Evaulation

When we first got the project I was really excited to start, because creating looks for musicians/music videos is an area in which I love and may which to specialise in at some point in my career. The added extra of having to base it on a gothic urban legend did throw me a bit as I wasn't sure how I would link the too. It also needed to be in a fashion context, which I found easy to follow as I love fashion and the fashion industry.

I started by choosing the legend “Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights?” and I also chose the song “Let The Record Show” by Emilie Autumn as I felt these would compliment each other nicely. As Emilie is influenced by Victorian and Gothic fashion I went to the library and looked online to do research on these areas. I also looked at how these eras have influenced modern day fashion collections, in particular Alexander McQueen.

The salon lessons helped me to develop the skills needed for my look, in particular using crepe hair to create dreadlocks, which Lottie showed me especially for my look. I like how our technical instructors are there to help us with our specific needs and not just stick to an overall teaching plan.

I'm quite pleased with how my looks turned out, although I understand that I could have done a bit more to distinguish them further. I would also liked to have added more dreadlocks to the hair but didn't prepare sufficient enough crepe hair for my shoots.

Final look 2

Final look 1

Final look 2 + storyboard

This is my final plan for my second look, again I'm really pleased with how it's looking so far and look forward to creating it!

Final look 1 + storyboard

This is the final plan for my first look, I'm pleased with the plan and hope it turns out as well!

Styling ideas

In terms of styling, for the first look I chose this outfit

 

It features stripes, which I found to be popular in both Gothic subculture and Victorian fashion. It is also fitted to the body.

My second outfit

 

This corset and skirt are quite extravagant, with lots of lace detailing, perfect for my shoot.

Crepe hair

To create dreadlocks in the fair, this can be easily achieved by using crepe hair

I practised this in lesson on a mannequin head.

I achieved this by taking a small section of hair and wrapping the crepe hair around it until it is completely covered. The crepe hair will start to unravel itself after a while so wax can be used to fix this.

Hair ideas

For my hair ideas I did a few little sketches 

I'm well aware that my drawings aren't the best, but I think it shows my ideas well enough.

Makeup ideas

Upon reflection of my research I created 3 face charts for each look. 

Look 1

 For this look I created thick black brows and an orange wash of colour on the eyes and cheeks. For the lips I chose a dark nude. 

 For this look I did a classic thick black liner with a red lip.

 

 For this lip I went ultra-minimalist, with just a black lip, no mascara and bleached brows.


Look 2 

This is a more intense version of the first look, I changed the shape of the grows and darkened the eyes and lips.

 I love this look, I added a purple hue around the liner to make it look more sunken in and slightly bruised. The grey contouring made the face look more gaunt and hollow. I then added a deeper lip colour. 

For this one I added angry brows onto the face and full eye contacts to make it appear demonic.

My model

For my model I chose Emma Cutter. As I was basing my looks on Emilie Autumn I only needed one model as I wanted her to he Emilie in the music video. I chose Emma as she has the right good hair and figure to work with, as well as being attractive.

For my looks I want the first look to be before the girl from the legend is killed and the second to be after she has been killed.

Moodboard

Victorian/Gothic influence in fashion

Victorian and Gothic are often go-to ideas for fashion collections, particularly for Alexander McQueen who often uses these reference points.

McQ by Alexander McQueen fall 2012 - Victorian military fashion

Victorian style was paired with military fashion to create this unique collection. The influences are easy to pick out, the lace points to Victorian whereas the structured coat looks very military. 

Alexander McQueen pre-fall 2012 - Sheer Gothic fashion

I'm in love with this collection! I love the sheerness of the fabric in contrast to the thick corsets. The detailing on the corsets is incredible. The billowing out arms and sheer fabric create an interesting silhouette compared to the tiny structured waist. 

Nada spring 2010 - Lavish lace dresses

Again, this collection shows the importance of lace in Victorian and Gothic fashion. The dresses are structured but a lot more tight fitting all over than traditional Victorian wear as their is no bustle.

References

http://www.trendhunter.com 

Illamasqua

I couldn't possibly not take a look at Illamasqua for this project, my favourite makeup brand. Not only am I in love with their products, but their brand image and ethos as well as their super friendly and talented staff often leave me in awe. Here I'll show a few of my favourite collections that they've created. 


Paranormal

Paranormal is Illamasqua's latest collection, and the above image shows how products from the collection can be used to create stunning makeup looks. I love the wet look graphic liner than flows perfectly with the wet look hair. Also all the purple tones in the image work in perfect harmony with each other, giving the image more dimension. 


