Tom Ford Essay Example for Free

Tom Ford Essay Tom Ford is an American Fashion designer, who is famous for turning around the Gucci fashion house. For the past 20 years, Tom Ford has been one of the most influential designers in the world. Tom was born in Austin, Texas but spent the majority of his childhood in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For Tom, nature was definitely on his side. He talks about being picky with what he wanted to wear, even at the age of 3 or 4, and was noticing small details on his shoes that he didn’t believe were right. (Tom Ford OWN Visionaires documentary, 2011) At the age of 17 he moved to New York to pursue acting, he realized he didn’t like not being in control with regards to acting, and he went on to enroll in Architect at Parsons School of Design in New York and Paris. Tom has said that rather than focusing on the architectural model he was to build he was more concerned about what the figures in his model were wearing. He realized architecture was too serious a discipline for him and even went so far as to misrepresent himself to get his foot in the door of the fashion world. His career rose rapidly and at the age of 30 he became the Design Director for all of Gucci. (Tom Ford OWN Visionaires documentary, 2011) He believes perfection is something you are born with, and that his creative drive is â€Å"obsessive†, that â€Å"perfectionism is almost an illness† for him. (Tom Ford OWN Visionaires documentary, 2011) gucci raised from the dead In 1990, Gucci hired Tom as the Womenswear Designer, and at that stage the company was in such a bad shape. In 1992, he became Design Director, yet during 1993-1994 Gucci was almost bankrupt. They appeared to be stuck in organisational inertia. In 1994 he was appointed Creative Director of Gucci. The businessmen running the company at that time were focusing all their energy on how to break the company apart, and what to do with it. Tom had a moment when he was in complete creative control and what he thought was right for Gucci. He went on to design a collection that was unlike anything else Gucci had ever done. It was stated in his contract that he was not allowed to speak to the press, he was not allowed to publicly be the face of Gucci, and that he was not allowed to step out on the runway. Being the risk taker he is, he broke all those rules and is famous for his sending his collection down the runway, and at the end stepping out onto it. (Tom Ford OWN Visionaires documentary, 2 011) His collection oozed sex, something that had gone missing during the 80’s. This could be attributed to the devastation of the financial industry or the fact that AIDS had also become widely exposed during the 80’s. It was looked upon as something dangerous and the lack of sensuality was reflected in all the arts during the 80’s. Looking back you can see a 70’s sensuality to his collection. Excitement over this collection ensued and 6 months later, clothes were in the stores, and he continued to have more hit collections. Sales took off, doubling and doubling. His aesthetic was so gorgeous, so sleek, so sexy, modern, romantic, everything about it I adore. As did many back then and today. Not only the fashion but he had the best taste in music and models. When discussing Tom Ford runway shows many recall the time of the infamous Kate Moss. He was also so good at setting a mood for his shows, so few shows these days have such an atmosphere. He was genius. And having Carine Roitfeld, previous editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris as his number one fan is just a testament to how perfect he is. He is credited for bringing back exuberance, happiness and joy. It was in a way his marketing tool, it was effective in that time as it was fresh. In 1999 Gucci became very successful. Discontinuous change had taken place, Tom Ford’s innovation was revolutionary, he had taken reign over Gucci, but he wasn’t stopping there. The Gucci group took their success and went on to purchase Yves Saint Laurent. He then started designing between Milan, for Gucci and Paris, for YSL, and was creating approximately 16 collections a year for both. In January 2000, following the acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent and YSL Beaute by the Gucci Group, Tom Ford assumed the position of Creative Director of Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and YSL Beaute in addition to his then existing duties at Gucci. Tom worked with all creative teams at YSL to define the overall image and positioning of the YSL brand including all product categories and communication activities. (Tom Ford The Brand) He also served as Creative Director of Gucci Group. In July 2002 he was made Vice Chairman of the Management Board of Gucci Group. (Tom Ford The Brand) During Tom’s 10 years as Creative Director at Gucci and Gucci Group, sales increased from 230 million dollars in 1994 to almost 3 billion dollars in 2003, making Gucci one of the largest and most profitable luxury brands in the world. (Tom Ford The Brand) Inspiration So who or what inspires Tom Ford. He is inspired by a myriad of elements in his life, in particularly the friends that he thinks have great style; the women with jobs, kids and lives. Women with character, iconic women as seen in his first Tom Ford brand runway show: Beyonce, Lauren Hutton, Marisa Berenson. His life and his mood attributes much to his inspiration, how he’s feeling and how he reacts to culture. (Full Time Ford, 2011) SUCCESS After the success of Gucci and YSL, Tom found himself burning out. If he was awake, he was working and in April, he left the Gucci. Following his departure from The Gucci Group, he lost himself; he was no longer designing and hit a low. He was missed extremely by many Tom Ford fans as well as the fashion industry. Reflecting on his departure from Gucci, he mentions â€Å"nothing lasts†. (Tom Ford OWN Visionaires documentary, 2011) After reinventing Gucci and YSL, Tom started the Tom Ford brand in 2005. Tom Ford is a passionate designer, and he transfers that passion into work, he is a very deep thinker. Most importantly he believes 90% of his success is due to his drive. (Tom Ford OWN Visionaires documentary, 2011) He will continue to design under the Tom Ford brand, one hopes for many years to come. Fashion is his business, it is an enhanced version of who he is. BIBLIOGRAPHY Full Time Ford. (2011, July 5). Retrieved August 6, 2012, from Tom Ford Does China: http://www.fulltimeford.com Tom Ford OWN Visionaires documentary. (2011, December 22). Retrieved August 6, 2012, from YouTube: http://youtu.be/NsmJ_l4jZFQ Tom Ford The Brand. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6, 2012, from Tom Ford: http://www.tomford.com/#/en/thebrand/tomford

