Bad Kid
It takes a certain sort of vision, a certain sort of team and a certain sort of magazine to be able to create something this strong, I believe. There is something incredibly powerful about a fashion story which makes you inspired by fashion itself and forces you to realise fashion's enormous capabilities of true Image-making.
I believe fashion often misuses this wonderful gift of Image-making and it is thus the discrepancy in the quantity to quality ratio of fashion images which reveals the true difference between a series of fashion pictures and a Fashion Story.
This is one of my favourite editorials of the year so far. It is from Numero 91 Mars 2008 and features the following artists:
Photos - Greg Kadel
Style - Katie Mossman
Makeup - Makky
Hair - Diego Da Silva
Model - Abbey-Lee
Naturally, this story will not appeal to everyone - fashion is incredibly personal (or, at least, it should be). But, for me, this story is inspiring. The images flow perfectly. They are not monotonous - every image says something slightly different - yet they are very obviously of the same whole. They tell, as it were, a story. This is achieved by strong, concise vision and direction from the creative team and, vitally, the creation of an incredibly strong character. In this case, the "Bad Kid", Abbey-Lee.
The creation of this character is what, I believe, brings the true strength to a fashion story. It is only achieved when all the creative forces are working towards the same goal: creating a fashion Image, something that has a meaning, message and mood to bring to the fore, and which makes the viewer think rather than just look.
In this case, Kadel's slightly grainy style of photography works perfectly with Mossman's cool, sexy, yet tough, unaffected styling, Makky's understated, clean, nonchalant makeup and Da Silva's seemingly rapper-influenced hair. All come together to bring this Bad Kid to life. If each factor is successfully realised and likewise projected, and the model can see this character and awaken her, then I think we are on the way to creating a true fashion Image. This might sound embarassingly obvious but I think the amount of uninspiring fashion imagery out there is proof that it's easier said than done to create a strong Fashion Story.
I think Bad Kid is an example of an editorial which reveals what fashion can be when it's at its best. It is ten images which say "this is what fashion is to us, right this second, and we're going to prove that to you by the very strength of the Image and the conviction we have in it." It is true Fashion for Fashion's sake.
I believe fashion often misuses this wonderful gift of Image-making and it is thus the discrepancy in the quantity to quality ratio of fashion images which reveals the true difference between a series of fashion pictures and a Fashion Story.
This is one of my favourite editorials of the year so far. It is from Numero 91 Mars 2008 and features the following artists:
Photos - Greg Kadel
Style - Katie Mossman
Makeup - Makky
Hair - Diego Da Silva
Model - Abbey-Lee
Naturally, this story will not appeal to everyone - fashion is incredibly personal (or, at least, it should be). But, for me, this story is inspiring. The images flow perfectly. They are not monotonous - every image says something slightly different - yet they are very obviously of the same whole. They tell, as it were, a story. This is achieved by strong, concise vision and direction from the creative team and, vitally, the creation of an incredibly strong character. In this case, the "Bad Kid", Abbey-Lee.
The creation of this character is what, I believe, brings the true strength to a fashion story. It is only achieved when all the creative forces are working towards the same goal: creating a fashion Image, something that has a meaning, message and mood to bring to the fore, and which makes the viewer think rather than just look.
In this case, Kadel's slightly grainy style of photography works perfectly with Mossman's cool, sexy, yet tough, unaffected styling, Makky's understated, clean, nonchalant makeup and Da Silva's seemingly rapper-influenced hair. All come together to bring this Bad Kid to life. If each factor is successfully realised and likewise projected, and the model can see this character and awaken her, then I think we are on the way to creating a true fashion Image. This might sound embarassingly obvious but I think the amount of uninspiring fashion imagery out there is proof that it's easier said than done to create a strong Fashion Story.
I think Bad Kid is an example of an editorial which reveals what fashion can be when it's at its best. It is ten images which say "this is what fashion is to us, right this second, and we're going to prove that to you by the very strength of the Image and the conviction we have in it." It is true Fashion for Fashion's sake.
posted by Nor at 11:12
3 Comments:
i've never thought about this editorial like this before. thank you for making things noticed.
i really enjoyed your words 'Naturally, this story will not appeal to everyone - fashion is incredibly personal (or, at least, it should be)'
good luck! what a great blog it is
Absolutely an incredible post Eleanor. Everything is well stated and artfully delivered. Fashion should be personal, though not simply for the sake of pride and exclusivity, but for the very notion that it should resonate within a person. It reminds me of something that Wayne posted on TheImagist while discussing Vogue Paris. He said, "The pages thereof boldly say, 'This is what I love. You're not obliged to love it too.'"
Bad Kid might not have been a story for 'everyone' per se, but as long as its impact was felt with someone, then it was certainly successful.
These photographs are beautiful, i love your blog! Do you like fashion illustration? If so please come and have a little look at my blog, it's fairly new but i've got loads of my work on there
Paris xx
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