Calis Beach Market, Fethiye, Turkey

I keep going back to the Summer (I think I'm depressed about this cold weather!) Here are some photographs that I took whilst on holiday in Turkey in August. Me and my family visited a local market where I was astounded by the layout, the colour and the items that were being sold. Fashion is very much identified through culture and surroundings which is something that really interests me. I find it amazing how styles differ so drastically across the globe and how an item of clothing that may be a major statement at a particular time in London, may be completely different in somewhere such as Paris or Tokyo. This was also apparent in Turkey which was identified in the market because the clothes that were being sold over there are completely different to any current trends in the UK. 

Fashion in Girl Bands

Within my A-Level Media course, we have to create a music video that is aimed to a specific target audience. My group decided to create a girl band and create a music video to the Atomic Kitten song: 'Feels So Good'. After weeks and weeks of planning and research, we finally set off to film on London's Southbank. Before going on this trip however, we had to think about the kind of outfits that would adhere to our genre and make us aesthetically unified. We decided on disco pants (a very stereotypical look for girl bands within the Pop genre) and then black and white crop tops. However these aren't seen in the photos because as expected of a November day in London, IT WAS FREEZING! We also then wore either black or white trainers which would allow us to dance and look sporty and fashionable at the same time. The look that we were aiming for within the band is similar to that of The Saturdays or Little Mix, which would be similar kind of music type/genre and target audience (young or teenage girls). 

Fashion in girl bands has adapted and changed dramatically over the last decade. The early 'noughties' saw the rise of groups such as Girls Aloud, The Sugababes and Mis Teeq, each of which had very different looks, but were all constantly in sync with each other despite different personalities and appearances within. This is something that is visible in their music videos, photoshoots and is also publicised in the media. We then moved on to the new sort of girl band, such as The Saturdays and Parade, each of whom had there own unique selling points, wearing clothes that make them identifiable in any environment. For example, Parade are known for their edgy, schoolgirl look .  Finally, recent bands such as Little Mix and Stooshe have in my opinion changed the overall appearance of girl bands today. For example, Stooshe are famous for their use of animal prints and bright, bold colours within their costume, whilst Little Mix (pictured below in a screenshot from their recent music video: Move) are known for their unity within their outfits, whether this be through colour, style, right down to they way that they pose in their photographs. Finally, bands such as Little Mix are so influential because they are not just about music, they have influence in the fashion industry that thousands of people take inspiration from every single day.

Taking inspiration from a source

In my A-Level Photography class, we spoke about how artists are not just inspired by other artists, but by pieces of music, influential people, or pieces of writing. This got me thinking about how although the bible has had different influences on people over the centuries, it may not have had such an impact on modern day photographers, therefore I decided to response to this by setting up a photo shoot and then using Adobe Photoshop to layer different pages of the bible on top. This could be a reflection of internal thoughts, emotions and feelings.

Notting Hill Carnival: August 2013

Here are some photographs that I took during the Summer at Notting Hill Carnival. I visited the carnival to inform my knowledge about Street Photography- something I decided to study within my A-Level photography class. It was the first time I had visited the carnival and I was amazed by the colours, the colossal amount of people and the attitudes of everyone attended. I was also intrigued by the outfits that everyone was wearing, and how fashion had taken on a completely different approach for this one event.

Colour Blocking with Clothing

Jeans: Topshop 

Skirt: Urban Outfitters 

Vest: Topshop 

Shorts: Rokit 

Jumper: Savage London

T-Shirt: Primark 

Top: Rokit

Jeans: Topshop 

Trainers: Offspring 

I decided to experiment with colour blocking, to do this I took some items of clothing from my wardrobe of the same colour and put them on a background. This could be even more experimental by placing the clothes on a contrasting colour background.

Kings Road, London, SW3

These are some photographs that I took on a visit to Kings Road in London. Kings Road is renowned for its upper class, but these photographs prove that there are a variety of people and coincidentally- styles, everywhere in our capital city. 

Photographs inspired by John Stezaker

These are a series of photographs that I took and then went on to edit so that each piece of clothing hides each persons identity and facial expressions. There is hidden meaning behind this work because it is representing that fashion can obscure identities and shape people into being artificial. I was inspired to create this piece by an artist called John Stezaker who is very famous for his work on collage and in particular identity. Although my work doesn't particularly convey positive meaning for fashion, it is supposed to be controversial and make people think about the pro's and con's of the way fashion is represented today. 

The piece of work by John Stezaker that I was inspired by: