A few weeks ago a rather lovely fashion shoot dropped into Amelia’s Magazine inbox. A collaboration from the photographer Paul Cassidy and producerCristina Duran styled by and starring Silvia.
The entirely vintage shoot expresses the dramatic romanticism of Grey Gardens and the personal idiosyncrasies of the stylist. Shot for the majority in Paul’s living room, order visit web the beautifully coloured photographs develop (through the relation between house activity and the outfit it requires) the homage to two characters of fashion: Big and Little Edie.
When approaching the subject of Grey Gardens it became clear to Paul and Cristina that Silvia would have to be the stylist, medicine realising “as the concept developed…that an actual model wouldn’t be able to pull it off and that Silvia was perfect… As Silvia is, well, Silvia and they are her own clothes.”
In Grey Gardens, the subplot revolves around Little Edie’s rebellion towards her isolated existence is her outfits. After being introduced to the documentary by a friend, Cristina and Paul “became fascinated by the characters” Despite never watching it fully and Cristina only once, the two creatives built an “interior set without referring to the film too much. Most of the elements were really already in place, and my (Paul’s) apartment took very little adjusting” in order to be used in the photos.”
The photographs celebrate the whimsical side to fashion, the belief in an ability to create new versions of the self through personally sourced clothing. It is not surprising that Silvia command’s the viewer’s attention, her individuality bathed in the gentle light of the 1970’s. The cold colour hues are perfect compliment to the clothes, attributed no doubt to Cristina’s “particularly strong connection to retro aesthetic and colour. I guess Grey Gardens was a catalyst that brought everything together.”
A strong compositional element of the photographs is the mirroring of colour between the clothes and the environment. In the photograph below the peach colour of the dress references the cloth on the couch, as the blue occurs in the images pinned to the notice boards.
The fashion shoot expresses Paul and Cristina desire for “something a bit mad (in the sense of someone without normal social convention),” Little Edie and Big Edie were certainly considered that for their choice to eschew society. Paul continues to explain what made Silvia the perfect model. “Silvia in person is quite restrained and formal but like most people she has a flamboyant and eccentric side and really it took very little direction to get her to express that in the photos. She was one of the most interesting subjects that I’ve ever worked with in her manner of physical expression and her posing. So I think that there’s an awful lot of Silvia in the photos but there’s also a lot of fabrication and exaggeration in the story telling.”
Discussing the composition Paul mentioned the importance the collective places on storytelling bordering on “truth, untruth or realism and surrealism.” The collaborations’ synergy –evident in the sequence of photographs that illustrate the article – has developed from a mutual “deep focus on character,” expressed through the model’s ability to convey the concept of the piece through the position of her body within the camera’s frame or choice of garment to illustrate her occupying activity.
Whilst the aim of the photoshoot might not have been to directly encourage people to be thrifty when buying clothes, it cannot help but do so. Whilst thrifty shopping might not new in Madrid or the rest of Europe, what is missing is beautifully constructed fashion shoots celebrating this. As Paul mentions “second-hand clothes are always popular when there’s little money about. You find this strange mixture of a generation of young people that have dressed themselves between H&M and second-hand clothes shops. Both are cheap options and the vintage clothes can give personality and quality to the generic chain store brands.”
Little Edie would be proud to see the continued celebration of the individual and her sense of creative spirit.
A few weeks ago a rather lovely fashion shoot dropped into Amelia’s Magazine inbox. A collaboration from the photographer Paul Cassidy and producer Cristina Duran styled by and starring Silvia.
The entirely vintage shoot expresses the dramatic romanticism of Grey Gardens and the personal idiosyncrasies of the stylist. Shot for the majority in Paul’s living room, page the beautifully coloured photographs develop (through the relation between house activity and the outfit it requires) the homage to two characters of fashion: Big and Little Edie.
When approaching the subject of Grey Gardens it became clear to Paul and Cristina that Silvia would have to be the stylist, page realising “as the concept developed…that an actual model wouldn’t be able to pull it off and that Silvia was perfect… As Silvia is, stuff well, Silvia and they are her own clothes.”
In Grey Gardens, the subplot revolves around Little Edie’s rebellion towards her isolated existence is her outfits. After being introduced to the documentary by a friend, Cristina and Paul “became fascinated by the characters” Despite never watching it fully and Cristina only once, the two creatives built an “interior set without referring to the film too much. Most of the elements were really already in place, and my (Paul’s) apartment took very little adjusting” in order to be used in the photos.”
The photographs celebrate the whimsical side to fashion, the belief in an ability to create new versions of the self through personally sourced clothing. It is not surprising that Silvia command’s the viewer’s attention, her individuality bathed in the gentle light of the 1970’s. The cold colour hues are perfect compliment to the clothes, attributed no doubt to Cristina’s “particularly strong connection to retro aesthetic and colour. I guess Grey Gardens was a catalyst that brought everything together.”
A strong compositional element of the photographs is the mirroring of colour between the clothes and the environment. In the photograph below the peach colour of the dress references the cloth on the couch, as the blue occurs in the images pinned to the notice boards.
The fashion shoot expresses Paul and Cristina desire for “something a bit mad (in the sense of someone without normal social convention),” Little Edie and Big Edie were certainly considered that for their choice to eschew society. Paul continues to explain what made Silvia the perfect model. “Silvia in person is quite restrained and formal but like most people she has a flamboyant and eccentric side and really it took very little direction to get her to express that in the photos. She was one of the most interesting subjects that I’ve ever worked with in her manner of physical expression and her posing. So I think that there’s an awful lot of Silvia in the photos but there’s also a lot of fabrication and exaggeration in the story telling.”
Discussing the composition Paul mentioned the importance the collective places on storytelling bordering on “truth, untruth or realism and surrealism.” The collaborations’ synergy –evident in the sequence of photographs that illustrate the article – has developed from a mutual “deep focus on character,” expressed through the model’s ability to convey the concept of the piece through the position of her body within the camera’s frame or choice of garment to illustrate her occupying activity.
Whilst the aim of the photoshoot might not have been to directly encourage people to be thrifty when buying clothes, it cannot help but do so. Whilst thrifty shopping might not new in Madrid or the rest of Europe, what is missing is beautifully constructed fashion shoots celebrating this. As Paul mentions “second-hand clothes are always popular when there’s little money about. You find this strange mixture of a generation of young people that have dressed themselves between H&M and second-hand clothes shops. Both are cheap options and the vintage clothes can give personality and quality to the generic chain store brands.”
Little Edie would be proud to see the continued celebration of the individual and her sense of creative spirit.
The Bigger Picture: Festival of Interdependence aimed to kick start a transition to a new economy, website looking at everybody’s carbon footprint and educating with a range of talks, speakers and workshops.
Held on 350:Day of Climate Action, the event was one of the hundreds happening worldwide to push people to tackle climate change. The Bigger Picture was held in an old warehouse on the South Bank, which although fairly old and decrepit, had a certain charm to it. The day before was spent setting up the four floors and rooms so that when the public were let in, the warehouse was packed full of leaflets, objects, art and a yellow t-shirted posse, ready to navigate people up the narrow staircases and back-rooms.
I spent the day wondering in and out, generally getting a bit overwhelmed by it all, but I’ve managed to pick out five of the workshops that stood out the most…
1. Climate Camp
Climate Camp had it’s own two rooms and had set up a replicate camp complete with tents, a fire made from bike lights, and a huge banner backdrop of tripods from a previous camp at Kingsnorth. All that was missing were hay bales that had been stopped by the determined health and safety who also prevented us from giving away cake, yes cake. Although, that didn’t stop a range of speakers and musicians telling people all about Climate Camps in the past and what we aim to do in the future.
2. Ministry of Trying to Do Something About It
You could pay a visit to the Ministry of Trying to Do Something About It and collect your very own Carbon Ration Book. The issued ration books showed the carbon emissions of our daily activities, like using a laptop or using public transport. This little book is something that we may have to get used to in the not so distant future, when carbon emissions become a commodity, although probably not in such a lovely 1950s design.
3. Magnificent Revolution
Art collective, Magnificent Revolution, was also there to create the world’s first cycle-powered home in a special room at The Bigger Picture. Strangely shaped, bike-like sculptures, with protruding pedals powered various things from washing machines to blenders. You could even jump on and have a go, which is a great way to encourage all of us to take more steps towards low-energy living.
4. Beekeeping
Heidi Hermann, founding member of the Natural Beekeeping Trust, gave an introduction into natural bee keeping with an array of beautiful crafted beehives and advice on how to set up your own. Due to human impact, the number of bees are dying dramatically and setting up your own can help reverse this. Believe it or not, when bees become extinct, the human race can only survive for a few years. Most people don’t realise how much the humble bumble bee is indeed an important part of our delicate eco system.
5. Breadmaking
There was a chance to join master baker and bread hero, Paul Barker of Cinnamon Square, for some bread making lessons and tips to bake the perfect loaf. People could also take home the bread at the end of the day, which meant the lovely freshly baked bread aroma filled the warehouse all day.
With over forty-five leading thinkers, activists, authors and artists attending The Bigger Picture, it meant throughout the whole day people could get involved with a range of debates and discussions, from lively talks on money issues to in-depth discussions about the Copenhagen summit in December.
The one-day event put on by Nef, an independent think-and-do tank, was hugely popular. Huge queues snaked around outside most of the day, with singers and speakers having to keep people entertained outside. The day certainly helped to encourage people to look at their own carbon footprint and it was good to see solutions and not only the problems, with everyone starting to look a little closer at the bigger picture.
Categories ,350-international-day-of-climate-action, ,Beekeeping, ,Breadmaking, ,Cinnamon Square, ,climate, ,Climate Camp, ,Copenhagen summit, ,low-energy living, ,Magnificent Revolution, ,Ministry of Trying to Do Something About It, ,Natural Beekeeping Trust, ,Nef, ,pedals powered, ,rations, ,south bank, ,The The Bigger Picture: Festival of Interdependence, ,transition
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