Torie Smith

Looking forward to seeing the fashion in Madonna's W.E

2012-01-18T13:47:00.002Z

anyone fancy a trip to the south of France?

Published in Xquisit Magazine!

2012-01-15T21:22:00.004Z

The 60's inspired shoot I did earlier this year has been published in The Simplicity Issue of Xquisit Magazine Winter 2011/12. I'm really pleased with the final images that they chose and the layout. Waiting for my copy of the magazine now...you can order yours at www.magcloud.com

My Published Copy of Turn Magazine!

2011-12-09T20:16:00.001Z

I received my copy of Turn magazine in the post today which featured the Bramber Shoot that I did earlier this year. (Please excuse my hairdo)

60's Inspired Shoot - Brighton Beach

2011-11-14T20:29:00.001Z

I was recently contacted by photographer Claire Huish to do a 60's inspired photo-shoot. It was to be on Brighton seafront with a mod type feel. The mood board above is a collection of inspiration images from the shoot. I wanted to select a few base colours to link the styling together. I used mainly bright oranges with navy blue, white and green to set it off. I also wanted to stay clear of the typical shift dresses and bring in more skirts and trousers which were also worn during the time.

We began early with make-up artist Lydia Pankhurst setting the hair in the 60's style beehive.
Our first location was on Brighton Pier, this was a lovely setting but because of it being a beautiful Sunday morning the pier was very busy and we had quite a few spectators. Luckily for us our model Lizzie was very professional and ignored the gathering crowds.
After the pier we moved to the location of the Royal Pavilion Gardens where Lydia took down Lizzie's hair to create a softer look.
Our final location was in the Brighton Lanes with the cobbled streets as a backdrop, the same location in which 60's mod film Quadrophenia was filmed.

These are the final images by Claire Huish. I am really pleased with the softness and clarity in the photographs. I think the colours work really well with the lighting showing the styling to its true potential. I hope you like!

Published in Turn Magazine

2011-11-13T17:29:00.005Z

The Bramber Castle shoot that I did back in July has been published in Turn magazine for this months Anniversary Issue. Very excited as its another magazine that I will be able to have in print, if I ever get around to ordering it.
You can order it at www.magcloud.com

Photoshoot for Peter Twiss

2011-11-12T15:12:00.007Z

A couple of months ago, Peter Twiss a Brighton based designer contacted me as he needed help putting together the looks for his S/S 2012 collection.

I met up with him the day before the shoot to go through the collection and work out what pieces worked with what.
We then went into town to get the shoes from Kurt Geiger. I chose a pair of chunky suede heels in two different colours, a pair in black to go with the black garments and a taupe pair which would work well with either the white or the dusky purples.

Juliet Shoes, Kurt Geiger £150

The photographs were taken by Simon Peter for Peter Twiss' website.
View the collection online at www.petertwiss.com

Poppy Shoot

2011-08-06T17:23:00.008+01:00

I recently did another photo-shoot with Bella Kotak and Lydia Pankhurst. We wanted to have a strong basis of colour and red was something which came up in Bella's moodboard (above).
Lydia found the beautiful location full of poppy fields which thankfully were still there when it came to the actual shoot.
For the styling I wanted to create elegant and sleek with a twist of irony, hence the umbrella.
Below is a screen shot of Bella's editing. She is one of the best editors I know, having managed to duplicate the model in the Cliff Shoot photograph to perfection!
These are the final photographs from Bella. The red cape was designed by Scottacus Anthony.

Bramber Castle Shoot

2011-07-12T14:48:00.007+01:00

I recently asked Meg Cornwell, (a fellow fashion student who specialised in design) to see whether she would be interested in having some of her work 'professionally' photographed.
I've been planing a photo-shoot with make-up artist Lydia Pankhurst and Hanna Kristina for a few months and we wanted something which was different to the whimsical photographs we have previously done. I felt that Meg's collection had a futuristic dark feel which would work perfectly with the location and make-up ideas.
For the shoot we had two models, Megan Waters who I have previously worked with and Mel Kaya.
I also had Stephanie Blundell assisting on the shoot. These photographs are taken from her of the behind the scenes throughout the day.
For the shoot we played on the idea of twins, reflecting the outfits together. Although the models looked very different we still wanted to give the idea of sisters and similarity.
For the clothing I used pieces from Meg's collection but added other pieces like the lace to give a mismatched feel.
These are the final photographs from Hanna. I'm really pleased with the metallic futuristic the photographs give out. They are defiantly very different from anything I have previously done. It was also really refreshing using a designers collection as it was unique.

Land Girls Shoot for Dandy-Lion magazine

2011-07-10T20:07:00.011+01:00

This is the second shoot that me and Naomi did for Aisha's Dandy-Lion Magazine. because of the nature of the magazine, she was really interested in incorporating the mend and make-do theme. This shoot was therefore based on the war time Land Girls when the men went to war.
Whilst the women were still working the land they still made an effort to make themselves beautiful. All of the hair and make-up were based on 1940's look of that time.
We spent the day on a working dairy farm near Wareham (Dorset). As well as having the cows, the farmer still owned some of the machinery from the 1940's/50's like the tractor below.
The farmer also gave us food to feed the cows so that we could have some images of that. This worked really well until one cow decided to make a bolt for freedom and we ended up chasing him round the farm.
At the end of the day we got the cows in from the fields, this was pretty funny as the girls were dressed up in their 1940's evening wear. It defiantly did feel as though we had gone back in time.
These are the final photographs from the photographer. They were edited to have an older sepia type feel. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the final shoot in the magazine but hopefully I can get hold of that soon to show you.The team: Aisha (Director), Naomi and myself (stylists), Elise, Maddie and Heather (models), Louise (photographer), Charlotte and Jade (make-up and hair).