E.E CUMMINGS :: essays research papers

EDWARD ESTLIN CUMMINGS ("Estlin") is born October 14 in family residence 104 Irving Street, Cambridge, Mass., the son of EDWARD and REBECCA CLARKE CUMMINGS. His energetic, versatile, and highly articulate father teaches sociology and political science at Harvard in the 1890's and in 1900 is ordained minister of the South Congregational Church, Unitarian, in Boston. The Irving Street household will include at various times Grandmother Cummings, MISS JANE CUMMINGS ("Aunt Jane"), EEC's maternal uncle, GEORGE CLARKE, and younger sister ELIZABETH ("Elos"), who eventually marries Carlton Qualey. EEC attends Cambridge public schools, vacations in Maine and at the family summer home, Joy Farm, in Silver Lake, N.H. "Ever since I can remember I've written; & painted or made drawings." 1911 Enters Harvard College, specializing in Greek and other languages He contributes poems to Harvard periodicals, is exposed to the work of EZRA POUND and other modernist writers and painters, and forms lasting friendships with JOHN DOS PASSOS ("Dos"), R. STEWART MITCHELL ("The Great Awk"), EDWARD NAGLE (stepson of the sculptor Gaston Lachaise), SCOFIELD THAYER ("Sco"), JAMES SIBLEY WATSON ("Sib"), S. FOSTER DAMON, GILBERT SELDES, M. R. WERNER ("Morrie"), JOSEPH FERDINAND GOULD ("Joe"), ROBERT HILLYER. 1915 Graduates magna cum laude; delivers commencement address on "The New Art." 1916 Receives MA from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 1917 In New York. Lives at 21 East 15th Street with the painter ARTHUR WILSON ("Tex"). Works for P. F. Collier & Son. In April joins Norton-Haries Ambulance Corps. Sails for France on La Touraine, meeting on board another Harjes-Norton recruit, WILLIAM SLATER BROWN, who will remain his lifelong friend. After several weeks in Paris EEC and Brown are assigned to ambulance duty on Noyon sector. Brown's letters home arouse suspicions of French army censor. On September 21, he is arrested together with Cummings, who refuses to dissociate himself from his friend. Both are sent to [the] concentration camp at La Ferte Mace, where they submit to further interrogation. Following strenuous efforts on his father's part, EEC is released December 19. Eight Harvard Poets published, with EEC among contributors. 1918 Arrives in New York from France January 1. Moves with W. Slater Brown to 11 Christopher Street. Drafted during summer; stationed at Camp Devens until his discharge following Armistice. Moves with Brown to 9 West 14th Street, New York. Meets Elaine Orr, whom he will later marry and who is the mother of his only child, Nancy ("Mopsy"), now Mrs. E.E CUMMINGS :: essays research papers EDWARD ESTLIN CUMMINGS ("Estlin") is born October 14 in family residence 104 Irving Street, Cambridge, Mass., the son of EDWARD and REBECCA CLARKE CUMMINGS. His energetic, versatile, and highly articulate father teaches sociology and political science at Harvard in the 1890's and in 1900 is ordained minister of the South Congregational Church, Unitarian, in Boston. The Irving Street household will include at various times Grandmother Cummings, MISS JANE CUMMINGS ("Aunt Jane"), EEC's maternal uncle, GEORGE CLARKE, and younger sister ELIZABETH ("Elos"), who eventually marries Carlton Qualey. EEC attends Cambridge public schools, vacations in Maine and at the family summer home, Joy Farm, in Silver Lake, N.H. "Ever since I can remember I've written; & painted or made drawings." 1911 Enters Harvard College, specializing in Greek and other languages He contributes poems to Harvard periodicals, is exposed to the work of EZRA POUND and other modernist writers and painters, and forms lasting friendships with JOHN DOS PASSOS ("Dos"), R. STEWART MITCHELL ("The Great Awk"), EDWARD NAGLE (stepson of the sculptor Gaston Lachaise), SCOFIELD THAYER ("Sco"), JAMES SIBLEY WATSON ("Sib"), S. FOSTER DAMON, GILBERT SELDES, M. R. WERNER ("Morrie"), JOSEPH FERDINAND GOULD ("Joe"), ROBERT HILLYER. 1915 Graduates magna cum laude; delivers commencement address on "The New Art." 1916 Receives MA from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 1917 In New York. Lives at 21 East 15th Street with the painter ARTHUR WILSON ("Tex"). Works for P. F. Collier & Son. In April joins Norton-Haries Ambulance Corps. Sails for France on La Touraine, meeting on board another Harjes-Norton recruit, WILLIAM SLATER BROWN, who will remain his lifelong friend. After several weeks in Paris EEC and Brown are assigned to ambulance duty on Noyon sector. Brown's letters home arouse suspicions of French army censor. On September 21, he is arrested together with Cummings, who refuses to dissociate himself from his friend. Both are sent to [the] concentration camp at La Ferte Mace, where they submit to further interrogation. Following strenuous efforts on his father's part, EEC is released December 19. Eight Harvard Poets published, with EEC among contributors. 1918 Arrives in New York from France January 1. Moves with W. Slater Brown to 11 Christopher Street. Drafted during summer; stationed at Camp Devens until his discharge following Armistice. Moves with Brown to 9 West 14th Street, New York. Meets Elaine Orr, whom he will later marry and who is the mother of his only child, Nancy ("Mopsy"), now Mrs.

