I finally shot my “look-book”, for the clothes I sewed this summer. I am not pretentious to call it a “collection”, as I know that’s more than what I’ve done. But still, I wanted to photograph my clothes (mostly wearable dresses) on my model friend, Roxana, to post them on my gallery (soon enough); until then, I thought of giving you a sneak peak of the hair&make-up and some of the dresses. We had a great time, she was very tired, but pulled it off professionally.
More photos from my “Diana Bobar fw07 look book” [sounds pretty cool, huh?], soon. I didn’t want to make a name up just for the sake of it, so I’m sticking with my own name for my designs.
8 Responses to "Diana Bobar Lookbook Preview"
this is so exciting! i can’t wait to see the rest!!!
Goodness, D, when do you have time to do it all?!! Go to school, make things, style, shoot, have relationships, change residences and look fabu- put together every day!! And oh, yeah, cut your own hair! Which by the way, I applaud- you have guts- and skills. Me, I’m more afraid of the scissors coming near my hair than going to the dentist- but then again, I’m curly (and my mommy used to cut my hair real short when I was a kid- can you say “Ch- Ch- Chia? Chia Pets and Chia heads, the Elizabeth edition- available in small, puffy and extra puffy sizes” ;)
Sorry for not saying “hi” in a while (I wrote you several emails, but didn’t get around to send them).
Now, let’s play Critique, he, he, he, evil laugh! (what, Halloween is approaching!)
-Getting a look book together- Good idea.
-Making clothes- Good Place to Start, starting even better, good for you for not procrastinating.
-Making garments only and not a collection, or, to come down to Earth- a group (collection is ambitious even for designers who sell to stores already)- Okay, for starters. You have to begin somewhere and this is as good of a place as any. Explore (that’s what you’re doing with each piece, learning the craft, and looking to find your own voice), live and learn, the next time, do a group (if you want, I can write up something on putting together one- that’s the least I got out of my overpriced, time consuming college ed)
-The SHOOT:
Before I start, I should clarify that the general purpose of a Look Book is not the same as that of a portfolio. A portfolio showcases select examples of your collective body of work as a designer, artist etc to get more work (job, free lance projects, etc). A Look Book is usually used to showcase a season’s line or group- used for marketing purposes- getting into stores (though line sheets are commonly used), media kits etc. From your shoot, it looks more editorial (glossies), than a typical Look Book- most look books I’ve seen show the looks- like you did (as opposed to just individual pieces) but in an unobstructed full frontal view (sometimes the back as well, if there are interesting details). They show them either on models if they had a runway show, or on dress forms (expensive little buggers, but they come in handy for a variety of purposes if you don’t have a model- which lucky you, you do have a live doll to play with- where are all my friends when I need to poke them with needles?…).
-The Garments- The most interesting one is the long blue striped one (2nd pic). Cute color and print combo, compatible fabric weight (important point to score). I don’t know about the care/ washing instructions compatibility- e.g. can you wash the garment without damaging one or both of the fabrics, not having one or both bleed color into each other, etc, or will it be a dry clean only piece? But then again, that’s advanced design consideration (design is not only the aesthetics part), though it is necessary for any item that will go into production to be sold. Aesthetically, it’s a consistent look throughout the garment (which is good). The gather on the hem, take it apart and either forget about it, or it if looks too plain, move it to the side (the center- ish is just a weird place for it, it looks like pants, but not quite, plus it’s giving that beautiful slender lady with low body fat percentage a… tummy!!). The top has upbeat details (the inside out gather may have been a time- saving cop- out, but you pulled it off- it looks cheeky and unconventional.) Craftsmanship- wise though, the tie around the neck is unfinished and on the wrong side- tsk, tsk, tsk! Repeat after me: “I, designer Diana, of Diana Bobar House, Solemnly Promise to Never Again Not Finish a Tie, Strap, or Waistband” (they are all similar elements in construction hence the grouping). Then, before you move, also say “I, Diana STYLIST and PHOTOGRAPHER, Somberly Promise to Not Overlook little Details in a Photo Shoot Again.” While I’m at it, is that her white bra showing in the back of her dress in the first pic?
