Beauté Aviaire [Avian Beauty] Vol ii.

•

Beauté Aviaire

A series of conceptual fine art prints, exploring the connection between the aesthetic beauty that visually lies in the delicate luxurious opulence of avian plumage and the sexual femininity of the female form.

These composite images, where feather meets beauty and fashion, are constructed using the art of photographic capture, photographing models and birdlife in separate instances and in separate locations.

Then digitally manipulating the imagery in postproduction, to create a new single piece of artwork, a combination of both bird and beauty, each perfectly complementing the other.

It has always interested me, the way that the fashion industry has long associated a feminine quality to both fur and feathers, especially when more often than not; it is the plumage from the male of the species that is chosen to be worn.

Here with the help of modern digital postproduction techniques, I have been able to explore this connection further and unlike 19th century aristocracy who chose to wear whole stuffed birds as hats at the height of the "plume boom" era, I’ve been able to produce this artwork without any birdlife being manhandled or harmed in the process.

All of the garments, as well as hair styles featured have been created solely using manipulated imagery taken of various birdlife and at no point during the process of this project did any of the models see, wear or come into contact with any of the feathers or birdlife featured in this series of prints.

Makeup Artists:
Caroline Stewart
Jenni Muir
Karen Bowen
Molly Jane Sheridan
Rosie Fraser
Sammy Foster

Our Models:
Amy Chong - Colours Model Management
Charlie Banks - Colours Model Management
Christine Stephanie Dunnett - Model Team
Gemma Warnock
Kaitlin Dobson - Colours Model Management
Lynn Mathieson
Megan Johannessen - Colours Model Management
Monika Wiktorowicz
Namate Sililo
Nikki Fox Weston
Olivia Taylor - Colours Model Management
Shana Gilham - Colours Model Management
Suki Kaur Sunner

With special thanks:

Photographers Assistant - Emidio J Battipaglia
Production - Youth Juice Creative Productions.
Fashionscape Europe 2014
Essential Edinburgh
Norwegian Consulate General
Colours Model Management
MEOW Studios, Edinburgh
RETINA – Scottish International Photography Festival
The Creative Exchange
Edinburgh College
Harvey Nichols
BIPP – British Institute of Professional Photographers
Adobe - Adobe Creative Cloud
Bēhance
Bowens Industry Lighting Company
Wacom
Saatchi Art

www.leehowellphotography.com

The Seductive Lady Amherst

Asian Frizzle Chic.

Grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum)

Feathers and Fashion

There has been a longstanding association between the two in the world of fashion, however feathers have been an ornament of dress throughout history from opulent peacock plumes, exuberant ostrich feathers to demure marabou plumage. Feathers have been long been associated with high society, aristocracy and the fashion conscious throughout the centuries.

The feather was introduced to the world of fashion in the Middle Ages (1066-1482), when men and women of high social standing decorated their headdresses with plumes and jewellery to display their status.

During medieval times fashion was highly influenced by the Kings and Queens of the era, however it was only the wealthy that could afford to dress fashionably. The elaborate headdress worn by people in the Middle Ages, immediately conveyed the high ranking on the social ladder. By the latter part of the 15th century, feather and fur trimmings had become a staple part of the aristocracy’s wardrobes.

In the 17th century, plumassiers (feather workers) would craft ostrich, peacock, or heron feathers into objects or accessories though strictly for those of high social standing. The trend did not catch on for the general populace until the dawn of the 18th century and although feather boas made from ostrich, marabou, turkey and chandelle feathers had emerged as stylish accessories during the 17th century, they didn’t become popular until the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

During the height of the "plume boom" in the 19th century, the aristocracy began to wear whole stuffed birds on hats and South African ostrich plumes were in so high demand that their value per pound was almost equal to that of diamonds.

While women of high class took to decorating their hats and gowns with feathers, using them as an embodiment of their own fragility, Parisian dancers of the Moulin Rouge used the luxurious opulence acquainted to the ostrich feather to adorn their headdresses, seductively using the ethereal sex appeal we get from feathers to create their visually extravagant erotic shows.

In addition to their sensual nature, when worn feathers are also seen as titillating, a puff of air, a slight breeze, and who knows what might be revealed? Feathers sigh with sex, whether in the flirtatious wave of a feather fan or a Jean Harlow marabou-tipped gown.

The 20th century saw designers, including Yves Saint Laurent and Cristobal Balenciaga, utilizing feathers as a replacement for fur on the collars of coats or to fill entire dresses, celebrating the elegance and refinement of feathers and plumes in the fashion industry, highlighting facets including refinement, luxury, freedom, modernism, femininity and lightness.

Feathers continue to feature in many designers’ collections today, from milliners such as Steven Jones and Phillip Treacy to garment designers including Christian Dior, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Dries van Noten, and Ann Demeulemeester who have all utilized feathers to exude modernism, glamour, drama, and seduction.

The late Alexander McQueen said. "I admire eagles and falcons. I am inspired by a feather's shape but also its color, its graphics, its weightlessness, and its engineering. It's so elaborate. In fact I try and transpose the beauty of a bird to women.

In an attempt to emulate in imagery what McQueen so perfectly did with couture, my aim here is to play some small part in this continued fascination between fashion, feathers and female sexuality.

Fashion, you see, is in no small way about sex. Biologists theorize that in nature birds with brighter plumage and longer tails are the more successful when it comes to mating than their more ordinarily attired counterparts.One can call a feathered boa frivolous, but it is indisputably sexy, and sex, after all, is how we go about ensuring the continuity of the species...

The Mandarin

Dance of the Royal Swan

Dancing White Peacock

Beauté Aviaire Exhibition, August 5th - 31st, George street, Edinburgh, UK

In collaboration with Fashionscape Europe 2014

Beijing Loves Beauté Aviaire…

Totally thrilled to share this with you all.

Front Cover and 10 page featured photographer in China’s biggest photographic magazine - 'The Photographers Companion’.
The issue went out last month and has already resulted in many new followers.

Huge thanks to the amazing team over at Photographers Companion HQ for their infectious enthusiasm and passion in wanting to share my work with their readers, really great job guys, thank you so much.

Also thanks once again to all those involved in bringing Beauté Aviaire to life, where art meets beauty, feathers and fashion.