Beach Shoot for Dandy-Lion Magazine

2011-07-10T19:25:00.008+01:00

I was asked alongside Naomi Farmer to style for Aisha's new magazine. The theme was beach in the Autumn time so we wanted to show how a style which is usually shown for summer could be translated to a colder time of year.
The idea behind this was to show summer dresses being worn with thick warm jumpers and socks. These photographs were taken by me during the shoot on my phone.
I have previously worked with Naomi and we find that quite often we will bring elements that work well together, for example the socks here.
The clothing was borrowed from a vintage boutique based in Bournemouth.
These behind the scenes photographs were taken by the photographer, Phoebe, throughout the day (which is why they are better quality). One thing Phoebe tries to do whenever she has a shoot is to take a group shot. Below is the team, from the left: Aisha (Director), Naomi and myself (stylists), Nikita (model), Phoebe (photographer), Charlotte and Jade (make-up and hair) and finally Larissa (photographers assistant).
These are the final edited photographs from Phoebe, I am so pleased with the outcome. I think they defiantly have the right balance of Autumn feel on the beach.
This is the final layout for Aisha's magazine layout. The magazine is called Dandy Lion and is a unique collectable magazine.

Tribal shoot

2011-07-06T17:14:00.007+01:00

Earlier this year photographer Anna Michell, asked me to help her put together the looks for her 3rd year photography work. The original concept was based on the Rana Tharu people and the idea of living as a tribe as an independent community.
Although she wanted to base the styling on this, she also wanted me to put my own twist to it.

Because of all the drapery experiments I have recently been doing I suggested this as a way to easily create some of the clothing which would otherwise be quite difficult to find on the high-street.
Anna was really enthusiastic about this idea and readily gave me more inspirational imagery of the type of drapery that she liked.
Jewellery was something she really wanted to use, so I put together a mood board of high street finds which she edited to show me what pieces she liked.
As well as using bought jewellery we also collected hand made pieces which would give the clothes a more individual look. I found these disks which we made into a chocker.
These are some of the drapery experiments that Anna did with some of the materials. We chose to stick to burnt oranges and earthy colours.
These photographs are from the tester shoot. The shoot was taken at Winspit caves.
These are the final photographs. The idea of the shoot was a tribe of women. Each woman had a different role to play but they were mainly portraying strength.

Photographs from the January Shoot

2011-07-06T14:31:00.010+01:00

I got the photo's back from the January shoot a while back now but I haven't updated my blog recently so I thought I would finally upload them.
We did two shoots throughout the day, in two different locations with two different models.

The 1st shoot we did was based in a studio with the idea of recreating a floating type effect. I used a selection of materials which were put onto the body and would flow easily.
As well as doing floating photographs we also did some standing slightly darker images using darker materials such as black lace.
The 2nd shoot we did was a night shoot. This is the 1st time I have done an outside dark shoot and we found it a challenge to get the lighting right which is why there is only a few final photographs.
Thanks to Lotte Simons for photography
Lydia Pankhurst for make-up
Bonnie and Ellie for modelling
All styling done by me.

Glastonbury Ready

2011-06-22T17:54:00.003+01:00

So it has been a very long time since I last posted on my blog. This was due to my last project at uni taking up all of my time. I've now finished three years of university as a fashion student and will be graduating next week (currently awaiting my results). So I will be posting up the shoots and what I have been up to since February once I am back from Glastonbury.

In the meantime here is a photograph of what I plan on taking with me. Pacamac at the ready although I am forever hopeful that it wont rain.

Back in a week!

My Published Work

2011-02-14T13:39:00.001Z

I got a copy of Lumine November 2010 issue in the post today. I was very excited about this as it's the 1st hard copy of my work in a magazine.
I'm very pleased with the spread, the only couple of things I have to moan at is they didn't credit me as Torie Smith (its under Vicky Smith) and also the binding on the double spread pages cuts the models face in half (poor Cyan!)

Anyway, if you want to see the rest of the photo's from this series look at my previous blog posts - The spread from Lumine Magazine and The edited photographs from the Pony Shoot.

Edited Photos from Lydia for MPP

2011-02-10T13:17:00.001Z

Because we wanted to submit the MPP photographs to a magazine for the Winter Issues, Lydia edited the photographs from Lotte and Luke that were taken during the MPP project to give a more Wintery feel. I loved the photographs originally but the editing on these give them an almost magical approach!

Behind the Scenes at January shoot!

2011-01-26T13:57:00.005Z

I had a shoot this Monday with photographer Lotte Simons and Lydia Pankhurst. We wanted to do a studio shoot, but unfortunately the funding was very low. We decided to make a studio ourselves by using my living room, some white sheets and nails, using some industrial lighting.
The shoot actually went very well considering our DIY take on it, the theme was to make it look as though she was flying (we used a mattress which the model Bonnie, fell on to) although this later turned into some static/darker images as we continued.
The next shoot we did was a night time shoot. This is the first time I have done a night shoot and it went really well, despite it being very cold and a bit spooky. The look we went for was a glam/grunge image which worked really well with the lighting. Model - Ellie Watson.
Photos up soon!

Studio Shoot with Glenn Richardson and Cyan Cheung

2011-01-17T14:18:00.007Z

I've just got back the photographs from the Studio Shoot that I did last month with Cyan Cheung and Glenn Richardson.

I am so pleased with the photographs, they are completely different to everything I have done previously and really add's to my portfolio.
The clothing I used for this shoot was mainly sourced from my friend and designer Scottacus Anthony. I wanted to go for a darker, edgier look which I think worked really well with Cyan's look. I love how different Cyan looks in the photographs what with the help of the change in the styling and the make-up and hair. Very, very pleased with these photographs, hope you like them!

Treasure Dress

2011-01-15T18:05:00.011Z

These are the rest of the Images taken from the Vintage Shoot that I did with Bella earlier this year. The images are for the new website Treasure Dress which is an online vintage boutique put together by the very talented Lydia Jones.

