oh hey there flogstars, how’s it going? It’s been sunny here in Glasgow for a few days in a row now, which had me optimistically removing all but 3 layers of thermals. I even cheekily wore a t-shirt for approx. 10 minutes too, thinking that the bright clear sky signified warmth, but as the wind started to strip the skin from my bare arms I lost my nerve.
I’ve had 2 weeks off college and in a moment of uncharacteristically organised and motivated action, found myself doing 5 photoshoots in the first 3 days of the break. Yeah, if you’re wondering, that’s fuckin’ crazy.
3 of those photoshoots were for my college graded unit. The brief was for us to produce 3 professional-quality, publication-ready photographs, fully styled in the, err, style of a fashion designer or makeup brand that we chose. We were to organise it all ourselves, find a photographer/model/location, brief everyone, keep a diary of how it all came together, full costing for each look, moodboards, the whole shebang.
I think the idea is to teach us how much work actually goes into producing the pretty pictures.
So, we were to choose a fashion designer or makeup brand and get busy pulling our ‘looks’ together. Naturally, I chose David Bowie, but unfortunately as my lecturer firmly pointed out, he is neither a makeup brand or a fashion designer. Hmm. Not to be discouraged, I Googled around to find out about the designers of his more iconic costumes.
If, for example, I chose Kansai Yamamoto as my designer, there is no way I would be able to do a photoshoot that WASN’T all about the D.
That’s the path that lead me to Alexander McQueen, although as you’re about to see in the photos below, the end result isn’t Bowie at all. WTF? Am I expanding my horizons?
First photoshoot was with Finnish mega-babe model Johannes, who stepped in at the last minute (hero) when my original model had to cancel. We got down and grungy in the Kelvin Bridge subway station in front of a purple skull graffiti mural. Here are the (kinda Clockwork Orange-esque) snaps from that shoot:
That’s a (faux) McQueen scarf tied over his face, which was part of the original styling and not just me being lazy and only wanting to do half a face of makeup.
That afternoon I did my second shoot, which was the ‘moth lady’, inspired by McQueen’s SS 2001 collection (and perhaps his most-bonkers catwalk show of all – YouTube it).
… and here’s what I came up with. The mad hairdo is the handiwork of my college friend Angela Sinclair, who is also caretaker of my mullet these days. I could never have done this myself so I am forever in her debt! Mega-babe model is the stunning Ieva, who is represented here in Glasgow by Model Team.
The next morning was the fastest photoshoot in the world, on board the Tall Ship at the Transport Museum, where we were most not-welcome to take photos so we had to be quick. Here’s mega-babe model Victoria Wheelan sporting a glamorous pirate eye-patch I created with black eyeliner and black sequins glued on top with lash-glue.
All these photos are by Bryce Powrie, who I have worked with quite a lot now – good ole Bryce.
So yes, the whole exercise was quite the adventure. After feeling so organised and ahead of schedule, there were so many last-minute curveballs! It all turned out alright in the end but there are always things that are (a) out of your hands and (b) you’d do differently with the wisdom of hindsight.
I also think I might have been TOO organised; if I had given myself a little more time to get everything together in the first place, the styling/outfits etc might have been more impressive, for example. Oh well. I am happy with the photos but I don’t know which ones to submit; I am also worried that while they are (to me) clearly McQueen-influenced, they are nowhere near as dark as a typical McQueen campaign. Does that matter?
I am really really grateful to the folk who helped me get this all together – the models, my photographer Bryce, Angie for doing the hairstyling.. they all did it out of their own free time and it is a huge favour that I truly appreciate.
What do y’all think? Would you pass me?
Here’s Ingrid Michaelson bringing her transformation A-game in the music video for Blood Brothers, while you ponder.
digital imologue 