This was such a fun shoot! Catherine, my client, and the mind behind Australian sunglass company, Isson, came to me with a new range called Bauhaus. I was instantly excited. While studying architecture in uni, Bauhaus was a constant source of inspiration for me in my designs. We chatted on handsfree for over an hour while I drove down Parramatta Rd in peak hour. We were both on the same page and pumped. Catherine wanted to give me creative freedom, and see what I came up with.

I was able to explore and delve into areas normally restricted by a tight brief. To help the creative process, I decided to fictionalize 4 kooky geniuses who studied at Bauhaus in 1934. Loosely based on a few of my 20th Century design heroes, and a few of stylist Mikey Abouyi’s muses, firstly I came up with some funny German names, and then wrote a small character summary for each. I decided to add quirky pets to the mix, like in a classic portrait sitting. The fictitious characters were a way for the stylist, hair and makeup artists to understand and then visually create these characters, and it helped the models get into character on the shoot. The team was amazing, it was such a fun day. My house was turned into a menagerie, and Pushkin has still not forgiven me for letting Fluffy the cat in the studio.

Below each portrait I have included the little character study of each. Since then I have used character studies for other briefs. As I am not so fabulous at drawing, it’s a great way to get ideas across to clients.

Client: Isson
Photographer: Cybele Malinowski
Post Production: Justin Malinowski
Stylist: Mikey Abouyi
Hair: Verity Griffiths
Makeup: Rachel Montgomery
Models extraordinaire: Daniel @ 6wolves, Lauren Moody @ Chaddys
Pets: Thanks Morten, owner of Fluffy the hairless cat, Raoul Tackelberg, owner of the parrot Nevill, Rachel, owner of the cute little pug Audrey, and Dorrie, owner of our 2 guinea pigs.

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