2015 Year in Review
Amira Benkahla
Best Fashion Companies & Brands
Alex and Ani is a brand that sells jewelry but is most known for their charm bracelets/bangles. Alex and Ani is an American-based brand which means that all their products are designed and produced in the US, which benefits the American economy by creating more jobs. One of the reasons why this brand has become so popular is the message of positive empowerment and humanity that they portray through their products. This brand is most popular with teens and is an item that is collectible, meaning that their bracelets are all designed to match and be worn together encouraging people to purchase more than 1 bracelet to attain the full set.
The "athletic" look has been a huge trend of 2015 making brands like Adidas and Nike very popular. Nike has had a very successful year, making it to #18 on Forbes:The World's Most Valuable Brands of 2015. Nike has put a lot of effort into advertising their products by featuring many influential athletes such as Tiger Woods, Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Serena Williams in their commercials, Nike has spent 3 billion on advertising alone this year.
Cartier is a french luxury brand that originally sold jewelry to European royalty. Although Cartier is targeted to older age groups, it has become a lot more popular with teens ever since Kylie Jenner was spotted wearing stacks of them on her arms and many jokes surfaced on social media platforms that "Kylie Jenner was wearing their college tuition on her hand" Sales of the bracelets that Kylie was wearing (The Love Bracelet) have skyrocketed among teens, Cartier was the No.19 for cool "It Girls" ages 13-29 according to a study executed by Teen Vogue.
Worst New Products of 2015
Birkenstock Shoes
Models of 2015
Gigi Hadid
Gigi Hadid was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and is the daughter of former model Yolanda Foster. She started her modeling career with Baby Guess when she was just 2 years old after being discovered by Paul Marciano, however she later ended her modeling to focus on school. She resumed her modeling career in 2012 and signed with IMG models, she resumed working with Guess and was named the face of a Guess campaign in 2012. The year of 2015 was when Gigi's career really began to grow, she was named a Maybelline brand ambassador in January 2015 and by May 2015 she had walked for many influential designers such as Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Michael Kors, and Max Mara. Gigi Hadid starred in Calvin Harris's music video "How Deep is Your Love" and in the Taylor Swift "Bad Blood" video. In December Gigi made her first ever appearance in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Gigi Hadid has also landed the "Model of the Year" award at the Daily Front Row Fashion Los Angeles Awards Award.
Kendall Jenner
Kendall Jenner was born and raised in Los Angeles,California. Kendall has always been exposed to the camera because of her family's fame and her frequent appearances in the reality TV show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians". Kendall Jenner is part of an emerging fashion movement which has been called the "Instagirl era"/"Social Media Modeling" which means that Kendall built her online fan base by posting backstage selfies and career updates, giving fans a unique perspective into her business and personal life. Many brands have started hiring models based on their Instagram follower count because they believe that this will help expose their brand more. This year, Kendall's social media follower count was a contributing factor to Estee Lauder's decision to make Kendall the Global Ambassador for their brand,Estee Lauder global brand president Jane Hertzmark explained the reasoning for dubbing Kendall as the new Brand Ambassador, "[Kendall] is the ultimate Instagirl, and we are excited to leverage her image, voice, energy and extraordinary social media power to introduce Estee Lauder to millions of young women around the worlds." Kendall has also walked New York Fashion Week with Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Givenchy. Kendall Jenner also made an appearance in the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Top Musical Artists of 2015
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande was born and raised in Boca Raton, Florida. She began her career in the Broadway musical, 13 before landing a role in Nickelodeon TV series Victorious. Ariana's music career started to develop after the release of soundtrack Music From Victorious. She signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released her first album Yours Truly in 2013. Ariana's strong and soulful voice was compared to legends like Mariah Carey and Ariana was dubbed the "New Mariah" by many critics. My Everything was released in 2014 and Ariana spent most of 2015 promoting her album on her first ever world tour titled, The Honeymoon Tour. This year she released a new perfume Ari by Ariana Grande and was also chosen to be the 2016 Viva Glam Girl for MAC Cosmetics. Ariana's fun and playful style sends a message of confidence, an inspiration to many girls to be themselves. Ariana's wardrobe pieces are very feminine and doll-like, her signature looks are cat ear headbands and high ponytails.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift was raised in Wyomissing,Pennsylvania, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was 14 to pursue a career in country music, She was the youngest songwriter ever signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. She released her first self-titled album in 2006. She has released 3 perfumes: Wonderstruck, Wonderstruck Enchanted, and Taylor by Taylor Swift. The release of her album 1989 in 2014 brought Taylor Swift lots of success and was her most well known and entertaining world-tour because of the surprising elements in her concerts. Going to her concerts have been compared to going to a slumber party, filled with intimate conversations and dance parties. Taylor Swift has hosted many surprising guests at her concerts such as Karlie Kloss, Selena Gomez, the Weeknd, Mick Jagger, Ellen Degenerous, and many more! Taylor Swift has a very classic style and inspires girls with her unique and colorful outfit combos.
- Louis Vuitton
- H&M
- Nike
- Zara
- Gucci
My New Year's Resolutions
Personal improvement: save money/create a savings account
Family and friends: Spend more time with family and friends
School and the outside world: learn how to manage time better/ be more productive