I love working with “New Designers” - what’s funny is most new designers aren’t all that new - it’s more that they’re just not well known (yet!). Often you meet a designer who’s only 25 and they’ve been designing for the past 10 years. I worked on a look book shoot which went really well. There is so much planning involved but it pays off in the end when you have a great team!
I know I talk a lot about the team but the synergy of the team is essentail to doing a great shoot; it’s easy to do a good shoot and sometimes by fluke you can do a great shoot, naturally the more experience you have the better your work becomes.
It’s also important for the whole team to know what the look and feel of the shoot is about. You’ll have mood boards about hair and make-up, lighting and the looks so everyone can have a visual to work from and of course on the day things can change: something doesn’t work, you have a better idea, someone is sick - things change! Just be prepared - the motto I learned in Brownies always seems to be right!
Doing a photo shoot with Olympic athletes can be great, they already have such a strong presence and are comfortable with lots of people running around; which they can just ignore and focus on the task at hand. All the athletes are sponsored by Team Visa. When you have young athletes doing there first fashion photo shoot you need a strong team behind the camera: photographer Joe Lacey and art director Simon Costin! The energy was great and you just know it’s going to be a fun shoot day!
Tom Daley is a diver and wore Vivienne Westwood.
Mo Farah does track and field and looked dashing in a Richard James.
Natasha Baker is an equestrian and wore an iconic Giles Deacon dress. Beth Tweddle is a gymnast wearing a bespoke Marchesa gown.
I went to the Links of London press day and they were offering illustrations by Sophie McElligott and in less then 5 miniutes she drew this illustration of my fashion assistant, Stephanie!
The event took place at an art gallery on London’s very fashionable Dover Street. Links of London is very popular for it’s charm bracelets. I notice girls wearing them all the time. I’m particularly fond of clock faces - not so much the watch itself but really the face, oh and I love keys!
Sophie has been drawing since she was little - her parents didn’t like her to watch TV so Sophie drew instead. She went to art school in Italy and did life drawing and then studied fashion at St Martins and Middlesex.
It was so much fun to be drawn by someone, you feel a bit embarrassed but bit special too! I love this image, I feel like a cool villain in a video game!!
Yesterday’s shoot was all about Wonderful Hair. I’ve never had hair extensions and have never had the desire to have them - until today that is.
I love how Yulia looks while waiting for her hair to be done. Most models bring a book or something, occasionally I’ve known models who knit to pass the time.
This was a busy shoot as we had lots to accomplish but we really had a great team and worked really well together. I think too many people are thinking that working in fashion is just like life in The Hills! Although The Hills is my assistant’s favourite show she knows what really happens on a shoot & how much work is really involved.
And yes, sometimes there are perks! The perk was some red hair extentions!!
Another day out with Stonefoxx! And of course it was such a fun shoot, it was freezing but the girls looked great! The shoot was for Nintendo Wii - Battle of the Bands! How cute and sexy are they!
For the fifth consecutive year, Elizabeth Arden and London College Fashion have collaborated on the Eight Hour Cream Photographic Project. Vote online for your favourite image before June 10th!
If you’ve very hungry or in need of a good English breakfast the S&M cafe (Sausage and Mash cafe) is a great place to eat. This is also a good place for a photo shoot. I’ve shot here a couple of times but you have to start early in the morning and finish before noon as it starts to get busy from the lunch rush!
Sometimes you might only be doing one shot, so all you need is one look, but you still need to bring a good selection to chose from. We had about 35+ dresses!
This is Jenna (on the left), who organizes all the production, with the make-up artist.
I love mascara. It’s the only product I run out and buy if an ad or magazine article tells me to. (And yes, I’m a sucker for good advertising). I just want really long lashes. I’d wear false eyelashes if I could figure out how to put them on, and be assured that they would stay on all day. Nothing worse then seeing a girl with half an eyelash hanging off her face - so mascara it is!
They all seem to work but I can’t help but try every new one…I never thought of myself as a mascara addict but as I write this I realize I might have a problem or just a minor obsession.
It’s hard to believe that mascara was first made from coal dust mixed with Vaseline petroleum jelly by Eugene Rimmel, a French perfumer on Bond Street who founded the House of Rimmel in 1834. He and his father created the first commercial non-toxic mascara product. It became so popular that Rimmel became the word for mascara in several languages including French, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Turkish. In 1917 Maybelline Cake Mascara was introduced as, “the first modern eye cosmetic for everyday use“. Helena Rubinstein introduced the tube and wand applicator in 1957. In the 1960’s Maybelline’s Ultra Lash became the first mass-market automatic mascara. Of course the green and pink mascara became iconic - marketing, marketing, marketing -Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.
Yummy fashion! Cadbury has hosted a Chocolate Couture Collection, complete with fashion show, for the last few years. Click on the picture above for a link to the latest collection. I’d feel bad wearing any of this after inevitably eating my buttons…
Louis Vuitton won their lawsuit regarding the Britney Spears’ 2005 video for “Do Something” for the use of Louis Vuitton’s “Cherry Blossoms” design on the dashboard of the Hummer in the video. Britney Spears herself wasn’t found guilty, but Sony BMG and MTV Online were ordered to stop broadcasting the video, and were fined 80,000 euros (USD$117,000).
First of all, let me just say it again: counterfeits and fakes are just wrong. A big question for fashion and prop stylists is what can and can’t you use in a video or advertising? If Britney was carrying an authentic Louis Vuitton bag in a video would that be ok? It’s all about marketing and product placement.
I like styling strong brands as they understand their image and even without using the brand name you know the product because of their signature look. Now that’s branding!
Photographer Jason Moore
Stylist Rebekah Roy
Hair Takashi Sano
Make-up Kate Hughes
Unfortunately the red swimsuit Gwen wears reminds me of Special K commercials but I do like the final outfit as I love her high waisted shorts!
I don’t like most perfume commercials as they seem to adhere to a different aesthetic than most advertising: they’re a bit too self indulgent for my taste. I love perfume ads that tell a story, like the ads featuring Estella Warren for Channel No.5:
