The 'New Elizabethans' revised.

The Elizabethan period saw the reign of Elizabeth 1^st who changed the monarchy forever. Women were never seen as a figure of power because men were seen as superior to women. In the current society that we live in men and woman, in most people’s eyes, are equal to one another. Therefore, there are men and women that are considered to be the ‘New Elizabethans’. To me the idea of a contemporary Elizabethan is someone that has made a distinctive difference to the way we live day to day. They emerged from period of time that people will look at in the future and consider the way history has repeated itself but in a modern way.

One person that I believe has changed the way we live today and can be considered as an ‘New Elizabethan’ is Walt Disney. Although he isn’t an obvious option, if you ask my generation or one above mine, their earliest memory of animation is Walt Disney. He is most famous for Mickey Mouse, for which he used his own voice as the voice. After winning a lot of awards for his achievements, he later went on to be the home of over 300 motion pictures. I think, for a younger generation, especially girls, one of his most famous collections are the Disney princess films. They see the stories of Princesses such as Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White and then more recent Princesses such as Tatiana and Rapunzel. The Disney Princesses were meant to convey an idea behind each one and how it can be related to a social situation if it were practical. For example with Cinderella she was a parentless girl that had to live with her Stepmother and Stepsisters. They treated her badly and used her as her slave but she longed to be rescued by a Prince and live happily after. The idea behind it was good karma. She worked hard and was used but she eventually got what she deserved and so did her step family. I spent a lot of my childhood believing in fairytales because that is what we are taught as young children, that things will be alright in the end. I feel like Walt Disney as the co-founder as the company stood for dreams and still does, an escape from reality and a safe haven for children learning about the world. Although he was not a figure of monarchy he is a milestone in history as someone that has created stories of happiness and has influenced parts of the world. In terms of fashion his stories have massively impacted the way we dress. You have your obvious Minnie and Mickey Mouse designs on jumpers and t-shirts. But one thing that has come from his stories is the ‘Princess Dress’. I think, reverting back to Cinderella, she is transformed for one night and is made to feel wonderful and beautiful and that is what women want for their wedding day. The typical ‘Princess Dress’ consists of a tight corset top and then at the waist the dress fans out to a big, puffy netting or silk. One designer that took this into consideration was Alfred Angelo. Quite recently he put together a collection of Bridal wear based on the Disney Princesses, they all have elements of the Princess in mind. I think this is a direct reference as to how Walt Disney as influenced our era. An average child/teen of this era can’t imagine life without technology and Walt Disney was a source of early film entertainment and will always be recognised as a person that changed film and television.

Another person I believe has changed the way we live today is Steve Jobs. Coincidently he crosses paths with Walt Disney as he co-founder Pixar and was on the board of directors for Disney. He is most famous for co-founding the company Apple, which is a company that has influenced a major part of the last decade. Technology in the last century has been rapidly ever growing and Steve Jobs decided that going into the consumer market would be a good idea. Music has gone from CD’s to download in a matter of years and iTunes is the main source of downloading that we have. Elizabeth was the woman in power and influenced parliament. She was a movement in herself because she made decisions according to what was good for people and I think entrepreneurs or designs are the same. They understand a trend or realise that new things need to happen for the benefit of the public and then decisions of made. You just have to look at the different generations of iPod and iPod and how often they update Mac computers and iPhones. The world is ever changing and technology is advancing more than I could have ever imagined because there is always a way to enhance something that is already there. I think you could relate the growing technological state as the ‘New Elizabethans’ because each new product that is produced is the same but enhanced, just like the way society grows. People’s opinions are taken into consideration and a new idea is brought forward. Steve Jobs is part of the evolution of technology and has made a significant difference to the way we use technology. It is everywhere. Apple is a trend that is popular with a vast majority of this generation. He is, in his own way, part of a technological monarchy because of the way he has influenced the way we communicate and the way we are able to access all different mediums of information and entertainment.  However, the variables in a modern day society are a lot different to the Elizabethan period but it is on the same scale.

