becomes even more interesting when we talk about 'doodle dollars;, a currency powered by imagination. The more doodle dollars you have, the more you can learn and explore. If you get some extra doodle dollars, you can get Cat Power to teach a live lesson online – how cool is that? Or even join an expert for a local field trip on the set of a film – sounds like a dream trip! But how do you earn dollars? You just have to engage with the community through talking, teaching and sharing. Teach a lesson, share a tip, and learn; and the School of Doodle will reward you in the form of doodle dollars.

Very excited about this project? You can be part of it! There is currently a Kickstarter campaign where people can donate funds to back The School of Doodle. They have currently surpassed their first goal, raising $92,481 with the help of 916 backers. If you want to support Doodle, you’ll get a Doodle. You won’t be left empty handed after giving out your support – 28 top women artists were selected to make an original piece of inspiration to reward backers. A variety or artists including Yoko Ono, Courtney Love, Lili Taylor, and comedian Sarah Silverman, among many others, will offer you painted t-shirts, limited edition prints, and other special and unique pieces of art depending on how loud are you.