FASHION
COMMUNICATION & CREATIVE DIRECTION
Lara Kristina CONNOLLY
OH YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS NEXT BIT ->
Meet Lara, an aspiring Creative Director with a strong foundation in all things creative. From a young age, I’ve immersed myself in the world of art and design, which led me to earn a Distinction in college. Currently, I’m studying Fashion Communication and Marketing, a path I chose out of my long-standing admiration for fashion and my desire to move beyond the traditional boundaries of creative subjects. What I love most is the creative freedom to shape visual stories through imagery and meaningful collaboration. I thrive in team environments and bring my strongest skills to the table during photoshoots, from concept development to execution. Looking ahead, I plan to pursue a Master’s in Fashion Communication to deepen my knowledge and prepare myself for a dynamic career in the fashion industry.
MEET LARA
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my success chapters. --->
‘BRAND ME’
FOR MY FINAL MAJOR PROJECT IN FASHION COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING, I EXPLORED THE GAP BETWEEN TWO DISTINCT FASHION BRANDS, DOLCE & GABBANA AND DSQUARED2, TO IDENTIFY WHERE MY OWN CONCEPT WOULD SIT WITHIN THE MARKET. THROUGH RESEARCH AND BRAND ANALYSIS, I FOUND MY NICHE WITHIN THE “DARK LUXURY” SEGMENT. I DISCOVERED THAT WHILE DSQUARED2 EFFECTIVELY ENGAGES GEN Z AUDIENCES, DOLCE & GABBANA FALLS SHORT IN THAT AREA, PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRIDGE THAT GAP. INSPIRED BY DSQUARED2’S RECENT RUNWAY SHOW, WHICH FEATURED NOSTALGIC 2000’S CLUB AESTHETICS AND A HIGH-ENERGY SET DESIGN, I DEVELOPED A CONCEPT THAT MERGED THAT THROWBACK FEEL WITH A MODERN LUXURY EDGE. MY FINAL SHOOT WAS STYLED AS A PAPARAZZI-STYLE EDITORIAL, CAPTURING THE MODEL EN ROUTE TO AN EVENT IN A WAY REMINISCENT OF ICONIC EARLY-2000S IMAGERY, EVOKING THE RAW, CANDID GLAMOUR OF FIGURES LIKE KATE MOSS. I COLLABORATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHER ANDREW GRANT TO FURTHER BRING THIS VISION TO LIFE, RESTYLING THE LOOK TO PORTRAY THE MODEL AS IF SHE WERE LEAVING A WILD NIGHT OUT, DISHEVELED YET EFFORTLESSLY CHIC, ENHANCING THE NOSTALGIC NARRATIVE OF DARK, GLAMOROUS EXCESS.
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‘INFLUENCE ME’
FOR THE INFLUENCE ME MODULE, I WAS TASKED WITH SELECTING A SUSTAINABLE COMMERCIAL BRAND THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM INFLUENCER MARKETING. I CHOSE ASOS MARKETPLACE, FOCUSING ON ITS NOSTALGIC APPEAL THROUGH RE-LOVED AND REFURBISHED FASHION. THE PLATFORM ALIGNS PERFECTLY WITH CURRENT TRENDS AROUND SUSTAINABILITY AND VINTAGE STYLE. TO COMPLEMENT THE BRAND, I SELECTED INFLUENCER ABBIE PORTER, SOMEONE I PERSONALLY FOLLOW ON TIKTOK, WHO OWNS A VINTAGE CLOTHING BRAND AND REGULARLY SHARES HER UNIQUE STYLE, HAVING ALSO FEATURED IN PAST BRAND CAMPAIGNS. I CONDUCTED PUBLIC SURVEYS TO ASSESS ASOS MARKETPLACE’S CURRENT VISIBILITY, ITS POPULARITY AMONG CONSUMERS, AND HOW MUCH INFLUENCE
SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONALITIES HAVE ON PURCHASING DECISIONS. THE IMAGERY I CREATED FOR THIS PROJECT IS AIMED AT GEN Z, USING INFLUENCER MARKETING TO HIGHLIGHT THE ENDURING APPEAL OF NOSTALGIA IN FASHION, WHILE ALSO RAISING AWARENESS OF ASOS MARKETPLACE AS A GO-TO DESTINATION FOR SUSTAINABLE, TREND-LED PIECES. SCAN THIS FOR SHOOT BTS
INFLUENCE‘INFLUENCEME’ ME ‘INFLUENCEME’
PLANET TWO ZERO FOUR
SCAN THIS FOR BTS OF MODEL SCOUTING
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FOR MY PLANET 204 PROJECT, I WAS TASKED WITH RECREATING AN IMAGE SPECIFICALLY SELECTED FOR ME BY MY TUTOR, BASED ON MY CREATIVE STRENGTHS. THE IMAGE WAS BY WALTER VAN BEIRENDONCK, KNOWN FOR HIS BOLD AND UNCONVENTIONAL STYLING. THIS PARTICULAR LOOK FEATURED ECCENTRIC, FUTURISTIC ELEMENTS INSPIRED BY WALTER’S FEAR OF AI AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY. TO BRING THE CONCEPT TO LIFE, I COLLABORATED WITH CLASSMATES TO SET UP A MINI MODELING AGENCY, WHERE WE RECEIVED OVER 15 APPLICATIONS. FROM THERE, I SELECTED THE IDEAL MALE MODEL FOR THE SHOOT AND SOURCED ALL STYLING SUSTAINABLY. IN ADDITION TO THE MAIN SHOOT, I CREATED A RE-STYLED VERSION FEATURING A FEMALE MODEL TO EXPLORE GENDER CONTRASTS WITHIN THE CONCEPT. I THEN MERGED BOTH OUTCOMES USING PHOTOSHOP TO PRESENT A COHESIVE, IMAGINATIVE FINAL IMAGE THAT REFLECTS BOTH INDIVIDUALITY AND THE ORIGINAL FUTURISTIC VISION.
BRAND COLLAB
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THIS PROJECT WAS A CONCEPTUAL BRAND COLLABORATION BETWEEN LOEWE AND DIME, TWO BRANDS WITH DISTINCT AESTHETICS AND TARGET AUDIENCES. THE CHALLENGE WAS TO IMAGINE WHAT A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THEM MIGHT LOOK LIKE. I DEVELOPED CONCEPTS FOR PROSPECTIVE POP-UP EVENTS, SHOP WINDOW DISPLAYS, COLLECTION IDEAS, VENUE STYLING FOR A PRODUCT DROP, AND CONDUCTED TARGET MARKET RESEARCH AND MODEL SCOUTING. AS PART OF A TEAM, MY PARTNER AND I WANTED TO VISUALLY HIGHLIGHT THE STRIKING CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO BRANDS. TO DO THIS, WE ARRANGED A PHOTOSHOOT AT THE CHESTER GROSVENOR HOTEL, A LOCATION THAT PERFECTLY REFLECTED LOEWE’S LUXURY APPEAL. OUR MODEL WORE STREET-STYLE CLOTHING THAT WE DESIGNED AND EDITED OURSELVES TO REPRESENT DIME, CREATING A BOLD VISUAL JUXTAPOSITION BETWEEN HIGH FASHION AND SKATE CULTURE. THE RESULT WAS A CREATIVE FUSION THAT SHOWCASED HOW TWO OPPOSING BRAND IDENTITIES COULD COEXIST IN A SINGLE, UNIFIED VISION.
AS PART OF MY EXPERIENCE, I WAS SELECTED TO MANAGE THE OFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS FOR OUR COURSE, UOC FCM. THIS ROLE INVOLVED SHOWCASING STUDENT WORK, RESPONDING TO MESSAGES FROM PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS, SHARING FASHION NEWS UPDATES, AND PLAYING A KEY ROLE IN REBRANDING THE OVERALL VISUAL IDENTITY OF THE COURSE’S ONLINE PRESENCE. MORE RECENTLY, I WORKED ALONGSIDE MY TEAM, ’THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM’, TO CREATE AND POST PROMOTIONAL CONTENT, INCLUDING TEASER REELS AND WEEKLY COUNTDOWN POSTS LEADING UP TO OUR COURSE’S LAUNCH NIGHT, WHICH WE ALL HELPED ORGANISE AS PART OF AN EVENTS MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE. ONE OF MY KEY CONTRIBUTIONS WAS PRODUCING A PROMOTIONAL FASHION
FILM USING ADOBE PREMIERE PRO TO HIGHLIGHT THE COURSE AS A WHOLE. I INCORPORATED AI ELEMENTS TO CREATE A DIGITAL RUNWAY-STYLE STUDENT SHOWCASE, BLENDING INNOVATION WITH CREATIVITY TO CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF OUR COURSE IN A FRESH AND ENGAGING WAY.
EXPERIENCE
GALLERY
