Photoshoot!

Life takes an interesting turn sometimes and last Thursday was one of those days.

For a while my friend and I have been talking about putting our kimono collection and knowledge to use by becoming kimono stylist.

So started off with volunteering to put on a fashion show at Hyper Japan which is all underway.

Then I heard about model mayhem. This is a site dedicated to people who want to get into the fashion industry. At this site, people will get together to organise photoshoots to build up experience and portfolio. Sounds goods doesn't it so I setup a profile.

Anyway a couple of weeks ago, I was sent a message from a photographer who wanted to do a geisha photoshoot and was about to give up hope in finding a suitable stylist until they found me. Anyway I sent her a couple of photos of my previous work and she loved it.

Fast forward a few days and the 14 July was the day. Getting the train wasn't too bad despite I was getting to the middle of nowhere.

The location was lovely a beautiful castle set in a rural village. Really a perfect place to hold a wedding.

So the day started with hair and makeup which took the longest and it wasn't until 13.00 till the models were ready for dressing. Finally hours of practicing with my miffy paid off as I got the models dressed in 20 mins or so and it is interesting when you dress other people. The main problem I have is the busom area because of the amount of movement. However the padding around the waist did stop the juban from moving which mean the kimono could sit nicely on top. I was even able to add some of my kanzashi into the hairstyles.

Once I dressed them all up, it was time for the photos.

Here is Jade wearing my lovely pale green houmongi, Sian (the photographer) wanted a traditional look and with the help of Gavin (makeup) and Warren (hair), I think she wasn't disappointed. I love the elegant look that Jade has and the little green kanzashi really brings out the traditional look well.

In contrast to the traditional look, Sian wanted a modern styling as well and this is the one where all of us went full out on Vera. She just rocked the cute kimono with the lace trimming and I'm know looking for other kimono that I can improve with a little bit of haberdashery. And if you are wondering what kanzashi she is wearing here, it was one that I made 3-4 years ago for a friend's wedding. It is so flamboyant that I haven't been able to wear it again but for some reason it just fitted in so well with this look.

Don't the photos look great and I can't wait to get the rest of them!

Of course now this is over, it is time to concentrate on hyper japan!