This photo is taken from behind the scenes showing me holding the twigs behind her head like antlers, I think in the final images you cannot even tell I was behind her head!

Brighton Church Street wall

2011-01-10T14:02:00.000Z

I've done a couple of posts of the graffiti on this wall in Brighton (Inspiration I and Inspiration II) and yet again this wall has been changing. The last two pictures that I've taken were very similar to each other and have just been adapted. I love Brighton!

Image from January 2011
Image from November 2010
Image from Aug 2010

Image from Sept 2009

Photographs from my MPP project.

2010-12-29T17:35:00.003Z

These are the photographs from my MPP project that I did last term. I used two different photographers for this project because I wanted to see the difference between the two photographers. I used Lotte Simons who I worked with previously on The Pony Shoot and Luke Matthews who I worked with on the Autumn Celladoor Shoot earlier this year. If you want to see more information behind the ideas and concept for the shoot please visit my MPP blog for the diary over the past few months.

Photographs from Lotte Simons

Photographs from Luke Matthews
Credits to

Photographers - Luke Matthews and Lotte Simons
Make-up Artist - Lydia Pankhurst
Models - Lottie Williams, Dan Jones and Lucas St James
Men's Clothing - Loot Boutique (Brighton, Kensington Gardens)
Animal Hoods - MerriMaking

Also here is the behind the scenes video that I showed in a previous blog post by Alex Gardiner

Behind the Scenes at The Studio Shoot

2010-12-11T14:12:00.004Z

Yesterday I went to Wokingham to do a photo-shoot with Cyan Cheung (who I previously worked with in the Pony Shoot) and Glenn Richardson, a self taught upcoming photographer.
We used Gareth Davies Studios which is the biggest studio I have ever worked in. As well as having an editing suite they also had a make-up suite.
The equipment in this place was amazing what with the huge lights and large fans.
The clothing I used for this shoot was mainly sourced from my friend and designer Scottacus Anthony. I wanted to go for a darker, edgier look which I think worked really well with Cyan's look.
The day was great and was really nice to finally be back doing shoots again after such a long time!
Here are the behind the scenes photo's. Really can't wait to see the final images of these as a lot of different technical processes were used!

Behind the Scenes and Photographs from Steph Dale

2010-12-11T11:38:00.005Z

This term I have also worked with Stephanie Dale who is a FDA commerical photography student. Her narrative was based on doll's and she wanted to represent this in a studio shoot.

She had already sourced the main outfits from a designer so just needed to add pieces which would make the outfits look the part of a doll. To soften up the brightness of the red and blue I used lace and softer materials. I also used a petticoat skirt from American Apparel which gave the skirt a completely different and fuller look to it. Here are the behind the scenes photographs and the final photographs.

Photographs from Min

2010-12-11T11:25:00.003Z

This term I have also worked with Min, a 2nd year FDA commerical photography student. His narrative was that a kidnapped girl wakes up dressed as a human doll.

Although I couldn't be there on the shoot, I did help Min out by choosing the clothes. I went for a black and white theme to link the different outfits together. Here are my favourite images from his selection.

Welcome to 3rd Year! Behind the Scenes Video

2010-12-11T11:11:00.003Z

Like what always happens when I go back to uni...I become very quiet on my blog. This is because all of my spare time is taken up doing my sketchbook and actual project if I'm not trying to get some sleep. My first project for 3rd year (Major Project Preparation) is no exception to this. But finally I have handed it in and had my presentation, which I think went ok despite the sleepy look on my tutors face, which gives me time to update you all on what I've been doing.

Well like I said, it has mainly been doing my MPP project but I have done some smaller photo-shoots alongside which I will share later!

I can't really give to much out about what I did for my MPP due to my photographs being submitted, but I can show you the video that Alex Gardiner shot for me of the behind the scenes from the shoot.
It was in Stanmer Woods (yes my favourite place) with photographers Lotte Simons and Luke Matthews, make-up artist Lyida Pankhurst and models Lottie Williams, Dan Jones and Lucas st James.
I hope you like it!

Published in Lumine Magazine!

2010-11-01T14:08:00.004Z

Just found out that the photo-shoot I did with Lotte back in August has also been published last week! Apparently the model had uploaded the photo's to facebook and someone saw and said they were too good to sit on facebook and asked if would we want them published!!! It goes to show that its defiantly who you know in this business!

Check out pages 62-71...

Published in Edie Magazine!

2010-10-26T21:13:00.003+01:00

Just found out that the photo-shoot we did with Hanna for the Celladoor Magazine has also been featured in Edie Magazine for one of their trend pages!!! The image is on p66 if you want to take a look!

Photographs from the Country Living Shoot!

2010-10-06T14:08:00.009+01:00

We also received the photographs from the country living shoot along with the Aviator photographs. Again I'm really pleased with the photographs, it was such a beautiful day and the photographs really do it justice. I really like the whole transition from outside to indoors.

Photographer - Mandy Cole

Make-up Artist - Zoe Tatum-Rooney

Model - Heather Martin

Styling - me and Naomi Farmer

This has to be one of my favourite photographs (below) I love the whole feel of it and could defiantly see it as an advertisement with the empty space! How exciting!

Photographs from the Aviator Shoot!

2010-10-06T13:52:00.007+01:00

Me and Naomi have just received the photographs from photographer Mandy Cole through the post (I get so excited about receiving things in the post, especially photographs!).

These are the photo's from the Aviator shoot and I am so impressed with them. The theme Aviator is set to be big this season so its great to be doing a shoot which is really current! Photo's still need a bit of tweaking but very, very pleased, hope you like them!

Photographer - Mandy Cole

Make-up Artist - Zoe Tatum-Rooney

Model - Chloe

Styling - me and Naomi Farmer

This has to be my favourite photograph (below) from the selection, I love how the flash of colour matches that of the plane!

Photographs from The Vintage Boutique Shoot!

