Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen was a very famous fashion designer, born on 17th March 1969 in Lewisham London. He had six siblings which of he is the youngest. He was always known as 'Lee' by many friends. When leaving school at 16 he was asked to take on an apprenticeship at the Traditional Savile Raw Tailors Anderson and Shepard and after at Neighbouring Gieves and Hawkes which together were the top in the technical construction of clothing.

Alexander became head designer of the Louis Vuitton-owned Givenchy fashion line and in 2004 he launched his very own clothing line for men. He was given the name Commander of the order of the British Empire after winning the Fashion councils British designer of the year four times, in 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003.

Alexander opened many stores in New York, Milan, London, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. McQueen was very proud of breaking the traditional mold of a successful designer.

Sadly in 2007 McQueen was shocked when he found out the death of Isabella Blow, later in 2008 he devoted his spring/summer line to her and quoted that her death "was the most valuable thing I learnt in fashion". Then unfortunately in February 2010 McQueens mother died and just one day before her funeral Alexander McQueen was found dead in his Mayfair, London apartment. It was firmly said that it was suicide.

Source Information: www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/alexandermcqueen/biography/#id_article=137

www.biography.com/people/alexander-mcqueen-541384#profile

Source for Images:

http://cosmeticsideas.com/alexander-mcqueen/

Carina Buckley analytical review - The danger dress

I was asked to write a review about this blog post "where have all the surfing cowboys gone" which was created by a fashion blogger named Rumi Neely. The images were taken in Venice Boulevard, LA and below I have written my own views about the images taken.

I find that by looking at this blog post it is very difficult to grasp exactly what the artist is trying to portray. The title "where have all the surfing cowboys gone" doesn't really fit in with what the model is wearing because as you can see from the photograph she is wearing a short white dress with white trainers. However once I sat and really analysed the photographs I came to realise that perhaps the message she is trying to put across is that she is longing for true romance.

I thought of this because Surfing could define that she feels there are no men out there who are surfing in search to find a woman. Also Cowboy can define someone as being reckless and taking risks and maybe she is wondering why no men are taking risks any more to find love.

The models facial expressions come across as she has had enough of waiting around, she is always looking away anxiously in the hope of finding her lover.

By the model wearing a short dress I think it shows that maybe she thinks she will be more recognised by a man as she is showing off more of her body but by wearing the trainers I believe she is trying to portray a message that she shouldn't have to be all dressed up just for a man to look at her or recognise her, she should just be able to feel comfortable in what she is wearing and still have someone nice approach her.

Source Information: http://fashiontoast.com/2013/11/where-have-all-the-surfing-cowboys-gone/

The masters of drawing

In this lesson we were all given an introduction in to drawing, we were taught how to do line work and how to use different shading techniques. Firstly we had to start off drawing straight lines holding the end of the pencil and then we did the same again but instead we drew all different kind of shapes.

Below are some photographs of the lines and shapes which I drew holding the end of the pencil.

Halloween

For Halloween Sue brought in lots of different Halloween designs for the lesson. We all got paired up and then had to pick a design that we would both like to create on one another. I paired up with Beth and we both had great fun creating our designs, we only had 40 minutes on each person so unfortunately we didn't have time to complete the whole look. However it was great practice and a very enjoyable lesson.

Below are the Photographs of Myself and Beth which we created on each other.

Over the Halloween weekend I decided to practice some more Halloween make-up so I did some on myself and also some friends. Below is some photographs of some of the make-up I created.

Eye and Lip make-up

Slit throat

Pumpkin

Pumpkin

Val Garland - Amplified realness

Source: http://showstudio.com/img/contributors/401-600/438_320c.jpg?1315920512

Val Garland is a very well known make-up artist and works in London, England. However she originally grew up in Bristol and then went off to travel in Sydney, Australia. Whilst living there Val Garland qualified as a hair dresser and from then onwards it was when she realised her true passion for hair and make-up.

Garland moved back to London in 1994 and has been working here for over 20 years. She has worked on many different projects such as highly conceptual catwalk shows for Alexander McQueen and also done commercial celebrity shoots with Kate Moss. Garland has also collaborated publications including Visionaire, i-D, Dazed and Confused and Vogue.

