27 April, 2016

TREND BOOK: Awakening of a spiritual being

This time I have another school project for you, as I promised. It's my trend book!


First, we need to ask ourselves what a trend is. According to The trend forecaster's handbook, trend is the ‘direction’ in which something new or different moves. A style is about difference, while a trend is about difference and the direction along which that difference travels. Trends in the broadest sense of the word are found in all aspects of our culture. Architecture, for instance. But a desire, a mood or an idea can also be a trend. Trends are, therefore, a fundamental part of our emotional, physical and psychological landscape.

This trend book consists of reports of 3 trends. A broad analysis of zeitgeist, social, cultural, political, mental trends, as well as architecture, arts, makeup, food, product design, fashion, transport and many more areas resulted in this product. The information was collected by observing two cities, Ljubljana and Amsterdam, reading magazines, newspapers, books, websites, documentaries, movies, music, advertisements and social media.

The book has been made to inform and inspire. It's a starting point for my next project - brand concept.

My three trends:
(Click to enlarge the pictures)







Conclusions...


Sources... :D Lots of research guys!


Sorry for such low resolution, I took the pictures with my phone.

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed reading! I'm already super busy creating brand concept, brand book and future scenarios. More coming soon!

Xx, Agnes

27 March, 2016

SHE'S BACK + Q&A

Hello darlings, she is back!


As you know, I now live in Amsterdam and since I moved here my life has changed quite a bit. There was no point for me to keep writing this blog because I a) wanted to start fresh and b) I wanted to focus on school.

If you follow me on Instagram and read my captions you know what's been happening and how I've been changing. All my new self discoveries led to a decision to stop my sponsor relationships, stop promoting brands for goodies, and to completely change the concept of my blog.

What's changed?

In the beginning of AMFI we needed to watch a documentary called The True Cost. Even though I'd reduced shopping in fast fashion stores like Zara, H&M and Topshop this film really opened my eyes to become even more radical about what I stand for. If you haven't watched it yet, you really should. It shows how our fast fashion brainwashes us and what are the consequences on third world countries. Heartbreaking but super important to see!

So, I stopped shopping in fast fashion stores. I will not support this dirty and cruel business. I rarely even shop, maybe once a few months in second hand stores. I sold and gave away a third of my wardrobe. Mostly because I've had enough of everything, too much stuff, it's suffocating. Also because I had some leather and silk clothes, shoes and accessories that I no longer want to wear, obviously because I'm awakening, I'm a compassionate vegan. Well, what's interesting is that I went vegan more than two years ago and till recently, I wasn't even thinking about clothes and a broader concept of veganism but food. But people grow and so did I. At this point I'm completely sure there's no way back. I not only want to be cruelty free but I also feel like there's no other choice for me. Everything comes in the perfect moment.


I've been changing my hair colors like crazy. From grey to blue, green, purple. I needed fast changes that complimented my inner changes. To me, it had nothing to do with trends, I'd say more with my current vibrations and according to color psychology I needed certain vibes in my life. In color psychology, turquoise controls and heals the emotions creating emotional balance and stability. In the process it can appear to be on an emotional roller coaster, up and down, until it balances itself. Green is the color of growth, the color of spring, of renewal and rebirth and purple relates to the imagination and spirituality. It stimulates the imagination and inspires high ideals. It is an introspective color, allowing us to get in touch with our deeper thoughts. When I look back I know I intuitively knew I needed these colors on my hair as a color therapy. What's coming next? Natural.
Amsterdam lifestyle forced me to relax in sense of clothing and makeup. If you bike 15km a day in rain you cannot wear skirts or uncomfortable clothes, lots of makeup that will melt. You need to be practical. Firstly, I started sporting sweatpants, than comfy shoes. I don't look really fashionable, thanks to THE GOD aka Jan Brovč, his jackets save my outfit. (And life).

I also kinda stopped wearing makeup. This is so funny coming from me, an ex makeup junkie. I own hundreds of beauty products that don't appeal to me anymore by the way. Last three weeks I've been makeup-free and it feels amazing. I don't promise you it will stay like that, I just do what feels good in the moment and observe the trend in my behaviour. I certainly will no longer support makeup tested on animals, like I kinda did before. To be honest, I didn't care much. I hear you judging. Like I said, I believe there comes a moment for all of us. Maybe not in this life. But I'm positive about it.

