Crystin Moritz

Crystin Moritz is a german fashion photographer, whom I found on Flickr. She has some really great photos on her website, in particular I like her Lola series, which is really relevant to this unit. The styling of the model is inspired by clowns, yet Crystin has made the photos look sad and somewhat twisted by placing her in a dim location, used dark make-up, and by using poses which appear somewhat shy and reclusive. The images are really interesting, the styling possibly slightly too obvious for my tastes, but she has painted a story through the images, and given a character which should normally be so colourful and joyful, a dark edge.

SHOWstudio: "Dark Annie" Clown - Ruth Hogben & Nick Knight

Melvin Sokolsky

These images, by photographer Melvin Sokolsky, are very inspirational to me in this unit. The one at the top reminds me of a twisted clown (very Joker in Batman), the centre one of the head and torso covered in gold leaf could be one form of abnormality (ie. circus freak), and the balloons in the 3rd image remind me of the circus and parties, and frivolity.

Now what am I actually DOING?

After a LOT of deliberation about which direction to take this project in, and after tutorials with Tammy and a meeting with Zoe, I have decided that I am going to conduct a live photoshoot at the Paper Eaters event in Selfridges, using very tall elegant and somewhat prim models. They are going to be styled with the disheveled circus freaks in mind, but will be a good contrast against the paper background with all the candy colours. They will also possibly be helping Zoe & Andrea, and will be walking around selfridges and around London promoting the event. I am going to bring as many props out garments with me as possible, so there is the possibility to get the public and other students involved, making it a really fun installation. This will all be documented with photography, keeping the idea the of 'fashion cliches' in mind, but making them appear edgier and darker.

The outcomes will be a website, with images and features from the event and leading up to the event... which the public will be able to access, and i will also be producing a book with prints from the event.

Topshop Magazine: New Direction

The picture (shown right) is the front page scan of a managazine I picked up from Topshop when I was up in London. The magazine is a 60-page, short publication, showcasing their new looks for spring/summer 2010. I really like the way it is laid out, and it contains different features which I could potentially adopt for a short publication of my own, such as:

A welcome note

Fashion Forecast

Hot New Looks

Latest News

Top 10 Garments

Profile on a fashion Role Model

Inspiration for the clothes

Customization

Try something New

Street Style

Accessories (from photoshoot)

Promotion For Website

New Music

Profiles on fashion icons

12 Page Spread (from Photo Shoot)

Horoscopes

Competition

Promotional Images (from a shoot) scattered throughout.

I will research into other short publications (and possibly annuals etc. from the 80s) to help me decide what my publication should include, but I particularly would like to have a 12 page spread, and a second photo shot for promotional images, and the customization, street style and new music features sound really appealing.

Decision Time!

Before writing my learning agreement, I had to research my options for this unit, and I decided that it would be really good for my self development to produce a short publication. This publication will be roughly 50 pages long and will include photos from a photoshoot, promotional images from a second photoshoot, a welcome letter, a featurette on customization, a make-up tutorial, a featurette on new bands, a horoscope page, and more.

LMP models event at Priva

Last Night was the LMP models 1 year anniversary party at Priva. My friend Jacqui, who is on the BA Photography course and has previously modelled for me is on their books and invited me to come along. This was really good as it was a chance for me to meet other models with LMP, giving me the opportunity to use them in future shoots.

"Cirque Du Freak": The Vampire's Assistant

Selfridges Ultralounge Floorplan

I have posted this on here to help give me an idea of what the event will look like, and what different things will be happening.

London Trip

Today I went up to London (with a couple of others) on a research Trip for this unit.

Our first stop was the Alexander McQueen store on Old Bond Street, which we were really interested in seeing since he passed away last Thursday. It was beautifully presented with a plaque in the window with a dedication on it, and wreaths of flowers at the entrance. I found the design of the store itself really interesting, having never been there before. It reminded me of an anthill, the way the architeture was built up around the centre and then with a hole with walls following down to the lower ground floor. It was so pristine and minimalist and the clothes were presented beautifully. We also went into the Gucci store on Old Bond Street, which didnt inspire me nearly as much; though there were more items inside, the interior design was in my opinion, not as striking.

