Le Magazine Issue Four, Le Femma Fatale, Shoot 3- Mistress of Mystery

Mistress of Mystery was the result of a whole lot of different things falling into place. The first was what I like to call the "Modern Materialistic Marie Antoinette." I wanted to play with the idea of modern excess in a way that was subtle but not over the top and our marvelous photographer Hamish Ta-me had been playing with the idea of doing a shoot on Sydney's Oxford St. at night by the light of ad. billboards.
Somehow the idea worked a modern Marie caught in the bright city lights of materialistic ads thrusting messages in the faces of passes by on one of the busiest and most eccentric streets in Sydney.
Then another character came into play, I was researching 'femme fatale's' and the name that seemed to keep appearing was Mata Hari. I had never heard of her before but once I started reading about her I became infatuated with her oriental burlesque style and her intriguing escapades,multiple disguises and controversial death. It was completely clear why her name is one of the names most commonly associated with the infamous, 'femme fatale,' character. Have a read for yourself.
The story was complete, showgirl style headpieces, metallic dresses and bloomers, cotton undergarments, bras exposed for all to see and ultra modern costume jewelery, "pimp daddy," is the new diamond necklace. All thanks to Snog the Frog who really deserve a post all of their own!
Our model, Emily Keily, from EMG models, with her doll like bone structure was the perfect person to play our modern Mata Hari, Mistress of Mystery.
And the rest is history...or is it?

Le Magazine Issue Four, Le Femme Fatale, Shoot 2, Lolita-Lights Camera Blossom

Lolita-Lights, Camera, Blossom came from the idea of flowers. Nothing says spring/summer and femininity like flowers. Then we found our face and the story grew from there. Alexis Whelan is one of Vivien's Model Management's newest gems, the day after I booked her, after having had my eye on her for months, her father rang me. Very unusual, I got a little fright when he said who he was, I thought I was about to receive some lecture, she is only fifteen after all, but no her father was ringing to tell me that, if I wanted to interview Alexis as our Face To Watch "I should know she has had a very interesting life...she grew up on yacht!" Yes Alexis spent her childhood sailing round the world on a yacht, learning different languages and attending school in foreign countries including Africa and Spain.
I was intrigued, suddenly my one page interview turned into two. "Ask her about the time we nearly sank and the time we nearly got robbed by pirates," he told me. I did. Read the full feature to find out the details.
On set Alexis was so mature, not like a fifteen year old at all, a little timid at first but keen to give us her best and the transformation was amazing. She went from being a school girl to a young beauty and when her hair was swept back for the final shots..well she turned into an elegant woman and suddenly, Lights, Camera, Blossom turned into Lolita-Lights, Camera, Blossom because Alexis was like a fifteen year old woman!
The most delightful moment of the whole shoot was when we explained to her that part of the concept was the idea of today's self made models, so she had to hold a camera and pretend to shoot herself and just like that Alexis came out with, "oh you mean selfies," and we all laughed, there was the fifteen year old girl!
This was our sugar sweet, butter wouldn't melt in my mouth femme fatale, flowers became overt nipple adornments and the idea of a garter poking out from underneath the sweetest dresses, sometimes covered in flowers bought on a rapture of high school nostalgia from me. For the days when I used to wear thigh high stockings under my long dull gray skirt, somehow knowing I was wearing them made me feel a little more daring. Alexis completely understood.
Ampersand Bookstore in Paddington was the perfect location for the end of the shoot, all the books and old world charm captured the intelligence of a true femme fatale and the elegance that lies at the heart of every female.
Tim Kindler was our talented photographer for this one and Michael Halader and Ashleigh Croker pulled off our Brigitte Bardot meets Audrey Hepburn make-up and hair transformation respectively.
Enjoy the photos and don't be afraid to wear a few flowers!