marques’almeida/ creating fashion narratives/ edited research

marques’ almeida is an emerging east london based womenswear brand launched in 2009, headed by portuguese CSM graduates marta marques and paulo almeidaformerly supported by fashion east but currently sponsored by newgenshow on LFW schedule s/s a/w

their brand style is minimalisitc yet grungy, clean but equally raw, evoking a late 90’s/ early 00’s aesthetic very in tune with current attitudes and ideas towards fashionspecialising their talents in denim, dying, cutting and fraying techniques, the duo’s work is innovative and takes a fresh approach to former ideas

‘we are inspired by personalities; it’s the basic idea of designing based on a mood. we like to think, we’ve got this really moody girl, what would she wear, what is she doing.’- marta marques & paulo almeida. inspired by this quote and feedback the focus of the film should be more concept rather than salesbased- showing the viewer more about the brands identity rather than the product the brand is selling

watched ‘my own private idaho’ and became ispired scenes in which physical contact between two people instead of being filmed in moving image, is filmed as if the actors were posed for a photograph this helped the concept for the fashion film developed mainly from the minimalist style of the brand and the past still photography and moving image promotional material released by marques’ almeida and the concept of still photography in film

almost where the clothes and the situation/ setting are wearing the model, rather the reverse

video portraiture

inspired by the ‘video portrait’ works of artists like sam taylor wood, bill viola and john logue, where the sitter, or in our case model is filmed as if it were a still photograph, but is actually running film, where by tiny movements of the model, slight changes in lighting and sound are all picked up, effectively describing the literal atmosphere around the shot, whilst still retaining many visual connotations associated with still portrait photography

the effect gained by this style is one of intensity and emphasis drawing the viewers eye to elements of the image that were they just a photograph could go unnoticed, due to the subtle understated constructive details in the clothing and the intricate simplicity which stands as the brands most definingfeature

often the process of slowing the natural movement of an object/ person down, or eradicating movement entirely amplifies it’s effectivity as a communicative tool rather than having clothes just on a hanger, and having them dressed on a human being further enhance this as to the viewer seeing a typically animated figure, out of the context of intended movement creates a curiosity with the viewer