Research Planning Uop Res728

Research Planning Paper University of Phoenix – RES 728 Research Planning Paper Funding for domestic violence shelters in Sebastian County, Arkansas has decreased with the decline of the state’s economy beginning in 2010, when most manufacturing jobs were outsourced to foreign countries. Funding now primarily comes from private and non-profit sponsors and donors. This change in funding has brought about the need to be responsive to the wants and needs of not only the victims but also of the donors that provide the funding for the shelters.The expectations of the donors with regard to the role of paid employees referred to as advocates and the volunteers has also changed. The donors expect the advocates and volunteers to be on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week and the shelters’ executives have had to establish in written form the boundaries established for the role of employees and volunteers. The focus of this study will be the actual role of the employees and vo lunteers versus the perceived role of the employees and volunteers by the private and non-profit sponsors and donors.This study will require data to be gathered from all persons involved with the domestic violence shelters, which will include donors, executives, employees, and volunteers. The data that will be collected during this study will be relevant to the perceptions of the domestic violence shelters’ executives, employees, and volunteers’ role versus what the donors to the shelters perceive to be the roles of the people that work on either a paid or volunteer basis. The data collection methods will include participant observations, informal interviews, and open-ended questionnaires. Data Collection and Sampling StrategiesThe data will be collected during the annual fundraiser by observing the interactions of the donors with the executives, employees, and volunteers that are participating in the fund raiser. Observations of the way each cohort interacts with one another, whether there is respect shown toward the employees, volunteers, executives, and donors. According to Kawulich (2005), observations allow the researcher to see the nonverbal expressions, determine who interacts with whom, determine the manner in which communication takes place and to ascertain how much time is spent on the various interactions.Kawulich also posits that observation allows for the checking of definitions of certain terms used within the environment by the participants while also allowing the observation of the mannerisms of the participants that indicate their resolve not to be impolite, politically incorrect, or insensitive. The informal interviews according to Turner (2010), work well for the spontaneous generation of questions within the natural interaction that occurs with informal conversation. The informal interview will not have a predetermined number of or structure of questions.It is the feeling of Turner and this researcher that this would interfere with the flexibility and naturalness of the interviews. The main disadvantage to this method of data collection is the potential to stray from the research topic. The last method of data collection will be the use of open-ended questionnaires, which will have five questions for the participants to answer after receiving instruction about the data collection tool. According to Sapsford and Jupp (2006), the chief advantage of the questionnaire is that it can be administered to a group of people at the same time.Sapsford and Jupp posit that the main disadvantage to questionnaires is that some people will not return the questionnaire to the researcher. Data Management and Analysis According to Merriam (2009), the preferred method of data analysis is to perform the analysis during the data collection. Merriam posits that without ongoing analysis prevents confusion, inability to focus, and may allow the sheer volume of the data to become overwhelming for the researcher. Bogdan and Biklen (1998) as cited by Merriam (2009, p. 171) offer ten suggestions for analyzing data as it is collected.Those suggestions include: 1) Make decisions to narrow the study 2) Make decision about the type of study you want to accomplish 3) Develop analytic questions 4) Plan data collection sessions according to what was previously experienced 5) Record as many observer’s notes as possible as you go 6) Write memos to yourself about what you are learning 7) Try out ideas and themes on participants 8) Begin exploring the literature while in the field 9) Play with metaphors, analogies, and concepts 10) Use visual devices.Data collection and analysis could possibly go on forever but once the researcher has reached saturation or in other words, information starts repeating itself then the researcher knows it is time to stop the collection of data. Managing the data during the collection process requires that coding or the assignment of some sort of shorthand designation that will allow the researcher to find the information quickly and with ease (Merriam, 2009). Data analysis can be performed by hand by developing categories or themes for the data collected.Coding is the assignment of notations next to data as you read over the data. It is like marking in the side margin what you the researcher believes is potentially relevant to your research (Merriam, 2009). Assigning codes to the pieces of data is the way the researcher begins categorizing the data. This process is used for each set of data to be analyzed. Data analysis can also be performed with the use of modern technology such as the computer and software programs developed especially for qualitative data analysis such as CAQDAS (computer assisted qualitative data analysis software), MAXQDA, ATLAS. i, HyperRESEARCH and NVivo. Bazeley asserts that the use of technology for data analysis further than is possible when performing analysis by hand (2006). According to Leech and Onwuegbuzie (2007), CAQDAS programs provide an excellent tool for recording, storing, indexing, and sorting the voluminous data that are the hallmark of many qualitative research studies. Bazeley also posits that another advantage to using CAQDAS programs is that the programs can record all of the major analytic decisions that the researcher makes, which then leaves an audit trail.However, it is noted by Leech et al. , that even though programs can help the researcher analyze the data the program cannot analyze the data for the researcher. Denzin and Lincoln (2005) make the point that the researcher is still the main tool for analysis and the flexibility, creativity, insight, and intuition of the researcher should never be replaced by mechanical analysis of data. Conclusion The use of multiple data collection and analysis methods allows the researcher to use the strength of all chosen methods in order to get a better picture of what they are focusing on in the study.Using multiple qualitative data analysis tools can help researchers to address what Denzin and Lincoln (2005) refer to as the crisis of representation, namely, the difficulty in capturing lived experiences via text. Denzin and Lincoln posit that using multiple types of data collection and analysis makes the process of qualitative research more rigorous, which may make qualitative research even more popular than it has become. References Bazeley, P. (2006). The contribution of computer software to integrating qualitative and quantitative data and analyses.Research in the Schools,, 13(1), 64-74. Bogdan, R. C. , & Biklen, S. K. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Bosston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Denzin, N. K. a. L. , Y S. (2005). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. D. Y. S. Lincoln (Ed. ), The sage handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed. ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Kawulich, B. B. (2005). Participant observation as a data collection method. Forum: Qualitative Social Research: Sozialforschung, 6(2). Leech, N. L. & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2005). Qualitative data analysis: Ways to improve accountability in qualitative research. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada. Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Sapsford, R. J. , V. (2006). Data Collection and Analysis (2nd ed. ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Turner, D. W. , III. (2010). Qualitative interview design: A practical guide for novice investigators. The Qualitative Report, 15(3), 754-760.