Garlands great creations have now guided her to work with Bjork, Chloe Sevigny, John Galliano, Mario Testino and Nick Knight.

Source: http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/426x639/Shows/SS2012/Paris/R-T-W/Giambattista_Valli/Backstage/00160big_426x639.jpg

Source: http://cdnbakmi.kaltura.com/p/1386381/sp/138638100/thumbnail/entry_id/1_55n251pa/version/100001/acv/211/width/676/height/354

In the Val Garland: Amplified Realness video which I watched, I think the make-up which Val Garland created is amazing especially how she carefully created the look with freckles and made it look so realistic. It definitely fits in well with the Elizabethan era and I think it's a great idea how Val made it her own by adding in the freckles.

Information sourced: showstudio.com/contributor/val_garland

Ellis Faas - Identity revealed

By watching the video "Identity revealed" I found it very inspiring as it made me begin to see things in a completely different light. I feel that the message Ellis Faas is trying to put across is about what actually describes us as people because everyone is different.

Most people are not comfortable within themselves in some way or other so they are often hiding behind a mask and it could be to do with many different things, it could be that they wear make-up as they don't feel happy about their skin complexion. It could also be to do clothes as people often wear a specific type of clothing that they feel most comfortable in. It could be that someone may not be happy with their hair so they are always needing to wear a wig or have extensions put in. Also I feel sometimes people change their personalty due to their insecurities, for example, some people may project themselves as being a really loud, outgoing person but inside they might be very insecure and I believe the reason they do this is because they are trying to protect themselves from people being able to see their true insecurities. Or sometimes people can even be more critical of someone else who they might feel is better than them and I feel they probably do this to try and make themselves feel better about their insecurities.

I feel it is important for everyone to be able to project themselves as themselves and not as someone they feel people would like them to be or to hide behind a mask to cover up the person they are or their true feelings and insecurities. It's not that I feel everyone is the same because we are not, we are all individual but we all have special qualities that can be enjoyed and accepted if only we allow people to see them.

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYlTH48T-Fo07Q_j7727QCsjkMEEZsgvcBCr6YzDcjw7f2C0Exk3ZtfVa5ckdFKIaKF38zevSF3l-yw__5hf60zouzoBg6VOWsZJzCJTUfY-CXHax9CrqdckmiQEWaKmJvT2K3q7_HQwa/s1600/unnamed(3).jpg

The message Ellis Faas explains to us is..."since ancient times, humans have been using masks - in order to express power and authority; to feel self-confident; to stand out or to hide behind; to not be recognised and disappear into the masses. Not only by traditional masks, but also by disguising and ornamental elements such as clothing, jewellery, hair and make-up. But can one truly change one's identity, or is it merely a temporary transformation? And who or what defines someone's true identity? Is it the mask, is it the human being behind the mask, or maybe even the creator of the mask?"

Kevyn Aucoin

Source: http://kevynaucoin.com/the-brand

Kevyn Aucoin was born in Louisiana and had always had a keen interest in make-up from a very young age. Kevyn began to realise he was gay at the age of six, he was often bullied at school due to his sexual orientation. When Kevyn grew up he moved to New York in 1983 where he hoped to start a career in make-up taking with him his portfolio of his work. When living in New York Kevyn managed to fulfil his dreams when he became recognised through Vogue. He photographed nine covers for vogue between 1987 and 1989 and on top of that he also did seven cosmopolitan covers. Kevyn was always fully booked and for one make-up session he would often charge as much as $6000. 

Kevyn was working for Steven Meisel on the set of high fashion shoots and backstage at couture shows. He soon became a top make-up artist, painting and sculpting the faces of magazine cover models and celebrities such as Cher, Gwyneth Paltrow and Janet Jackson. 

Revlon offered Kevyn a job in 1993 as Creative Director for their prestige ultima II line of cosmetics.

Kevyn Aucoin transformed celebrities and models to make them look like other celebrities or historical figures and this was shown in his books which he published throughout the 1990's. 

Later Kevyn created his own Beauty Brand and launched it in 2001. Sadly Kevyn was diagnosed with a brain tumour and passed away the year later in 2002.

Below are some Photographs of some of the transformations in which Kevyn Aucoin created!

Calista Flockhart channels Audrey Hepburn

Christina Ricci channels Edith Piaf

Isabella Rosselini channels Alla Nazimova

Courtney Love channels Jean Harlow

Demi Moore channels Clara Bow

Martha Stewart - entrepreneur and criminal - channels Veronica Lake

Susan Sarandon channels Bette Davis as she appears in Of Human Bondage (1934)

Source Information: www.themakeupgallery.info/various/photo/race/kastars.htm

                                  kevynaucoin.com/the-brand

Seven photographs that changed fashion

This is a documentary film created by fashion photographer Rankin explaining how the fashion industry has changed over a number of years. Rankin chose seven classic photographs from his most liked photographers and recreated them as his own to make them appear more modernised. 

Rankin has been doing photography for the past 20 years and is fascinated by the process and personalities behind the great fashion images.

Source: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/991096/thumbs/o-RANKIN-facebook.jpg

Cecil Beaton

Cecil Beaton was a British photographer born in London on January 14th 1904. He done work for my fair lady and also for vogue in the 1930s. Cecil Beaton turned out to be an award-winning costume designer for the stage and big screen.

Source: http://cdn.peterharrington.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/beaton.jpg

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Iy9YgSjUSd8wjgFWPtep_tm4PVB7sQGzmZvAjxdqILNh3IrnwnZNkbS3dmeoZesSMnmZQ3TYTpRJtQ59njEXX27mQtq_g6_LE6rnzGrgUyIjUYXA3mccxqSzLiCJjkuSYrdU435iIx0F/s1600/White-Panama-Hat.jpg

The image in which Rankin chose to recreate is the image of the white panama hat in 1934 from Vogue. The model he used for this photograph was Sophie Ellis Bexter to fit in with 30's look.

The camera Rankin used was a 10"8 camera which is able to take photographs upside-down. However this type of camera is a lot more difficult to use than a digital camera as you can't instantly see the photographs with this type of camera so Rankin had to keep reverting back to digital imagery so he was able to see what the final photograph would look like.

Erwin Blumenfeld

Erwin Blumenfeld was a German photographer and worked for magazines such as Bazaar and Vogue in the 1940s and 1950s. Blumenfeld was the photographer who shot the most photographs for the magazine Vogue.

Source: http://static.vogue.ru/iblock/1c6/1c6c4e5527a5770fc2a13e1261f5bcc3.jpg

Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lgdo2UkDiZk/ScL606MyrTI/AAAAAAAAAHI/E1SZDL_lo_Q/s400/Erwin+Blumenfeld+-+Vogue,+1950.jpg

The image in which Rankin chose to recreate here is the image for the Vogue cover in the 1950's. Rankin used Heidi Klum as a model to create this image. The photograph which Blumenfeld originally created was in black and white and at the printing stage he then began to add colour to it and whitened out the image so that only the best features were showing which were the eyebrows, the eyes and the lips. It took a lot longer to create photographs back in the 1950's as the technology was not as good as it has become now. 

I absolutely love the way this image has been recreated. Rankin has given it a naughty but cheeky feel to it with Heidi licking her lips. Also he has added in the nose to make it look slightly different, he has definitely given it a more modernised look.

Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon was borin in New York in 1923 and was a fashion and portrait photographer. His favourite location to shoot was in Paris and the model he most liked to work with was Dovima.

Source: https://utstatic.a.cdnify.io/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/avedon.jpg

Source: http://ladybird46.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/avedon-1955.jpg

Rankin has recreated this image with the elephants using Erin O'conner as a model. I really like the recreation because Rankin has made it look a lot clearer and bolder. I also like the way he has made it his own and changed the photograph slightly by adding colour and changing the way the model is posing. Also I like the way he has positioned the elephants as it gives it a more relaxed feel because in the original photograph the elephants appear to be very agitated where as in the recreation they come across as being very calm.

David Bailey

David Bailey was a fashion photgrapher born on January 2nd, 1938 in London. He began photographing for British Vogue in 1960.