What you won't see on my blog anymore: makeup reviews, OOTDs, stuff most beauty and fashion bloggers do.

What I've been using for my skin lately is nothing but an organic shower gel, a handmade natural deodorant by Nelipot, natural oils. Sometimes but very rarely I use an organic face moisturizer. That's it. No special products, as little as possible, as natural as possible. Fuck anti age creams, anti cellulite treatments, anti pimple serums. I'm done with "beauty blogging". Back to nature, guys.

AMFI has helped me a lot on my journey. The first semester was an introduction to fashion where we had to do three projects - inspiration book, style book and prototype of a clothing. It was really challenging to do not only things that interest me but to also get knowledge about design and management. As you know I study fashion branding. Shortly, it's a direction in fashion that works with fashion concepts, trend forecasting, brand development, magazines, advertisements, logos,... Cool stuff! :)

In the second and last semester of this year, we specialised into either design, branding or management. So, as a brander, my projects for this year are tightly connected with developing our own brand. From research of the trends (you will be able to see my Trend Book in the next post THIS WEEK), concepting to 3D presentation and a pitch. What I'm most excited about is the fact that I can work in any direction that interests me. For example, our previous project was to observe the world in various areas such as architecture, art, food, product design, cars, fashion, politics, environment, societal changes, ... and find out what trends are currently forming on a broader, worldwide level. All the information from books, magazines, online sources, interviews, our own research on field was to be formed into 3 trends. I chose to name my trends Downsized, Transparent ethics and Empowering nature. We could approach this project like we wanted. Each of us had a different view on the trends, in the end they really mirrored our inner interests. I think it was an amazing opportunity to finally get some more information about the areas I'm really interested in such as food, spirituality and connection with nature, but in a more objective manner. The trend book will be a starting point for creating a Brand concept.


Q&A

I promised you on Instagram to answer your questions. The fun part :D

"Do you regret going to AMFI, is it still the right college for you?"

No, I don't regret it. The first semester I hated it sometimes, especially the designer part. But I needed to broaden my basic knowledge and just go through different mental processes and ways of working. I really enjoy branding. I see myself growing fast and am totally excited to see where all this is resulting in future. The school gives a huge emphasis on sustainability, innovation and ethics, which is a perfect environment for me to develop my own ideas.

"Do you workout every day?"

No, I don't, I go to yoga a few days per week. I do different kinds of yoga in Svaha studio Amsterdam, Flow, Jivamukti and Ashtanga. Usually 3 times per week. If you're in Ljubljana, you definitely need to go to Agniyoga studio. I sometimes go for a run. I had my bike stolen :( so no biking at the moment, I need to buy a new one so I can bike to school instead of taking the metro.



"What do you eat?"

I'm vegan. I've been raw for past 3 weeks and plan to continue eating low fat raw vegan. The decision came very spontaneously. I was feeling super weak, bloated and in bad mood. I was sick of having these unhealthy cravings and restricting myself. I come from a background of unhealthy eating habits and it's still challenging me sometimes. For me raw isn't a short term diet plan but a way of living. I support any kind of vegan diet (high five for all plant based fellas <3), that's for the planet, for animals. I think vegan diet can still be unhealthy if you eat processed food, fried food, refined sugars, too much fatty food, too much salt. Whole foods is the way to go. High carb low fat mostly. Some feel better with a bit more protein or fats, I cannot say what's best for you, you tell me. I believe that either cooked or raw whole foods do the best for the body and mind. I went raw because I wanted to cleanse my digestive system, have more energy, get clear mind, eat an abundance of ripe goodness.

My guidelines are: I eat when I'm hungry and not on specific meal hours. I eat as much as I want until I'm full. I usually eat 2 fruit meals and a veggie dinner. I don't care about calories though I make sure I stay well nourished. One fruit meal for me is for example 6-8 bananas or 4 big mangoes or 10 oranges. I adapt the size to my hunger. I feel amazing.





For daily posts make sure you follow me on Instagram and Snapchat both @ agneskrown

"How did you change to vegan, living healthy, natural life?"

