http://showstudio.com/project/girly/fashion_film_girl
"ABOUT GIRLY
'The little girl cuddles her doll and dresses her up as she dreams of being cuddled and dressed up herself; inversely, she thinks of herself as a marvellous doll,' writes Simone de Beauvoir.
Using key A/W 14 garments as a starting point - from Ryan Lo's bunny ears and tutus to Meadham Kirchhoff's pastel frilled dresses - SHOWstudio launches an investigation into the exaggerated almost fetishistic girliness championed on some runways, by certain female musicians and celebrities, and, with increasing frequency, on Tumblr and Instagram. The series, instigated by editor Lou Stoppard and director Nick Knight, will explore what this embracing of ultra-femininity and childishness - pink, cartoons, fluff, sparkles - says about attitudes to women and female identity and the luxury industry. We will question what motivates the 'Living Dolls' who embrace this style. Are they reclaiming girlishness? Are they dressing for themselves, rejecting the male gaze and the idea that one should dress to resemble a man to be seen as strong, sticking two fingers up to those who obsessively scrutinise women's clothing in the media? Or is the notion of choice so slippery that one could feasibly presume they are merely conforming to entrenched societal expectations that continue to be reinforced by toy shops filled with pink dolls for girls and blue cars for boys?
Indeed, such is the complexity of the 'girly' trend that it can be read in two directly opposing ways. On one hand as the ultimate sign of women ‘dressing up’ or ‘performing’ for men by turning themselves into passive, pouting, fragile, child-like fantasies echoing a pornified culture that fetishises youth, virginity and inexperience and renders women mere objects. And on the other an example of strength and irreverence; a sign of women reclaiming certain elements of femininity and dressing not to conform but to stand out and please themselves.
The series kicks off with a fashion film, created in collaboration with The British Fashion Council, that shows off and documents the work of key London designers, from Christopher Kane and Simone Rocha to Lo and Kirchhoff, alongside archive pieces from designers such as Luella Bartley and Louise Gray. The film was funded by the BFC Fashion Film initiative, which is sponsored by River Island. The piece plays with ideas of gaze, autonomy and voyeurism and, in a pioneering venture, was made by two directors - Nick Knight and Rei Nadal - working independently but together at the same time. Nadal shot model Ali Michael while Knight captured her at work. The footage from both cameras is presented in the film, so the two visions are united. Both Nadal and Michael were styled by Ellie Grace Cumming. The film shoot was streamed live on 1 and 2 September 2014.
Using key A/W 14 garments as a starting point - from Ryan Lo's bunny ears and tutus to Meadham Kirchhoff's pastel frilled dresses - SHOWstudio launches an investigation into the exaggerated almost fetishistic girliness championed on some runways, by certain female musicians and celebrities, and, with increasing frequency, on Tumblr and Instagram. The series, instigated by editor Lou Stoppard and director Nick Knight, will explore what this embracing of ultra-femininity and childishness - pink, cartoons, fluff, sparkles - says about attitudes to women and female identity and the luxury industry. We will question what motivates the 'Living Dolls' who embrace this style. Are they reclaiming girlishness? Are they dressing for themselves, rejecting the male gaze and the idea that one should dress to resemble a man to be seen as strong, sticking two fingers up to those who obsessively scrutinise women's clothing in the media? Or is the notion of choice so slippery that one could feasibly presume they are merely conforming to entrenched societal expectations that continue to be reinforced by toy shops filled with pink dolls for girls and blue cars for boys?
Indeed, such is the complexity of the 'girly' trend that it can be read in two directly opposing ways. On one hand as the ultimate sign of women ‘dressing up’ or ‘performing’ for men by turning themselves into passive, pouting, fragile, child-like fantasies echoing a pornified culture that fetishises youth, virginity and inexperience and renders women mere objects. And on the other an example of strength and irreverence; a sign of women reclaiming certain elements of femininity and dressing not to conform but to stand out and please themselves.
The series kicks off with a fashion film, created in collaboration with The British Fashion Council, that shows off and documents the work of key London designers, from Christopher Kane and Simone Rocha to Lo and Kirchhoff, alongside archive pieces from designers such as Luella Bartley and Louise Gray. The film was funded by the BFC Fashion Film initiative, which is sponsored by River Island. The piece plays with ideas of gaze, autonomy and voyeurism and, in a pioneering venture, was made by two directors - Nick Knight and Rei Nadal - working independently but together at the same time. Nadal shot model Ali Michael while Knight captured her at work. The footage from both cameras is presented in the film, so the two visions are united. Both Nadal and Michael were styled by Ellie Grace Cumming. The film shoot was streamed live on 1 and 2 September 2014.