We then went to Dover Street Market, which was also very interesting. The way it is designed is so much different to the typical designer shop, being made to appear in some areas similar to a market, but in an inside space. I thought it was really well designed in some areas, and was good to see the clothes in a different context, but in my opinion the clothes were so high class and are more suited to the pristine surroundings.

Next was Carnaby Street, which we stumbled across on the way to The Photographers Gallery. I haven't really had a chance to explore any shopping areas of London before, only being able to afford to go up there for exhibitions, but Carnaby Street is such a brilliant area of boutiques, high street stores, restaurants and cobbled streets. Also situated there is Liberty's which we went in, just to have a look at fabrics and prints... and there happened to be an exhibition on the top floor, centred around up & coming fashion photographers. I took the names down and shall be looking into some of them for my research.

Then we wandered up to Frank's bookshop to stock up on magazines, and I bought Numero, Wonderland, and Collezioni issue 135 (which as reduced to £5 as it didnt have a cover). On the way up to Frank's we went to Saville Row to have a look at the class and sophistication of the stores on this famous street.

Finally, we went to Selfridges, to have a look at the Ultralounge space, where the Photostory exhibition will be taking place in April. It was really good to see the positioning in selfridges, and to get a grasp on the size of the space.

Victorian Heritage

Here are some photos I asked my Nan to dig out of the back of her closet, of our family going back to the victorian era. This is perfect for the victorian element of my research, and for studying the style, and the photographs themselves.

Akio

Akio is a fashion photographer from Tokyo, and works for such magazines as, i-D; SuperSuper; Flux; Wound; Attitude; Dazed and Confused; and also ShowStudio. His work is mostly experimental and he has created some beautiful vibrant images, from which I can take inspiration for my shoot.

Paolo Roversi

I found these beautiful, victorian style photographs on Paolo Roversi's website. They are very classy, simplistic, and almost like a homage to the style and photography of the victorian period. I particularly like the scroll writing over a simple portrait (see immediately below) and the styling of the one beneath this (elements of the victorian style have been taken and updated). This is the style of photo that I find most inspirational to my work - simple, yet clever, and most importantly, elegant. I can use these images for inspiration in this project, as the Girls put forward that they really like the victorian style, but I can definately adapt this for my needs, and shoot images which are eyecatching and bright, yet classy.

Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For

Primary Research

Okay, to begin with, and to inspire me, I am researching into 9 different areas. These are Burlesque, Drag, 1980s culture/fashion, Alice In Wonderland, Harajuku Girls, Victorian fashion and imagery, Circus and circus freaks, the use of paper in fashion, and grungey/distressed/industrial fashion.

I am particularly keen on looking into the circus, but interpreting it with a dishevelled edge, possibly in a victorian style setting.

The Girls

This is one of the images from The Girls photo shoot for press release, and for me, really helps to sum up what they want us to create for them. Bright colors, kitsch elements, and the use of paper is key. It must look very bright and exciting to draw in a crowd, yet must reflect the message they are trying to portray, that paper will be replaced by technology.

New Brief Time!

Today we were given a new brief, which was completely different from anything we have ever been set before. We have been given a new guest tutor, Andrea Blood, who is part of the photography/art/fashion duo 'The Girls'. They are soon to be collaborating with Selfridges, transforming the ultra lounge space into the working headquarters of 'The Paper Eaters: Long Live the Photo-Story' in which they will be creating 3 issues of a magazine at the installation. Our job is to develop and create work which could feature in this month-long exhibition. So as a communicator I will be working towards a photo shoot + other work which could possibly feature in one of the magazines and creating props/accessories/clothes to be used in my photo shoot, but also which could be worn by the girls at the event.

As the installation is themed around the idea, that in this digital age paper will soon have run its course, and we want to save the paper and magazines etc. the girls would like us to possibly incorporate this idea into our work. They also would really like an attention grabbing, 80s/distressed/fancy dress fakery feel to the work.

This is a really interesting brief, as it is something that I would never have undertaken myself (I don't tend to use a lot of bright colors in my work) so I am really interested to see my self-development and ideas through the course of this unit.