OK, the rest of the dresses: I’d like to see more of the white dress (#1)- it has so much potential- it’s all white, but done right. When doing monochromatic you do want different textures to add richness, and the top has enough of a damask stripe to do just that. The empire style is very young and fresh, a good choice and complement to the fabric. I’d also like to see more of the black garment (#4)- I can’t tell if it’s a top or a dress. The short blue striped one (#4) (you like horizontal stripes, don’t you?!), I don’t know what to say, the pose counters the silhouette of the dress (but that’s a model/ photographer/ creative director issue). Which brings us to…
-The Styling:
1. Let’s start with the background- lose it! (Add a bouquet of flowers and you’re set for an excursion through time to 1970’s Bucharest). If you are going to do fabric, in any way shape or form (including garments), make sure to steam or press them (see the fold lines in the fabric) It’s not laundry, it’s Fashion, dah-liiing! Not to mention the unrelated gold piece sticking out at the top right corner of the 2nd picture. It’s a color unrelated to the story in any way shape or form. A clean white background goes a long way- even a wall will work better if a professional background is not available. Note: Don’t photograph white on white. The first dress gets lost. If you were to go into Photoshop and remove the white, you’d remove the background and the dress. Contrast where appropriate.
2. The red ribbon- close your eyes for a moment and remember the oath you took against unfinished items.
3. The hairstyle- I like it! (though the next time you do it, slick all the little fly away hairs- especially the ones on the back of her head (pic #3) I’m just not sure I like it in this context- the makeup would definitely have to be stronger though. Experiment. They’re called test shots.
3. Poses. Roxana, this is for you too. (Diana, you’re not off the hook, you’re the one behind the lens.) When showcasing a garment, pay attention to the silhouette, if it’s a tight dress, don’t go against it and have a wide stance, save it for pants, a trapeze or A-line skirt. Open up your shoulders, you’re slouching, stand up proud, showoff the dress, make me want to be you, make me buy it! You look unsure, you look like you want to hide, and the 3rd pose is just a mess! Are you sitting down, are you standing up, falling, leaning, resting? Also, don’t open up your legs when you’re in a short dress. You’re lovely, don’t take a trashy pose. Strong is not trashy. The biggest issue to be aware of is your neck. Four pictures, no neck in any of them. Diana, have you not learned from ANTM, CNTM, AuNTM, and UKNTM??? Hours and hours were spent on your education watching You Tube videos, I expect more from you! ;) Also Roxana/ D, watch the eyes- it;s very easy to have a blank stare (most people photograph like that), especially when you’re tired, but a model is not most people, so practice, it’s not easy, I know, but work on conveying an emmotion through your eyes rather than “hanging out in front of the camera”. The forth pic is a definite improvement, but Diana, we’re almost missing her right eye. Basically, Diana watch every detail and Roxana be narcissistic, watch yourself in the mirror and get an attutude! You’re now off the hook, lol (I know you haven’t personally asked for critiques, but you got caught in the cross fire when Diana did a few entries ago on her other blog, so sorry if I come accross as harsh, but I really don’t mean to criticize, and hope to give some actual good advice you can use. Who said being a model was easy? Yeah, right!) Diana, it’s not over for you yet, we still have…
4. Composition:
The Good- the Forth picture- great, directional line.
The Bad- I don’t know which one is worse- the 3rd- but that’s just my overall dislike with the pose or the 2nd- you cropped off her pretty head- along- with- her- hair- style- and- eyebrows!! She now has a reason to slouch, the girl is trying to fit in the picture!
And lastly
5. Lighting: Shadows, need I say more? I don’t know what practical advice to give you, I’m not a prosessional photographer, best bet, make friends with one, hang out, assist, ask questions, and beg for, borrow or steal his lights.
Alrighty, breathe now! I’m done and now the rest of your fans hate me, but I’d rather them hate me now than pros not like your work later on because nobody told you these things. Oh, the joys of being self taught! The freedom and the darkness of having to figure everything out yourself. Hope I can help. :)
Elizabeth
I totally agree with Elizabeth when it comes to photo issues. Too bad we’re not in the same city. I would have happily photographed your look book.
