Collections.

William Tempests first collection is where I draw the most inspiration for this fashion film from. His later collections are similar in structure,look and fabric. The first A/W collection stands alone from the other looks and uses a heavier fabric and rippling folds. He uses black and white with shots of pink and orange to create a contemporary and dramatic look. As I mentioned in a previous post, the styling for this collection is very different to his later work- hair and make up is heavy and over emphasized as is the paleness of the skin. I like it very much. There are also aspects I would like to take from his later collections, in particular a structured black mac, several similar dresses and gorgeous long sculpted maxi dresses which would look amazing on film.

It seems many publications shoot Tempests designs how we intend to represent him in our video. Despite his collections being bright summery colours,feminine and sassy on the runway. They are often shot in black and white or against washed out/monochrome backdrops with minimal makeup or on alabaster models with heavy black makeup and hair.

I like the styling of this feature- porcelain skin contrasting pitch black hair,eyes and lips against a grey backdrop. Even in pink, the right styling can create this dramatic look.

Tutorial..

On Friday we thought we had a tutorial at 11.30 for some reason...turned out we had a group session. We waited around for 3 hours eating carrots, eventually explained our idea as best as we could and it was accepted- Didn't have much feed back really so either its a very good idea or very bad...

Apparent Inspirations..

"Aside from 007, Inspiration was also drawn from 1940’s underwear adverts, most notable with a black bandeau and high waisted tulip skirt which left a teasing gap of alabaster skin in-between."

This extract is taken from the link below. The blog is a positive and inspirational report onTempest's s/s10 catwalk show.

http://www.openmagazine.co.uk/blog/2009/09/23/william-tempest/

The spring/summer 10 collection is a combination of crazy horse,1940s underwear and bond girl inspired looks, it is mostly clear as to what the look is inspired by but also there is an element of his three inspiration in each design.

I would immediately say this beautiful gown is Bond Girl inspired, it is sexy and sophisticated, but on further inspection the print is naked dancing figures and also is representative of the use of lights and body paint on the dancers at Le crazy horse de Paris.

The dress resembles the structure and fit of 1940's underwear, however the cut away section of the skirt, revealing a little more leg and making the dress somewhat more promiscuous is something seen in almost every costume at the Crazy Horse. It is interesting that Tempest has used a plus size model to make the most of this dress.

Stripped Bare

I finally worked out how to display videos...This is the video I tried to show before from Pugh and Hogben that has been my inspiration and I guess portrays our vision for our own spot in the most effective way.

SHOWstudio: Gareth Pugh Autumn/Winter 2009 by Ruth Hogben

I am a big fan of these moody,creepy and slightly disturbing yet uber chic spots. The ability it has to provoke an emotion without an obvious narrative and the use of simple effects such a symmetry, repetition ,monochrome colouration, distinct style, creative use and movement of fabric and dramatic use of the body(movement and aesthetics) to create such an effective piece is impressive and definitely something to aspire to when making our own film.

This spot is a collaboration between Gareth Pugh and Nick Knight.

I like the kaleidoscope effect shown over the image and perhaps this could be interpreted as flashing lights, I would also argue both these videos have a raw quality about them, the subjects are stripped bare.

Collaboration - Nick Knight, Gareth Pugh - 'Insensate'

I have asked my brother to take inspiration from several videos I have given him and compose several pieces of experimental music we could perhaps use with our spot.

Consumption by Warren du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones

The use of over saturated colour gives almost a negative effect and combined with the twisting of the body creates a flickering of colour. This film is about transformation, I like how the model is stationary but being moved by the turntable- It reminds me of when plant growth and cloud movement is sped up on film, it creates an unnatural jerky motion, that could again be described as raw.

When we were first given our inspirations both me and Grace were puzzled as to how we were going to use flashing lights which we both associated with bright tacky fairground lights and clubbing, to create a spot for William Tempest whose designs are sexy and chic AND make it raw. This spot "Eclipse" demonstrates a use of two of our three inspirations....the use of flashing lights in fact gives this film its raw quality- this is quite the confidence boost!