2010-10-06T13:23:00.009+01:00

I've just received a few of the photographs from Bella for the Vintage Boutique shoot! I am literally astounded by the transformation of these photographs. I love the vintage, hazy feel of the wedding photographs, they are so different to the woodland photographs which are a lot darker and mystical. I hope you share the enthusiasm as I do with these! More to come soon!

Another Photo from The Cliff Shoot

2010-10-06T13:12:00.002+01:00

I've just been sent another edited photograph by Bella from the Cliff shoot. It amazes me how good she is at Photoshop and how she can manipulate a photograph. I love this photograph and I think you would believe the birds were actually there if I hadn't of been there.

Behind the scenes at the Country Living Shoot

2010-10-03T20:17:00.008+01:00

Here are the behind the scenes at the country shoot. The house was owned by the photographer's friend which was rented by silent monks. We were really fortunate as we were able to use the house to set up our kit which we also arranged in outfits like the previous shoot. Overall we did seven outfits, three each then one put together.

This was the first look put together by me, I wanted to create a look which looked fairly smart but durable for the country.

This look was put together by Naomi, a lot of her finds were from charity shops which she then customised.

This was my favourite look that I put together. I was really inspired by Noa Noa look books which is where the dress is from. I wanted to put together a look which was soft but had a durable toughness to it that would take it into the country.

This look is also by me. I wanted to mix up fabrics and print in this whilst still keeping it together with the colour palate. I mixed a tartan skirt with a striped jumper and an oversized cardigan which was then brought together with the knee-high rugby socks.

This dress was found by Naomi which was lent to her from a school theatre store.

This look was also put together by Naomi, we nicknamed it the Miss Marple look from the TV series.

This is the first shoot that I have worked on where lights have been used (not within a studio) This defiantly benefited the photographer as the room was very dark, it was also interesting to see new equipment being used.

Behind the scence at the Aviator Shoot

2010-10-03T17:53:00.012+01:00

It was a while ago now, that me and Naomi did the Aviator shoot but here are the behind the scenes photographs from that day.

We were picked up by the photographer at 10am and after a struggle with packing the car (she had a Ford Ka, which proved very difficult trying to fit mine and Naomi's suitcases).

The shoot took place at Shoreham Airport which is on the outskirts of Brighton and is the oldest airport in Britain.

We were met there by make-up arist Zoe Tatum-Rooney and model Chloe.

We were really fortunate in the fact that we were able to use one of the board rooms to set up our kit. This meant we could spread each outfit out across the tables and still have room for make-up and dressing.

Me and Naomi put together two looks each and one joint.

This outfit was put together by Naomi with the goggles being borrowed from a uni friend.

This look was also put together by Naomi who managed to source the boots for only £4 from a charity shop!

I put this look together. A few days before my friend said that he had an original pilots jacket and hat (the hat is shown in the photograph below). The jacket I borrowed form a boutique in Brighton and the goggles I found in an army surplus store (they are actually Russian Tank Goggles but I felt they did look the part).

This is the original Pilot jacket which I borrowed from my friend, modelled by the lovely Naomi.

Whilst we were doing this look the white shirt got an oil stain on it which I was really worried about. However, after reading my mum's old 1930's housewife book I managed to pick up an old household tip for remaining oil stains!

Tip to remove Oil Stains:

Cover stain in Lard.

Wash out with cold water.

Then wash with soap and warm water.

This may need to be repeated.

This was another look of mine. For my looks I wanted one quite traditional and one which is very current on the catwalks and high-street.

This was the last look we put together jointly, we used the original Pilot Jacket and then the boots that Naomi picked up from the charity shop.

Published in Celladoor Magazine!!!

2010-09-18T20:52:00.014+01:00

It's been a while waiting but the Autumn Issue for Celladoor Magazine is finally out, and mine and Naomi's styling is in it! Were pages 48 - 55 if you want to have a look!

I am now also able to show the final photographs now they have been published from the Autumn Shoot which I previously blogged about.

Photography by Hanna Wright and Luke Mathews, Model Lottie Williams, Make-up by Lydia Pankhurst and styling by me and Naomi Farmer.

I hope you like!!!

Photographs from the Get crazy, Get loud shoot (previously known as Grunge,Fetish Shoot).

2010-09-12T11:45:00.009+01:00

So I've finally got the photo's back from the photographer for the Get Crazy, Get Loud photo-shoot (previously known as the Grunge, Fetish shoot) Yes the name sounds much better than my previous one but honestly what do you call a shoot like this? The photo's did take they're time coming back to me as the photographer didn't realise she had to email them over...very strange considering she had already uploaded them on her facebook and model mayhem page, but anyway, at least I got them back and here they are...

Really pleased with the photographs! They are exactly as I imagined, fun, cheeky with a naughty edge! I could defiantly see them being in the likes of Front or Dazed and Confused magazine and what I love about the photographs is that you are brought into it. The models make you want to have their fun, reckless lives and I think this is an important message to portray. A photograph must make someone feel as if they want to be part of it...that is what sells it after all!

The Empire Strikes Back

2010-09-08T12:05:00.003+01:00

I tend to go on Lookbook a fair bit as its a good indicator to current street trends, not only in the UK but also worldwide. I love it when you find an item which has been re-styled in different ways. H&M clothing is defiantly one you have to be careful with if you want to be individual however, as there are shops everywhere selling exactly the same item. This is proven in their Empire Strikes Back T-shirt.

Here are my Empire Strike Back T-shirt finds on how to wear it and how to defiantly not wear it.

