A Vision, A Plan and THAT Dress!
Isn’t it amazing when great things happen, you have a vision, instigate a plan and make it happen!
One day I was in my studio disposing of another length of grey backdrop paper as when you pull the background roll down to use it the bottom part will become grubby and scuffed and no longer good enough to use because of dancers jumping and other general use, the ends need to be cut off but the problem is eventually you will end up with another scrap piece as it’s not long enough and it will need to be replaced.
VISION & PLAN
So on gathering several lengths of ruined paper I came up with the idea of creating a dress made entirely from scrap paper !
I contacted the amazingly talented Kathryn Russell as she is a very good friend and she creates all of my fairy dresses and she certainly understands my visions.
So if she could help me with a this vision of making a fashionable dress made from these scraps as I wanted to create a dress from the grey paper and shoot a model on grey paper !
This idea had been manifesting in me for a good while so I sketched it out for her and she asked me to leave the scrap paper with her and what she did with these scraps was to create something way way way beyond my imagination.
I then spoke to Natalie McKee whom we love working with to see if she would model for us as I thought she was the perfect person to carry this off for us and she gladly accepted. I was thrilled as she really is such a lovely person too as we have created some pretty amazing images so far together.
As always Kathryn kept sending me updates upon the progress and when I went to collect it from her it was at that point I knew this was something special and something that really inspired me to push myself and really think about fashion, fashion editorials and fashion lighting styles. In my head I knew I could see it as the grey paper would create beautiful tonal ranges so I had decided already I was going to use my lighting techniques to create light and shadow, colour and black and white.
When 3 rolls of paper arrived 2 grey and one white the brief was to create a paper gown to incorporate light and shade with texture and movement. The skirt was the starting point with bands and a frame that lengths of paper strips were added to and woven then rolled then straightened and rolled in the opposite direction. The next process was to add leaves in varying sizes hundreds of them which were feather cut and placed to look as though they were tumbling. Paper flowers then were cut curled and the individual petals put together with tiny bands of paper rolled and feathered to create stamens. The original framework was combed out and cut into in finer bands and re-curled. The bodice was created with the same technique only on a smaller scale the interior was lined for comfort and to allow it to be laced up. The vision was for the paper to flow and move like mother nature does with the wind through the leaves on a tree
Alexandra also created a great look for this session as it’s so important for me to work with like-minded people and she always does a great look for all my shoots in the studio and I always share my thoughts with her about visions in my head as I like to call them !
What can I say about collaborating with an award-winning photographer… Heck yes!! I absolutely love empowering women to feel beautiful and confident and to be part of such a special, magnificent, and creative piece of work is simply sublime. It’s like dreams come true territory. It’s like working for something so very special. The attention to detail has to be spot on to support a piece of visual art that is so precious and delicate the piece exists for only a heartbeat in time.
To create a stunning make up look I chose a silver metallic eye that was strong but at the same time would work for a wedding. I felt no need to detract from the incredible “paper dress” so I just went for a smoky eye. Always sexy, always timeless and feels so good to wear, a smoky eye is best foot forward. It is that sultry gaze, oozes sex appeal and works so well with an incredible gown.
For me it is all about skin, so a radiant dewy base was first on the list. Skin is everything… Especially in photography. The rest is skill and an artist sense of seeing the bigger picture, not taking away from the dress but at the same time, providing a stunning look that complimented the entire piece of work. Always vegan and sustainable I was thrilled to work on a paper dress that was up cycled from redundant backdrops and transformed into in my opinion the most stunning piece of eco fashion I have ever seen
I hope you love this look!! Hair was styled into a chignon. Sleek and classy, what more do you need with that headdress?
I would say for me, it was all love x
I feel that I am always in control of my lighting and posing and this session certainly excited me as there were so many opportunities for me to capture some special images evidenced by the fact that I am now an award-winning photographer with the Master Photographers Association,
As I mentioned what I see in my head and then seeing it through my camera is such a fantastic feeling to see that happen right in front of you!
I hope you guys love these images and please add the team to your social media.
Cheers Joe x