Source: http://www.anothermag.com/filestorage/60/0/60041.jpg

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCGZ0Sjpbud_B11C94or1q5gm6r3EXzatsLOtqD74TvBzCJ2_hfttQBlPmjNDSn09vs1zGC63EtD3JlDRm-t7lOG4y8yYgnm5mWqo5UQQWRVTI26gw_PR80LT0EBrDH1JdsPOM5-dMvg/s400/Rankin+%3D+4.jpg

The image Rankin chose to recreate was a photograph in which Bailey took of a previous lover back in the 1960's named Jean Shrimpton. Rankin decided to then recreate the image using his girlfriend Tuuli as the model.

I like everything about this image from the way they are posing, the way they are dressed and even the way their hair is styled as it all looks very elegant and is definitely very eye catching. I like the way Rankin has recreated the image by making the photograph a lot lighter as it makes the photograph look bolder and stand out more. I also like the way Rankin changed the way Tuuli's hair is styled as it definitely gives it that more modernised look.

Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton was born in Berlin, Germany on October 31st, 1920. He always had a keen interest in photography.

Source: http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/240x360/g_j/hnewton_aspringsB.jpg

Helmut Newtons Photograph
https://livingshadow95.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/rankin-newton-2.jpg

Rankin's Photograph
https://livingshadow95.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/rankin-newton-1.jpg

Rankin chose The Rue Aubriot Vogue 1975 image to recreate, mainly because this specific photograph was taken right outside Helmut's home. Rankin chose to use Mollie Gandi as his model and I believe it was a great choice as I feel she fits in perfectly with this photograph. I feel with this image you are able to see clearly which photograph is the most recent one, for example, although it is the same street you are still able to tell that Rankin's image looks a lot clearer and brighter than the original image which looks slightly tatty and dull. I think the way the models are dressed in these photographs is great and also the way they are posing. However I feel that Helmut's image has a more relaxed feel to it where as Rankin's model seems to be posing more stiffly.

Guy Bourdin

Guy Bourdin was a French photgrapher born in Paris on 2nd December 1928. Bourdin worked for many magazines, one of which being French Vogue.

Source: http://gulfnews.com/polopoly_fs/1.781961!/image/1453023760.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_475/1453023760.jpg

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgj2nk4UZKq9pgQXDWfoga7saZ0ELCnFbYTDNjrmaCCE-kfCCTE3aOvbsTBd7jTLEds48Yw_J8KrdSZGa3SwCEdcJ0QpIgjRSyxODIyP7cWxZ-DvoZOh1T8rzY00hSUQSgQkjZwHJuLw/s1600-h/rankin_doc_05.jpg

Rankin chose to recreate the photograph from Vogue 1970 with the model Dapne Guiness. With the recreation which Rankin created he has kept the same background and pose but changed the way the model is styled. I feel with the original image it comes across as being quite fun and mischievous where as the recreation image looks more serious and less exposed with the model wearing red tights. I also feel the image shows that it is more recent because of the way the model is styled, it makes it look very modern.

Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts was an American fashion photographer. He first started his photography in the late 70's and achieved a great reputation as a master of art and commercial photography. Most of Herb Ritts work was shot in black and white and he became one of the top photographers in the 1980's.

Source: http://www.filmsnotdead.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/021230Herb_Ritts.jpg

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWvmxBFj5ZvAwc7ZcPO6dgs3PP4XwnAxouxE07FqpFCGeXtfPbbN_19aJ-AiEKRGb7H-_giYQ2SFhWDZRYFddqAVruXHiEHVGrfJZvvVAt4vWdAZCWT08ImwI2udBt9JsZDMAELk51YgY/s1600-h/rankin_doc_07.jpg

The image in which Rankin chose to recreate was Fred with Tyres using David Gandi as the model. I feel Rankin has created the image very similar to the original. I feel you are able to tell Rabkin's image is modern due to the hairstyle and the jeans in which the model is wearing. I believe this image is a great look alike.

After watching the documentary of the seven photographs that changed fashion it has given me a great insight to how the fashion industry has changed over the a period of time. I found it very interesting to watch.