This outfit had me chuckling for a quite a while. I personally do not think knee high socks on guys is a good look. Unless you are playing rugby please leave them at home!
Look by Tim W, Germany I think going on from the knee high socks this look is very similar to the above one. I just don't think black knee highs and light denim work with this T-shirt.
Look by Baylee B, Canada I love the navy cardigan with this T-shirt and the glasses, perhaps not the hat. Lets hope he is wearing a pair of jeans and not knee high socks though!
Look by Lucas D, France
I think this T-shirt works really well in this preppy look. Shirt over the top keeps it casual without looking forced, colours link to the T-shirt. Thumbs up!
Look by Marcus L, Columbia
This is my favourite look for the T-shirt and defiantly shows that knee high socks do work providing the colour matches the skirt.
Look by Laura R, Germany

100

2010-09-07T23:32:00.003+01:00

I've actually reached my 100th post (well actually this makes it 101) but anyway here is a lovely lady celebrating 100!

Thank you my blogging fans for getting me this far!

Here is some useless information which you may find of interest... I've been blogging since June 2009 (the previous blog posts I sneakily changed the date to match the time of year to when events actually occurred) I've had 2,844 visits in total according to Google Analytics. The most being 372 on 20th April 2010 however this was because it involved a paparazzi story. The majority of my viewers have been from England with London and Bournemouth having the highest amount. Anyway I hope that I've kept you all interested and you continue to follow me on my fashion experience! x

Knit me up!

2010-09-07T20:35:00.004+01:00

Salmon Cardigan Miss Selfridges, Crochet Black Tights New Look, Raccoon Hat River Island, Panda Mittens River Island, Pink Anklet Socks New Look, Striped Swing Dress Warehouse, Fringe Scarf Topshop, Navy Blue Cardigan Topshop.

Aviator and Country Living shoot.

2010-09-03T14:27:00.008+01:00

I have a couple of shoots coming up in a few weeks which are based on the Aviator theme and Country Living theme.

This is a great opportunity as it is very current and the aviator jacket is one of Autumns key pieces. Knitwear is also very big this season, this will mean that it makes my job easier as there will be a lot to choose from when it comes to sourcing the outfits!
Anyway here's some inspirational images (I've also included the mood boards that the make-up artist and photographer sent me), I'm liking the 1930's/40's look so am thinking of basing the styling on this.
Although the shoots are both separate I can defiantly see similarities that can be crossed over!

Aviator Mood Board
Country Living Mood Board

Behind the scenes at the Grunge, Fetish shoot!

2010-09-02T11:23:00.011+01:00

I had the grunge, fetish shoot this Tuesday up in London and I'm very pleased with the results.
Me and Nay had previously put together the looks last week whilst we met up so we had everything ready or at least we thought so.
I went up to London on the Monday as I went to the Nottinghill festival so when Nay texted me on Monday to say that the photographer hadn't actually asked the models permission to do bra-less and they were refusing I had a mid panic, luckily I had packed enough spares to cover us.
I met Nay Tuesday morning at Charing Cross for our 9.04 train (me being just in time due to tube delays) and we went to Welling. We hadn't actually anticipated how far we had to go out of London as the photographer said it was central (it defiantly was not).
Anyway despite this we did manage to find the location which was the photographers friends house and it was beautiful. So large that we actually managed to lose each other with huge white walls that made an excellent backdrop, very FRONT magazine!
Whilst we were on the train there I mentioned to Nay that the make-up artist wasn't coming, for a strange reason I had a gut feeling and low and behold she didn't! Again luckily I had my make-up with me from staying over in London and we managed to put together the sort of look the photographer wanted.
Despite the mishaps and the lack of organisation I think we managed to pull the shoot off quite well. I'm really pleased with the styling as I think it fits the brief perfectly and will also give a different look to my portfolio.
Nay is amazing at props and making set pieces, she was really inspired by the Dazed and Confused male head piece and used this inspiration to make some ingenious head pieces out of toys for the boys the wear. I think this really pulled the whole look together and stopped the shoot from looking to sexy.
The models worked so well together, like in any shoot there is always awkwardness at first. Perhaps more so with this shoot considering the lack of clothing, but they all managed to quickly put this aside and have fun with the shoot. I think the props really helped to make this happen and it meant the photographs don't look too posed.
From this shoot I have defiantly learnt so much.
1st to always be prepared, this is the 2nd shoot where I have had to do make-up last minute so I think it may be a good advantage for me to take a part-time course in make-up or at least bring a small kit with me just in case.

2nd is to always be organised and have spares, sometimes things won't work out and I will need to change or a model may refuse to wear something or it doesn't fit etc.

3rd is now to only do photo-shoots if there will at least be some contribution to the travel and our work, for example we had travelled very far to do this shoot and we were only offered one cup of tea and no lunch, the travel cost a lot so has defiantly set me back in funds.
I think I will now do shoots paid unless I feel they will benefit my portfolio.

Anyway despite all this I am pleased with the whole look and can't wait to get the final edits back! Will be up soon for you all to see!

Marc Jacobs ad

2010-09-02T11:09:00.004+01:00

The men's fragrance has been out for a fair few months now but it was only when I was standing there waiting for a bus with the huge advertisement right in my face that my mind started to wonder...is it me or does Marc look like a turkey ready for Christmas Dinner?

The giant perfume bottle...yeah great, naked Marc Jacobs...perhaps, all on silver foil ready for the oven complete with oil...no!

Behind the scenes at the Vintage Boutique Shoot!

2010-08-29T16:09:00.007+01:00

I was a styling assistant yesterday for boutique owner, Lydia Jones. The brief was to create three different looks under the titles A Modern Love Story, Go Wild in the Country and Modern Enchantment for her online boutique. So in overall we did three photo-shoots in one day.
I worked with the same team from the Cliff shoot. Bella Kotak photographing, Lydia Pankhurst doing the make-up and model Megan Waters and her friend Kelsey Birchmore.
The clothing was absolutely beautiful and it was so lovely working with such unique items.
I loved Lydia's studio, I aim to have something very similar one day!
I think this was one the most amusing endings to a shoot. Whilst taking the last few photographs for the bridal shoot an actual wedding party turned up to also use the same location. I love this photo of Megan as it actually looks like she is the bride!
Lydia really does do a fantastic job at the make-up comparing the two girls before they got their make-up done makes them look completely different. Megan told us that when Lydia did her make-up before for the Cliff shoot she managed to keep it on for a whole three days because she loved it so much.
It was only when we were packing up to go into the car that we actually realised there was too many of us...good thing models are tiny!
Overall we had a great day despite being very tired and cold towards the end. The shoot took a total of 12 hours but it was defiantly worth it! Final edits up soon!

