Opera Australia - La Boheme

In late 2010, Janai, Jo and Nate took on the project of dressing and propping the modern interpretation by Opera Australia of the Italian romance story La Boheme. Set in cold Berlin it is a dramatic tale of love emerging in darker times. The promotional shots were staged at Sun Studios using an existing exposed brick wall and painted flats by Phil Skelton. Photographer Chris Kappa worked with the JAS team on the day to accentuate luscious fabrics in a romantic colour palette such as blood red velvets, light latte linens and coppery metallic’s, inspired from a huge Persian Rug. Timeless antique furniture in deep cherry woods and marbled stone were placed on set, including aged oil paintings and world globes, as well as kitsch vintage pieces such as a toy carousel and bird cage.

The cast’s wardrobe took elements of their surrounding colours and textures into account to help marry them into the environment. Focus was preferred on the cast’s character but each needed an accent of some sort to personify their characters attributes. This included sequin sleeves, cherry red pocket squares and bronze waistcoats. The mood of the play is dark just like many dramatic romances… so black was a strong feature, broken up by deep raspberry and charcoal greys. The men in soft tailored suits and women in courageous necklines and featured sleeves. Each outfit was put together to not represent a particular Era in history, but to come across slightly timeless … Love has no historic date!

Good Weekend Stories

Last month's Good Weekend Magazine fashion stories took us into the cooler seasons of the year. A silvery-white winter is where we began our Poncho story, inspired from Pringle of Scotland AW 11/12. When keeping a monochromatic palette, pieces need to be identified through texture and tone. Wools and weaves combined with printed patterning create points of focus, such as a loose knit poncho or grey tweed pants. With accessories it’s best to keep it streamlined and not too fussy. So sterling silver jewelry and metallic sheen bags with low detail work well. 

For the second story we injected a bold colour, keeping with the monochromatic palette. Raspberry Red is a total showstopper! Our influences grew from Sonia Rykiel’s AW 2011 runway where she shows a figure hugging dress, with a floaty sleeved blouse and red hot Mary-Janes. A vision of a 1940’s independent woman with confidence, and courage and a little bit of old Hollywood glamour. Pulling off an entire outfit in such a bold palette takes confidence. To not lose your womanly curves, synched waists and belts keep an hour-glass figure. Brands such as Anna Thomas and Scanlan Theodore host very strong pieces in this trending colour, and lighter tones in handbags can sit beautifully on top of this deep red, blue based outfit. 

The Actors Studio

We recently teamed up with photographer Michele Aboud, hair stylist Michael Wolff and make-up artist Justine Purdue to shoot a story that takes it cues from 1950s New York. Our direct inspiration was the famous Actors Studio on W 44^th St in Manhattan, where Lee Strasberg developed the method acting technique. The result was a modern take on the aesthetics, silhouettes and energy of, among others, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Sidney Poitier. And with gorgeous models to boot. Makes us think we were born a couple decades too late!