Ursula Production Blog. Part 1

So after much work finally Ursula is dead and I kind of see where Placida was coming from. I am of course talking about the production of Ursula that we have just finished working on. As a team of stylists we were asked to collaborate with the live production course at Southampton Solent University and create a new interpretation of the Howard Barker play Ursula. Tasked with creating a heavily stylised look for the 11 actresses and 1 actor involved, we were given 3 weeks in which to pitch the idea with a following four to create/beg/borrow and steal whatever we needed whilst keeping within our tight budget.
The collaboration was organised between the director, Matt Fletcher, and Fashion Styling course leader Andrew Markham. Matt came to us with a few ideas of his own regarding the overall presentation of the play, having it somewhat traditional in it’s appearance, but asked that we essentially fill in the blanks. We were to take into account the source material as well as the location, the performers requirements, staging, time restraints, script restraints and of course our budget. With all this we got to work.
We started out by reading through the script several times in order to get to grips with the complexities of the story as well as the language. We also used this time to pick out key points that we felt could be interpreted through the use of styling. Within Ursula there are a lot of themes that could be used such as the nature of religion, virginity, death, fear, betrayal and beliefs. When researching Howard Barker, the writer of Ursula, he writes he plays with the idea that they are set within the realms of his ‘Theatre of Catastrophe’. He talks about theatre as if all stories told should not have a happy ending, ‘nobody likes a happy ending’, and he’s right. Catastrophe creates far more of a spectacle than happiness ever did. With that in mind we set out trying to create a look that captured all these elements, as if the styling was another character in the performance.

Ursula Production Blog. Part 2

At first I was apprehensive of the direction being taken with the play and thought the idea of a modern day interpretation of a play meant exactly that, modern day. When researching into the history of previous performances of Ursula they all seemed very similar and I felt like we were going down the same route. Yet as a professional and as part of a team you have to take on board other people opinions and that of the director commissioning this work. With the use of our research into the themes within the play we ended up working towards a New-Romantic inspired look but using ideas of being bound, restricted and pure brought on by the idea of virginity. Matt had asked that the style be noir in tone so we worked on the costumes being black and white in colour with splashes of red to denote impurity.
With colours sorted we set out on the individual costumes for the cast. Within the play there are four main characters and the rest come under the bracket of the nuns. This meant we had to have five distinctly different costumes. Added to this was one major costume change for the character of Placida so in total we had six different designs and thirteen costumes. Largely the cast were portraying nuns so it meant that they all had a similar look. The decision was made that we wouldn’t make them look strictly like nuns but would carry certain elements across into the costume design. The idea was to have them in full-length clothing that was restricting, in the similar vain of a Japanese kimono, with white gloves and a black obi. They were also to wear black snoods, similar to the hoods that would be worn by a nun, to cover what had decided to be plum red wigs to further the new romantic idea.
With our template done we set out to differentiate the three nuns with the big part in the story by using character traits as our reference point. In the play Ursula is described ‘…that her hair is yellow, Ursula’s, yellow as the plumage of petals’. This means that her hair colour was already defined for us but that we wished to further distance her from the others image, simply by using lace gloves and having her costume slightly looser to create the idea of freedom. Placida’s costume choice was far more influenced by the look of a nun or matron, and of course she has a major costume change towards the end of the play in which she changes into a full-length blood red ball gown. Leonora’s costume was exactly the same as the rest of the nuns but we roughed up the material to further the idea that she was a vagrant. Finally we had to come up with a costume solution for Lucas as in the script he swims the estuary naked twice, but in the play he was not to be naked. We solved this by having the actor wear black wet look leggings and bare chest with shimmer. This was also accompanied by a dinner jacket for the rest of the performance.
I think overall the costume design was strong and fit in with the brief and the initial concepts although I thought that the costumes felt a little cheap, although we definitely worked well with what we were given and on the budget we had. I think we also worked well on over coming issues related to people’s different body shapes sharing costumes.
The make-up and hair for all the nuns continued the new romantic theme with a slight Japanese geisha twist. Cheeks were air brushed on to create a clean sharp look of various shades of pink dependant of the character, whilst the eye make-up was kept simple with a single eye line along the top eyelid with mascara. The look was finished off with red lipstick to denote the loss of virginity of a specific character. Finally there were the three different coloured wigs cut into bobs, black being for Placida, blonde for Ursula and plum red for the rest of the nuns. Lucas’s look was simply to create a more masculine look with accentuated cheeks and smokey eyes finished off with dyed black hair that was slicked back.
Overall I thought the make-up process was well done apart from a few hiccups the straightening of the fake hair wigs, the confusion with mixing a large batch of colour for the cheeks and the henna tattoo, all resulting in extra work being created but in the end working out fine. Out of all the creative work put in I thought the make-up was by far the best.