A grunge, fetish shoot...

2010-08-29T13:52:00.004+01:00

Yes you heard me right! Naomi has asked me to help her with a shoot next week which is loosely based on the images above. So I'm off to London tomorrow to style some scantily clad guys and girlies! This is defiantly not something I have done before but I think will defiantly add something different to my portfolio! Wish me luck...I have garters, hold-ups and barely-there tops at the ready!

Corinne Day

2010-08-29T13:22:00.003+01:00

I read today that Corinne Day had sadly passed away yesterday. I therefore felt it was appropriate that we remembered some of her work. She was probably most famous for taking the first modelling photographs of her friend Kate Moss who quickly rose to fame after the publish of them. Her grunge type appeal was defiantly one that dictated the fashion movement in the 90's. Hopefully this is just a rumour, but if not, Corinne Day - may you be remembered for changing the face of fashion!

Photographs from The Cliff Shoot!

2010-08-29T11:50:00.007+01:00

I've been meaning to share with you the final photographs from the Cliff shoot we did last week! Bella (the photographer) did a fantastic job with the editing! I really love the three Indian princesses on the rocks! I think the fabric idea I originally had works really well, and actually looks as though she is wearing a dress! The wonders a piece of material and some pins can do.

Thank you so much to Bella, Lydia and Megan for making this happen!

Photographs from The Pony Shoot!

2010-08-22T16:45:00.012+01:00

I've got back the photographs and I am actually ecstatic about these! My computer has been hating me recently so it was taking so long to download them but I could see the thumbnails that I very nearly fainted from anticipation! Anyway I think you can probably see why! One criticism I have on myself is some of the pinning is showing so this is something I really need to improve on.

A huge big thank you to the amazing photographer Lotte Simons, the beautiful model Cyan Cheung and the stunning make-up by Lucy Parker. Hope you like x

Behind the scenes at the Cliff Shoot!

2010-08-22T15:45:00.006+01:00

I had the Cliff Shoot this Thursday and I'm happy to say that the shoot went really well and the weather was defiantly in our favour!

The team was fairly small with photographer Bella Kotak, make-up artist Lydia Pankhurst (who I have worked with previously) and Megan Waters modelling.

We started mid morning at Bella's house where Lydia did the make-up whilst me and Bella went through the clothing. I am so pleased that we did this as I actually forgot my styling kit which would have been disastrous if I hadn't of checked. Luckily I live very near so was able to quickly pick it up. That's something I will hopefully never do again!

We then set off to Ovingdean, a small village on the outskirts of Brighton with beautiful rock pool beaches. I had checked the tide times so that we were there for the 12.55 low tide.

I haven't done a beach shoot before (crazy considering I live next to two beautiful beaches) and I was amazed at how much we had to use and the opportunities that were available to make some really fantastic imagery.

I had the idea for this shoot to really start playing around with fabric after just touching on it in last weeks Pony Shoot. I bought a body from Topshop which I then experimented by draping pieces of material over the top. This worked so well as we were able to change the position of the material when the wind and sea moved it. I also bought two maxi dresses shown above which I think really enhanced the natural surroundings of the location and added colour.
Overall I had a really fantastic day despite it being long and tiring. It was defiantly worth it and was great to work with such a lovely team of people. I hope you like my behind the scenes photographs (they were limited as the shoot was very involved so didn't have much time to take pictures). For more behind the scenes photographs visit Bella's blog.

I'm so pleased I found such a perfect opportunity to use the headpiece I bought from Glastonbury! I was determined to have it and I'm pleased I spent the £20 for it...money well spent!
Final Edits up soon x

Brighton Inspiration take II

2010-08-22T15:38:00.002+01:00

I've been in Brighton again this summer and I happened to be in the Laines and noticed the building that I took a photograph of last year in my Brighton Inspiration Post!
Like I said previously it is amazing how easily your surroundings change and how you can get inspiration from one image! Tip: Notice the small things

Image from Sept 2009

Image from Aug 2010

Cliff Shoot Inspiration Imagery

2010-08-14T13:14:00.003+01:00

I have another photo-shoot coming up next week which is going to be on the beach with the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters (Sussex) in the background. The photographer wants to create a contrast against the neutral backdrop with bright clothing.
I originally started looking at a very high-end polished look but after a lot of conversations I think we are going to go for the shipwrecked cast-away look. She wants to use a lot of lightweight, floaty dresses with a mixture of accessories and headpieces.
I've therefore collected some more inspirational imagery, please note the change from the original bright look to the slightly softer, bohemian type look after the few photographs the photographer showed me.

Behind the scenes at the Pony Shoot!

2010-08-13T10:39:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I styled for Lotte Simons for the pony shoot I recently blogged about. This was the first photo-shoot I have travelled to do and I was really nervous, however it went really well and it was actually really exciting travelling somewhere unknown to do a job.

Like usual I organised all of my clothing on a rail, I mainly collected long evening dresses made of silk and chiffon.