To What Extent Did Stalin’s Rule Mar the Key Turning Point...

To what extent did Stalin’s rule mar the key turning point in Russia’s political development 1856-1953? In an historical context, a ‘turning point’ can be categorized as an event o impact caused by an individual that, had it not occurred, would have altered the final outcome of a period of history. In the period of Russian history 1856-1953 there is no doubt there was a huge amount on political change, at the bringing of the period Russia was a state ruled by an autocratic Tsar and by the end it had seen provisional governments, local and national assemblies and a whole variety of rulers, some more autocratic and reactionary than others. Stalin’s period of rule in Russia could be seen as the most brutal rule Russia saw in this period,†¦show more content†¦These purges allowed him to remove any political opponents to himself or the party. He has been judged very harshly but a number of historians, including Steve Phillips judge that ‘enormous human costs of the policy and Stalin’s personal manipulation of policy to his own advantage’5 whe re some of the reasons as to why he is viewed in such a bad light, others see what he did as necessary. Martin McCauley wrote that ‘the future is built on the bones of the past’6 taking a more Marxist view of the long term result being of greater importance than the short term impacts. There are also questions over Stalin’s objectives, as at times they seemed contradictory, ‘economically Stalin was building Socialism, but politically he was destroying it’7. A number of historians contest this and consider Stalin to be a product of his time rather than a genuine key individual, ‘Stalin’s rise to power was not based on human qualities; it resulted from the functioning of an inhuman machine, the bureaucracy’8 . Stalin and Lenin took very different stances; Lenin followed Socialism in one country whilst Stalin wanted international socialism. Stalin was also far more brutal than Lenin. My judgment is that the turning point in this peri od (1916-17) was Lenin dissolving the Constituent Assembly as it was the true rejection ofShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesDavid M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies