there's a secret i've been perfecting.

all photographs and edits by Tamara Lawniczak, 2013.

one can argue that the art of photography is being able to capture a candid moment in time. this is true. but to me to perfect this art is more than just having the technical skills to work a camera. anyone can learn that, but not everyone has the eye for composition or the imagination for concepts. which leads me to my official introduction to this creative i’ve had the pleasure of getting to know really well and finally collaborating with. my friend, Tamara Lawniczak. small in stature, but large in talent and creativity. i loved every minute of working with this girl, and i think it’s because she shares the same obsessive compulsive-disorder as me. she is an absolute perfectionist with her work and so i know i can trust her with the smallest detail. but besides her artistry i am honoured to have her be part of my network and social circle.

special thanks to the following people who made our visions come to life. such a great job all round. please take the time to click on their respected sites and ‘like’ them on FB.

photographer | TAMARA LAWNICZAK www.tamaralawniczak.com

https://www.facebook.com/TamaraLawniczakPhotography 

hair and make up | RENNAN DIZON www.rennandizon.com

https://www.facebook.com/rennandizonart
an amazing artist and close friend of mine who i've been collaborating with for years.
model | SEPIDEH ASGARI
a beauty that i have admired and had been wanting to shoot since last year. 
work experience assistant | BRANDY POSE
a beautiful young lady whom i've had the opportunity to watch grow. my first willing work experience girl.

view the rest of album HERE.

the epitome of our being.

i have this thing with collecting garment pieces i knowingly well won’t have anywhere to wear it to, but i purchase them because i know it will sit perfectly in my room amongst the other gems i’ve accumulated over the years. or alternatively, use them in a fashion shoot. this addiction goes hand in hand with what i like to do in my spare time collaborating with photographers and models.
earlier in the week i had been disheartened by the lack of appreciation and acknowledgement i receive from the hierarchy at work. the only cure was to surround myself with free spirits who want something so much more than what society measures success to be. so we sat down over coffee and planned a life in a studio in Brooklyn, a job that would allow me to travel, and pencilling in a forthcoming exhibition i will hold in the new year. after the crazy fulfilments of 2012, nothing is impossible anymore. i’ve also gone back to basics and started sketching again. my friend and i are making the commitment to go to life drawing every week to keep sane and motivated. already, by changing what would’ve been a draining week ahead and envisioning life after the rat race, i turned that silly frown upside down! come Friday i get a call from my photography teacher asking me to do some work for him. one could only dream of working alongside a mentor who inspired, supported and challenged me. and one that’s work i respect highly. 

i’ve often been very picky with the projects i’ve been involved with in the past, and now i know those decisions were the right ones. it’s reflected in the circle of creative’s i associate myself with now. my presence in the industry is minute, but i'm there. somewhere among the crazy artists i call my friends :)

a decade under the influence.

photography by Raelene Baget of RnR productions
styling & art direction by Maie Dionisio

the obsession i have with photographs is slightly similar to the one i have with people. i hoard them and won’t let them go until i decide they are not worth the space in my box. 

the title of this post suggests the time i have invested in building my signature style and direction. one that i have developed from personal interests and experiences. style is objective just like everything else that is put forth to the public eye for critique and scrutiny. i appreciate clever photography and digital manipulation because if you actually think about it, it’s really just a still image of someone’s dream or nightmare. i’d like to make clear that i don’t live and breath fashion. i hate who it speaks to, the vein and materialistic. but art; it ‘is the application of human skill and imagination’. it is not there to be liked or judged. it is one’s comprehension or misconception of the subject matter. and for people to say that they ‘do not understand art’, is like saying they have no conscious of anything other than what this consumed world feeds us. these photos were taken by one of my dearest friends whom i have known since we were nine. and today she turns twenty-eight. this is one friendship i'm archiving for a lifetime.

i’ll end this post with a line from What Dreams May Come: 

“thought is real. physical is the illusion…”

bringing up crazy.

(weird) is an adjective i am associated with more often than not. and though it can be disheartening at times, in most situations i’m thinking the same thing about you. girls question me, boys think i’m strange, and the elders like to shake their heads in disapproval. each to their own.

this design pilgrimage is going to take me to the most fashionable, obscure and inspiring corners of the world. and so i will be posting a day-to-day outfit diary with no restrictions and complete access to my weird and wonderful head space.

neckpiece: Sportsgirl, nail polish: O.P.I, t-shirt: RVCA, coat: Zara, pant: Zara, shoes: Mango

London, point and shoot.

stripped.

the AWAKENING SS13 collection. 

[view here]

did i promise you something i couldn't keep?

this thing right here began almost 4 years ago to the day. and we're celebrating that in a form of an exhibition. enter: Friends of Maiden. 

i have an array of friends who have very different outlooks on life, love and everything in between. on one side i have the realists, and on the other, the dreamers. i find myself floating somewhere in the middle, exactly where i want to be. 

the Awakening is somewhat my comeback collection, as i feel i have been neglecting the true essence of the label Maiden by taking on other side projects. as apparent as it may seem, this collection did not derive from a dark place. the title suggests, a rebirth, or coming to a realisation of. which in this case, reminding myself that 'i will design' (dezain shimasu, as my ink reads).

the images are dark and twisted, and i wouldn't have it any other way. but i promise you, these pieces i have put hours of work into are nothing less than unconventional. 

see you at the show...

the name game.

the rule of thumb (so i thought): is when you collaborate, you credit. ALL parties.
this was published in a mag sometime last year. my styling. my gun. 

friends of maiden: Rhys Votano.

Rhys Votano is a video artist born in Sydney Australia. At the age of 18 he moved to London where he developed a strong passion for video and digital image. He returned to sydney to complete his bachelors in Screen Production and work on networking within the vibrant city. In 2008, he established his own small production house crafting videos for local artists and businesses. His documentaries have collected a few awards and music videos have aired on video hits top ten charts. This year, Rhys has returned to study his Masters of Film and Digital Image at Sydney College of the Arts and create more focused conceptual pieces.

i have been honoured to have styled for, worked with and learned from a handful of very talented photographers in the past six years. Matt Lowden, Victoria Rika-Heke and Haitham Almaan to name drop a few. there's a general conception of photographers being egotistical and conceited, this is a fair assumption to a degree. but i have been so lucky to work alongside really humble and down to earth trigger happy artists.Rhys doesn't advertise himself as a photographer, because he is technically a videographer. but his captures are just a piece of art to me, he works with his subjects and lighting very cleverly. i enjoy Rhys because he respects my choice of models haha. and no, his camera is not broken. it's called 'ghosting' with a slow shutter speed :)

u p s t a i r .s t u d i o s

sunny side up.

yesterday i styled and shot my first pre-wed shoot. today i finished a blue velvet jumpsuit for the exhibition.
and tomorrow, we're just going to have to wait and see...

together.

 Heath + Rachel | via Pages Online.

page by page.

off white silk georgette over ivory tulle and satin back crepe | two piece gown.

close enough to start a war.

 and here's a toast to my last wedding for the year... until we have to do it all again in 2 months time. 

my first wedding gown project out of the way. now this doesn't mean i'm going to venture into bridal, it's actually the last thing i want to do. next year i plan to get back into my own designs again. an inspiration trip around the world may also be on the drawing board for 2012. 

check out the zine layout of this shoot here. don't mind the dark morbid mood of the pictures, it's all part of the 'art direction'. weddings are overrated.

catching lights.

Serene Grace for Maiden.
i have my own version of Rachel Rutt. Singaporeans have a distinct jaw line to die for.

fragment ideas and too many pronouns.

Into The Wild.