#contextualstudies

(Carla,Colin,Emily,Sarah)

Fashion Editorial Research

Made in shoreditch Magazine – Monia Merlo

This fashion editorial was shot by Monia Merlo and all the models Monia works with are female. The story is ethereal and her images tend to show her inner feelings and a soft sentimental side to her personality. The theme shown in these images is surreal escapism, there is a fairytale like feel to the images.

The order of the images show different representations of her body, by starting from showing her face, then her legs then two different viewpoints of her full body one which is more relaxed and covered and the other which seems a bit more sensual.

The changes of viewpoint and depth of field gives more context to her surroundings, the close up shots show more details such as her face and legs and the wider shots give us context to her surroundings, which further explains the story, the changing of poses and outfits compliment the scenery with the use of earthy tones.

The common theme of nature and water is what helps to tie the images together , the colours used throughout compliment each other and have earthy tones such as green, beige, and red.

The mood shown in these images is relaxed and tranquil, they seem very quiet and peaceful images.

The lighting used is very soft and subtle and the use of natural lighting and reflectors would create this soft lighting on the model, there may also be flash in some of the images. This lighting helps to convey the mood as the soft lighting helps to create a peaceful atmosphere which better conveys the relaxed mood of the images.

Monia Marlo started her photographic journey at 40 after years of working in architecture, she used photography as a form of self-expression and a way to show her inner feelings as well as different sides to her personality. Monia only works with female models in order to better place herself into the story.

This fashion story is in the style of the photographers other work as her work takes on an earthy and ethereal feeling, they all have quite a fairytale look to them and her lighting has a soft, glowy look which connects all her images.

Peter Lindbergh 

For a photo which shook the fashion industry so deeply, it was initially rejected by Vogue editors Liberman and Grace Marabella. A short period after the rejection, Anna Wintour arrived and found the photo in a drawer within the art department, following this Lindbergh who shot the image, was then commissioned to shoot the following cover for Wintour’s debut issue in 1988.

This photo came about because Lindbergh detested the shooting style of vogue, which in his own words were “Overstyled, done up headshots” and preferred to show more vulnerability, his shots having a natural beauty to them. This came from having a good relationship with his subjects and a comfortable environment on set. This particular image was incredibly simplistic yet striking, it showed the subjects as they truly were, having fun in oversized clothes without any fuss or retouching. There is a real sense of intimacy within all of Lindbergh’s work and not just this image. 

This is another of Lindbergh’s photographs, similar to the former in that it’s both shot with a group of models on a beach and that they’re all wearing white shirts. This was from his exhibition of previously unpublished work, a body of work spanning across the 80s which had never seen an exhibition. 

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