TIME to tell you all about my first FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) experience. Well I rocked up on Wednesday last week to start my Fashion Styling confidential. The two instructors were lovely ladies with fantastic backgrounds in the fashion industries. Basically they are at a stage in careers where they get to pick and what they do work wise! WICKED!Both Barbara and Adrienne took turns talking about what a stylist is and what they do, in detail with tips of the trade, and brutal honesty about the industry in New York / USA.
It was really interesting as Adrienne is like this creative genius that comes up with the look/vision for a photoshoot, but gets others to figure out all the details. She works as a stylist and journo now, and does a lot of those really artsy editorial shoots you see sometimes. She is a little out there, crazy, and likes to push boundaries but I really really liked her!
It was really interesting as Adrienne is like this creative genius that comes up with the look/vision for a photoshoot, but gets others to figure out all the details. She works as a stylist and journo now, and does a lot of those really artsy editorial shoots you see sometimes. She is a little out there, crazy, and likes to push boundaries but I really really liked her!
Whereas Barbara on the other hand has built a solid stunning career based on the details. She is a wardrober if you will, and her business booms executing what a stylist/photographers vision is. She frequently works for Calvin Klein, Vera Wang and Valentino! OMG! Barbara was very nurturing and her attention to detail really encourage you to step up your game!
So that was great to hear two differing sides of the same industry.
As mentioned in the outline of the course, the final day we would do a mock photoshoot. Well I thought it would just be models fresh off the boat, student photographers and us zipping into cheap stores for the clothing and accessories. BOY HOW WRONG I WAS!
Day One: We were whisked off to 5th Ave where some groups (mine included) 'pulled' shoes and handbags from the showroom (which had a view of central park to die for ) of American designer Donald J Pliner. Wicked shoes and handbags, and the PR coordinator of the head office told us all about the brand and funky down to earth philosophy of the company. We got to see the beginnings of the fall/winter '09 collection which had some great striking pieces let me tell you!
Day One: We were whisked off to 5th Ave where some groups (mine included) 'pulled' shoes and handbags from the showroom (which had a view of central park to die for ) of American designer Donald J Pliner. Wicked shoes and handbags, and the PR coordinator of the head office told us all about the brand and funky down to earth philosophy of the company. We got to see the beginnings of the fall/winter '09 collection which had some great striking pieces let me tell you!Next we went to meet with a stylist that had started a rental business as a resource to other stylists. We started thinking about the look of our shoot. Discovered the best place for stylist supplies a few floors down in the same building where I brought a stylists kit :-)
Day Two: We visited the 5th Ave store of Blanc de Chine. Think Comme des Garcons but incorporating Chinese culture instead of Japanese. The pieces were very elegant and beautiful and it interesting how their designers incorporated the old chinese cultures in with forward thinking fashion techniques. We got to preview the new luxury sportswear line, bleu de chine, that they are releasing only in August. I would love to see my parents decked head to toe it in this! It looks so comfortable and smart and trendy at the same time! Then we went to the fourth floor where we got to choose any pieces we wanted to our photoshoot! WOW! Now most of these garments cost thousands of dollars! I was blown away at the generosity and networking abilities of it all! We spent the afternoon getting accessories from Renata's rental store and developing our vision for our photoshoot the next day. We decided which model we would like to work with (yes we got to choose!) and how we wanted make-up and hair.
Day Three: The day of the shoot and oh my lord what fun it was! We got to experience first hand at a professional level what occurs on a photoshoot. Professionals left right and centre. Michael the photographer was great he made sure to talk to us loads and teach us as much as we could. This is not what a photographer on a shoot would usually do, they are usually the director and you leave them to it. Martha did an amazing job on make-up and A.J complimented that brilliantly with hair. My team's model, Ashley Cortes 
was cute and lovely. This was only her sixth shoot so she is still new and fresh and she was just what we wanted. Adrienne and Barbara helped us with direction where needed, as did Michael.
was cute and lovely. This was only her sixth shoot so she is still new and fresh and she was just what we wanted. Adrienne and Barbara helped us with direction where needed, as did Michael. I was the 'watch the set' person in my group which basically means I ensure the model looks fantastic and as per the brief throughout the shoot and fix or correct anything that needs to be. I actually got photographed in one shot that Michael kept (above) white socks and all.
Truly this course exceeded ALL my expectations and took it to a whole new level! Check out the photos, these are just internet sized one. We all get a CD with the full size edited ones so that we can use them for portfolios (which I fully intend to do)!
Now aside from the learning and experience this short course provided, it has also opened doors. I was one of the students that Adrienne 'saw something in'. Adrienne is doing an article and editorial photoshoot for a high end couture jewellery magazine shortly, and throughout the class mentioned she may ask some of us to be assistants for it. Well I was one of them!!!! I am attending the editorial meeting next week! Hopefully I am still here for the actual shoot. It will be amazing to work for someone so creative!
Barbara also mentioned that she always needs assistants when she is seeing various clients. I missed out on helping at a Valentino shoot (darn!), but I am going to be assisting at Blue, a tradeshow for men’s premium denim and sportswear in two weeks!
WOW! Make sure to check out Michael's amazing photographs and all the other websites of these mega talented people also!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment