The Holidays are Coming....

So it's that time of year when the iconic Coca-Cola advert appears on our TV screens, showing the little boy turning on the Christmas lights and racing back to witness the Coca-Cola lorry passing through the local village.

As I sat on the couch, sipping on an ice cold Diet Coke, I noticed that I was not drinking from a Christmas can, but from one designed by Jean Paul Gautiere, which led me to question whether Coca-Cola has had any previous collaborations with other designers.


After a bit of research, it turns out that since 2003, the Coca-Cola franchise has worked with numerous fashion designers to create special edition cans and bottles.

The 2009 Collection

In 2009, Coca-Cola teamed up with eight of Italy's greatest female designers to produce couture bottles of 'Coca-Cola Light', in order to raise awareness and funds for the Earthquake that hit Abruzzo, Italy. The earthquake affected many people in the area and resulted in 50,000 of them losing their homes.
The bottles were sold at an auction during the "Tribute to Fashion" show in Milan. They were designed by Donatella Versace, Alberta Ferretti, Anna Molinari for Blumarine, Veronica Etro, Silvia Venturini for Fendi, Consuelo Castiglioni for Marni, Angela Missoni and Rosella Jardini for Moschino.

The Coca-Cola company has since worked with many other world renowned designers including Karl Lagerfeld, Gianfranco Ferre, Sung Ji-Hyun, Roberto Cavalli, Swarvoski and make-up company Benefit, with their most recent joint venture being with Jean Paul Gautiere.

In 2010, Karl Lagerfeld bestowed "his designing talents ... turning his leather fingerless glove-clad hands to designing a second collection of limited edition Diet Coke bottles."

The bottles were designed with stars, dots and stripes in pink, white and silver with each bottle containing a silhouette of the famous designer with his unmistakable pony-tail.

 The 2009 Couture Project turned out to be a great success, which has resulted in Coca-Cola asking the eight designers to return and produce another set of bottles in 2012 for the "Tribute to Fashion" show. The couture bottles are set to raise as much, if not more, for the Abruzzo earthquake appeal.

The 2012 Collection

Looking at all these different collections, and thinking I was brand loyal, I've come to realise that maybe I don't know as much about my favorite soft drink as I thought I did...

From what I can see, Coca-Cola have worked with many different fashion designers, to the point that every time I look on Google images, I see an image of a new collaboration that I had previously not known about. 

So I guess only time will tell as to who will embark on the next adventure with Coca-Cola, but right now I'm going to crack open another can and sit and watch 'Made In Chelsea'.

Regan x

Rock n' Rollin' the Money Away...

As some of you will know, I love my music.

I love music so much that I almost shed a tear if I forget my headphones, but sadly this love of music is not cheap. Each year I spend hundreds of pounds on CD's, merchandise and concert tickets.

Whenever I go to a concert, I feel the need to buy a tour T-shirt. Some of them are completely hideous, and some of them are actually half decent. My problem is I don't like to wear them... 

I seem to have some obsession with hoarding these gig shirts in my bottom drawer. It is only recently that I've been forcing myself to wear them, and due to my tom-boy antics as a child, I would always buy XL Men's shirts, which, safe to say, are not flattering. 

This obsession with music in general is with great thanks to my wonderful parents, whose amazing taste in music has really influenced what I listen to nowadays. With my Dad having supported some large acts in Scotland, the T-shirt phenomenon started from a young age. If he ever played with a band that had their own merchandise, I would be strutting my stuff in their T-shirt the next day, thinking I was an amazingly cool kid, although now I  realise that many of my friends would not have known who those bands were (and still won't). 

My list of band T-shirts include: The Killers, Foo Fighters (x4), Red Hot Chili Peppers (x2), Mumford and Sons (x2), The Wombats, Twin Atlantic, Ed Sheeran, Arcade Fire (x2), Stereophonics, T in the Park (x3) and lots more. 

My first question is 'why do these gig tees actually cost so much?!' I wouldn't spend £20 -£25 on a normal T-shirt with a bit of print on it, so why have I spent approximately £400 on them?!

Thinking of my own question, I came up with three possible solutions:

1. I could wait and buy it online once they've been reduced, meaning that I couldn't say I had bought it at the gig.
2. I could buy a basic T-shirt from H&M and a Sharpie and create my own.
3. I could just save up and quit complaining.

Seeing this total should really make me think twice about buying more, but sadly I know that won't happen. The desire for an unflattering T-shirt that will never be worn is just too strong...

So on that note, I'll choose option 3 and better start saving for next year...

Regan x