Palindrome

This collection, named Palindrome, is the play on the ability to read something both forwards and backwards, for example the word radar. To look at these models is to read the composition backwards –a nod to the times of French waiflike delicacy. However, to read their expression and the composition in it’s entirety is to read the future of the feminine control and power.

I took my inspiration from the settings of the streets of Paris in the salons of the academics. ‘Oulipo’ is the name given to the gathering of French writers and mathematic icons in the 1960s who sought to redefine strict patterns in writing and arithmetic. The manipulated patterns and structures gave birth to a new era of free thinkers.

This brand new vision trickled down into the pop culture of the decade. Women, in particular, looked to redefine themselves as strong, confident., and powerfully sexy. They still wanted to be desired, but they did not want to be objectified.

My collection is the knife’s edge of the moment a women finds complete control over how she wants to be seen and how she sees herself. It is a composition of soft and suggestive components- pastel lighting, lingerie, smoky makeup, reassembled with with hair who’s shapes and textures redefine the message. The short fringe, the strong bob, the brilliant red disconnected shock of hair moulded expressively show defiance, control. The high definition is something that begs the viewer to maintain the brunette’s gaze and the gives the pieces a charged intensity.

You must look at this collection twice.

Because what you read the first time, is not is what you read the next time.

CREDITS

Hair: Alexander Fuchs, Bauhaus Hair

Photography: David Mannah

Styling: Emma Cotterill

Makeup: Casey Gore