Ursula Production Blog. Part 3

The night of the show was hectic but in an organised way. Each of the four nights of the production were taken charge of by a separate styling team, ours had Zina in charge. Our team was tasked with the first night of the production and so nerves were on edge whilst waiting for the performers to arrive for make-up and hair. The six of us in our team each had our own station to work on the cast, each station being for a different make-up process. We had two stations for foundation application, two for the cheeks make-up, one for the black displaying Leonora’s blindness and the final one for eye make-up. Once all the basics were done we asked the cast to get changed into costume for us then to apply wigs and sort and style them ready for the show. We had a few first night issues with the make-up process in particular the problems caused by the badly mixed colour for the cheeks. One of the other stylists made the mistake of mixing a silicon-based colour with non-silicon based colour whilst trying to create a batch of the right colour. The problem being that the two don’t mix and what we had was blocking up all the air brushes leaving them needing extensive cleaning and also wasting a lot of product. Luckily we were ready any issue and finished the whole process with plenty of time, making sure to communicate to the other groups of this issue so that they could avoid it.

From here we all left for the theatre hall and set up backstage with any equipment we might need for re-applying make-up and hair when the cast come off stage during scenes. Backstage got a little heated at times with a few diva moments rearing their head from certain cast members but as a styling group we managed to work on the task at hand without distraction. We had a few first night issue’s with costumes breaking or timings between the cast coming off, then going back on again but in all we received positive reviews and I felt proud of being a part of the experience.

Alienation

Up until last weekend it had been non-stop with a uni project that had been on going since the end of November that i just came to an end. We were set to work on a make-up and hair orientated project, styling a supposed four-piece rock band for a magazine of our choice with the title being Alienation. The theme being that the styling had to be our take on alienation, what it meant in our view and put into the context of a four page photoshoot, a page for each fictional band member, but only proceeding to photoshoots with two of our four final ideas. The idea being that we had to get creative and look at how musicians portray themselves in order to create their own persona and differentiate themselves from others.




I had originally thought this project was perfect for me as i think of myself as someone who tends to think out of the box but found that my initial concepts were way too graphics based and would have been difficult to translate to a make-up look. As a result i had a lot more work to do towards the end of the project with changing things around and toning down my looks slightly.


The final concepts that i ended up using were based on the ideas of optical illusions and the way they can create confusion with yourself and the other look being based on Andy Warhol and his alienation of art through mass production of images.


I think that after the amount of editing i had to do with my original concepts the final looks i achieved were pretty good. I had two models that were perfect for the looks i was trying to achieve in the lovely Tasha and Chantel and although i think there could be a few improvements with the photoshop work i did with putting in backgrounds and things, i was pretty pleased to have handed it in on time.





Final shoots.

The eve before Christmas

So it was my birthday last month and what with Christmas tomorrow i thought i better write about what i got as, well this years birthday presents were greatfully received as usual.


My kid brother got my me 'The Tokyo Look Book' which has been on my amazon wish list for a while now. I think if anyone is interested in the many different styles of fashion in Japan then i seriously recommend this book. Plenty of interviews with brands of all kinds, this book brought back many good memories of my time their.

My parents came down the week after bringing with them an awesome Ipod Touch 32GB. I didn't realise how much easier things could be with a mobile internet connection. Granted the memory isn't huge and i can't fit all my music on it, that is made up with the free application that you can get for the App store. Definitely check out the Style.com app for all the latest runway videos and pictures as well as fashion news. As well as the facebook, mixi and ebay app. As well as that my mum got me a years subscription for dazed and confused, which was a life saver!

Last but not least is that little block of gold, with the what i imagine liquid gold would smell like. The lovely Emmy bought me the gorgeous scent that is Paco Rabanne 'Million'. This was my early Christmas present after she over heard my adventures with Tasha in the Superdrug in town. That's right i spend afternoons in superdrug testing fragrances. Real high class!

Anyway time for me to go get and glass of milk and a carrot for Santa and his reindeer!
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow!

Peace, Love and Fashion Forever!

Great rack!