Additionally, essays and interviews explore the topic further. Fashion writers, academics and feminist thinkers unpick the many facets of this style, each offering a unique and personal opinion. They question why a grown woman would want to look like a child, while exploring the look's aesthetic roots. Amongst others, Chris Hobbs tackles fashion's obsession with the language of the internet, while Bertie Brandes offers an update on the 'Girly' trend post-S/S 15, a season that fetishised feminism and femininity. Finally, to unite theory with testimony, and to aknowledge the fact that the style is worn and championed by real women on the street everyday, individuals who embrace and live this aesthetic - from stylists Louby Mcloughlin and Lola Chatterton to designer Ryan Lo - are interviewed."
INSERT ANALYSIS (FURTHER READING!)
http://showstudio.com/project/whaam/moving_images
"ABOUT Whaam
Nick Knight photographs Lindsey Wixson live for Dasha Zhukova's Garage magazine. Using styling by Katy England and captions by Perez Hilton, Knight reimagines Roy Lichtenstein's comic book inspired Pop art paintings - created as a commentary on popular culture and commercial art of the sixties - for the title's third issue. The final results are shown in editorial shots and unique moving images."
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http://showstudio.com/project/powershift/feed
"ABOUT #Powershift
For the A/W 2013 'Power Women' issue of The Independent Magazine, Nick Knight photographs a new all–female army of Social Media-Moguls – Lily Allen, Iggy Azalea, Kelly Brook, Abbey Clancy and Amy Childs - five women whose combined multi-million social media reach exceeds the population of Greece. Aptly, Nick Knight will capture the entire shoot on his iPhone, creating a live fashion editorial.
Facebook, Instagram, Hang W/, Twitter. To us, they’re communication tools. But to some, they’re weapons of global domination. For the autumn/winter 2013 'Power Women' issue of The Independent Magazine, Nick Knight photographs a new all–female army of Social Media-Moguls – Lily Allen, Iggy Azalea, Kelly Brook, Abbey Clancy and Amy Childs - five women whose combined multi-million social media reach exceeds the population of Greece, broadcasting their talents world-wide.
Taking that 'switch' of power as his cue, and drawing on SHOWstudio's long history of championing new technologies, Nick Knight will capture the entire shoot on his iPhone, Instagramming the images as they are captured to create a live fashion editorial in advance of the magazine's publication on 21 September.
Inspired by SHOWstudio’s Punk season of programming, each woman’s look is radically overhauled by stylist Anna Trevelyan, twisting her own take out of the season’s finest fashions from Versace, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel.
Follow the shoot on Instagram via @showstudio_nick_knight Hang W/ via showstudio_nick_knight and watch the SHOWstudio Twitter and Tumblr throughout Sunday 8 and Monday 9 September to see the action unfold."
http://showstudio.com/project/haute_death/death_apps
"ABOUT 'haute death'
Karlie Kloss dies an elegant death in Nick Knight and Edward Enninful's arresting couture editorial for W magazine. The pair draw inspiration from the kind of macabre, nightmarish illustrations that litter childhood fiction, offering up a vision which is part Grimm's fairy tale part mature Parisian opulence. The final images - which see Kloss clad in the best haute couture from A/W 2012, including pieces by Dior, Givenchy, Chanel and Iris Van Herpen - straddle dark and light, combining symbolism that is both sweet and sinister.
Continuing his exploration of contrasts, Knight juxtaposes the delicate vintage-look images with pithy modern 'death app' films that see Kloss suffer various violent deaths, all while clad in couture. The striking images in this editorial mark of the start of Knight's investigation into fashion illustration."
Analysis:
Fashion victims: Death by couture
I love the way in which these films are presented as tiny snippets, in a very digital manner. They have literally been branded, their value is the title which they have been given.
I think the effects are a little obvious, and I suppose that makes sense because the whole thing is about digitalisation and it uses 'death apps' : an app used to simulate death in a film clip. TRY IT! (if it exists!)
I guess its about how nowadays everything is available to be sold, bought, watched, downloaded.
The juxtaposition of the cheapy tacky easily-available app with these high end names of fashion and the delicate high fashion imagery creates an interesting tension which speaks volumes about the kind of world we live in now, and the role of consumerism and digitalization.
The pixellated-ness of the images makes it seem like they were shot on an iPhone, gives it an interesting quality.
At the end of the day the clips are to sell fashion not art, however I would have loved to see it a little more realistic, it wouldn't have been interesting, although I do like the aspect of digitalisation and immediacy of using the 'death app'.
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