The Folk Law

It’s true, we’ve always been fascinated by people’s creative journeys. We all want a sneaky peek into people’s thought-processes and inspiration to create. So, we thought we’d let you in on a little conception-to-completion guide to one of our inspirational fashion editorials, Folk Law in our May issue. And, because we just can’t show every single shot we produce, we’d like to share a few shots that didn’t quite make the final cut.

In conversation with our homegrown tastemakers, photographer Lee Malone and stylist Sinead Keenan who made it all happen.

S I have wanted to shoot a tribal story for such a long time now and when I saw the trend come through so strongly in the Spring Summer 2014 collections I knew I had to do it. Lee was the perfect person to team up with, I love the rawness he brings to his photography.

L We both pulled together some mood boards and the overlap and similarity of our imagery was astounding, we were the right fit from the start.

S We decided on studio instead of location as we wanted to keep it modern and fashion-focused and didn’t want the fashion to look like costume, and let’s be honest, no place in Ireland in February is going to look like the savannah you would want as a location for a tribal story.

L I loved Sinead’s styling from the offset. I really get her approach of layering garments to make each one shine.

S Clashing prints and textures, using odd proportions and shapes is right up my street and the Tribal theme allowed me to really push it, mixing pieces that you might not instinctively put together. As a stylist, it’s these more dramatic themes that inspire and excite you.

S The stores were brimming with great tribal inspired pieces. I was actually doing a bit of work for Clerys and I spotted a great jacquard oversized coat by Windsmoor – a label that would be a firm favourite with a more mature customer, but I loved the idea of taking something completely out of context and making it look like something else.

S I knew we needed something to add a sense of drama for a close-up shot and when hairstylist Michael Leong suggested using a Penneys woven hat as a turban, we were all a little skeptical but once he did his magic, it just worked.

L I’m very character driven and believe a fashion editorial should feel like every shot should look like it was taken from a movie. Even within the boundaries of a studio, we can still achieve this overall vibe. The styling, hair and make up need to gel with the model’s character and then we’re good to go.

L If there is no story then there is no start, middle and end.

Sive O’Brien @siveob