aestheticcontradiction

Visiting the yard

I walked into Bird’s yard to find that things had changed less that I expected. The rooms hadn’t been switched around yet but the third floor was being renovated and machines were so loud you could hardly hear what anyone was saying. There were plenty of staff on as we had expected the new jewellery room to be open so the work pace was quite chilled out.

After cleaning and reorganising my booth I decided to have a look round and take some pictures.

The first thing I noticed was that lovely crayfish had moved some new stuff in. I especially love the day of the dead T-Rex skeleton print, as well as the rounded corner moo cards (of which I have run out).

Pretty much immediately after this I noticed the large mirror and decided I had to seize this opportunity to get a picture of my whole outfit.

I was then asked to look through some magazines and find some interesting images for a collage. I really love this job because it reminds me of the non-stressful part of being at uni.

While looking through the magazines I came across “Fiyah!” a leeds mag I hadn’t seen before.

There was a feature on Bird’s yard inside and the Eustratia booth was visible in the picture.

I don’t think they mentioned individual designers but it was still nice to see.

The lady I was working with that day runs Urban fox. A label that makes the most adorable cushions. She also customises and re-upholsters furniture, there is a specific chain downstairs at Bird’s yard I’ve had my eye on since I first walked into the shop.

I have mentioned Belles Bejewelled on here before but I’d never tried on one of these strand necklaces. I decided to give one a go. It looked kind of cool and messy from the front but I preferred it worn over the shoulder.

One on each shoulder was a definitely strong look with maximum editorial potential. I’d love to wear these for a shoot.

It was Jubilee weekend so I decided it would be entertaining to try on Cloe’s inflatable crown and hold a diamond. I’m not usually the humorous type but this shop obviously inspires!

To finish off the nonsense, after re-pricing all the dresses on one side of the room I decided to try on a vintage wedding dress.

The top part didn’t really suit me but I love the layers of ruffles!

aestheticcontradiction

Rebelicious freature

Pick of the Day: Eustratia

Eustratia is run by Creative  Director/Designer Stacey Black. This company is creating a stir in the fashion industry by bringing forth daring latex fashions and accessories. With a huge range of exclusive fusion fabrics, trims, and theatrical applique designs Eustratia stretches the fashion lovers mind.

CURRENT COLLECTIONS

Dryad: black, white and nude designs.

Valentine: red and white

Stellar: pink, purple, and blue

Chimera: black, white and inverted crosses (my fav!)

Photo by: David Richardson

Everything about Eustratia screams BOLD & WHIMSICAL! Fantasy and fabric come together and dare you to be confident and daring.

All latex items are handcrafted and the option to have the ensemble custom fitted is free! This is great since latex should fit your body skin tight! Eustratia is breaking ground in a new fashion trend and amazing things are expected in the future! Check them out now!

Eustratia.co.uk
Aestheticcontradiction.com – Blog

 

Words: Tera Suicide

on the rebelicious site: http://rebeliciousmagazine.com/2012/03/30/pick-of-th-day-eustratia/

 

aestheticcontradiction

Auxiliary calender images

In October last year I shot a couple of looks for a submission to Auxiliary magazine’s 2012 calender. I posted some details regarding the inspiration here.

In the end there weren’t able to produce the whole calender so they chose a few of the best images (6) to make into phone and desktop backgrounds, they are all stunning and can be viewed/downloaded on their site, here.

Amongst the selections was my image, by Jennifer Byron photography. I’m glad they picked this one as it was probably my favourite from this set.

My favourite from the other set we shot that day is the one below, the rest can be seen on my facebook page, Biomechanina.

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