aestheticcontradiction

Bubble Pop Sunset

I’m delighted to be able to share with you, the first shoot of the summer and my latest collaboration with Vauhaus.

The wardrobe is from the reflections collection as well as some extra pieces I made for a fashion show at Regress back in March. The unicorn necklaces are part of an upcoming Eustratia range due to be released very soon!

41I was adamant we needed the clouds and sunset in the background so Toria directed us to the perfect roof carp park. As we got to the top however, the fire alarm started to go off and we narrowly avoided having to leave. I’m so glad we didn’t though as we manged to get these amazing images.

48Brights, bubble-guns and latex-clad heroins. What more could you want from a shoot?

68a455963704632261Photography: Toria Brightside

Models: Hazel and Amber from Vauhaus and myself

Styling: Stacey Black at Aesthetic Contradiction

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Body Jewellery portraits.

I seem to keep things in my long-term goal pile for years until one day something just clicks and they work. Easily, with hardly any effort, as though this was the day they was supposed to happen and that’s why they didn’t make sense any of the times I had considered them before.

Self-portraits are one of these things. The idea first occurred to me about 6 years ago but whenever I thought about trying it (or even set up the self-timer as an experiment) it just never seemed right. Until last week.

I had been sent some new pieces of body jewellery and decided to present it on a series of beauty portraits in different colour schemes.

The first one I tried features dark red eyeshadow and a nude lip (which I never wear out due to my lips being naturally darker).

silver piercing 2piecing portrait 1 copyBlackline captive ball septum ring, jeweled labret ball by bodyjewelrypiercing.com

tragus ring with star, small jewelled labret balls bodyjewelleryshop.com

Chainmail necklace: Richard Ayres

For the second look, I opted for a classic cat eye and dark red red lip, using my favroutite Dior lip gloss and pencil.

piercing red 1piercing 2 redsmall blackline internally threaded gem, black wooden plug, crystal ball septum ring: bodyjewelleryshop.com

 internally threaded star: bodyjewelrypiercing.com

For the final look I used soft peach and gold hues to create a glowing complexion.

gold piercing 1new gold piercingSmooth segment septum ring and large crystal labret ball: bodyjewelrypiercing.com

glass plugs and small crystal labret balls. bodyjewelleryshop.com

Gold and steel dragon-scale necklace: Richard Ayres.

I think the last set is my favourite at the moment. I’d love to hear which you guys like and also if anyone has any tips for making sure the colouring remains the same accross all the images you are retouching. I’m getting more into retouching recently and this is one of the things I find most challenging.

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aestheticcontradiction

Eustratia Open House.

In February I opened my showroom to the public for the first time and hosted the first Eustratia Open House Day. The event was co-hosted by my friends from Vauhaus and attended by many lovely models I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the last few years. IMG_8533I enjoyed setting up the showroom and showcasing my work in an environment that complemented it. It was also great to interact with people, show them the garments in person and talk about the details and shapes, something that isn’t really possible when, like me, you sell mostly online.

1900628_628110120609338_6317526186917491067_oAside from talking about clothes, we also drank champagne, posed for photos and finished of the day with the models having a pillow fight in the bedroom.

10295313_628110173942666_5973584393313483815_oCole Black from LatexGirlsHD put together an amazing video capturing the highlights and atmosphere of the day.

Thanks to my awesome models: Amber Dennett  Hazel Whittle Vivi Sterling Nina Terror Laura Powell Jo Juiceboxx Naomi Rose Pedersen Mai Walker  Georgina Ainscow Loren Faether Charlotte Anne MacGregor Zoe Harlotti Collinson

and team Toria Brightside Natalie Rose Wilde Richard Ayres.

IMG_8607IMG_8398IMG_8651IMG_8668IMG_8677IMG_8694IMG_8693Documentary photography by Natalie Rose Wilde.

IMG_1373IMG_1452IMG_1408IMG_1325IMG_1648Photobooth images by Toria Brightside.

On the 10th of May, we are hosting the a workshop at Eustratia house, featuring Vauhaus model Vivi sterling, you can read the details here.

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aestheticcontradiction

Eustratia Spring/Summer ’14

The Eustratia S/S “14 Collection is finally complete and I’m really pleased with it. It will be making its catwalk debut at Manchester fashion week on Saturday and the products will be added to the online store over the next few days.

The collection consists of 8 outfits, in varying levels of wearability and extravagance, but with a consistent embodiment of the essence of Spring.

IMG_9486blueoutfit 1 fullblue stripey top &dresspurple dress halfopen bust dress backIMG_9615 2flower playsuit fullwhite toppink stockings full2 copyflower braflower bra and skirtfloaty trans topfloaty top and shorts copyflower harness and braskirt and harness copy copyIMG_03492dress and blazer 2These images were shot in my home studio. it’s the first time I’ve shot a look book with virtually no team and I really enjoyed the comfort of being in my own home and the control I had over the images.

I also made the backdrop myself and will try and remember to post some info on its construction soon.

Thanks to Richard Ayres for shooting this for me.

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Anti.Muse feature

I came across Anti.Muse due to their latex love series, featuring the industries’ hottest brands. I was lucky enough to have Eustratia featured in one of the posts and was recently interviewed for the “what would your muse be” feature.

I’ve re-posted the feature below and you can also ready the original feature (in English and German) here.

What would your muse be if it was …

 a book: Pattern recognition by William Gibson
a movie: I always watch relevant movies to my collections so they are ever changing, I’ve been inspired by “The Mists of Avalon” and Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” before. I often watch “The Libertine” when I lack inspiration though it always reminds me that hard work and determination pays off and a bit of wit can keep you going.
a city or place: My home city, Thessaloniki. I’m always inspired by new places and change, but my original inspiration and the feelings that make the new experiences inspiring, came from here.
a sound or tune: The music box.
a magazine: Dark Beauty
an inspirational quote or a motto: At the moment it’s: We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong, the amount of work is the same. – Carlos Castaneda
an artist: Lost Fish
a style icon: Vivienne Westwood

 Stacey is a latex genius, a dazzling, inspiring personality. With a lot of girl power she leads her successful one woman business – in my series Latex Love I already wrote about her brand Eustratia. Not only Stacey designs some really cute and ingenius latex pieces, she’s also modeling and writing her own blog about her every day life as an Alternative Fashion designer. I always find cool looks and a lot of inspiration on her blog and her instagram too. So it’s a great pleasure to me that Stacey now exclusively on Anti.Muse allows a peep behind the scenes of Eustratia and reveals some of the inspirations behind her brand.

You want to support Stacey and her label? Just click through to the Triumph campaign “Woman in making” and vote for Stacey to help her grow her business.

Stacey in her Studio.