Theatre of the Nameless 

This image is full of red tones, but they are all suite different a work together in a stunning comparison. I love how the brows frame the eye makeup perfectly and how the glossiness of the lips is matched by the eyes. The wild but tame hair also creates a nice juxtaposition. 


Throb 

I love this photograph, it reminds of a geisha in the way that the face has been paled down. The thick brows mirror the shape of the heart perfectly showing great precision and technique. The coral blush works perfectly and the little heart/beauty mark is a cute touch.

Gothic makeup in fashion

Gothic influenced makeup has been seen a number of times on the catwalk, for example Gothic Glamour of 12/13. 

Marc Jacobs

Here at Marc Jacobs we see pale skin, with no bronze or blush, thick dark brows and a black smokey eye that is very heavy on the lower lid. The waterline has been kept free of colour to give the look a fresher feel.

Gucci

Gucci opted for the blood red lip with a glossy finish. To keep the focus entirely on the lip the brows have been bleached an mascara was only applied to the top lashes. It looks like a pale liner was used on the waterline to brighten the eyes. A light dusting of bronzer was added around the perimeter of the face to warm up the complexion and contour slightly.


Prada

Prada went bold for this season by using black all over the lip and up to the brow, the brows were then coloured orange and purple was used on the lower lash line. The liner used gave the eyes a very graphic shape. The lips were left nude. I love this look and it would be fairly easy to recreate.  

References

http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/ 

Gothic fashion

There are a number of different styles in the gothic subculture, here are just a few. 

Here we see Taylor Momsen wearing a more modern take on gothic fashion. There is a lot of black and lace, however the dress is cut very short, stepping away form the Victorian influence. I love this style of dress and I love how the black and her dark smokey eyes contrast with her pale skin and hair. 

Sharon Den Adel shows here that black isn't the only option. In this magazine shoot she is wearing a stunning white dress, featuring lace details and drapes. Lace is an important detail in a lot of gothic styles, it can turn even a simple looking outfit into something much more eyecatching.

Gothic lolita is a great example of how Victorian fashion and gothic subculture have fused together to create a different style. The Victorian influence is very apparent, but a lot of the length has been removed. The hair, makeup and accessories are equally as important to pull off this doll like style. 
 

References
http://www.posh24.com 
http://www.within-temptation.com 
http://tokyofashion.com 

Victorian fashion

Victorian fashion seemed like a great point to start my styling research with. I headed to the library to find some books on Victorian style.

 

In this illustration we can see an example of a typical Victorian dress. A large bustle has been used to create shape as well as nipping the dress in at the waist through the use of corsets. The pattern is interesting too as it features both stripes and dots. I will endeavour to include stripes in my final outfit as stripes appear to be popular in both Victoran and modern "gothic" fashion. 

 

Here we can see a more casual Victorian outfit. Even with simple outfits there always tends to be a focal point or extra embellishments, such as the sash around the waist here.

Corsets are a vital part of Victorian style, they cinch in the waist and create fuller looking breasts and hips, the hourglass figure. 

References

Costume in Context - The Victorians by Jennifer Ruby (page 54)
Costume Reference 6 - The Victorians by Marion Sichel (pages 49 & 52)

Goth hair

I decided it would a good idea to also look at the "gothic" subculture for inspiration too, starting with hairstyles. 

Black hair is often the base of gothic hairstyles, but adding a flash of white blonde will create a stunning contrast and give more dimension to the hair.

 
As seen here in this photo of Amy Lee braiding and braiding in different colours are also a key trend in gothic hair. This would be easy to achieve by simple braiding or by adding in some crepe hair in a multitude of different colours.

Destroyx/Amelia Arsenic's hair style here is a perfect example of a more extreme style. Dreadlocks and hair falls have been added in a black and red colour scheme. Again this style would be easy to recreate by purchasing some hair falls. 

References
http://www.womenhairdesign.com/gothic-hairstyles/ 
http://jeraultrends.blogspot.co.uk 
kootation.com/gothic-hairstyles.html 

Victorian Hair

As Emilie takes a lot of influence from the Victorian era I thought it would be beneficial to look into Victorian hairstyles. 

Here we can see a typical Victorian style. The hair is pulled away from the face and pulled into a chignon. Two sections of hair from the back of each ear have been left out to give some length to the style. 

This style is similar to the previous in that the hair is pulled away from the face but it is plaited down the sides instead. A day cap has been added to give more dimension to the look.

In this illustration the hair has been left in a simple down style but an extravagant lace hat has been added to show wealth and importance. It is important to note that the higher social class a person has the more lavish their hairstyles and accessories will be.  

References
Costume Reference 6 - The Victorians by Marion Sichel (page 58 & 59)