One other person I believe has changed the way we go about our everyday life is Margaret Thatcher. Similarly, to Elizabeth 1^st, she had a reign of power. As the prime minister of England she made drastic decisions that some people agreed with and others didn’t, but nevertheless for the benefit of the public. She also had the fact she was a woman to contend with. Although Elizabeth 1^st made her reign a memorable period she still had to prove her worth to the public because she was a woman and also young. Margaret Thatcher was known as the ‘Iron Lady’ because she was a resilient, tough woman that led Britain through times of turmoil. There are many similarities between Margaret Thatcher and Elizabeth 1^st in that both of them had to make decisions for their country in full knowledge that people would not necessarily agree with those decisions. They were also representing women in a higher state of power, knowing that they would be viewed as role models. Margaret being the first female prime minister left a lot of people disputing her ability to lead. However, when looking back at Elizabeth it is clear that women are capable. When it comes to fashion Elizabeth had a really iconic look. The orange frizzy hair, the pale face and rouged lips and cheeks is something that we are all familiar with today. But women from the Elizabethan period did everything in their power, despite their class, they compromised with the methods that were used to achieve the look she had. Although Margaret Thatcher was not a leader of a fashion trend she is iconic for her empowerment of women. One thing she was famous for saying was “In politics, if you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman”. This sums up Margaret Thatcher’s approach to her reign of power. A lot of the people that judged her decision were men so I believe a lot of the things she did and said were in spite of men and also to prove that women are just as capable as men.

To sum up, I believe that all these people are part of the ‘New Elizabethan’ reign of people. They are part of a modern society that have changed the way we live our everyday lives, whether it be politically or for the purpose of communication and entertainment. Elizabeth 1^st in her reign managed to create the argument that women are as equal as men and was iconic for her iconic look. She also influenced her people and led her country in times of turmoil. I believe that people, not just the ones I have written about, but people in other professions, have changed our lives for the good and bad. 

Practising Pale.

In our make-up practical this week we looked at how to create the pale Elizabethan look through applying textural make-up. I found this experiment fun! I had my make-up done first and it took a while so by the time I got to actually try out the technique I had very little time left but if I am honest, it helped. Part of the idea behind this look during the Elizabethan period was that women's faces looked AWFUL and not in any way perfect. I think the misconception with a lot of my experiments is that it has to be perfect but in this case it really REALLY didn't need to be.

I started by mixing the rich liquid foundation by Illamasqua with the matte primer to create a white mixture which we had to cover the face with. Once that was done we had to blend the white in so that it was blended properly and slightly smoothed over. Then using an eyebrow brush comb the white foundation back and forth through the eyebrow so it is just as white. Then powder the face, this was easy because normally we have to make sure it isn't visible on the model but it was meant to be a powdery look which helped. Then using the plastic part of the eyebrow brush we had to comb through the eyelashes, top and bottom, with the white foundation. Lastly, using a pink powder blushes, apply small circles onto the apples of the cheeks and onto the lips. So the only colour on the face was meant to be the blush of the cheeks and lips. Eye make-up was unheard of during the Elizabethan period so making the face as plain as possible was actually quite tricky... Especially under a time limit.

And then of course I had the added benefit of a red haired model so that added to my Elizabethan look, along with the hand made ruff we made for photographic purposes.

Before

 After

PAPERSELF inspired face charts

Having looked at PAPERSELF and worked with the lashes I realised I wanted to either create a look that was intricate or loud. I think the lashes themselves make a statement for those two reasons.

Having looked at images of really big and crazy eyelashes I wanted the eyelashes to come out and be the first thing you see.

On the left side of the face chart I have gone for big exciting eyelashes. I have chosen to put them on the bottom because whenever I am creating a face design I love working with the eyebrows and I feel like if I have too much detail above the eye it will be too much. However, putting big lashes on the bottom will balance the eye area out. I am planning on having white eyelashes on the top and bottom and then use the complementary purple and yellow to highlight the features on the face.

