Not so sunny Sunday

On a cloudy Sunday in london there are not many things to do, so instead of sitting inside escaping the bad weather, I decided to take it face on and go for a walk to clapham. Looking like a tourist,

 I wandered the streets, trying to figure out how to use my 500D Canon Camera. I hope to do a photography course in the new year as I am quite interested in Street and Fashion photography. So enjoy these very raw images and hopefully next time my photography wont be as hard on the eyes :) 

Goodbye LCS

Wednesday 25th of November drew an end to my journey at The London College of Style (LCS). It was a bitter sweet day, full of somber and celebration. In the three months I spent on the Foundation Personal and Editorial styling course,  I learnt and experienced so much. From dressing and attending shows at London Fashion week to the photo shoots, I looked forward to the excitement that came with every Wednesday spent with my fellow budding stylists and course directors; Wendy Elsmore and Dan Blake (http://www.danblake.com/). 

To celebrate our efforts and achievements the college hosted an exhibition to showcase our work from throughout the term. The night was full of inspiration and aspiration, with Portfolios and business cards displayed for family, friends and industry professionals to enjoy. 

I am going to miss so many aspects of being part of LCS but through my journey with the college hopefully this is just the beginning of my styling career. 

Cupcakes!!!

Kitty, Alice, Aimee and Max

Shoot 2- United we stand

For my second photo shoot at The London College of Style the theme was 'united we stand'. Inspired by the united colours of Benetton ad campaigns, the styling had to send a message about something political or controversial. I chose to focus on schizophrenia. I was particularly inspired by schizophrenic artist Bryan Charnley's self portrait series where he experimented with doses of his medication throughout the series. He experienced; paranoia, guilt, hallucinations, and explains feeling like people could hear his thoughts and like a target for peoples cruel remarks (http://imgur.com/gallery/QJIhK). His art is surreal and vibrant, though melancholy.

'The cards are no good that I'm holding unless they are from another world'

Through my imagery I wanted to represent how people with mental illnesses, particularly schizophrenia, feel isolated and helpless. I was also inspired by designer, Lucia Kelly's SS15 collection (http://showtime.arts.ac.uk/LuciaKelly) with its child like art on white garments. The metallic paint and glitter symbolise the chaotic mind of someone with schizophrenia and the bright colours represent how they feel like they stand out. The hair and make-up have a 'slept in' look, representing how getting up to face the world and self can be challenging for people with a mental illness, Additionally the poses portray how she feels introverted and isolated. People with mental illnesses often feel alone or like no one else understands what they are going through but with the right support system can live long, happy lives. 

Lucia Kelly SS15

I was lucky enough to work with photographer and fellow Aussie Leigh Keily (http://www.keily.co.uk/) whom is also the editor of JON magazine (http://www.jonmag.com/editorial/) and has photographed names such as; Liam Payne, David Gandy and James Van Der Beek. 

  

Top/Dress- Ragged Priest

Skirt- Lucia Kelly SS15

Belt/Bow- Lucia Kelly SS15

Tights- Lucia Kelly SS15

Shoes- Dune 

Earrings- Topshop

Assisting for A-magazine editorial

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of assisting Stylist Steven Spencer with a menswear shoot for Manchester based magazine, A-magazine (http://www.a-magazine.co.uk/). Steven Spencer has styled major ad campaigns for companies such as; Morrison's, Nike, New Balance, Nokia and McDonald's as well as styling editorials and celebrity clients (http://www.stevenspencerstyling.com/). The photographer was Danny Baldwin (http://www.dannybaldwin.com/) who has shot the A/W campaign for Diesel as well as numerous editorials in I-D, vogue UK and Q magazine. The shoot was for the Autumn/Winter issue of the magazine and focused on modern suiting for this holiday season. Featuring pieces mainly from Next and Topman, models Lucas Valerdi (https://models.com/models/lucas-valerdi) and Michael Morgan (https://models.com/models/michael-morgan) wore bright coloured and tartan suits, turtle neck jumpers and white trainers. We are very lucky to be offered these opportunities from The London College of Style, these experiences are very beneficial as working with industry professionals is the best way of learning, networking and becoming known in the the fashion industry. I hope that I will be lucky enough to work with Steven again as he is an amazing stylist and mentor. 

Rihanna, a style icon

Rihanna is one of those celebrities whose style has become iconic. With her endless collaborations with brands such as Puma, MAC and River Island, she has made a name for herself not only in music but also in fashion. As all fashion people know, every celebrity has a stylist and in Rihanna's case its stylist and Fashion Editor Mel Ottenberg. Rihanna's style is fearless, combining urban and high fashion influences "I love that she is completely up afraid of fashion" says Ottenberg. For me Rihanna would be a dream to style as she isn't afraid of new styles or standing out. The fashion world also loves her, having promoted for high fashion labels such as Dior, Chanel and Alexander Wang. I adore her recent style mixing grunge with  girliness as it resonates with my own aesthetic, but what I love most about Rihanna is that she can make any outfit look almost effortless.

Ugly is attractive, ugly is exciting, ugly is human.

Miuccia Prada is the head designer for Prada and Miu Miu, my most loved and desired brands. Her approach to fashion is nearly unheard of, infusing ugliness and trashiness into haut couture. Self confessed leftist feminist, she struggled to find her place in the fashion industry. She is more interested in ugliness because she believes it is more interesting than what is known to be commercially beautiful, "the investigation of ugliness is, to me, more interesting than the bourgeois idea of beauty. And why? because ugly is human". She also claims that fashion is unlike other fields of art such as paintings and film where it is common to see ugliness. She wanted to introduce the trashy and ugly into the industry, although criticised for it. I think this is why I am so drawn to the brand, finding beauty in those things unconventionally beautiful. Art isn't supposed to be beautiful, it is supposed to make you feel something and after seeing new collections from both Prada and Miu Miu each season I am left with a certain feeling or looking at things a different way, even making me question what makes something appealing or beautiful. 

Miu Miu's SS16 collection has a good girl, bad girl vibe, combining classic and feminine shapes with vivid prints, colours and textures. The shoes were the highlight with disco/David Bowie inspired boots and ballet flats wrapped around the ankle featuring dangling charms. Models wore vamp lipstick contrasted with tiaras. I loved this collection as the models seemed moody and mysterious and the clashing Gothic, princess, 'nana' and disco styles are so contradicting but looked effortlessly cool. 

                       

First Photoshoot!!!

This Wednesday was my first photo shoot with the London College of style. The theme of the shoot was colour has no gender where half the class had to style a female model and red and the other half to style a male model in pink. I was chosen for the menswear shoot and I chose a 90's London chav style as my mood. I styled the clothes around a 90's shell jacket that I found at the brick lane markets in east london. We were so lucky to to have an amazing team of Photographer Jamie Kendrick, model Lachlan Wincott (Milk model management) and Cecily rose sanders for grooming. It was such a great experience to work with professionals and to have guidance from director Wendy Elsmore and stylist Kristofj von Strass. I also really enjoyed watching other students photo shoots and learning from their experiences.

Mood board

          

Maison Margiela MM6- Models off duty

Maison Margiela MM6 SS16 collection as been my absolute favorite so far! The vibe was that of the underground, night club seen of East London with the show being in an abandoned style building featuring graffiti and run down brick walls. The models were all so unique and edgy, with feminine male models and androgynous female models whose hair and makeup gave you the feel that they just woke up and threw on whatever was on their floor from the night before. There was such an effortlessly cool vibe that was contagious. While we were waiting to dress for the show I took some photos of the 'off duty' models. The models were also so lovely and so happy to let me photograph them.