Hope to be able to come to Timisoara at the end of February or smth. We’ll do the summer look book then ;)
But, well done for starting to put things together. Hope to see you at RFW soon ;)
very cool
i think you did a really good job. well done!
Diana Bobar is cool enough to be a brand name :) And don’t be too modest about it, I personally know no one who makes her own designs so professionally - makes you special ;)
Elizabeth, you are right about most of the things you said. Also, I think no matter how good you are in one field, there is ALWAYS room for improvement.
Thanks for taking the time to write soooooo much:) Appreciate it. Hugs and kisses.
Thanks Sasa, Gida and Candid Cool.
“no matter how good you are in one field, there is ALWAYS room for improvement” You got that right! Look at Largerfeld- he’s in his early hundreds ;)- and he decided to pick up a camera and become a photographer too! Not that out of all the people in the world, Claudia Shiffer would be the hardest to photograph (sheesh, some people have it all, huh? lol :)) but still, point being- if passion drives you, you will always be learning.
And you’re welcome, I hope I didn’t sound harsh, but I know whenever I work on something, it’s good to get an outside opinion. Artists/ designers are so attached of their work (how could we not be, it comes from within, right?), it’s hard to get perspective and another set of eyes can’t hurt.
D, if you want some pointers on your next collection, email me, I’d be happy to write up some guidelines, I think it would help you. In the meantime, get busy with learning the basics of patternmaking (I’m not an expert at it, but the basics will help you soooooo much, you’ll see). Start developing your blocks (in school they call them “slopers”- but no one in the industry uses that term. Don’t use it, but know about it- when someone talks about their “slopers”, they’re in school). Then you can manipulate these blocks in a lot of different styles. Grading sizes larger and smaller will make more sense too.
Alex, thank you for agreeing with what I said, it’s a huge compliment to be validated be a working photographer, considering I don’t have experience behind the lens. I have to say that the Fashion Crime Scene shoot could have gone so wrong (seriously, how many times have we seen this concept butchered quite literally in gruesome spreads? yick! They seek controversy, instead missing the mark and turning it to disgust), but your shoot was so thoughtfully planned out and the attention to details was evident in the process (I watched the making of) and in the final result, you managed to make it classy, but far from boring. On the contrary, it has a certain edge, but it’s not harsh, you have a very refined sensibility and awareness in your work, it was illustrated with a lot of finesse. Quite ingenious too- by the way Diana, if you’re gonna do shadows, that’s the way to do it, Alex did it on purpose, lol- the cart board thief was so “dead on” the perfect punchline :) and the over- sized scale of the shadow compared to the model, who looks deceivingly relaxed and unarmed, makes you ask what does she know that we don’t. It really brings another dimension to the picture, it engages the viewer to wonder, to want to know who else was there, the need to see the next picture. There’s tension, but it makes the viewer curios, not turn away. Very mysterious and SMART. (how often can we say that about a pictorial?!)
The model, the wardrobe, the styling, the set, everything worked together to tell the story. You took a concept that was messed up by prominent international magazines and did it right and that’s not an easy task to accomplish. And black and white always makes things look better and it makes so much sense in this pictorial! I can go on, and on, I always want to jot down only two- three lines, I don’t set out to do lengthy commentaries, but when it comes to fashion it’s hard to shut up! (maybe I should write all this on Stiletto’s comment section or at least on SoFash’On’s entry about your shoot? duh… Should I double post it on your entry? Diana, what say you?).
Alex, did you Photoshop the shadow in the first picture- the one with the Mango tank top? Her shadow has a hat on! If that happened naturally, the Gods of Fashion Photography are really gifting you! So much attention to detail, I love photographs that make me take a second look and all of these definitely do. Very well edited, not a single one is there by mistake, or as a filler. There is a reason for each one in the story.
The one on the steps (Dada jumper), where she drops the mark, she is so fierce and hypnotic! There’s movement- the mark is affected by gravity, you’re aware of time, but she looks immune to it, what’s more, she draws you in with her piecing stare. Besides, the line says do not cross, but she took the mark off of the scene, so we now she did cross it… She has an “I did it, and you can’t make me not do something I want to do” Attitude.
