Guardians of the Galaxy: A Fashion Editorial for Pump Magazine
The day after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The world seemed to be at a standstill while simultaneously plunged in chaos. The considerable amount of wardrobe hanging on the clothing rack by the door, which I had spent weeks preparing, suddenly seemed irrelevant. Anytime, I expected a call from my models—both of them Ukrainian—that they couldn’t possibly do an editorial shoot under the circumstances.
Hence my surprise when I got a message from Alena Silchenko (IG @silychee) and some thirty seconds later from Kateryna Karpushyna (IG @katerynakrp) that they were on the train about to arrive at Gent St. Pieters Station, where I would pick them up to drive to the studio I had rented for the day.
In complete awe of their commitment and the energy they brought to the set, I felt even more motivated to go all in and let the creative process be a momentary panacea for all that is wrong in the world. Though I had already planned to incorporate darkness and light into this series, I felt these elements reflected not only in the dark and white backdrops and in the lighting setup, but also in the models’ movement and expression, which at times seemed to soar above it all, but then gravitated back downward with more serious undertones. I found this to be especially reflected in the duo poses, accentuated by the styling in red and black which I felt would present a more “infernal” mood against a pure white “angelic” background.
Since Kateryna Karpushyna is also a talented makeup artist (IG @ninjakat.exe), I wanted to highlight the beautifully executed makeup in some closeup shots as well. When I put the series together, still reverberating from the intensity we had experienced in shooting this editorial, on one of the most intense days imaginable, the title that came to mind was “Guardians of the Galaxy,” as "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" concern all of us.
Location: Studio Deprez, Gent (IG @studiodeprez). Styling by me and Maryna Shmahaylo (IG @new.me.style).
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