I started the day early as my train left Brighton at 7.32am and arrived at Sandling Station (Dover) 9.43 where Lotte picked me up from. We then drove to the location where the horses were based and were met by published model Cyan Cheung and her partner and make-up artist Lucy Parker.
The day started off with the model in make-up and also the ponies in make-up.
Once everyone was ready, I put the model in the shortest of the dresses first as it was a cold day and I wanted that dress out of the way before she got too cold.
The shoot took longer than usual as working with the ponies proved difficult as they obviously don't take direction well and at one point we did have Cyan being pulled across the field in high heels.
Despite this and the threatening rain we had a really enjoyable day and everyone got on really well. It was defiantly one of the most funniest photo-shoots I've been on!
The photographer had also brought along some Chiffon which added really well to the photographs although the ponies were a bit spooked by it. (I have a photo-shoot coming up next week which is based on the beach with a lot of material and maxi dresses so I feel really reassured how well the material shots came out!)
Another tip which I think is fantastic is that Cyan came with her dressing gown, this was so helpful as it kept her warm and cosy whilst changing and setting up etc, I will defiantly be investing in some dressing gowns for my models as I think it was a brilliant idea!
Anyway I hope you like the behind the scenes photos, and I shall be uploading the final edits soon!

Amazing website!

2010-08-13T09:17:00.002+01:00

A friend of mine recently showed me this website for Wrangler which I can defiantly say blew me away! They have taken the simple use of film and photography and combined it together so that the viewer can not only watch the images but also interact with them. From zooming in and moving the picture around you can also drag the models backwards and forwards. I particularly like slide 10 for bluebell...you can probably guess why!

Bird shoot for Battle Antiques

2010-08-07T13:19:00.002+01:00

So it's taken it's time but I have finally put up the photographs from the continued Ornithology project from the original Entomology and Ornithology project that I did the beginning of this year. I decided to re-do the shoot as I wanted to work with make-up artist -Lydia Pankhurst and I also wanted to develop the project from Studio to Location.

We used a small beautiful antique shop in Brighton called Battle Antiques but unfortunately the owner changed the times so we were very limited on how long we could shoot for. We therefore did a selection of photographs in the ground's of Brighton Pavilion (sometimes you have to compromise)

The reason for the delay of the editing of the photographs was due to the fact that the photographer not getting them back to me in time and also the fact that once I received them I was very disheartened. I think this will go down as experience but I'm defiantly going to do test shoots for my next projects, whilst the photographer was very lovely she was also very new and didn't have any direction nor the knowledge of composition and lighting. Whilst we may have a few photo's I am pleased with it was a shame that the location and the set wasn't used to its best advantage!

Despite that I am pleased with a few that I can use for my portfolio!

I hope you like them!

Thanks to Lydia Pankhurst for the make-up and Katie Roberts for her beautiful face.

Autumn Photo Shoot

2010-07-31T16:56:00.004+01:00

Today was the photo-shoot for the Autumn Collection for the magazine submission. The day started off really misty and we were really worried about the outcome for the shoot but luckily the weather cleared up and we were able to take some amazing photographs. We were really organised so the shoot ran smoothly and we finished up early! Here are the behind the scenes from the shoot that me and Naomi Farmer styled for. Hope you like them!
I collected a lot of clothing for the Autumn issue, mixing current high-street trends in with vintage pieces. Me and Naomi decided to put together a selection of looks each. My main looks were a short and shirt combo with knee high socks and fur hat, tailored trousers with shirt and laced boots with fur coat and checked scarf, the final look was a cream lace dress, with pink cardigan, pink lace leggings, grey knee high socks and laced boots with a straw hat.

Styled by me
Styled by me
Styled by Naomi
Styled by me
Styled by me

Lydia Pankhurst did the make-up for the shoot, I've worked with her previously with my 80s vs 18th Century shoot and also with a bird re-take shoot. I think she is an amazing make-up artist and defiantly one to watch!

Styled by Naomi
Styled by me

Final edited photo's will be up soon for us all to enjoy! Really looking forward to seeing these!

Dior Couture

2010-07-18T14:42:00.003+01:00

I have fallen in love with the recent Christian Dior collection by John Galliano. Inspired by flowers you can clearly see the linkage with the patterns, colours and in particular the shapes. I'm also loving the usage of the plastic headpieces and skirting which resembles the cellophane wrap on bouquets.
Although the flower inspiration is so obvious, it still reminds me of wrapped sweets...anyone for a Quality Street?

My up's and down's imagery!

2010-07-18T11:55:00.005+01:00

Hello my fellow blogging fans, I am so sorry for the lack of post's recently! All I can say is that my life has had a lot of changes during the past month...and what a crazy one its been!

I ended my 2nd year with a high 2.1 which I'm very pleased about as 25% of it goes towards my final graduating grade!

I also ended my 2 and half year relationship with my boyfriend. Sometimes things need to end. Unfortunately that left me living out of boxes back at the parents house and hence no time for blogging.

However, after a week of self destruction...nights out of heavy partying which left me seeing sunrise pretty much every day, I am defiantly back to my old self! Sometimes a week of selfish attitude can do wonders for that guilty feeling...break ups are not easy pie especially when your the one doing the breaking up!

Anyway I usually don't post my dirty laundry up on here but this time I felt it needed to be blogged about as my collection of imagery from the past month has defiantly left some impact. I see a future project coming on...enjoy!

Dressing for Graduate Fashion Week

2010-06-10T13:01:00.003+01:00

This week I went up to London for the Graduate Fashion Week where my university (The Art University College of Bournemouth) was showing.
I assigned myself up to help out the 3rd years by dressing backstage. My model Aine was lovely which was really fortunate as sometimes you can end up with a model that just stands there, thankfully she was really friendly and chatty!
This was the first time I've dressed for GFW and I loved it! Despite some of my designers outfits being complicated I managed to get my model dressed in the 3 minute time change from each outfit. My best description of the experience was the feeling you get whilst waiting for a roller coaster, being on the roller coaster and the adrenaline afterwards, it was so exciting!
If I fail at styling this would defiantly be my next choice of job, I loved it!
Here's the photographs from the actual catwalk (that I didn't see, hence being backstage!)
Well done to all the 3rd years, can't wait for our turn next year!

Festival Time!

