The Model as a Dead Mannequin

I was upset when I came across this first editorial "Live Bed Show", which was photographed by Willy Vanderperre for LOVE magazine. I think Willy is an extremely talented and brilliant fashion photographer, however to me, the model, Arizona Muse, while gorgeous and stunning, is presented as what I call the dead mannequin. She isn't necessarily supposed to be a literal mannequin in the shoot, yet there is nothing about her body, facial expressions, or actions that would imply that she is supposed to be a real live breathing woman either. In the 2nd and 4th image down Arizona is cast in the light from a spotlight which singles her out, literally putting her on display for the viewer. In the same way in the 5th, 6th, 8th, and image 2nd from the bottom the model is behind glass as part of a display window. It suggests, again, that she is a commodity in the store front window on display for people to look at, purchase, and own. I think there are a lot of things wrong with the fashion industry that are presented in this spread. Instead of thinking of the models as beautiful objects we should be thinking of them as people and photographing them in a way that emphasizes their person as well as their clothes, their environment, and their lifestyle. 

The same model, Arizona Muse, was also recently photographed for American Vogue by Peter Lindbergh (one of my favorite photographers of all time!). I think his editorial shoot successfully portrays her in a better and more positive way. The photographer has captured her in a series of small moments that she experiences; smiling to herself, holding her hat so it doesn't fly away, and fixing her clothes. These are all things that everyone has experienced and that everyone has done in their lives, and for this reason it automatically makes that shoot more easily accessible to the masses because people can look at her and her mundane actions and recognize those movements and gestures as human rather than doll or barbie like. 

I'm going off on a tangent because I have slowly been forming and shaping my own personal style of fashion photography. I respect the industry more when they don't give in to traditional stereotypes of the model as a stiff, rigid, absurd, and almost inhuman character. I want to respect women and portraying them as beautiful objects without any intellectual value doesn't perpetuate any positive images of women within the industry and to the world at large. I don't think fashion photography necessarily needs to be about feminism but at the same time I want to respect, praise, and celebrate the beautiful and also smart women and men that work within this exclusive industry and I hope that in the future we will see these traditional values of praising beauty without anything else to accompany it being changed and morphed to something more positive. 

Above shoot photographed for LOVE magazine by Willy Vanderperre.

Above shoot photographed by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue US. 

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Beauty in the Mundane

I think this editorial, shot for Nuyou Singapore by Wee Khim, is absolutely flawless. The models' slicked back hair and red lips, not to mention the classic styling, by Johnny Khooof, of clothes from Calvin Klein, really exemplifies how less is more. There isn't any crazy makeup and they went as simple as possible with the hair but I think it demonstrates such a refined sophistication that I can't seem to get enough. The black and white images remind me of the black and white images from the Jil Sander F/W 08 campaign photographed by Willy Vanderperre because of their simple but striking poses and relationship between clothes and architecture. The model isn't trying too hard to be a model and her poses aren't forced in the least and maintain lines and form and shape in such a natural way. The soft light gives the images a very cinematic feel with the light leak and waiting for the exact perfect timing of light to capture the glow of the sunset.

The whole shoot is similar in visual style to American Beauty and I think the simple banality of the images, especially the fourth from the last image with the white picket fence, reiterates the visual commentary that you can find beauty in the most mundane things. One of the most famous scenes from American Beauty is the plastic bag scene and to me this shoot, with the locations, the light, and the way the photographer has directed these images has captured every emotion that I felt when I watched the scene in American Beauty. I remember these images and I felt something when I looked at them which is what I ultimately hope that others will experience in my own work.

Images taken from fashiongonerogue.com

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Venus Envy

When I first saw this shoot I loved it, until I scrolled to the fourth image down and finished looking at all of the images in the spread. I was a little surprised by the smeared black makeup around the face and then I just started laughing. The inclusion of the two images with the messed up makeup absolutely ruined the shoot for me.

The subtitle under the title reads, "Raw emotion shows through the stark whites and blacks of these coveted spring designs". First of all, a woman with a completely placid expression does not mean that she has any "raw emotion" and I have to laugh at V Magazine for suggesting that it does. Second, those two images throw the theme and concept of the shoot way out of line and instead of taking any of it seriously, I burst out laughing because it seemed to be trying way too hard. The shoot is gorgeous and I love the soft light and how the edge of the bodies seem to melt off into the white background. The shapes and curves of the models and the clothes are beautiful, elegant and understated. I think the shoot would have been absolutely perfect without the two images that throw the whole shoot out of whack and the completely misguided subtitle.

Magazine: V (Spring 2009)
Editorial: Venus Envy
Photographer: Willy Vanderperre
Models: Natasha Poly & Raquel Zimmermann

Images taken from fashiongonerogue.com

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