Achraf Amiri Illustrations

I found this fantastic photo shoot in Idol Magazine which combines Achraf Amiri's illustrations with contemporary fashion designers work. The combination seems to be very complimentary with Amiri's haunting illustrations acting like the model's alter ego setting them free into a world of escapism of seduction and female dominance.

The shoot is very playful as model and illustration interact in a "come hither" manner. This presents how powerful illustration can be; it shows in this case an element of authority; it appears to be the driving force of the shoot itself .
Amiri's line quality is strong with use of very matte blocked out colours mixed with bold vibrant hints of colour. The composition of the illustrations lures the viewer in; the illustrations fill the space with their gaunt, twisted bodies and the strange, sexual positions they hold.

Illustrated People

Developing a particular style of drawing is a key element in conveying who we are as designers; it's the first thing the industry reads about us and our designs therefore they MUST be eye catching, bold and of course contemporary in a unique way. Yes, a lot to live up to.

Practice makes perfect....

 

The chosen brand for  my current project: Maison Martin Margiela (above image from MMM S/S 2009 Collection). 

The task: To replicate the above catwalk image as a Fashion Drawing conveying a sense of movement within the garments using mixed media, gaining a sense of proportion and stance of the model.

I struggled initially with proportion however I feel I conveyed the image as accurately as possible; more highlights could be added to the piece to create more depth but overall I am pleased with the outcome. I used mixed media of water colours, pencils and chalk pastels.

The second part of the task entailed picking a Fashion Illustrator and replicating their style. My chosen illustrator was Achraf Amiri. Amiri's illustrations are extremely ghoul like with their wide, zombie eyes and frail bodies. I find his style really eye catching, they allude to a completely bizarre world of strange fashion creatures.

 

 Overall I think my translation of this illustration was successful, I was quite bold with colour and tried not to be afraid in it's application however  I feel more attention to detail is need around the bottom half of the skirt in relation to depth of tone. I think I could have created a more three-dimensional effect. For this drawing I combined water colours, gouache paints and pencil.

London Fashion Week: Kokon to Zai

Arrival at Somerset House: 3:30

The chaos backstage was building as we tried to arrange the many layers in the KTZ Autumn/Winter Collection 2012. Of course there were many zips, buttons, buckles and chains to make our lives as dressers much harder but it was very much worth the chaos and stressfulness....

Marjan one of the designers fixing the model's garments.

The show was full of star and cross jewellery on top of layers of tartan fabric; the mixing of tartan colours was extremely bold with beautiful leather jackets and coats with quirky slanted beret hats. The collection was such an interesting mix up with heavily beaded evening wear that followed the more outlandish tartan designs.

 Arthur: the model I was dressing.

This was the second season I had the incredible opportunity to work alongside Kokon to Zai; I find their designs inspirational. Somehow what they put together is so outrageously bold that it all fits into place nicely and looks insanely unique and makes us question why we throw on our dull, pretty normal clothes everyday....

The Show:

Kokon To Zai

Helping out in shop:

The Kokon to Zai shop above is situated just off Portobello Road; a stone throw away from one of the most fascinating markets London has to offer. The shop is full of beautiful antique furniture and relics of the past. This completely contrasts with the outrageous and bold garments designers Marjan, Sasko and Koji have to offer their more youthful clientele.
In preparation for Fashion Week I was pleased to be asked to help out with writing invitations for the intriguing guest list.... This included The Saturdays, Nicola Roberts and Noel Fielding amongst many others.

London Fashion Week: Basso&Brooke

A surprise email arrives the night before the show from Basso&Brooke asking me to work as a dresser: shock and panic take over wondering how I'm going to organize my work around this amongst a long list of other things.
SCREW THE WORK!! IT'S BASSO&BROOKE!!

Location: Goldsmith's Hall, an absolutely beautiful building full of old paintings and chandeliers.

I arrived at the venue a nervous hour before anyone was due and waited for the make up artists, the hair team, the models, the garments, the stylists and of course the incredible due Basso&Brooke themselves.
The garments were extraordinary as always with Bruno's unique digital print background and Chris' innovative silhouettes.

 What a beautiful building.

 Getting sorted.

 My gorgeous model Christina.

 Bruno of Basso&Brooke helping to sort out the models and oversee everything.

 Me with my model Christina (feeling rather short, fat and ugly).

The collection was inspired by retro prints which were then modernized with inspiration from birds, dichotomy and walls. It's all about taking something new and refreshing it through digital print, new cuts; being inspired by fashion history and what has already been done.

What lies under the sea...

Sunday, 5am wake and a long train journey into West London to meet with Oliver Vaughn and the models for today's shoot.
The theme: Underwater mystical Creatures.
Location: A fabulous Mansion in Brighton (we nabbed their swimming pool).


This was an incredible day of meeting new people and seeing an unconventional fashion photo shoot take place. Spending several hours drying garments with my hair dryer was worth it as there was the interesting part of picking out garments and helping with the models. Plus my name got PUBLISHED!! in Idol magazine!

Bondage at its Best

My first ever photo shoot was working alongside London Stylist Oliver Vaughn and it was an intense one... Amongst the running around like a headless chicken picking up thousands of pounds worth of garments which I had to sign my soul away to there was the fun part of putting garments together and helping with the styling and the direction of the shoot.
It was all worth it and the end results proves just that:

L'Autre Magazine Shoot:

Papercut Magazine: