Archive for December 2011
Haute-Couture Collections Take Paris Fashion Show By Storm
Paris fashion week is now over and the latest fashion sensations for the autumn/winter 2006/07 season have been released.
The usual stars of the haute couture collections, such as the John Galliano designs for Christian Dior, did not disappoint. The Dior show was themed around medieval armour and the Italian renaissance, with a touch of Blade Runner thrown in. Helmets encrusted with jewels, glass beads and crystals, with silver foil, bin liners and pennants used to evoke a modernised sense of knights jousting while the ladies of the court, wearing make up influenced by the paintings of Van Eyck and Botticelli, paraded along the cat walk. Armorial style was further enhanced by milliner Stephen Jones who was brought in to create replicas of medieval armour using copper and brass through to even less traditional materials such as latex, beads and feathers.
Kylie Minogue delighted onlookers by gracing the Chanel show catwalk following her recent cancer recuperation. Karl Lagerfeld’s creations did not disappoint either with fantastic modern styled tweed creations, combined with denim boots and jeweled heels, three-quarter length coats, jeweled fingerless gloves which flirtatiously left the models shoulders bare, and tantalizing touches of brocade.
This year men were well represented in the fashion stakes, following on from years of conservative styling. Collections of monochrome suits, surfer style inspired prints and cutting-edge sportswear abounded with unisex portfolios presented in characteristic style by Jean Paul Gaultier, with possible Dior future designer, Kris Van Assche, displaying interchangeable his and hers suits.
Paris fashion is however more eternal than simply the high profile shows. A quick flight to Paris or a trip through the channel tunnel and this style centre of Europe can be within the grasp of any Brit aspiring to a little bit of European chic.
Paris is a fashion Mecca. All year round the styles in Paris are constantly changing, leading the way in clothing trends across the globe, but it is amazing to see this flamboyant city truly come alive with the arrival of the stars and the week long bourgeois festival of fashion turns the spotlight on this region. All the major fashion houses have stores located within the city, with most situated in and around the Champs-Elys
Fashion Show Photography Tips
Photographing a fashion show is a lot of fun but there are steps to follow before you get on the riser and join the rest of the press photographers.
First and foremost, you want to make sure you’ve identified the event, and by this I mean research as to what typically takes place at the event you will be covering. Perhaps a place to start is the event’s website. Images from previous events host by the same title in previous years or events hosted by the same production company. This will help you formulate an idea for how things will go that day. Needless to say, there are times where all preparation goes down the drain and you must improvise on the spot.
Once you’ve gathered as much information about the event and, if you are lucky, have gotten some glances as to what is to come you may want to start selecting the gear you will be using for the event. This will take multiple determining factors such as lighting, distance, speed, and post production needs.
It is typical that Fashion Shows are at night, yet their main purpose is to showcase a line of clothes. Most of the time designers choose a very well lit venue or location to showcase their garments and “most of the time” there is no need for an added flash. A hot shoe flash unit is helpful for the coverage of the event where the models are getting ready (make up and dressing up, etc.).
Be sure that if time is permitted to cover the “getting ready” portion of the event you have allotted enough time to return and secure a favorable spot on the riser. There are times where the space on the Press/Media riser is limited and overload of photographers or cameramen are forced to move to less desirable areas where direct sight is limited or impossible.
On the riser space, once again, is limited and most people that secure a spot are strong about protecting their territory. Be respectful and courteous to others line of sight.
For fashion shows it is important to achieve the best “white balance” possible. If a fashion show is coordinated by a seasoned production company, there will be a press conference where designers will meet and greet the press. This segment wasn’t just designed to meet and greet the designers but also to make sure lighting scenarios are tested and a “while balance card” is displayed for photographers to adjust their gear accordingly.
Once the show starts, I typically adjust my camera settings to approximately: f.5.6-7.0 1/250 at about 800-1600 ISO. I tend to shoot fashion shows at JPEG + Raw in order to de-mark and process images quicker. The final selection will make it to my clients in high-res. The rest is eliminated. I tend to make any image selection during the show because I simply can’t trust a 3.5inch screen, I rather see everything from a monitor.
As a marketing tool, I upload my images over to Facebook and share them with the models, designers, production company. I watermark them for copyright protection and allow them to purchase the images they like.
I hope this brief article is helpful to those interested in Fashion Show Photography. If you have any questions I may be contacted via Facebook.
Latest Men’s Leather Jacket Fashion Trends 2010 – 2011
The history of fashion is filled with various kinds of fashion trends.Specially the trend of wearing leather garment jackets is equally popular between men and women but it is more famous and adopted by men. In 2010 the trend of leather jackets has become necessary and it has turned into various types, it seems that this trend will become ageless with the passage of time. There are a lot of leather companies which are creating different kinds of leather and the designers turned them into different variations like jackets, trousers etc. Like D & G has been created a variety of sports jackets. Brown color jackets looks classical more than any other color and it also comes in a different range of designs and patterns.
In the leather industry the popular thing is Biker’s jackets which are equally popular between bikers and ordinary people. The fashion trends of other things and styles may die with the passage of time but the trend of leather hot jackets among men of every profession can never ever die because it has a universally classic effect which attracts others and make men looking nice and adorable. In 2010 – 2011 leather garment jacket is the basic and main theme of men’s catwalk or any designer’s show with new and unique variations which would be adopted by the present generation and the next generation. These variations and styles are acquiring fame day by day. Leather jackets do not require any body shape or any other thing it easily can be fitted at each kind of body. This trend has got more fame in 2010 – 2011.