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PEER REVIEW OF CHLOE’S WORK

Chloe’s concept was centred around the theme of identity, exploring society's unrealistic ideals of beauty and the effects of the industry in aiding and exacerbating women’s insecurities through perpetuating these ideals. Through a simple glance through her blog you can really sense the aesthetic she is trying to achieve in her accessory and the design sensibilities and colour palette are immediately evident. It is obvious Chloe has done a lot of research into her concept and is comfortable with the direction she wishes to take it in. The use of the embroidery hoop as the bag’s handle is incredibly innovative and is completely transformed from its primary function when placed in the context of a bag. The bag is immediately evocative of skin, and the idea of skin’s so-called imperfections, such as freckles, moles, vitiligo etc, I particularly like the use of the laser cutter to achieve the cut-out circles. The use of fabrics such as neoprene and leather, both mainstays in contemporary fashion collections, serves to add modernity to the accessory and gives it a Celine-esque look. The minimalistic styling and direction of the photoshoot makes the bag the focal point of the images, whilst still creating obvious references to the integral concept. One potential area for improvement could be to have more variety in the photoshoot, as it would be interesting to see the bag displayed in a wider range of poses and situations. However, I find the final image so striking and true to the theme that further image development may be rendered fruitless anyway, as this image would likely still be chosen. 

View the rest of Chloe’s work at: chloebaggecop2.tumblr.com

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PEER REVIEW OF REBECCA’S WORK

I find Rebecca’s concept of walking in somebody else’s shoes and not judging on appearance or their clothing choices particularly interesting. It is evident that she has researched this topic extensively with regards to how we dress and how that is outwardly perceived by others, but how that does not necessarily equate to someone’s true identity. The idea of creating chaps makes the accessory contemporary aesthetically, as they are a very fashion forward item and not one you would potentially see available on the commercial market, thus indicative of what an innovative accessory should be.  I absolutely love her final outcome and her choice to feature the faces of a multitude of people on the boots in order to literally represent the notion of walking in other’s shoes. The styling and direction of her photoshoot worked very well, with the concealment of the model’s face so you are unaware of her identity enhancing the concept further. The boots are most definitely the focal point in the photos and the elongation of the legs, from taking the images below, makes her images appear editorial. It could have been interesting to see other models wear the chaps to see if they were interpreted differently by whoever was wearing them, however I find the images so strong that this is not necessarily needed. 

View the rest of Rebecca’s work at: rbreynoldsl5.tumblr.com

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EVALUATION OF THE OVERALL PROJECT

Overall, I feel as though my project has been executed successively. From drawing on the references made during my research, specifically in the areas of protest fashion and it’s drawbacks, I was able to create an accessory that I feel is representative of my topic, Feminism and the Gaze. Although on the surface my accessory could be considered not especially innovative, innovation was introduced into the accessory by means of the employment of technology such as the laser cutter and digital print services. I think the print was especially effective, and the fact it is mostly concealed in my final images only serves to reinforce the point that the issues at the core of modern feminism are, in fact, lost behind the frivolity of fashion. However, if I was to repeat the photoshoot, I would potentially incorporate images that had slightly more of the lining on show, in a non-cliche way, as this was the main problem when trying to take photographs that showed the lining. The photoshoot in particular was something that I was apprehensive about and yet definitely enhanced the overall concept of my accessory. I’m glad that I persevered with having two separate photoshoots, despite the difficult logistics in organising the models and photographers, as the contrast between the location and studio shots created the exact aesthetic I was aiming for. I also feel that the editing of the images, using the VSCO mobile phone application, augmented the photographs and was successful in achieving the grainy, vintage effect desired. With regards to the overall concept of my blog and accessory, I may have been over ambitious in tackling the area of ‘white feminism’, as it is an extremely large and important subject that needs exploring in an appropriate, extensive manner and it was difficult to achieve that effectively. Although the end result is one I am pleased with, I do wish I had more time to delve further into the concept and create a more well rounded result, particularly with regards to the essay. 

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CLICK TO ENLARGE. Final image of my accessory. 

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EVALUATION OF PHOTOSHOOT

I felt that the final result of the two photoshoots surpassed my expectations. I was apprehensive that the images could appear cliche or amateur, but with assistance from a photography student, I was able to capture photos that I am pleased with and feel represent my concept. The self made background was one aspect that did not work, however, this was rectified by layering the print I created for the lining over the top of the images and reducing the opacity, thus creating the effect of a cohesive background. This background serves the purpose of reinforcing my concept, as it consists of headlines surrounding women’s rights and movements within feminism, juxtaposed with the overtly feminine accessory and lighting, that on the surface could be viewed as frivolous: ‘just fashion’. I felt having a variety of models enhanced the overall aesthetic of my photoshoot and helped to introduce the idea of intersectional feminism, as my garment was worn by people of different nationalities, race, genders, sexualities and sizes. If I were to repeat or add to this photoshoot, I would include even more models to further extend this idea and make it more well executed. I felt the editing techniques I employed, by trying to recreate a polaroid/vintage paparazzi image, was successful and the grainy, high contrast appearance created improved the look of my images, whilst adding texture to the look of my accessory.  

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STYLING OF MY PHOTOSHOOT

As I had four models, each with a different character perspective, I had to decide on different stylings for each. As I wanted Holly to be my ‘Phenomenon’, I chose to style her in very current trends, mainly those that have ‘bubbled up’ from fashion influencers or bloggers on sites like Instagram, as well as analysing the Yeezy x Adidas collections, as this is a look that is popular amongst millennials currently. Therefore, Holly was styled in a black bralette, camouflage pants and sock boots. Small, cat eyed shape sunglasses were worn also. Rebecca, being my ‘Party Girl’, needed to appear as though she had just returned from a night out and so I once again utilised sunglasses, as if to conceal a hangover, along with a short cut out dress and over the knee boots. I also styled her with a feather trimmed clutch bag, which had items falling out of it, such as a hairbrush, makeup remover and a purse. Willow, ‘The Bombshell’, was styled in a manner that would enhance her curves, so a mesh top and tight midi skirt were selected, as well as a pair of heels to elongate the legs. Black was used in order to make the pink of the cape stand out. A red lip was used to evoke the old Hollywood glamour makeup styles and her hair was worn loose and curly to frame her face on the closer studio shots. Emanuele’s styling was kept quite relaxed, so that there was more of a focus on the attitude and feeling of the shots, to reference the lack of emphasis put on a man’s clothing choices in comparison to women’s, particularly in the media. 

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I was struggling to decide whether or not to include the lining print over the top of the studio images, as I was happy with the way they appeared without. However, it struck me that the intention of my concept may not be so apparent without, and so I layered the print image over the top of each final studio image and reduced the opacity. I felt that this did reinforce the point of my photoshoot and accessory more and therefore did include it in the final image. Without it, the photoshoot could be seen to have taken on ‘white feminism’, removing the important issues still presenting themselves to women to appear more aesthetically pleasing, which of course I did not want. 

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Group shot before final editing. The title ‘We Are All Feminists’ is displayed in the middle of the image, referencing the fact that, whilst all of the people displayed have different genders, races and sexualities, the one thing that ties them together is their position as a feminist and believer in equality of the sexes. In this case, the cape becomes a metaphor for their feminism. 

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CLICK TO VIEW FULL IMAGE. Edited images of Rebecca, embodying the personality of ‘The Party Girl’, a reference to paparazzi images of socialites such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. She is displayed in a night wear appropriate outfit during the day, with several personal items falling out of her bag, as if just returning from a long night out. 

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CLICK TO VIEW FULL IMAGE. Edited images of Willow, who is taking on the personality of ‘The Bombshell’. 

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CLICK TO VIEW FULL IMAGE. Edited images of Holly, ‘The Phenomenon’. Strong images in defined poses are taken, referential of someone familiar with having her photo taken. 

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CLICK TO VIEW FULL IMAGE. Edited images of Emanuele. 

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STUDIO IMAGES: REBECCA

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STUDIO IMAGES: WILLOW

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STUDIO IMAGES: HOLLY

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STUDIO IMAGES: EMANUELE

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BACKGROUND CREATION

I attempted to replicate the print of my lining to form the background of my close up studio images, by printing out the headlines featured and sticking them onto A1 card. I then spray painted ‘hashtag feminist’ over the top in bright pink spray paint, but the effect was not as strong or striking as I had desired. I took a few test shots with Holly to see if it could work, but it was simply not big enough to fill the space around her, so it was abandoned. I concluded that if I were to use the idea of the headlines, I could incorporate them digitally through Photoshop instead.