Art direction, set design, photographer ILONA D. VERESK
Stylist ULYA NAGUMANOVA
Key makeup MARINA KOLOSOVA
Hairstyle ELIZABETH FOGEL
Model SOPHIA @ TANN MODELS
Makeup assistant NATALIA CHERNUSSKAYA
Technical Director, photo assistant BARKALOV IGOR
Backstage photographer VERA LINNIK
ILONA D. VERESK (Creative Director, Photographer, Set Designer):
“For me, photography is more than photographic and technical skills. It’s a way for me to explore the world and bring my ideas into reality, to learn how textures and colors work together, how common physics turn into magic, and how to bend reality. You’ve heard quotes like “Catching the right moment is a photographer’s main aim” and so on, but to me the opposite – creating the moment – is more interesting. In fact, it’s what my productions are all about.
This is a shoot I produced to show my students how a large group of people can collaborate and create something together. Each team member might be talented, but the best results can only be reached if we stop thinking about “I am” and think about “We are”.
I’m trying to explore my thoughts and destroy stupid myths from my mind with each new series. Mixing the artificial and the natural, mixing cultural heritage with modern fashion and ideas of postmodernism, working with colors and strange combinations of textures and patterns – These are the things that always inspires me.
This editorial was born when I was under strong impression of some of Alessandro Michele’s ideas for Gucci, tropical flowers and endless rain in Moscow. I’m still trying to go out from the cocoon of greyness around me with my works.
Colored lights are so untypical feature for my work. I love it so much and I’d love to integrate it into my upcoming works. But, for now, for me, it is an experiment.”
MARINA KOLOSOVA (Key Makeup Artist):
“My goal was to create a slightly dichotomic makeup: sleek but lived in, fashionable but strange, vivid enough but muted enough at the same time. A huge part of the inspiration came from our model and her genuine features; but, firstly , it was all about the light and the leaves we planned to have in the picture. I still feel the vibe we had on the set, and would jump on board to work with our team anytime.”
NATALIA CHERNUSSKAYA (Makeup Artist):
“Bigger teams always produce more complex final results. Being an assistant allows you to observe how multiple ideas from multiple people can transform into a single picture. It’s also amazing how you look at the final photo where the model seems so mysterious and mesmerizing through the clouded plastic — and have no idea that behind the scenes there are like three people in strange poses trying to hold that plastic wrap in place while spraying it with water and making slightly inappropriate jokes. This is one of the reasons I genuinely love my job.”
ELIZABETH FOGEL (Hair stylist):
“Real creativity begins with team. I always listen to the general idea, but I often bring my vision and professional advice which will even better open an image. I enjoyed work, especially creating damp textures on hair. I think we created some fashionable and inspiring images.”
