Last spring, Bass Arts Fashion students had a rare opportunity to learn about branding by studying one of style conscious America’s most beloved brands, Anthropologie. Jennifer Burnley, a Montclair resident and a personal stylist at the Short Hills store, acted as our personal liaison. It started with the class meeting Jennifer at the Montclair store to receive a lesson on how the clothes and the award-winning design of the store reflect the ideas behind the brand.
Laura Compto, style editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, describes Anthropologie’s aesthetic as “French flea market-inspired” and goes on to say that the brand “embodies a lifestyle — a very particular free-spirited, bohemian existence in which coffee served in vibrant latte bowls and sumptuously embroidered bed linens figure prominently. This is surely where the French film heroine Amelie would have shopped — and definitely the place to hear the soundtrack”.
The girls began with a series of sketches of designs inspired by what they saw at the store and online research, and each student came up with her own take on the Anthropologie aesthetic.
They had 12 weeks to create their patterns and sew their garments embellished by trimmings generously provided by Jennifer from Anthropologie’s sewing studios. The session culminated in a fashion show at the beautifully designed Short Hills store.
The girls did a great job creating garments that reflect Anthropologie’s free-spirited, bohemian aesthetic of romance, foreign travel and femininity. They learned alot and they had a fabulous time!