Brooke

First installment for the Out of Peru lookbook, inspired by the Peruvian moon goddess.

Model is the amazing Brooke, she was an absolute dream to shoot, I am really happy with all the images – this is just a taster, will put more up throughout the week.

A big big thank you to Omar Mansoor for loaning the stunning couture dresses, they work perfectly for the shoot and I am very lucky to have been able to shoot his designs – the detail on the dresses is just beautiful and demonstrates remarkable skill, some of which I hope I have managed to capture in the shots. 

More photos to come soon, as well as more shoots following on with the concept of the moon goddess. Stay tuned.

Couture Show – Oxford Fashion Week 2011

So here is a small selection of images from the final night of Oxford Fashion Week 2011. What a stunning show! There were so many beautiful designs on display that it is impossible to preview them all on here, however these happen to be some of my favourite photos that I took on the evening, of some of my favourite pieces.

I completely fell in the love with this blue ruffled dress, designed by Pierre Garroudi. It is impossible to do justice to how beautiful it was in person and the way that it bounced so gracefully on the model as she moved down the catwalk. There was a very similar design in purple, again by the same designer, which was just as much of a masterpiece. I would argue that both dresses were among the most popular pieces shown that evening, demonstrated by the huge applause the crowd gave as each model stepped out onto the catwalk in these incredible creations.

After the Concept Show last Tuesday, I noticed that many of the photographers had ended up with identical images from the end of the catwalk, so I was keen to try and move away from the obvious images and capture some photos which I felt would demonstrate a more unique photographic style.

I have always preferred a more candid approach, choosing to document the preparations and chaos backstage, before and during the shows, however this time I tried to become a little more involved in the fashion show itself, whilst continuing to depict the event in a more organic and naturalistic way. I did not use any artificial lighting in any of these images, and I feel that there is an authenticity to their nature because of it, hopefully portraying a little more of the atmosphere and mood of the evening.

A key element of the show that made it such a spectacle was the dramatic lighting on the catwalk, with the models walking between moving spotlights that circled them as they progressed down the runway. The random placement of these spotlights resulted in it being quite challenging to catch the models when they were lit, however it was a very striking aspect of the production and resulted in the image above, which I love. It is a perfect example of the reason why I chose to shoot only using ambient light, so that I could try and create a true depiction of the show experience.

DESIGNERS: Valentin Yudashkin, Raakesh Agarvwal, Nina Jovanovic,  Nicole Farhi, Matthew Williamson, Ashley Isham, Belle Sauvage, Pierre Garroudi, Dar Sara Fashion, Fahad Hussain, Viv Whelan, Omar Mansoor