Category: Behind The Scenes

Thomas Sabo AW13 Featuring Poppy Delevigne

I recently had the opportunity to preview the Thomas Sabo AW13 collection which features the stunning Poppy Delevigne. The new collection with the return of the ear cuffs and the fantastic stacking rings is a definite must check out. I know there are quite a few pieces on my wish lists. Here are some great behind the scenes images from the campaign video courtesy of the amazing Faulhaber PR.

Ode to Alexander McQueen

Behind the Scenes of a Shoot Inspired by Alexander McQueen

Anyone who knows me, knows that the designer who has always been my fave is Alexander McQueen. This summer I had the opportunity to attend the McQueen exhibit at the MET in NYC and I got so inspired by his incredible artistic genius and creative vision that I absolutely had to do a shoot that was a tribute to him and his incredible styling aesthetic. Here are some behind the scenes images from the shoot I did, shot by Cory VanderPloeg and hair and make-up by Sandra Yang and the incredible Natasha from Ford. A true dream team.

mussel shell collar I made that was inspired by McQueen's Mussel Shell Vest
McQueen's Mussel Shell Vest
Wardrobe for the Day: Including pieces from Matthew Williamson, Elizabeth & James, Pink Tartan, Lucian Matis...
Shoes Shoes Shoes!
Natasha proving why she is so great

 

The hips on this dress feel soo couture

 

Stay tuned for the finished images in the near future…

On Set

ANA

a little while back I worked on what was going to be a video editorial look book for Nadya Toto. Unfortunately due to some unforeseen circumstances the look book didn’t work out…but we still did get some cool images. The concept was Masquerade/Eyes Wide Shut.

Here are some behind the scenes images:

 

jewelry from Rita Tesolin and masks for the shoot
wardrobe for the shoot courtesy of Nadya Toto
gold leaf hair courtesy of Dee Daly
Filming and Shooting Stills

 

On Set

Lovas FW 2011 Look Book Shoot

I got the pleasure to work with Wesley Badanjak again for his LOVAS FW 2011 look book. Frances Coombe from Elite returned as one of the models and we had Madison Schill from Ford as the theme this season was Sisters. The collection was inspired by Wesley’s mother and her sister when they immigrated to Canada from Croatia. Here are a few behind the scene shots from the shoot day:

Frances and Madison

 

Jewelry from Rita Tesolin
setting up the shot

And here are the final results for the Campaign images…shot amazingly by Christian Badanjak (Wesley’s Brother):

 

 

On Location

Garbage Couture

So lately I have been working away making dresses out of garbage bags for a team of photographers Contact submission. I unfortunately didn’t take behind the scenes shots from the more recent shoot days. I think I was too tired as some of the dresses took me over 7hrs to make. There were two almost gowns and 4 short dresses. Here are some behind the scenes from the first day…hopefully I will have some good stills to put up in the near future.

working with the front train and the wind

model trying to get warm and resting her feet between takes
Rakhna toughing it out in the cold

 

On Location

OTM Winter Issue Shoot

This past Monday, I had the opportunity to work with Off The Map  Webzine and shoot an editorial for their winter issue with an amazing model from Nicole from Spot 6 Management, who just recently walked in the Chanel show, Cory Vanderploeg taking the photos and Liz Robertson from Ford Artists doing the makeup and hair.

There was wardrobe from Pink Tartan, Izma, Vawk, Symthe, Erin Kleinberg, American Apparel, Club Monaco, Jonathan + Olivia, as well as some amazing vintage from The Cat’s Meow including vintage Chanel!!!

Here are a few behind the scenes shots from shooting on location in Hamilton.

 

lipstick touch up on location

keeping warm in a fur vest from Club Monaco…

 

wardrobe – working out of the back of the truck

Location shoots: not the most glamorous for wardrobe stylists or the models. Our wardrobe room is the car for the clothes, shoes and accessories as well as the change room, especially when it was as cold as it was this past Monday…Canada Goose weather all the way.

 

Shooting

 

Tara one of the editors of OTM watching the shot

In this shot Nicole is wearing a great Topshop dress from Jonathan + Olivia along with some vintage Chanel and Izma….

 

Nicole taking direction

Here Nicole is wearing an amazing fur skirt from Pink Tartan with a great henley from Smythe…

 

why I chose to use my own shoes from this season for the shoot

 

Wardrobe

Some of the fabulous wardrobe all organized and getting ready to be packed up and returned to the designers and stores.

As one can see it is not always very glamorous shooting editorials. It was a long and cold day in Hamilton, but I can definitely say it was worth it…the images are incredible. The issue of OTM will be coming out December 15th. I will post a link along with the editorial so the final images can be viewed. Tara and Aimee are two brilliant editors and Nicole and Liz made the day worthwhile, and I say Nicole was definitely a trooper and a supermodel in the making on set considering how long we shot and how cold it was.

On Set

Look Book Shoot for:

LOVAS by Wesley Badanjak

Everyone gets to see the final image from a photo shoot, and they don’t really know what really happens behind the scenes to get to that image, so I thought I would give some insight.

To give you a bit of a background on the line, LOVAS by Wesley Badanjak is a great line by a talented designer, Wesley Badanjak who also works for Canadian womenswear designer David Dixon as his production manager, it is a woman’s wear line for woman aged 25 and up. It is impeccably tailored and fun to wear. This is a little glimpse of what happens behind the scene to put this look book together for LOVAS spring 2011, and for those who don’t know what a look book is, it is a sales tool that shows all the looks in the designers collection for buyers and other industry members to view the whole collection.

Accessories:

Besides having the clothes to show off, you also need great accessories to help create the whole feel of the designers vision. Wesley worked closely with amazing jewelry designer Rita Tesolin and had her create custom pieces that complimented his collection.

Cuffs by Rita Tesolin for LOVAS
Earrings & Rings by Rita Tesolin for LOVAS
Necklaces by Rita Tesolin for LOVAS

These were definitely fun to play with!!!

Stylist Tools:

Every good stylist has an arsenal of tools in their kit to make the clothing and everything else look absolutely perfect for the camera. My kit contains: electrical tape to tape the bottoms of shoes to keep them clean, pins, clips, clamps, toupee tape (for taping clothes down where they need to stay), tights, shoe horn, lint brush, silicon bran inserts, nipple covers etc. To give you an idea of what sometimes needs to be done, here is a back shot of a dress, that I had to tailor to fit the model better, with clamps and rubber bands.

Alterations Using Clamps

See, many times the clothes don’t fit the models perfectly either, I pretty much always have to take it in in one way or another to make them look absolutely perfect.

Having Fun:

You have to try and have fun on set as well, especially as in this day we were in the studio with no air conditioning and it was 35C outside! So when you have a good team, and everyone has a great attitude you can have a ton of fun.

On Set of LOVAS Look Book Shoot

This is myself, Wesley and our models on set.

Stay tuned for the final images….