Androgyny Photoshoot

This photoshoot represents androgyny, a woman dressed in male clothing, in an urban run-down setting. The house is abandoned and vandalised just on the outskirts of Epsom. The inpspiration mostly came from Yves Saint Laurent's Le Smoking and Helmut Newtons pictures of the jacket.

The City of Change: Tokyo

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, has influenced fashion through the culture, advances in technology ad the designers that have emerged from the buzzing city.

The most significant designers that originated from Tokyo, Issey Miyake and the Comme Des Garcon designers, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamomoto have had an impact on fashion due to their new thinking and courage to not conform.

Issey Miyake’s successful collection from 1993, “Pleats Please” used paper to create permanent pleats in fabric once the paper is removed, and since has used this new pleating in many collections. Comme Des Garcon are though to have revolutionised fashion in the 1980s’ by pursing an alternative “anti-fashion” route in comparison to the label frenzy that was prominent at the time. They did this by offering modesty rather than extravagance, on the catwalk, models would wear flat shoes and no make-up.

Tokyo is seen as a city with style as well as wealth and new technology. The Gucci Group decided it would be the most suitable city for a “Gucci Tower”. The Gucci Ginza tower has 8 floors of clothing, accessories, and more, epitomising the wealthy culture in the capital city. Tom Ford would be proud!

I say "Paris", you say...

Being the last city on the Fashion Week circuit, you know, once you get to Paris, you’ve officially made it as a fashion designer. Paris became the city of couture after the memorable year, 1947, where Dior’s “New Look” revolutionised fashion at the time.

With the “New Look” creating a glamorous and flattering hourglass figure, couture was brought back to a new height in the city of Paris, after the dark years during the war.

Every season, Paris is the couture capital and a selection of designers, including the King of Couture; John Galliano, display the most glorious, if not un-wearable, dresses. However the future of couture is cloudy with more and more people regarding couture as impractical, un-wearable and expensive. Only a few privileged people can afford and have the opportunity to wear something so extravagant and often outrageous.

Paris, to me, is fashion, with its numerous boutiques, huge department stores and designer shops. But Paris without couture would be simply terrible, darling!

New York: Show me the money

The second stop on the tour around the fashion world is always New York, the western capital of fashion.

It gives possibly the biggest western influence to fashion with designers such as Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs being successful and influential over the world.

Marc Jacobs has becomes possibly the most prominent designer of the 20th century in the Big Apple with numerous stores enhanced by Jacobs home-town being New York. He is now considered a tycoon in fashion, with stores across the world, two labels and numerous perfumes and accessories.

American brand such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, who became iconic in the designer label boom in the 1990s, use the city of New York to their advantage. For these stereotypical American brands, New York is the cit of choice for Fashion Week, also using the city and its famous resources to promote their designs and label.

In my opinion New York is about money, getting financial backing and getting a name. Hopefully this western trend won’t spread.