The story of an intern || Nicole Morrison

Where have you been studying currently and where are you planning to head off to next?

I am currently studying Textiles, French and English Language for A-Level at Tarporley Sixth Form College and I am hoping to study Fashion Buying and Merchandising at university next year!

How did you come across Rianna's brand and what made you reach out for experience? I came across Rianna’s brand on Instagram. Firstly, from a personal perspective I was in love with the prints, colours and the general style of Rianna’s work. Her website and Instagram page is very aesthetically pleasing which really helps draw your eye to her products and the entire brand itself.  Secondly, as a part of my A-level coursework I have been looking into the freedom of speech which led me into using and researching PVC and I of course came across the clear PVC shopper tote bag. I was curious to ask Rianna questions concerning manufacturing and sourcing of fabric.

After meeting Rianna and talking through my coursework and plans for university, I was very excited when she offered me this internship. I felt I didn’t have enough experience concerning styling and organisation (such as organising a lookbook shoot) therefore I was keen to see what I could come up with for her beautiful new Autumn/Winter collection.

Where did you start while creating this lookbook and what did it involve?

Whilst the collection highlights a very girly and pastel colour vibe, I had to keep in mind this was the AW19 collection and especially with the run up to Christmas it was essential to keep in mind what the target market might want to see. I feel every girl can relate to wanting to go to those amazing restaurants and cafés you see on Instagram so I felt one of these would be the perfect location- this is where Liverpool hotspot ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ came to mind. After finalising the location, this is when I began the styling mood boards, curating the perfect feel for the day. I wanted a causal and chilled tone to the edits so everyone could really relate but also a slight sparkly and girly feel, because why not?!

What were the highlights on the photoshoot day itself?
Getting to the location was so exciting! To see the beautiful ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ coffee shop in real life instead of just on Instagram. And of course choosing some delicious treats off of the AMAZING menu to use as ‘props’ which we then eventually all shared. The pancakes were a particular hit with the team! The photoshoot was busy and the day went so quickly, from moving inside the location to the outdoor street seating- changing outfits, rotating products in order to ensure we got the perfect shot of every accessory in the collection. We constantly took pictures yet the day was so enjoyable and there were many great moments. I am still in awe of Rianna’s products and constantly get questions and compliments on my emerald green and leopard print phone case.

You know your bag’s a winner when bloggers at London Fashion Week want to know where it’s from! I wore the new pearl embellished bag from the AW19-20 collection we shot, once I saw it . . . I had to have it!

What other work experience have you had? 

I am constantly looking for opportunities to expand my experience in this industry. I have had experience at Scoop InternationalFashion Show (Buying Show SS20) alongside my part time Saturday job at Bottega Tarporley and also worked for Missguided and Very. 

After visiting Scoop as a buyer with Bottega, I decided it would be beneficial for me to volunteer at one of the 3 day buying shows. I volunteered at the SS20 buying show located at the Saachi Gallery. Seeing the behind the scenes from setting up, to dealing and working with the independent designers along with accommodating the buying teams was a fantastic experience. I learnt a lot from general conversation with buyers on the topic of what they look for, for their own boutique and what has worked for them throughout previous seasons. It was a fantastic opportunity to network and take advice from experienced professionals.

Where will you be in 5 years time?!

Hopefully, in five year’s time- I will have graduated from university and will be off on my next adventure. Whether this is a graduate buying job or who knows maybe something else! My experience with Rianna has been absolutely fabulous and I enjoyed and learnt so much from it.

View the AW19-20 lookbook here

www.rianna-studio.blogspot.com/2019/09/pearls-are-always-good-idea-aw19-20

Follow Nicoles journey on instagram: 

@nicoleamorrison

Rianna Phillips X Emily Begley

One creative mind is great but two is even better!

I love when somebody comes along with a ton of fresh ideas and Manchester School of Art graduate Emily Begley did just that. She studied 'Textiles in Practice' and along with mastering knit and print design during her 3 years, she also has a fantastic eye for art direction. 

So what did she do when I handed over a stack of clutch bags? Headed to the beach of course! A few beautiful outcomes have been a result of this photoshoot but these edits with ripped up paper are dreamy enough to create the 'High Summer' lookbook all by themselves :-)

C'est la Vie portfolio clutch bag

Foil print xl portfolio clutch bag

Foil print xl portfolio clutch bag

Mayfair coconut xl portfolio clutch bag

Upper East Eyelash portfolio clutch & Sloane Street Surfer portfolio clutch 

Belgravia xl portfolio clutch bag

C'est la vie portfolio clutch bag

Art Direction

Emily Begley

www.emilybegley.wix.com/artdirector

@emilybegleystyling

MUA

Kat Mannix

@katmannix_makeup

Model

Abbie Parry

@abbiejaneparry

Behind the scenes 'SAY WHAT' AW2015-16 X Rianna Phillips

Whilst constructing the new 'SAY WHAT' lookbook, I had the absolute pleasure of working with art direction student and film maker Amber Phillips (very coincidental surname!). Taking steps in a new direction this season we decided to film behind the scenes in order to share the creative process with you all.
Amber also directed a live lookbook which will be posted on the e-boutique very soon. 
Preparing to enter her final year at Manchester school of art she is one to watch out for. 

View Ambers work

YouTube

Blog

Carbon Made

Instagram

Shop the new SAY WHAT collection 

here

The story of an intern || Annah Hughes

The second in our 'tale of an intern' style feature focuses on one of our current interns Annah Hughes who is about to enter her 3rd year of 'Textiles in Practice' at Manchester School of Art. We snapped this little cheeky monkey behind the scenes whilst she helped to art direct the new 'Say What' lookook photoshoot.

A N N A H ' S    S T O R Y

'Collaborating with Rianna and her fashion label on the AW2015-16 collection lookbook photoshoot has been an exciting experience and when Rianna gave us the brief, my group and myself were extremely excited at the prospect of working closely with an established designer. During a project titled 'unit X', the university invite existing design companies to come into the Art School and set up collaborative projects, enabling students to gain experience within the industry whilst also studying at uni. We were really excited to hear one of these opportunities was to help create & art direct Rianna's lookbook! Around 8 groups in total created concepts for Rianna's campaign but only 1 groups concept could be chosen for the final photoshoot.

 

We started by brain storming lookbook ideas and many Starbucks mochas later we decided upon creating an innovative virtual platform; a short film for her site, directed by fellow intern Amber Phillips and a digital friendly lookbook which could easily be viewed on her website but also print out beautifully as a hard copy.

By using social media platforms such as Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram we researched the current market whilst working closely with Rianna and regularly had meetings to discuss our mood board concepts. This lead us to the first test shoot which was an extremely exciting yet challenging prospect, we all knew what we wanted to achieve but it was quite an experimental process. We presented our final test shoot ideas in front of Rianna & all the other contending groups from Manchester School of Art. Winning the pitch was amazing and we were so excited to put our test shoot ideas into a live commercial brand. Working with Rianna on the day of the shoot was really fun and exciting. We were able to have free reign on art direction and the styling of the shoot. I really enjoyed the preparation that went into styling the models look. We opted for a minimalistic look that let the prints do all the talking. Silky soft culottes were pieced with layered mesh tops and the jewellery was inspired by the looks our favourite fashion bloggers wear.

It's been a really fun and eye opening experience working and connecting with everyone on set. Although the photo-shoot only took a few hours there was a big team to coordinate. We had to be sure everyone understood the vision we wanted to portray, therefore inspiration boards were created and shared with the make-up artist, photographer, model and lighting crew. Studying 'Textiles in Practice' at Manchester School Of Art has completely changed my outlook on art, fashion and design industry. It has taught me that there are numerous directions and opportunities within fashion to pursue. I specialise in print for fashion however working on an art directed lookbook enabled me to experience different aspects of the fashion industry and how I could potentially develop my own practice within art direction & styling. For my final year at the Art School I want to produce a unique collection of contemporary prints. Focusing on creating an abstract and playful concept within fashion and editing these ideas within a styling context.'

View the full lookbook created by the students here:
www.riannaphillips.com/page/lookbook-saywhat

 Take a look at Annah's work:

Carbon Made 

Instagram
Blog

The story of two interns

Ever wondered what it takes to become an intern in the fashion industry?

We go behind the scenes to experience the journey two of our fabulous interns Sophie and Grace experienced whilst curating The Transcendent lookbook:

S T O R Y   O F   T W O   I N T E R N S

To begin with we started researching backdrop materials, we felt iridescent and reflective surfaces related back to Rianna's primary research boards during the print design process. Pinterest became our virtual studio space as we gathered ideas for make up looks, styling, art direction and location. 

We put put the information into moodboards and presented them to Rianna in weekly meetings, these team meetings somehow ended up with lots of laughs, gossip and a whole lot of cake! Teacup in Manchester is the perfect destination for getting the group together for discussions. We highly recommend the flour-less chocolate cake! Find Teacup on Thomas street in the Northern Quarter.

When the day of the photo shoot finally arrived, Manchester’s infamous weather struck. Torrential rain hit, which really affected our attempt of an outdoor location, armed with as many umbrellas as we could carry, we tried our best to keep the models, clothes and most importantly, the bags, dry. This resulted in us looking like drowned rats for the rest of the day; well they do say working in fashion is glamorous!

Taking shelter back at the studio, we didn’t let the weather dampen our mood. We quickly got the models ready in their second looks. Whilst they were in hair and make-up we both set up the studio, using iridescent Perspex, mirrors and potted plants. As we had regularly met with our photographer Rosie Woods, she was clear on the look we were trying to create; this made the day run a lot smoother.