Duality Concept Shoot
The inspiration for this concept started while writing a paper for a course at my university about fashion around the 1850’s and the uprising of feminism. I felt enraged, I still do. What better way to use rage than channeling it into art. So I started thinking about creating a visual story around this topic to reflect on the struggles of being a woman almost anywhere in this world. Of course i couldn’t leave it at that, so what ultimately shines through in these images is the beauty. The beauty that never faded and never will. It keeps getting stronger, the beauty of the war we as women fight and the battles that have been fought by many before us.
We were dancing with the light we got through the high windows as we didn’t have any additional lights to bring. That definitely made it harder but it got us thinking even more creatively and we found opportunities that we would have missed otherwise. It couldn’t have been more fitting to the entire topic. My beautiful collaborators for this project were Lily Demeulemeester and Chiara Nardon. Many of the pieces that were used in the styling are handmade items from Chiara’s upcoming brand MAHA (instagram: @mahastu.dio). While I did the concept, we collectively did the styling and general creative direction which made it even more beautiful as three creative minds got to melt together to create art.
On one side you see a representation of the surviving of hardships and dark times. On the other hand the light that leads the way into a better future. Every lost battle and every win. Every last woman that suffered and suffers to this day and every woman that has the freedom to embrace herself and her choices. It’s a topic extremely close to me and a very prominent thought in my life as I am surrounded by incredible women.
The choice of an industrial looking location felt fitting with the goal to reflect on the harsh and cold circumstances that women on this earth have faced for years. The reason I chose to take most of the images from a low angle is to highlight the fact of an emancipated uprising through generations. Doing this with the intention to leave room for the star of the show, the beauty of our collective strength from within and outside. Corsets as a clear indication for the ways women have and had to adjust and mould themselves into fitting the gender norms. Being well mannered, being visually beautiful and ultimately: being quite and obedient. In general the breathtaking fear we experience often in everyday life. Highlighting the fact that the corset is also found in the white look to showcase that the situation is in fact not perfect yet, far from it. Yet the choice of flowing fabrics for the white look was very intentional to show how much work has been done and how much we have achieved already. The round pearls as accessories for the white look play into this perfectly as they are a symbol for wealth, femininity, purity, wisdom, patience and peace, while the black look was accessorised with raw unshaped pearls, yet they are still pearls;).
