Creating My Gareth Pugh Design

Making of the Masks

Equipment:

-two cardboard masks

-black glossy spray paint

-gold glossy spray paint

-1p coins

-glue gun

Step by step:

1. I first sprayed one mask completely gold and one mask completely black, making sure that they both had a glossy finish and no cardboard colour was showing through. 

2. I next sprayed half the coins gold and half the coins black, again making sure they were completely  covered. 

3. I used a glue gun to stick the coins all over both of the masks, with the gold going on top of the gold and then black on top of the black. I tried to make it so the coins completely covered the mask; however I sprayed the masks just to make sure the masks looked all one colour. I left one side of one of the masks free of coins as I knew the masks were going to cross over so they wouldn't be seen and may cause trouble when sticking the masks together.

4. I held the masks against my face to measure where I wanted them both to be positioned and I then stuck them together with a glue gun. I found that this wasn't particularly sturdy, but it held them together in place well enough for the mask to stay together temporarily. Below are images of how the mask looked when I had done all the above steps.

Side view.

Front view.

Side view.

Styling
I wanted to take inspiration from one of Gareth Pugh's SS16 catwalk looks because I wanted to see what the makeup and hair look would look like with his collection. I wanted to use leather in my outfit because I think it looks very strong, seductive and powerful; I like the structure and she that leather can create. I think leather can also be seen as rebellious which I think reflects Gareth Pugh's SoHo Bad Girls. Gold, black and red coins have been incorporated into the looks, either as necklaces, sleeves or collars, but also as whole pieces. I was inspired by the three looks below because they all incorporated leather and then relatively subtle coin decoration.

Collage of images made by me from

LONDONFASHIONWEEK, 2016. Gareth Pugh [viewed 12th February 2016].
Available from: http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers_profile.aspx?DesignerID=123&SeasonID=57

I was inspired by the leather jacket feel of the outfit on the left, the fact that the coins were on the collar in the middle look and then I liked the subtlety of the coins in the look on the right. I therefore decided to use a black, structured leather jacket and decorate the collar with gold coins. I decided to only put the coins round the outside of the collar because I didn't want the clothing to take attention away from my makeup and hair look in my final catwalk image. I sprayed all the coins with a metallic gold spray and then stuck them on individually with blue tack. I was hoping to stick them on with a glue gun; however they stayed on well enough with blue tack and I didn't want to ruin the jacket! I want the styling to look sexy so I don't want the model to wear anything underneath the leather jacket. 

Continuing the Look

1. To create the very tight material all over her head I used black tights. I pulled one leg over the model's head and then cut a hole at the top where I wanted the model's ponytail to come out. I then cut a line up to her nose so that the mouth could be seen and then tucked the loose parts up either side to create a smooth line round to the back of the neck.

2. I asked my model to put the mask on so I could see what it would look like with the black tights. I also gave my model a quick matte red lip so that I could get an idea of what the colours and shapes would look like together.

I was happy with how the mask was looking with the black tights on the head because I felt it gave more of a sleek look because I felt that if we saw the model's hair it would look slightly messy and there would be too many colours. My model had blonde hair with lots of highlights so I think it would have made the look too colourful, instead of keeping it very abstract and almost futuristic. I was inspired to put tight material over the model's head by Gareth Pugh's SS16 Fashion Film because their models covered their faces completely to hide their identity and I thought it looked really effective and made the film more about the fashion than the people wearing it; this is why I used a mask to cover the model's face. In my final shoot I will out through a high ponytail through the hole at the top and add coins around the hole to add decoration and to cover any rough edges. Her hair is blonde so I think it will bring more gold colours into the look and therefore emphasise the gold in the mask to give a very expensive and luxurious feel. I like that the coins are very shiny because it brings in the metallic 2016 spring/summer trend. I like that the lips are a matte red colour because they stand out against the gold and black colours and they follow the 2016 spring/summer trend of matte red lips. I also like that the red lips give the look a more sexy and fierce look as I think red lips represents confidence and seduction, which I think is what Gareth Pugh wanted his SoHo Bad Girls to have. When I shoot the look the model will have perfected skin to give a flawless look and she will be wearing styling that reflects Pugh's SS16 collection.

I am concerned with how I am actually going to attach the mask onto the model's head without her holding it. I may experiment with tying thick elastic round the back of the mask or even securing the mask with duck tape. This is what I am most nervous for with the shoot so hopefully I will be able to find a way around this.