Le Crazy Horse De Paris

http://www.lecrazyhorseparis.com/index_uk.php

One of the inspirations for Williams Tempest's latest collection is Le crazy horse de Paris, a Parisian cabaret club. The club itself occupies 12 wine cellars all knocked through. Famous for its nude dancers and variety of magicians and acts between performances, the club Established by Alex Bernardin in 1951 remains a family business. Dancers are chosen to be indistinguishable on stage in height,looks,breast size etc. Before his suicide in 1994, Bernardin said of his club;

"Magic is a dream. There is no show that is more dreamlike than a magic show. And what we do with the girls is magic, too, because they aren't as beautiful as you see them onstage. It's the magic of lights and costumes. These are my dreams and fascinations that I put onstage."

Le crazy horse has lately put on one off shows featuring famous or prestigious artists such as Dita Von Teese, Carmen Electra, Aria Cascaval, Arielle Dombasle and Pamela Anderson.

I watched a few of the dances and found the shows use a lot of lighting-shadows across the body, rays of coloured light on the body and also the use of a shiny floor to create reflection and symmetry.I like this commercial as it gives a sense of the atmosphere in the club and shows costume.

The dancers are identical, often in hats or wigs to make them androgynous,the music is typically Parisian and cabaret either upbeat or very chic and sultry.The costumes all use colours and light to make the dancers bodies identical-each dance uses symmetry as a key feature.The dancers are also never completely nude, but wear body sculpted costumes with cut out and body paint to create a print on the skin, the use of sculpting,cut out and print is very prominent in Tempests s/s10 collection .

Public Appearance...

William Tempest S/S 10 spotted on the red carpet at the Brits.

"Leona looked totally stunning in my dress and really oozed confidence and sex appeal.The dress is called Tiffany and is a corseted minidress from my spring/summer 2010 collection, A View to A Kill, which was inspired by Le Crazy Horse de Paris and Forties lingerie advertising. It is always great seeing my dresses on the red carpet being enjoyed and appreciated, and really good to see Leona in something modern with a strong sense of cool, but still with that classic and timeless edge."

William Tempest speaking to Vogue.com reporters.

(www.VOGUE.com)

As well as Leona, Gabriella Cilmi opted for a s/s10 Tempest creation.

The First....

The words my partner and I picked from the DVD cases were;

RAW

FLASHING LIGHTS

and

WILLIAM TEMPEST.

Straight away these inspirations pointed us both towards something very stripped bare, quirky and almost uncomfortable to watch.

I starting thinking about a fashion spot I saw at the SHOWstudio exhibition by Gareth Pugh and Ruth Hogben. This is the one spot I remember of all those shown....the music was very haunting and could be heard all through the exhibition and consequently I followed it to find it was a film. I would describe this spot as raw, it is creepy and there isn't really much of a narrative but you still feel compelled to watch it to the end. Everything is very effective complimenting both the collection and representing Pugh's design style generally.

I would be so very happy if our spot provoked a reaction like this one, that feeling of discomfort and being slightly disturbed as well as being so very chic and stylish.

(I have tried to embed this video but it isn't working- sorry for the url.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C_LMYdKzWY

(worked out how to do it...)

The look featured at the top is from William Tempests first a/w collection (2008).

Tempests work is sculpted and structured, mostly using blocked/two colours or monochrome. His looks are glamorous and feminine without being pretty or fussy. He has taken inspiration from tudor dress, 1940's underwear and bond girls- I will go into more detail later...

The look I have focused on is not typical of Tempest and is very different from his later collections.It stood out to me straight away and has become one of my inspirations for this project as it fits with the creepy theme me and Grace seem to be running with...

Anyway..I've never written a blog before but I hope this is a satisfying summery of where we are at at the moment....