aestheticcontradiction

Bella Morte Alt girls feature

This month I was selected to feature in Bella Morte magazine’s Alt girls issue, available to purchase here. They chose a set of photos I shot a while ago, in Chester with Gareth Hickey. There were a few hundred entries and only 20 girls were featured which makes me feel quite good.

They chose a set of photos I shot a while ago, in Chester with Gareth Hickey and gave me a double page spread, which you can view below.

My favourite image from this set and the one I use for my book is the one below but the feature has definitely make me appreciate the other two a lot more.

image by Gareth Hickey, make up by Azzurra

 

aestheticcontradiction

Bird’s yard and Alt fashion shoot preview

On Sunday we shot the editorial for the “Eustratia” feature in Alt fashion magazine. The weather turned out to be more rainy than initially anticipated, (not really a surprise in this part of the country) so we ended up in a bit of a predicament regarding the most appropriate shoot location. Toria was promoting an event at Bird’s yard later in the day and the owner was nice enough to let us shoot in the courtyard at the back of the shop as it had a covered section to minimise the rain-damage. With its old Chesterfield sofa, fake grass carpet and multiple degenerated urban backdrops it proved to be the perfect location! So far I am really pleased with what I’ve seen of the images, the magazine has to be published before we release any of them but here are some behind the scenes shots taken with my camera to give you an idea of the styling.

Lovely models and non-acknowledging photographer Left to right: Beth, Victoria, Amber, myself and Toria

I especially love the chainmail components pf these outfits which are made by Richard Ayres.

Portfolio links: http://www.modelmayhem.com/1025602, http://www.modelmayhem.com/170631, http://www.modelmayhem.com/726821, http://www.modelmayhem.com/1592461

I would also like to say a huge thanks to Beth for getting up and being part of the shoot at such short notice!

After the shoot we headed back to Toria’s to pack up and then back to Bird’s yard for the party. I first heard about the shop at a charity fashion show that was also organised by Toria a few weeks ago in Chester. We paired their vintage clothes with my latex accessories for the show.

image 1,3and 5 by Fluke photography 2 and 4 by fireball photography

I also had a stall…

stall

…and Amber wore a pink dress that would have made any fairy tale princess green with envy.

Amber, her pink dress and I

Anyway, non of this had suggested anything more than that Bird’s yard was a vintage shop in Leeds. When we got there I realised that it was actually an amazing concept store/indoor market hybrid with all kinds of treasure dotted around several different shops. They also feature independent designers who can choose between renting a shelf or a booth to display a selection of their products. This sounds like a really interesting opportunity to me, particularly as each designer spends one day a month working in the shop. I would hate to have a job as a shop-assistant but having a “meet the designer” day at a shop where my products are stocked and getting a change to interact with and get feedback from customers actually appeals on so many levels. More news about this when I have time to sort it out properly.

The rest of the party involved free food and drink, discovering new designers and silliness.

If you’d like to know more about Bird’s yard, check out their site! http://www.birdsyard.co.uk/

Amber and pretty things

custom upholstry

Independent designer booths

stair art

slut and slag

what I wore

aestheticcontradiction

Dark inspirations

With Halloween coming up and having to research for various shoots and costumes (including my own which I will write about separately), I have been drawn towards darker influences.

When I started preparing for my first shoot, a calender and possible magazine submission with Jennifer Byron photography (http://jenniferbyron.com/) I had absolutely no idea what look I was going for. I knew that it had to be dark/passable as a Halloween theme and also utilise these glittery skulls I had (photographers request) in a different way to last year.

Ker by Jason Harry (www.jasonharry.com)

So, I started looking online for inspiration and here’s what I liked:

Make up inspired by Alex Box.

make up by Alex Box

 

Vogue Paris Halloween

Inner Demons Photographed by Jerry Bennet :: Modeled & MUA by Manchester Wardrobe and Styled by Alex London Source: http://hautemacabre.com/

I didn’t use all of these influences literally as I always like to create my own looks and items I feel strongly about at the moment but finding inspirational images helps me get a feel for the look I’m trying to create and imagine the possibilities.

I did however try out the make up, I’ve always had a love of organic vein/root patterns and black line drawings so I felt like it needed to be part of the character I was creating.

make up trial (please excuse terrible photobooth pics, it did look better in real life)

I didn’t do this hairstyle for the actual shoot and the dress was covered in so many chains and accessories you wouldn’t recognise it. Images from this shoot hopefully to follow shortly.

 

 

At the moment I’m planning a shoot for the Eustratia (www.eustratia.co.uk) feature in Alternative magazine with Toria Brigtside (http://www.modelmayhem.com/1592461).

They have requested we showcase as many different styles as possible so I have decided to give each of the four models a character based on stereotypical types of alt girls/goths. Though the outfits will be quite different, the colour scheme and styling will hopefully tie everything together to produce a concise collection of images.

We will have a very limited time to get ready for this shoot so I thought it would be better to use wigs for at least two of the models, preferably black wigs.

Inspiration:

source: Haute Macabre deisgns: mother of London, blacklickorish latex

Big black hair

While looking for general inspiration I came across two sets of images that I liked which both featured these very high, black, messy up dos. I thought something like this would go perfectly with two of my looks while also being one of these features that ties the whole thing together so I customised a couple of black wigs I had in my collection.

wigs

It isn’t really evident from the pictures but they actually have quite a lot of texture going on. For the first one I actually used my black hair swan and wire scupture which was previously an alien helmet hair ball. I like recycling stuff I’ve used in previous shoots. You can view what is has been used as previously here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=208808015853005&set=a.115201681880306.11512.115197565214051&type=3&theater

More inspiration:

Harpers Bazaar

I was thinking of using a little veil like this on a couple of the models.

Schmuck mag.

And even perhaps using my wire-mesh eyepatch.

To finish off, here are some bad pictures of my quick outfit sketches, hopefully the silhouettes are still visible.

Models left to right: Helen, Amber, Stacey, Victoria

I’m looking forward to this shoot but still have quite a lot of work to do finalising everything.

aestheticcontradiction

Trend: Chokers

Looking around on the internet recently, I was surprised to see that chokers are making a come-back! With them having being out of fashion for a while, I think a lot of people feel a bit apprehensive towards them, especially as  it mostly seemed to be chunkier ones that made an appearance on the catwalk. Personally, I have always had a love of statement jewellery and consider chokers quite flattering so I will definitely be going all out on this one but I’m sure there will be more subtle styles available to introduce the more weary.

Chokers on the catwalk:

designerd left to right: Laurent, Valentino, Alexander McQueen

My favourite out of what I’ve seen so far has to be this one (matching bangle also available):

Alexander McQueen Spike-Embellished Metal Choker

I actually saw one of these on ebay for £340 and was tempted but maybe I should save up some money first.

Over the next few weeks I will post images of chokers I have been making and maybe even add some to my online store.

aestheticcontradiction

Alternative and burlesque fair


I have been looking for a chance to physically showcase and sell my products for some time now and the Manchester alternative and burlesque fair presented the perfect opportunity.

Trading at an event in the city I am based in seemed like the best option for my first stall. I’m already planning to attend clothes show live in Birmingham in December and as its quite a big event it would probably be helpful to have some experience with stalls before hand.

The most exciting part of the preparation was sorting out the stall layout and buying the fittings. I was actually slightly more prepared for this part than I realised as my dad had brought a variety of suitable items back from his various jobs over the years. These included clear perspex box-stands, head stands and a shop mannequin. The mannequin was originally in quite a state with all the paint chipping off etc. but thanks to my wonderful helpers it was painted mat white in time for the event. I also bought a room divider screen to hang underwear on and two sets of stairs for the accessories.

An other issue to deal with was packaging, especially for all the different accessories as they made up the majority of my stock for the event and included a few new varieties. I don’t put most of my accessories into packets as I feel that, firstly that they are tactile items (I have a lot of textured pieces with appliques, crystals, studs, a variety of frill trims and latexlace which people always like to touch) and secondly that most packets make the items look cheap. I also much prefer boxes which causes a whole different problem as custom boxes are expensive and the affordable ones that I have found only come in certain sizes and colours.

I already have postage boxes that I normally send orders out in but for a stall I decided bags would be more appropriate; so I bought some nice white ones that were available in a variety of sizes and could be easily be personalised by adding a logo sticker. I also have paper packets for smaller items and boxes for the small and large perspex jewellery. This of course left the medium sized jewellery which seems to just be an awkward size that they don’t do boxes in. Eventually, after taking inspiration from other items white attractive packing (yes I am one of these lame people who collect nice packaging) I decided on the kind of box I would like for the medium sized necklaces and other small items such as pasties and bow accessories. I managed to find some clear plastic boxes about the right size and made a pintable folding section for the inside, you can view the outcome below.

Images left to right: Large swans flourish neckalce in box, small necklaces in boxes, large deerskull flourish necklace in box, cameos in boxes, back of cameo box necklace.

After everything was sorted out the event went pretty smoothly (apart from me stupidly forgetting all the flower accessories and my parents having to drive round with them), the Heresy and Heelz staff that were putting on the event were all really helpful and as Rik was sharing the stall with me I didn’t have to set everything up myself. Amber and Jay were also a great help, flyering, encouraging customers and manning the stall so I could have a break.

My camera had run out of battery so the following pictures have been stolen from Lou and Amber (http://www.feelingvague.blogspot.com/).

stall front

Amber and I

heads and pasties

Stacey playing shop

heads and necklaces

Whole stall

Rik

Amber and I

underwear

head and belts

necklaces

The event also featured burlesque performances and was a great place to socialise as well as shop. A lot of the people there had never heard of my label before so I would say it was good exposure and overall I had a great day. It was also good to catch up with fellow designers Annabelle (violaceous latex), Jo (Arcanum accessories) and Brig (Zhyon) we didn’t get time to chat much but I always enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by friendly creative individuals who are happy to co-exist and support each other.