A Twisted Love Affair...

It gives me great pleasure to finally present to you all my final year of University graduate collection, man it feels good to say that!! I've been working extremely hard since last September with my focus solely committed to this project! During last summer whilst out on my DPP (placement year) it was time to start putting concept ideas together to present to my tutors on my return to university, I had no idea what I wanted to do or even the slightest clue of where to start, all I knew is that I wanted it to be big and completely out there! I needed it to be a challenge, I had to push my limits and my imagination but at the same time I wanted it to be something special to me and something that I love.
It was one evening I treated my self to some wine, put my feet up and decided to watch The Dark Knight which happens to be one of my favorite films. I was half way through the film when I was inspired, I don't know how or why but my head was exploding with ideas. I could say it was purely down to Heath Ledgers performance as the Joker but I've always been fascinated with that character, he has no boundaries and Ledgers performance inspired me so much because he portrayed the character in such a way I had never see before and if I'm perfectly honest I don't think there will be anyone else who could top his incredible performance!

At first I was just focusing my collection around the Joker but through my research and sketching process I found myself spending more time in the local comic shop, it was here that I picked up a Sirens comic when it all clicked! I couldn't do a collection based on the Joker without including his chaotic girlfriend into the mix, so I introduced Harley Quinn and boooom! I started to see clearly where I could take this collection. What I really wanted to do was incorporate fashion and costume together from a different point of view.
It's fair to say I was nervous about how my tutors would react as sometimes I felt like I was fighting a loosing battle to persuade others how or why comic and fashion could meet as equals without it looking like my collection was solely aimed at comic cons but I'm glad I stuck to my guns and saw it through to the end, the collection took a lot of work and extra hours as four out of the six outfits had some form of laser cut techniques especially "The Jokers Quinn" which is a full length a-line skirt with over 700 laser cut Joker cards.

 One of my proudest moments of the collection I think for me and House of Denham (who created the artwork) was actually going ahead with the scripted suit which I decided to call 'A Scripted Man' which is a custom made tailored suit with the The Dark Knight script by Christopher Nolan digitally printed over cotton drill.  The collection itself is based on the relationship between the two characters as well as historical references such as actual Harlequins and the costumes they had to wear, I linked the characters together through fabrics and the techniques of laser cutting which really helped to push my boundaries and limits. All in all I spent over 200 hours laser cutting and I can honestly say I it was well worth it.  I worked along side some amazing people who contributed massively to the ending of the collection such as my amazing MUA Lizzie Mazza who I have had the pleasure of working with on many occasions, I also got to work along side Ben Cope a fantastic hair stylist from the Francesco Group in Derby. A big well done and thank you to my Harley Quinns, Sianne Tudge, Sophie Kelman and Coral Bell who actually runs S!LK Model Management and not only did she model her self but also supplied my Joker, Alex Hannah. Last but not least I would like to say a huge thank you and a big well done to my amazing team of photographers and film produces Liam Enser and Ash Stanley from Artifex Studios and Victoria Denham who not ony has contributed greatly to this project through artwork and film making but she has been my rock throughout the last year and has been with me every step of the way! My team rocks I love you all, here they are hard at work in our Behind the Scenes video!

Well anyway guys, I really hope you have enjoyed reading this post and I hope even more you like the collection, please feel free to leave any feedback and comments as I would love to hear your thoughts! Until the next time amigos x

Skulls n' Dolls

  Halloween has long been one of my favourite celebrations, most likely because inside of me still dwells an imaginative 6 year old who loves to play dress up. My first foray into Halloween started when I was about 7 years old and I had been invited to my first fancy dress party at a friends house since her birthday fell on or around the holiday. My Mum helped me with my costume but I never considered for a second that I might stand out when, walking into the party dressed head-to-toe as an adorable little red Devil, twelve perfect witches in pointy black hats stared back at me stunned and a little bit perplexed. Apparently (for what would certainly not be the last time in my life) I had missed a memo. Feeling what I now remember as my first ever pangs of self-consciousness I had no choice but to shrug it off only to be quickly relieved and rewarded with praise for my seemingly bold originality. This one party could be considered a fitting metaphor for much of my life.

  All Hallows Eve may have started as a day to remember the dead but I think in our time it has become a chance to show another side to yourself, to inhabit another character, think outside of normal everyday expectations.  Perhaps in my past the idea could have caused me anxiety but now it's one I embrace. So when Leren and I discussed attempting a Halloween inspired photo shoot I was genuinely excited, primarily by the opportunity to attempt some more fashion/editorial style photography and secondly to be in an outfit styled by Leren with professional make-up by the excellent Lizzie Mazza. I was particularly impressed by Lizzie's candy skull make up which was styled with a Leren Connor waistcoat, vintage shirt, black trousers and spats. My concept was a cracked and aged porcelain doll, the waistcoat is also a Leren Connor piece and she made a collar and cuffs especially for this shoot, paired with a lace dress and knee high cotton socks sent it truly into the realm of the creepy.

  So I hope you all enjoy our little Halloween special and get involved yourselves, I love seeing crazy and creative costumes and am always surprised by what people come up with .  I also encourage anyone reading to leave us some comments, I'd love to know what you think! Oh and... Happy Halloween!

  Victoria has pretty much summed it up of what we were aiming for with this collection so I would like to say a big thank you for all the help you provided and most of all the general creativity that you contributed to making this happen! Halloween is a great time of the year where you get to dress up and be someone else for the evening whether it be one of your favorite characters or just something creepy you want to try out for the evening. I have fond Halloween memories from my childhood and with being a mother I now get to share the memories from this time of year with my daughter.
  For this shoot we literally worked with our own imaginations in terms of bringing out the best in what we had to work with, fortunately it worked to our advantage. The image of Victoria on the settee with all the dolls and teddies was taken in my daughter's room, Victoria set it up, sat right in the middle and off we went. It took quite a while to get those images right and a lot of adjusting to the camera and lighting but we got there in the end. For the shots of me as the skull we captured the nightlife with the use of street lamps as well as using Victoria's house as she has a very dramatic staircase that worked perfectly for the concept of the shoot. We hope you enjoy the post and happy Halloween.