Accessories

We had to create accessories for what after would be our photo shoot. The accessory was supposed to be made of random objects bought at the supermarket. The objects that I choose was cotton and hairbands. In colour green, with loads of it in each cotton to make the volume. The pieces were glued together and a bead was put in every intersection, making it a more jewellery look. 

Assisting Job

Assisting my teacher during her styling job was absolutely amazing. I learned so much within a couple of days and my thoughts about styling changed and I could confirm I really want to pursue this career. It's very physically exhausting and you need a strong sense of self control and sense of self to do it. There is always people to piss you off and give a "Diva" attitude, showing authority with kindness seems the best way to deal with kind of people. 

The place was cold and there weren't that much space to keep the clothes organised but we managed and we were dressing the singer and the main girl of the video. Three outfits for each and I learned it takes ages to make a video. Everything looks so simple on the screen, not so much on the real thing. We started around 9am and finished around 7pm. Styling is a hard work, and if I was sorry before now i'm even more of how this profession does not have the recognition that deserve. The stylist have to combine different elements to create an image, everything is connected - hair, make-up, styling. There is no industry without them and yes, they reach completely different markets and even I dare to say connects fashion with other areas. You need the stylist to create an image, it doesn't matter if it's in a person or a photography. 

Styling

The styling week was really interesting and challenging. The week started with with the head piece being finished and the photo shoot being prepared. The initial idea was a princess, isolated from society living in the woods, her crown make of cotton and headbands, a bit dirty of dirt and leaves. Her puffy skirt would be dirty and probably she had no shoes on. But, a minor problem with my piece - the cotton was too heavy to hold the crown and it was falling on my face - then the second and final idea was born. 

A creature living in the woods, haunted and terrifying people that dared to go into the woods. The cotton piece falling on my face with the black outfit made a perfect composition for a horror shoot. Inspired by the opening of the TV show "American Horror Story Coven" the ambiance was dark, blurry, dirty and very creepy. The goal was to have such strong image you would be able to hear the opening song on the back of your head.

The day was dark, rainy and the woods were empty, a contrast to the always busy common hill. A perfect scene for a even creeper scenario. Mission accomplished. The  rain made it all so blurry and wet it was difficult to even keep the piece on.

The results paid off though l. The photos were creepy and with a subtle sepia effect, lines that weren't there before suddenly showed up. Making it even more interesting. 

Fashion Magic Tour

 We went on a journey around Regent's Street, Saville Row and a couple more important streets around London to visit fashion stores and try to experience it. I started my journey at Liberty's, the architecture is absolutely amazing, the lifts have a very old aspect of wood and gold details -quite different from the Gatsby like lift from Selfridges - the store is divided by womenswear, menswear, stationary and fabrics. I was able to grab a couple of lookbooks from a couple of brands. They don't have a lot and the salesperson explained to me they only keep it for press days, after that, it's rubbish.

 Something interesting about Liberty is the mannequins are arranged in a way that relates to the brand they are showing. It's a bit obvious but, they way they do it at Liberty goes deeper and a bit more creative than stores like Selfridges or even Dover Street Market in all its glory and creativity. My journey took me to New Bond street and all the fancy stores they have it - Armani, Chanel, Burberry. The most intimidating of all? Chanel, they treat you in a way that -even though being polite - still keep you out of the very exclusive Chanel world. They know their costumers and what they want, so they probably knew I wasn't in the circle. Even though having a Liberty bag in hand made me look richer (if you have money for Liberty, you certainly can afford Chanel) and I could see that not only at Chanel but also Armani and Coach. The most welcoming and comfortable store? Burberry, the whole almost two hours spent there, it was comfortable, relaxing, the staff is extremely helpful and always happy to help you. I tried on two coats, obviously without having any money to afford them, but still they made me feel like someone who could afford it and just choose not to buy. 

  Dover Street Market is the store to look for inspiration, the place is filled with interesting cages, birds, toilet and things that would made you think and reevaluate the purpose of a fashion store and how to style it. But, it can be a bit too extreme if you're not used to that kind of conceptual art. Liberty's is in the middle, you can find the deep comercial aspect but still, they play around to make things interesting and innovative. Selfridges, on the other hand is much more commercial, a part from the windows, you can't see many artistic things inside the store, and sometimes even the most expensive and luxurious dress can look cheap and simple. Saville Row is fabulous for it's story, but completely pointless if you have no idea what happened there and still happens. 

Muses/ Creating new characters

Creating the new characters based on our previous muses was really interesting. I felt I was creating a character for a film or a TV show perhaps. My character was called "Jo Butler" (a mix of Marie "Johanna"... Antoinette and Scarlett O'Hara/ Butler) and like the two other people she had it all - family, fortune, luxury - and lost it all. 

But Jo is a poor sad creature, she's got an enormous drive and knows what she is doing, she is broke and alone but she is still there. She turns her life around and creates a fashion clothing line, being rich and having plenty of access to the best designers and clothes gave her quite good knowledge about fashion and trends. She rebuilt her life and all she wants is to forget the dark and sad periods and enjoy life to the fullest. As that being said, all her clothes are really colourful and vibrant, there is nothing bland or pale. 

1. Possible boyfriend is Jack Nicholson, because he was a party person around the 80's and it would probably be the type of person she would like to be around. Extravagant and loud. 
2. Her lipstick is called "Bake Tara" ( as an allusion to the infamous sentence Marie Antoinette supposedly said "If they don't have bread let them eat cake" and Tara is Scarlett homeland) and finally 
3. Her karaoke song is "I'm the best" by Joe Esposito.