Just as you’re figuring out how to wear your tangerine this spring/summer season, false eyelashes, life vests and exhaustion were all over this February’s Fall/Winter 2011 fashion weeks. I caught up with our tall, blond, good-looking (and very married!) fashion photographer Greg Brown.
Greg’s beginnings in the art involved travel and landscape photography, but he soon moved into sport and runway photography. “[Runway photography] is not unlike sport photography,” Greg affirms, “where not everything is under your control.” But, as he quickly realized, shooting runway is very different to shooting in a studio. “To shoot runway you have to have an understanding of how clothes move and, of course, be interested in them,” states Greg. “Many sports photographers shoot runway but you can always tell whether they are interested in the clothes. If they don’t capture a movement or a particular design feature they’re shooting it as they would a sporting event.”
But now, to the show with the false eyelashes on scene from the likes of Betsey Johnson, Venexiana, and Farah Angsana. If you have young partying relatives with young partying photos on Facebook, you’ve probably encountered this trend if you haven’t tried it yourself. Once the province of celebrities, like gel nail polish, now everyone is getting a piece. Careful though. If the hairs are not of a reasonable quality the effect can be rather plastic-y. Just imagine those half circles of perfectly spaced hairs… But the news from NYC is that they are here to stay.
And then the life vests: while seemingly more befitting of a rock star or wannabe rocker, you may want to join in on the fad. Life vests, in beautifully tailored blues and blacks with fluorescent white strips (a nod to the practical) employed in various designs were on display at G-Star Raw and General Idea. Perhaps bearing homage to the economy both collections sought to reflect the laboring man. One G-Star life vest was teamed with a blue top-stitched denim jacket, cobalt laborer’s gloves, black pants and Oxfords. The cream and burned orange checker-board pattern on the Oxfords was reflected elsewhere in ties and shirts.
Nor were the women left without. In one example a woman’s quilted jacket with an inflated (life vest) collar was teamed with a pair of leather (think boyfriend) pants and a revealing chiffon top. The practical-meets-sexy overall mood of these clothes is hard to describe without making them sound silly, but the effect was definitely effortlessly sexy-casual.
Now the exhaustion: Greg shot fifty-six shows over ten days. He brought home just over 27,000 images. The first shows started around 9am, but Greg had to join the line of photographers up to two hours beforehand. “You are constantly shifting to maintain your position – there’s a battle to get in early,” Greg explains. “People try various schemes, from becoming friends with security people to getting an invitation from the designer. If you had nothing you’d be with the rest of the ‘B list’ – which amounted to 100+ photographers all rushing to claim a spot.”
The key to photographing the shows is height. As only videographers are allowed to use tripods, the battle for camera position has taken to the skies. “The riser is like bleachers. If someone at the front adjusts their height then the ripples move backwards,” says Greg, who thought to bring equipment to stand upon. “Between the four of us we had a ladder, small stools and plastic carry-on sized camera cases. Many people brought folding footstools. They’re not robust and often collapsed, sending people flying. Any cheap kit got broken, but the Pelican camera cases you could rely on.”
These days, A-list photographers must get their images filed online within thirty minutes. To accomplish this task they must work with a digital technician. The technician takes their memory card and downloads, edits and uploads the images within minutes. “Those of us on our own realized we needed a work-flow to keep ahead of the game,” admits Greg. “There were so many shows that you couldn’t wait for the evening to edit the images. At 11pm, having not eaten much all day, I’d have 5,000 files to process. At first I’d be up for three or four hours doing that. Then I got smart and downloaded images between shows.”
A great fashion show is a combination of fantastic clothing and amazing effects. On these merits the Venexiana show stood out this year. Seeing what came down the runway, it’s clear that Kati Stern is in her creative element. The bigger labels can afford the better effects of course, though they don’t always use them. Understated, classic lighting can be a better fit for their work. This year Elie Tahari flooded his tent with beautiful, soft, natural light to show off the soft plums, greys and navies of his collection. Monique Lhuillier, Vera Wang, Carlos Miele, Nanette Lepore and Tasdashi Shoji also went for simple, white lighting. Badgley Mischka was a highlight in this respect, covering their dark runway with clear plastic sheets and projecting onto it a street scene. This scene reflected in the sheets and as the models walked it appeared as though they were walking down a cobbled street in the rain.
It’s good that the lighting was bright, as flash was not allowed (except from point and shoot cameras in the VIP section). With no prior knowledge of the lighting, camera settings must be adjusted quickly and in the dark. Rock concert style shows such as L.A.M.B., Christian Siriano and Betsey Johnson are the most challenging to photograph as they use the most spotlights, making the intensity of the lighting change from moment to moment.
Photographers at the shows occasionally collapse from fatigue and their conditions are cramped, hot and smelly. But to Greg, the job still has its appeal. “I’m constantly learning,” he says. “When the model walks out you must immediately establish whether you want to capture a certain angle, the design feature or the accessory. And if you also want a quarter length, back view and a detail shot, it’s a lot!” While the big agencies have different people to shoot the details, the three-quarter, and the full lengths, the average photographer is shooting it all. “It’s a real challenge,” Greg says.
So, what trends can we see for next fall? Black remains the dominant color so no change there. Gold and silver embellishment in the form of beads and sequins are also staying with us. Designers worked with key colors: teal for Nanette Lepore and Vivienne Tam, red for Custo Barcelona, Betsey Johnson and Monique Lhuillier, robin’s egg blue for Tracy Reese, mustard and green for Luca Luca, lime for Alexandre Herchcovitch. In general we’re going to see burgundies, silvery grays, golds and creams.
Necklines swung in deep Vs to the navel, sideways into the boat and upwards to the chin. Tibi also sported the paper-bag look at the neck. Layers and texture– lots of bib necklaces, lace, silks, furs, organzas, satin, leathers – fringes were also on display; Venexiana, Custo Barcelona, Ruffian and Vivienne Tam being stunning examples of this. Bows have returned but in a discreet way – Monique Lhuillier, Badgley Mischka and Rebecca Taylor placing manageable ones at the waist.
Bags are smaller than we’ve seen in recent years and are back in the hand. Hemlines are either just below the knee – the mad men length still a favorite (Luca Luca and Caroline Herrera), short short or full length. Waists were high on skirts and low on trousers. The cape continues to show its influence (Alexandre Herchcovitch) particularly in the generous cuts of coats (Caroline Herrera). Pleats in equally generously cut skirts were on display at Tadashi Shoji and Rebecca Taylor. A personal point of relief: the only tartan was at Betsey Johnson. Long boots with low heels, preferably with patterns cut into them (Vivienne Tam), are back. Booties remain but only in their peep-toed, high-heeled form. Heels on sandals and courts remain high and those who can should sport them with an ankle strap.
Ruffles mostly tiered, were everywhere and everything from coats to pirate sleeves was flow-y. If it wasn’t flow-y it was box-y (Vivienne Tam). Everyone had an accent color or colors on black from a varied palette, even pink (Rebecca Taylor, Tibi) so pick yours to suit. And think small; Luca Luca and Tadashi Shoji, two of the smaller houses, showed amazing and bold clothes in both color and design.
View more of Greg’s photo work at www.gregorybrownphoto.com.