2010-05-27T16:09:00.002+01:00

Pink Multi Bangle set Accessorize, Turquoise Wellies Hunter Originals, Cream Embroidered Top Miss Selfridge, Sun dress Warehouse, Sun Hat Gap, Feather Earrings Topshop, Sunglasses Asos, Gladiator Sandals Office, Bleached Frayed Denim Shorts Topshop, Brown Bag Urban Outfitters.

Yes it's that time of year again, the summer holidays! And the summer holidays in my case mean its festival time again! This year I'm doing Glastonbury and here's my selection of festival fancies to get us all excited about music, sleepless nights and mud again! So get your tent packed and ready and don't forget your face paints (and fingers crossed it will be sunny!!!)

My boyfriend complained that there was no festival clothes for him so here's my updated festival time with men's clothing! First time for everything, so I hope you guys approve!
Check Shirt Topman, Silver Wellies Hunter Originals, Denim Shorts Topman,Yellow Watch Asos, Blue T-Shirt Addict, Hat Liberty, Bracelet Asos, Aviators Asos, Brown Flip-Flops Office, Green Hoddie Element.

Divergence Metamorphosis Photoshoot. for Krister Selin

2010-05-27T15:30:00.001+01:00

These photographs are taken from a recent project I helped style for Krister Selin's illustration project. Krister applied his illustrations to garments to give a different outcome to his illustration work.

Me and my lovely styling partner Naomi Farmer put together the beautiful Jumpsuit by Scott Perkin and the stunning dress and scarf by Clare Harman on the equally beautiful Olivia Brotheridge. I am loving the tropical outcome that photographer Jacquline Boulton and Krister produced (who's to know that it was actually in his dusty garden greenhouse, we went to a tropical paradise honest!). Despite the photo-shoot being late notice, me and Nay were able to quickly put together the looks for Krister. I'm very pleased to say that my make-up skills don't look as amateur as I am when it comes to doing make-up and hair styling, mind you that may have something to do with my experience in my last project. This has defiantly made me consider doing a part time make-up course next year as quite often a make-up artist is difficult to come by.

Out with the old in with the new...

2010-05-27T15:20:00.000+01:00

Out with the old...
in with the new!

I don't know if any of you have noticed but Torie Rose blogspot has had an update! Yes that's right, my new logo is a shiny new uptake from my original rather shabby wilting rose. My lovely friend Lewes Jillett redesigned my logo for my new website and I felt that my blog could do with an update!
Oh and on that note, yes I have started a new website at www.toriesmith.co.uk. At the moment it only currently has my latest project and is still in the process of development but it will be receiving a similar update this summer with past and new projects.

Latest Project - 18th C vs 80's

2010-05-27T15:03:00.000+01:00

This is my most recent project which was based on the 18th Century and the 80's it was about exploring a life of extravagance from two different times that had many common attributes. I tired to give a story to my magazine spread (which was based on the fashion magazine Lula) and my film. The story was about being stuck inside wishing to escape and I'm hoping you can clearly see that this suggests this. I'm really pleased with my final outcome and all I can say is a very big thank you to the huge team I had that brought it all together! Hope you like it!

Sea of Bunnies

2010-05-22T19:29:00.000+01:00

I came across this modern take on The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Hokusai today. I'm loving the sea of bunnies called Uprisings by Kozyndan. It's nice to see that inspiration is still apparent in today's modern art.

Back to Brighton!

2010-05-22T18:55:00.001+01:00

So I'm back in Brighton this weekend for a serious detox after handing in my final project on Tuesday (will be posted soon) anyway I say detox but I actually mean partying hard and shopping...did you expect otherwise?

Anyway what have I been up to?
Well...I went to the Spindle Magazine launch party on Thursday night at Madame Geisha's which was pretty exciting as its a new Brighton based magazine. Also my friend Lydia who is a make-up artist did the make-up for the catwalk show, so a big well done to her!
Anyway despite being very tipsy we had a good night, I especially enjoyed my friend Scott's enthusiasm as he was 'Adored by all' in his tiger jacket!

We also spent a good few hours in Snoopers collecting, yes I am already planning my next project in five months time! Hoping to get some great inspiration this summer including trips and building up a portfolio! Wish me luck x

The Scrunchie is Back...?

2010-05-03T18:59:00.000+01:00

Remember the time when we all used to have ponytails and donned them with Scrunchies? Well we thought those days had gone but I was in Miss Selfridges the other day and happened to stumble across the little big of elastic decorated in fabric...yes the Scrunchie? So will we go back to our days of old and start to wear these erm beauties again? Or shall we just pretend we didn't notice and move quickly over to the over side of the accessory rack? For me the days of wearing my hair scrapped back in a ponytail will never be repeated as this look defiantly does not suit someone with hardly any eyebrows! Sometimes things were not meant to be repeated!

Candy Colours

2010-04-26T22:44:00.000+01:00

Pink Pumps Lacoste, Ice Gem Ring Miss Selfridges, Yellow SundressTopshop, Purple Shorts Dorothy Perkins, Cupcake Charm Juicy Couture, Pink Bra Jack Wills, Mint Jamie Jeans Topshop, Cake Earrings Miss Selfridges, Green Nail Varnish Superdrug, Ice Cream Brooch Tatty Devine, Bow Vest Miss Selfridges.

So we've all been a bit busy recently and suddenly the sun is upon us and we are now faced with the crazy idea of actually stepping out of our dark winter wardrobes into something more lively! Soft candy colours is a great way to introduce Spring into your old Winter wardrobe and wake it up! So put on your pastel shades and lets go get ice cream!

We all secretly want to be a Topshop Girl!

2010-04-08T11:16:00.000+01:00

Yes to the denim waistcoats, shorts and skirts, lace layers, cropped tops and jackets, paisley prints. No to the body hugging maxi dresses, strange graphic leggings and socks with sandals (didn't our Grandad's teach us socks with sandals are not a good look?!)

and a defiant thumbs up to metallic gold nail varnish!

Bring on Summer!