MY SISTER AND I – UZBEKISTAN 1999
This is when I was 2 years old and when my sister was five years old, attending kindergarten. This image is compelling in the difference of casualness where one is dressed to be in public (for school) and one is dressed in a home attire. The visual component of the prints and color as well as the childhood memories spent in my house in this country further compels me. My sister’s outfit conveys the fashion of Uzbekistan. My style today still holds true to the styles seen in this photo; I seek for objects with strong visual accents through patterns or color as well as appreciating the layering of several patterns and traditional forms in an outfit.
MY MOTHER AND SISTER – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 1997
The main elements in this image that compels me are my mother’s shawl and my sister’s outfit. Shawls were a desirable fashionable accessory in 1923 that were worn at any time of the day, on any occasion. The printed jewels as well as the color purple of the shawl is very luxurious and evoke how fake jewels were often used by Chanel. My sister’s vintage hat also resembles the hat culture of the early 20th century, especially the cloche from the late 1920s. The congruent pattern of my sister’s outfit is also very much in line with my aesthetics. I am also present in this image, in my mother’s womb.
SCHIAPARELLI PERFUME ILLUSTRATIONS – 1942
These illustrations are advertisements drawn by Marcel Vertes for the perfume collections of Schiaparelli. The collection consisted of the perfumes Shocking, Sleeping, Salut and Zut. I was primarily compelled by the aesthetics. The illustrations are humorous and dynamic. The first one is of Can Can dancers and the second is of a Christmas cellist playing on what I presume is the perfume bottle. The meaning of the imagery can confusing but the images associate the scent within a social context which serves as a marketing strategy. Also, as one of the rivals of Chanel, I was curious in the marketing efforts of perfumes by other brands considering how successful Chanel No. 5 was.
