“Beyond the Fitting Room” was the final creative project in this semester’s Photojournalism class, our feature profile. Cora and I conceptualized a fashion editorial to close out this semester, focusing on a group of four friends.
The editorial is a commentary on fashion as art, fashion elitism, and the inaccessibility of quality clothing in the era of fast fashion. Though the presence of modern fashion is often portrayed as being available only to people willing to pay a sizable price tag, trying on a garment is free to anyone. The four of these models styled themselves in entirely designer garments, many of them wearing designer for the first time.
Another major theme of the project, relating to an overarching theme of the course, is the connection between the ephemera of digital photography in the age of social media to the ephemeral feeling of trying something on in a dressing room.
Cora and I collaborated with local designer retailers to shoot in the dressing rooms, creating a fantasy for each of our four subjects. In each photo series you will see one of the three photos fixated on the mirror. Style and aesthetic is the way to which anyone can access fashion. Though fashion isn’t accessible to anyone, all should be able to appreciate its artistry.
The most important part of this project for me was documenting four of my close friends I met abroad. Even further related to fashion & its industry: often models and their needs are put at the very bottom of the list of priorities when creating an editorial or runway. In this unique shoot/concept, I had the joy of prioritizing my models as well as their desires, inspirations, and instincts.