I went vegans in January 2014 simply because I got a message from my body that it rejects animal products. At that time I was also very into yoga and spirituality and the change came with that too. My diet went from quite unhealthy vegan to clean whole food. It was a process. Yoga has been a part of my life since I was little. As I'm getting older, I'm more interested into mental part of yoga than physical. Recently we with Ana discovered a Slovenian FB group called Uvod v naravno higijeno (Introduction to natural hygiene). I also started following a few raw Youtubers: FullyRawKristina, Sweet Natural Living, Raw Alignment, Brianna JackFruitson, Erin Volentine, Rawsomehealthy, Life Regenerator, 40BelowFruity, Kate Fruit & Flowers, The Raw boy, Jack Abritton and Tannyraw. The change to more natural has come quite recently. I not only eat healthy food but also reduced using of makeup, quitted using chemical cleaning products, I find my piece in nature or in myself. No external impulse triggered me into this, it all came by itself. It all only works when it's authentic and not pressured. I'm still far from being truly natural but it is not even my goal. I want to live life that makes me happy and being an old soul in a modern world I will definitely need to find balance in it.


"Where can I get a vegan choker in Slovenija?"

Jan Brovč is always the answer. Simply order yours via PM here: www.facebook.com/jan.brovc

"What do you advise new vegans?"

Enjoy the journey! Don't try to be perfect in the beginning, just stick to vegan foods even if it's just a veganized version. Take your time to adapt to it. And of course, spread the passion and love.


"How did you adapt to lectures in English?"

Well, I didn't have a problem with listening and writing, so that was easy. Plus, we help one another in class. I sometimes get shy and anxious when talking in English, but it will get better. Throat chakra balancing you know. :)

"How to start with yoga at home?"

I advise you to take a course, even just to learn the basics. It's so different! Youtube is soooo far away from what yoga really is. Don't mix yoga with yoga-like workouts..

"What's your favorite piece of clothing?"

Either it's a new silver holographic jacket by Jan Brovč or banana briefs that Ana gave me.

"How did you and Ana meet?"

I let Ana answer this. :3
Ana: Long story short (as short as it can be) it was last spring, I had one of many sleepless nights (third in a row that time) and since I was so into my own head and my own world, in the middle of the night, all I did was writing and chilling and listening to music. And of course, snapchatting and scrolling over Instagram. Funny part is, I've seen Agnes before, my friend knew her, they had a few pictures together and one time we even met in person in the city. I came across her Instagram, scrolled a bit, without any intentions what so ever. She just seemed like an interesting creature to me. I didn't even notice anything else. Which is surprising, since the first thing i usually notice is a beautiful face and model-like body (as superficial as it may sound) so there was her Snapchat written in description and I randomly sent her a snap. I think I told her about how giraffes are unable to throw up. Then i sent a second one. And a third one. And a forth one. They were all continuation of giraffe's vomiting story, basically. In my fifth snap, I explained "I know I come across like a psycho, but in my defence, let me tell you.. I am." I don't remember what she replied, but eventually we met, after many all-night conversations. And since I was talking in english, she thought i'm not from Slovenia for about 2 weeks straight, which is hilarious, because she saw me before in my friend's pictures, she was just unable to connect the pieces. (Agnes: I though she was Spanish and had no clue she lives in Ljubljana phahaha). I didn't tell her coz she didn't ask. Thanks to my obviously weird sense of humour (which is my natural way of communication) she was convinced I'm messing with her, while in fact I wasn't at all. A few months later, after we already fell in love, she told me she rarely replies to people's snaps, and I asked her what made her respond to mine. She said "I really wanted to know what the fuck was wrong with you." So i guess it's safe to say, a girl did quite a research on that.

PS: Ana will contribute a guest article soon! She will discuss eating disorders and body image. Woopwoop!


Thank you for reading and sending me the questions. See you soon!

Xx Agnes


10 October, 2015

Inspiration book project

Dear friends,

It's been a long time since I posted the last post. I have no excuse this time. My life is finally going how I want. I decided to write this post to update you on important things and to show you my new work. It's gonna be a long one so make sure you sit comfortable and in peace. I hope you'll enjoy reading it.

First, about how it is in Amsterdam:

I love it. I'm very happy here. I have a beautiful small apartment and it seems I'm actually not such a bad housewife I thought I would be. I really enjoy waking up and  going to food markets (have you seen my grocery shopping pics on Instagram? I'm made of bananas yeah.), I cycle like crazy cause metro is just too expensive to be taking every day and who doesn't wanna have a nice ass! I love the trees in front of my place. I love the feel of the city, I feel free. The people are amazing, I feel accepted and loved. Maybe it's because I'm mirroring this, maybe it's because the difference with Ljubljana is truly obvious.

Don't think it's a fairy tale and Slovenia is shit cause it's not. I can write a novel why Ljubljana is also amazing and why I miss it a bit. Well, I miss organic veggies from my grandparents' garden, here it's much more expensive and lower quality. I miss the weather even though it's been very sunny for last weeks in Amsterdam too. When it rains it's hell for us spoilt asses. :) I miss little things such as having a shop under our flat in Ljubljana, I miss running on Golovec and being in nature. The older I'm getting the more I need time in nature. I miss my friends, family and my girlfriend. It's not so easy sometimes cause I only have myself but it's an amazing opportunity to grow and live my dreams.

 The campus I live in.

My bike.

 My flat. Cannot overlook the bag and the jacket by Jan Brovč. :D

 The view.



The view from my school.

 My friend Janka.

 Mornings waiting for metro.

My lifestyle:

One of the advantages of living by yourself is that you decide what you eat and how you spend your money. As a vegan foodie it's heavenly to only have vegan food at home not having to share the kitchen with omnivores. I'm eating high carb vegan, mostly raw till 4pm. Meaning raw breakfast and raw lunch plus cooked dinner. I do what I feel like each day, there's no rule. I just try to avoid processed food high in fat, sodium and artificial crap. I mostly eat fresh fruits and veggies but a loooooot of them. Usually I consume cca 2000-2500 cal per day. I quit counting them long time ago. I only pay attention to how I'm feeling. I try to be nice to my body, to nourish it with good, to eat with love, to dedicate my time and energy into sustainable way of life. Fast diets are so last season.
I subscribed to a uni gym. I go to body pump class usually 3 times a week. It's 1h of group workout on music with barbell and dumbbells. It's quite hardcore. I'm loving it, it gets me energised, flushes my body with happy hormones, helps my body to completely relax from daily stress and helps me build muscle. My views on body ideals have changed so much. I could write a complete separate post about it. Maybe I will in future. I'm just focused to do good to my emotional, energetic and spiritual body.





The school:

I love it, I'm very happy about the  decision I made. The first semester is a foundation for fashion meaning the designer, manager and brander classes are mixed and we do same projects. After January we specialise, I chose branding.
My new uni friends are super awesome, around a half of them are Dutch, the others are international.
One of the first things you'll notice is the way they dress. Very few of Amfi students are crazy fashion animals on the outside, probably cause we're studying at the end. But I also believe they have different values. I really can tell the difference from Slovenian high school people - here no one cares much about brands they wear, how rich they look, how fashionable they are (actually they know that the trends are for 'followers' and we're studying to rather become the trend setters), they prefer comfortable clothes due to Amsterdam's busy lifestyle (you cannot bike in stilettos), a lot of them pay attention to how sustainable their clothing is.

Our first project was so called Inspiration book. We had 6 weeks to search for inspiring pictures, materials, movies, videos, music, books, magazines, people, styles, events, ... anything basically, but it had to be related to fashion. Not in an obvious way. We were forbidden to open Vogue, especially Vogue US. We had to dive deeper. To search broad. The thing our teachers kept saying all the time was we had to keep in head we are fashion professionals and that means we cannot be inspired by mainstream popular fashion, that's already rusty. We had to go to the edge, explore where the inspiration starts. At the extravagant, innovative, odd. We had open hands to approach the project how we wanted. We had 'inspirational lectures' to help us get inspired but in the end it was up to us. It was a very personal project, still boxed with AMFI's expectations. We got a manual which helped us to stay on the right way.
What we had to do was a work book showing our whole research (min 150 photos, min 25% our own, mostly offline + 25 texts) and an inspiration book which is a finished product (50 photos, 15 texts, captions explaining everything inside, introduction for the book and for the chapters, self evaluation, source list).

I'm very happy with the result and with the grade I got. I ended up as one of the best students.

























The chapter about texts, didn't take pictures of them cause there are too many.




The assessment form. :)


That's it! I hope you liked the post. I'm also thinking about starting Youtube, I'll probably film some videos in next two weeks. Be patient! :) I hope this post will help future AMFI students too!

You can follow my life on Snapchat (agneskrown), Instagram (agneskrown), Facebook (Agnes Krown).

Lots of love, Xx
Agnes