Fashion Styling – research & planning

  1. A) Learn about the history of fashion styling from Vogue Magazine

The documentary In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye was extremely eye opening and intriguing.l The documentary offered insight into the different facets that make up the content of the Vogue publication. Three editors whose work and style stood out to me the most were Polly Allen Mellen, Phyllis Posnick, and Babs Simpson. Specifically, the pieces of work that support a deeper understanding of a fashion trend, a storytelling concept, or specific piece of clothing were Mellen’s Everyday Illusion, Posnick’s famous bee lip combination, and Simpsons work with Marilyn Monroe. Mellen’s work was a combination of West Indian culture and sex appeal which was not something widely displayed by women. It told a story it gave just enough information for the viewer to understand its provocative nature without having to spell it out. Posnick’s work with the bee on the lips of a model spoke to her title of being vogue’s most provocative editor. She, unlike other editors, gets one spread to get her message across. Her work speaks to current topics and situations like presented in her bee-stung lip photography. The piece was commentary regarding the quest for plump lips that could most closely resemble that of one who has been stung by a bee. I appreciate her work because it shows how one can get a message across with one strong image which can be very difficult to do. Lastly, Babs Simpson is Vogue. Her work in the beginnings of the magazine set the tone for all the great work that has followed. Her work was the definition of modern minimalist her series of Marilyn Monroe titled “Last Sitting” presented Monroe in a black Dior dress we were able to see her beyond the lights and the cameras. This was amazing because behind the scenes she was falling apart which became all the more real when she passed away three weeks following the shoot while the magazine was in line to be printed.

  1. B) Prepare for your own fashion styling project

1) Together with your partner develop a concept for styling your best ‘rapid prototype’.

-Our concept for our photoshoot is industrial chic.

2) Draw rough sketches of how this photograph could look

3) Write a paragraph about the story you plan to create with this photo shoot: location, props, atmosphere, lighting, accessories, makeup, model/pose. How do all of these aspects support your concept?

  • Given the two garments, Alissa and I will be using for this project is more hardline and structured; we figured we should create something with more feminine glamorous qualities. That being said our final decision was to construct a gown that would have a mix of both industrial and sensual qualities. Our plan is to shoot the garment in an industrial setting ideally an iron rod fire escape. We want the atmosphere to be somewhat grungy with tones of red and blue light. That sort of ominous lighting will give off a feeling of alluring sex appeal despite being in a location most people would see as quite the opposite. We are playing with the idea of the model either having a smokey eye and red lipstick or something more natural so that the garment will not be overpowered. We want the model to be as seductive as possible so we want her to gracefully lean on the railing with low eyes and a slight smirk. As far as accessories go the gown has a good amount of different things o=going on it so adding accessories might make the look feel cluttered.

Leave a reply

Skip to toolbar