The cornerstone of every fashion enthusiast is of course the humble magazine. Amongst the pages of advertisements and editorials lie the things that matter and appeal to the different dimensions that make us who we are. Whether you're a fan of the highly commercial side of fashion that magazines such as Vogue and Elle bring to peoples live or if you're more on the creative side and find Dazed & Confused and Lowdown filled with the things that make you tick, there is a magazine for everyone. I find that I'm more on the latter side, although i find it's always good to keep an eye on the competition with the odd purchase of Vogue every so often.
So anyway That right there is most of my collection from the last year when i started buying them almost religiously. I finally got some shelves to put them so i could de-clutter my room, and then it go me thinking about what my favourite magazine are.


Tokyo Graffiti
Not strictly a fashion magazine but definitely full of inspiration. While i was living in Tokyo i found this magazine in one of my favourite shops. The magazine covers the residents of Japan and usually has a running theme through each issue. They look at what people carry with them, what they think, and in some issues like the one shown, documents 40 people at different ends of the social spectrum and looks at their rooms and the things that makes who they are. It's definitely a very unique magazine that I've not managed to anything like it outside of Japan.


Plastique
This quarterly magazine was one of the lucky finds a had on a monthly pilgrimage to Borders (Borders being probably the best place to find a wide range of magazines in any town). Plastique covers the same bases as most magazines that are within the same genre, but it's the way it does it which pleases. With no contents page the magazine lets you tread your own path through the world it weaves. I can't really explain any further how Plastique succeeds, just be sure to buy it and find out for yourself.


Tank
Pushing the boundaries of what is fashion, Tank, in the same vein as Plastique is a quarterly magazine but what differs it to it's companion is that it offers a much more striped down take on the arts. Currently celebrating their 10th anniversary, Tank magazine has attracted many big names onto its pages. The current issues features photography by the great Juergen Teller a long time contributor as well as John Galliano and Christian Lacroix.


SO-EN
Like a mish-mash of Tokyo Graffiti, Vogue and Dazed & Confused; SO-EN manages to encapsulate the elements of all three magazines into one small high-end magazine. Not something that is easy to do in a Japanese market driven by global brands. Surprisingly i first found this while i was in Hong Kong at the start of the year and made sure to buy a couple of back issues to tide me over until i could next get hold of them. This magazine is great for the creative use of make-up and styling in that the shoots tend to be studio shot leaving the styling doing all the talking.


Dazed & Confused
This is by far my definitive monthly fashion bible. Arriving on my doorstep every month like clockwork, my next week is filled with ideas and a willingness to get creative. Show casing everything the other end of the magazine spectrum doesn't, from indie music and movies to collaborations you wouldn't see coming, Dazed has a cut and paste hobby craft feel to it whilst remain of the highest quality. This months issue see's the British youth invasion take place with all contributors being of the teenage persuasion. My favourite magazine by far.

Honourable Mention:
iD
Would have been up there with my favourites had i not lost faith in this monthly publication recently. I guess like alot of indie music that becomes popular people begin to feel like the band have sold out, which in some cases is true but is mostly non-sense. Yet with iD recently i feel this analogy rings true, losing a real sense of what it is and becoming more of an advertising machine. Still i continue to buy it every month like clock work for sheer fact that, like Vogue, it is an ever present part of the fashion industry and is something that needs to be kept up with on a kind of regular basis.

Guilty pleasure:
Nylon
While i find that the articles are sometimes sparse or lacking in depth it's the feel of the magazine that draws my eye whenever i see it in store. Offering respite from the sometimes gloomy eye of many indie publications, Nylon always seems to bring a smile to my face with it's pop-py colours and teen imagination. After all nobody can live in the dark all the time.

Fashion Bound

Just like with anything, this blog needs a beginning, a why am i here, a what is the purpose, otherwise what is the point right? So this post is here as a pre-requisite to the start of what i hope will be a regularly updated affair regarding all the things that make up the varying degree's of my life without making it into a record of self deprecation and melodrama. So here goes.......

I'm 22 and I'm a first year Fashion Styling (Hair and Make-up) student studying at Solent university in England. I like to incorporate all aspects of what makes me who i am into my work and that will be the case with this blog. I just wanted somewhere to talk about anything from the music I'm listening to, the designers who are inspiring me at this moment in time, photoshoots I've seen or been involved with, basically anything that i relate to myself in fashion. Their are so many other blogs out there doing the same thing so I'm not trying to change the face of things, but would love it if i can share on going projects that i am currently working on with the rest of you and vice versa.

I'm all about collaboration. Whether it be me mixing up the different things around me to create something new, or if it were to be the collaboration of different people on a sole project. The meeting of minds.