The one with the ties (George Hojbota dress) is so suggestive, and the fact that they are such characteristic MEN’s items, makes you wonder what happened to their owners for her to get possession of the “trophies”; who knows, she’s not telling… in words. Does anyone else think of Native American scalps or am I completely nuts and read into things more than they are intended? I see a similarity in the principle. Besides, they are now women’s accessories, she made them her own- into belts.
The picture with the mask on (hanorac Geaorge Hojbota)- classic angular pose, but we see a different view- we usually see profiles of this pose; and the angle of her face- any other person and this would have been downright ugly, but how perfectly sized are her nostrils?! (strange thing to be complimented on Laura, but it’s true) Not easy to make that angle look good.
The editing is wonderful, every picture tells a story- and to me, the second one (colanti, capa Irina Marinescu) can take on several meanings- did she do it? Is she the criminal returning to the scene? Or is she the victim, alive and well- did she fool everyone? Does she have nine lives, supernatural powers? Or is she a tough hands- on detective who wants to see crime through the victim’s eyes to get a better understanding and who will catch the criminal? Is she a vigilante who disregards the law’s restrictions (the tape again) and takes justice into her own hands, hunting down the criminal? This is what I was referring to earlier, this is where I want to see more of the story.
When they usually do this shoot, we see blood, bruises, they rely on a lot of film special effects make-up and lose the message of fashion, but your interpretation is rather empowering, she is not a statistic. Quite a different point of view. Whenever I’ve seen the other editorials I was horrified and thought that deranged individuals are in fact capable to do that to a person, I did not want to identify with the models in those pictures, no matter how many thousands of dollars worth of clothes and jewelry they had on, but in your pictorial, she’s strong and in control, several steps ahead of danger. That makes me want to be like her, therefore making me notice what she is wearing- which is the whole point of it- sell me the clothes while you give me a message I can or want to identify with (and Diana, maybe this will help a little with your quest to find what you want to say- it is fashion, even art, AND it also commercial- a business)
And I am not even going to comment of the seventh picture (Dada dress)- how sexy is it?! Transparent dress, yet the body is not revealed (I didn’t know that was even possible!!). It’s very alluring, yet, do we dare cross the line?… It’s meant to keep us away, but everything is inviting us in. Alex, this pictorial is layered, intriguing and profound without being loud. Wow and Bravo.
As far as the video, I second the English subtitles for non- Romanian speakers, and for the natives, all you behind- the- scenes crew, don’t be shy and quiet, speak up! You have a right to be proud of your work (especially after six months of planning!), you’re very good at your job and knowledgeable, people want to hear what you have to say! One little note to Roxana, I realize this was an informal behind- the- scenes and not a television segment (you never know when it can turn into one), but as a viewer I feel you started off strong talking about the concept, and then you fizzled out a little towards the end while talking about the trench coat and the last two dresses, I really wanted to hear more of what you had to say about the clothes. Also, tell me something I don’t know about the garments, describe and point out the details or what makes them “interesting” rather than just saying they are. And if you get nervous (I sweat bullets even when I do home movies for my family), don’t call any of them “weird” (even if they look like a silver Robin Hood Space Suit- shh, I didn’t say that), wing it, make something up, if all else fails, pretend to be a radio commentator and tell us everything you can about the outfit we cannot see, and look into the camera (or wherever you’re supposed to look to look like you’re looking at the looker- no, wait, viewer! Phew, say that fast five times, :)), not at the clothes. You’ve seen the clothes, you know them very well, tell us about them- and don’t forget to mention the labels- you mentioned most, but one or two (the dress with the silver circles, and I couldn’t hear if you said the last one).
Did anyone notice Laura in the mirror on the right side of the shot towards the end? Yes, I’m a pain, I notice details, I can’t help it. Editing, oops, cut out the portion where expensive designer clothes are dropped on the floor (you wouldn’t believe how touchy designers can get about their samples/ garments!!!) You did a great job selecting and putting together all the looks. Behind the scene videos are always so much fun- and educational. Oh, who’s the four legged, furry Munchkin? How did you guys concentrate, I woulda forgotten all about work and played with him, cute, cute, cute, lol. :)
OK- I’ll take off my critic hat now, before everyone around becomes completely annoyed with me, sorry to hijack the comments (again). :)
Elizabeth