Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: two models in pink light against old electrical cabinets, one in a black organza coat with sequins, the other in a sheer black silk organza shirt dress.

Identity Decay, 2017 — Diploma Collection. The Editorial.

This is the dream.

When I was creating the editorial for my graduation collection, I didn’t want it to look like a fashion shoot. I wanted it to feel like a still from a film you can’t quite remember the plot of.

The inspiration came from David Lynch’s films and Helmut Newton’s photographs. From Lynch, the unease: ordinary places that suddenly feel wrong, characters who don’t belong where they stand, the sense that reality and dream have quietly swapped places. From Newton, the strength: women who look straight at the camera and owe nobody an explanation.

So we left the studio and went into places that had nothing to do with fashion. An industrial hall, a metal shutter, a corridor with old electrical cabinets, a wall of frosted glass. The clothes were meant to look slightly out of place there, the way Lynch’s heroines always do, until the friction starts to feel deliberate. I chose wide, cinematic frames, unusual for fashion, so each image would feel like a scene rather than a portrait.

Instead of the flash usually used on fashion shoots, we worked with continuous film lights. I laser-cut vinyl sheets with holes and used them as filters, so the red, the orange and the deep shadows you see here aren’t an effect added later. They were the set.

Two women appear again and again, sometimes side by side, sometimes almost merging into one. In Lynch’s world, a person can always be someone else.

Step inside

Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: a model in pink and red light leaning against old electrical cabinets, wearing a black organza trench coat with hand-cut sequin appliqués and a transparent vinyl pocket over a sheer tulle layer.
Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: two models in front of frosted glass lit red, one in a red patent vinyl blouse and red silk trousers, the other in a red silk tuxedo jacket with black peak lapels over a teal silk top and patterned denim trousers.
Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: two models bathed in deep red light, faces almost merging, one in a red patent vinyl blouse with a buttoned shoulder tab, the other in a red silk tuxedo jacket.
Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: a model seated against frosted glass in red and green light, wearing a red patent vinyl sweatshirt with balloon sleeves and red silk trousers, her shadow cast across the wall.
Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: a model standing against a metal roller shutter lit in white and orange, wearing a sheer red mesh midi dress with hand-cut red sequin appliqués.
Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: a model perched on a metal railing in a dark industrial hall, wearing a sheer red silk chiffon blouse with balloon sleeves and a red vinyl pencil skirt.
Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: two models by a railing in a vast dark hall, one in an iridescent teal silk suit with a red silk blouse, the other in a sleeveless patterned denim coat over a teal silk dress, with red silk cuffs draped over her shoulder.
Editorial for Identity Decay by Laura Achrem, 2017: two models standing back to back in an empty industrial hall lit red, one in a sheer black silk jumpsuit with a sequinned waistcoat, the other in a red silk tuxedo jacket with black organza trousers.

 

Collection and art direction: Laura Achrem
Photography: Klaudyna Młynarska
Assistant: Patrycja Biernaczyk
Make-up: Magdalena Sensmęcka
Models: Klaudia Żogała, Sonia Żogała
Graduation collection “Identity Decay – Artificial Worlds”, School of Form, SWPS University, Poznań, 2017.

 

See every look up close in the Identity Decay lookbook, or read what this thesis taught me nine years later in Identity Decay, on Notes on Eternity.

— Laura Achrem
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