13/01/15 - POLITICS PROJ. (Research into Plastic Surgery & Body Image)

Shot by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia 2005

With my concept now in check, I have moved on to looking at the way plastic surgery is regarded in the fashion industry. A spread shot by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia in 2005 (shown above) along with another editorial by Tom Ford both depicted plastic surgery in a somewhat glamorous manor- not by the images themselves but through the styling of the hair and make-up. The images were dark and what I can only really describe as "vampy" and not quite what I was after aesthetic-wise. However, this research was still helpful in that it allowed me to gage what it was that I definitely didn't want to produce.

As part of further research with the intention to fuel my concept and desire to work towards a final outcome, I then looked into an old survey I conducted a little while ago. The aim of the survey was to find out if and how beauty standards affect girls aged 13-25 and unsurprisingly, an alarming number of young girls were unhappy with their features and cited unrealistic images of models and celebrities as a source for their disappointment in themselves. With these results in hand along with my research into previous editorials, I now feel comfortable enough to proceed with creating a final concept board to narrow down and solidify my ideas into a small number of comprehensive images.