Over the past decade, fashion images have proved to be politically and aesthetically provocative, economically useful, and ideologically powerful. Our memory of fashion has been through fashion photography and its publishing, rather than the actual fashion itself. But how willing are we to take it into a serious visual and cultural discourse – beyond its aesthetics and beauty? Our Fashion Editor and expert stylist Thobeka Mbane believes that it is all about the vision and concept of the shoot.
Inspired by the importance of embracing community, the fashionista, in collaboration with illustrious photographer Kitso Kgori, crafted a masterly fashion photoshoot showcasing the beauty of having a soul tribe. Captured at the Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town, the shoot is a visual representation of the unconditional love in community and is envisioned by models Bandile M and Princess Claudia Cherylie.
As we have established, concept and vision are essential for decoding the deeper meaning of fashion images. With that said, if we look at fashion photography in a more nuanced way, we should maybe ask the seemingly obvious yet impossible-to-answer question of how we define the genre of fashion photography and which responsibilities it takes on. For Thobeka, the beauty of community was her muse.
“The shoot was inspired by love and the importance of community. Always being there for each other, protecting each other and sticking together because we’re generally better as a unit. With that concept in mind, myself and photographer Kitso Kori sat down and decided how we can portray this ideas visually”, shares the stylist.
As a fashion fad, the fashion choices for the photo shoot were the star of its entirety for Thobeka. Boasting pops of colour, the mode was a manifestation of the current fashion landscape which adores bright colours. Indigo and rose pink dominated the park, with coral orange commanding its own unique style. Speaking about the clothes, Thobeka shared that selecting clothes primarily depended on her muses.
“As a stylist, selecting clothes only depends on who I am putting them on and what the concept for the styling is. I pick clothes that make sense for what I’m working on, and who I am working with. This shoot was no different.”
The stylist further added that for her recent shoot, colour, and lightheartedness were at the core of the choice of vogue.
“For this shoot, I selected clothes from Fuata Moyo. Their collection was a highlight of love, which tied in well with the concept of community. The other brand I worked with was Arthoeksteen because his clothes are so colourful, and playful and I wanted it to bring playfulness to everything with this project. His clothes are just so cute they literally give you joy, expressed Thobeka.
Evoking a range of emotions, the photographer explored various visual effects from black and white images to close-up shots – all of which portrayed the photoshoot’s concept beautifully.