On the right side of face chart I have decided to take the delicate and intricate prospect of the eyelashes. I think lace would be the perfect way to do this. I was going to make the face very pale, including the lips and eyebrows. I then wanted a single blue line around the lips and a single orange line above the eyebrow.  I was then going to find a way to stick the lace to the face so it is covering everything but the eyelashes. I was then going to experiment with adding some of the egg white mixture over the top to create a textural effect.

PAPERSELF LASHES

PAPERSELF BROUGHT GOODIES! Until today I had never heard of PAPERSELF but I thought the idea behind it was amazing. I loved that they were made from paper and into such beautifully, intricate designs. We were given the Scorpion design to work with and they were annoying if you got those in your eye.

As well as having the PAPERSELF lashes we were able to try out a design from our face chart. I went with the monochromatic design because I wanted to see how the paste would differ from paper to skin. I think the lashes work really well with the design because Orange is quite a fierce colour and that particular design of lash was very ferocious.

Colour face charts

Firstly, I have never done a face chart before and I really enjoyed it. Although applying make-up to paper is so different to skin because it reacts differently and creates a new texture.

When doing the face charts we had the Elizabethan idea in mind. So it was supposed to be initial ideas for our contemporary Elizabethan make-up design.

On the left of this face chart I am using a complementary colour palette. I chose the colours yellow and purple because I think when used together but subtly they can look really beautiful.

On the right of the face chart is a monochromatic colour palette. I chose Orange because it was really popular hair colour during the Elizabethan period. I also used the idea of the egg white process to create a thick paste to apply to the eyebrows and lips. Therefore adding a 3D effect to the face.

On the left of this face chart is an analogous colour palette. I have been using a lot of green in my work already so I went for 3 shades of green. I used a yellow- green on the inner eye and worked my way to a dark blue-green to create a tropical looking eye.

The right face chart is a neutral colour palette. For this one I wanted the face to look really plain. So I did a smoky eye along with the egg white technique around the face and on the lips and eyebrows. I did this so I could really combine the techniques I had learnt so far but also to create that contemporary Elizabethan look.

Photo shoot.

Approaching this course from an artistic perspective with a photographic eye enables me to bring that to a photo shoot. Whereas Make-up and hair is completely new to me. I feel like I thought about the hair design a lot more in my final photo shoot because I wanted the whole of the model to encapsulate the idea I was going for.

I researched a lot of mermaid images because I already had the idea of envy being related to green but I wanted to add more to the character in the image. I think the Make-up in both images turned out really well. During the time I was making up my model the fact that the paint splatters around the eye were intense and then the spread apart and faded more towards the hairline, I was told, made the make-up look like bubbles. I already had the idea of covering the face in green chiffon to add to the mermaid effect but I didn't realise how much my final images would look like my model was underwater.

I wanted to make sure that in at least on of my images the make-up was visible. I realise that the make-up looks like a mask and this was intentional. I feel like ENVY is an emotion that a lot of people are ashamed of and don't necessarily want to be unveiled or seen. So the idea that the mask covers people from their angry or envy. The chiffon in the first image doubles up as either the water effect or the veil of envy that cannot be lifted from the model.

I thought these ideas gave character to my model and added tension to her face because I could give that storyline as incentive and inspiration for poses. 

I also really love the contrast in greens that have come from images. I realise that the green looks different in real life than to how it does on the camera so I had to be careful because the original emerald colour is not conveyed.

One last thing I love about my both my images is the shape. The chiffon creates such beautiful shapes within the image. I found that when taking these images I thought a lot about composition and the rule of thirds. In both images the model is off centre and to the right. I think that allows shape for the chiffon to trail away, this effect was given by the hair dryer. I also love the contouring that has been created in the first image just by the way the chiffon hits her nose.