Teaser Shots From Online Editorial Project

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Berlin Fashion Designers, Frauke Fischer, Marcel Ostertag Palazzo Pants, Servullo Mendez, Tarah Rodgers

A few months ago, I was the Creative Director and Stylist of an online editorial shoot, which was shot in Berlin.  It is yet to be published but I couldn’t resist showing you all my favourite shots from the series.

I think the below image is a very fitting look for A/W 12, as this is normally a season where experimenting with textures is a must. So here we see a delicious mix of silk, lace, metal, chiffon and sequins; all contrasting fabrics come together to portray a look that gives a vigorous nod to Luxe Glamour-

How gorgeous and 70s fabulous are those mauve palazzo trousers?

The warm make-up colour palette gives me lots of ideas for the autumn season.  I love the mix of deep purple and gold-

Credits

Photographer- Frauke Fischer

Hair and Makeup- Servullo Mendez

Model- Tara Rodgers at Modelwerk

Black lace blouse- Irene Luft

Mauve palazzo pants- Marcel Ostertag

Bolero, belt and turban- Vintage

Black sandals- Scholl

How André 3000 Inspired My Fashion Shoot

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André 3000 Style, Urban Dandy, Urban Preppy Chic Style

Every now and again, I get the opportunity where I can let a personal music inspiration reflect in my fashion shoot.  Not so long ago, I did a fashion shoot where I let the colourful and fearless style of American performer and entertainer, André 3000, influence me in the style and creative direction of a fashion shoot.

Courtesy of Fashioneyeformen.com

Courtesy of Straightfromthehea.com

Looking at the above images one can immediately see André’s love of English-inspired vintage, preppy clothing.  But what sets him apart from the various ambassadors of dandy style, is his unique and fearless mix of preppy tailoring with strong urban, sophisticated accents-

Courtesy of Whatwilliweartoday.wordpress.com

The below image summarises why I can’t wait to get my hands on this man and style him for any of his performances or public outings.  It would be a dream and an honour, I haven’t met him but from what I can see and hear in his performances, I believe that the humour and experimenting that we bring to the Styling Table, would make us a good team-

Courtesy of Dandyism.net

The above image shows brilliant usage of fabrics, colours and patterns and this is exactly what I wanted to portray when I did my below shoot titled, ‘It’s Nice To Be Preppy’.

I adore working with menswear tailored pieces like jackets, braces, bow ties, waistcoats, cravats et al, and I can’t wait till I work on a project that allows me to experiment and play with all of the above, like I did on the below fashion shoot.

The bulk of the pieces were pulled from a selection of high-end designers, high street stores and vintage shops.

How great would André look in the above ensemble, the mix of colour, print and fabric would suit him to a T.  I’m also positive that André would appreciate how I got the model’s trilby, tie, belt and socks to co-ordinate.

I had so much fun doing this shoot because layering contrasting pieces and building up various colours and prints is my forte, I thrive on it and the process allows me to reflect a part of my personal style.

I see so many upcoming male artists today who would benefit from such a treatment by me, if any of their agents happen to be reading this article, give me a call to set up a style consultation, my contact details are on http://www.bikijohn.com.

My First Berlin, Menswear Fashion Shoot- Introducing Lukas Ziegele

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Bow Ties, Bowler hat, Mickey Mouse Tie, Preppy Style, Vintage Brown Leather Briefcase

From the moment I saw Lukas Ziegele, I knew I wanted to style the eighteen year old beauty in a fashion shoot- his unruly hair so full of character, big expressive brown eyes and full, perfectly shaped lips were all created to be captured by a camera.

I also wanted to work with Lukas as I hadn’t styled a menswear shoot in a while and I was having major withdrawal symptoms, as I adore menswear.  So I came up with the idea of styling Lukas, and I intend to use the images to show model agents as well as fashion magazines (so the latter can hopefully commission us to do a shoot for them).

I wanted to do something simple and preppy-esque; most of the clothes and accessories are from Lukas’s very stylish wardrobe.  I decided to take the pictures myself, so apologies for any imperfections you come across.

What I hope this story shows is Lukas’s immense potential as a model- he was a great model to work with and considering this was his first fashion shoot- he moved with such grace and fell with great ease into many positions without instructions; which is what separates a model from a great model.

 

I haven’t given this story a title yet, so if any of you have any ideas, I’d love to hear from you! 

OE Magazine- Same Shoot, Different Story

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Biki John, Gothic Rock n Roll Style, OE Magazine

I am so excited that OE Magazine’s issue 2 is out and the reason for my excitement is that the German independent, bi-annual fashion magazine features the first fashion story I styled in Berlin (in the über cool Kreutzberg area).  With the plethora of print magazines that can be sourced today, OE stands out from the crowd by not describing current trends and ideas in fashion, but showcasing fashion by purely focusing on images. With a focus on Berlin, its 10 page editorials show what is currently keeping fashion designers, photographers, stylists and hair & make-up artists inspired.

For this shoot I used sought after designers in Berlin like Augustin Teboul, Marcel Ostertag, Kilian Kerner, Sabrina Dehoff and Boessert/Schorn.

I enjoyed every minute of my Berlin shoot, however some of my favourite pictures didn’t get to make the final editorial layout or as Grace Coddington lovingly and dramatically puts it in The September Issue, some images were ‘killed’.  I also took some pictures myself which ofcourse had no chance of being published, however Lady Luck is in my favour because due to the powers of New Media I am able to resurrect these images and show them to you.

 

Courtesy of Bikijohn.com

Courtesy of Biki John

 Courtesy of Bikijohn.com

 

Courtesy of Bikijohn.com

 Which is your favourite shot in my, ‘Same Shoot, Different Story’ editorial?  I would love to know!

I will be uploading the published OE printed images onto my website soon, so stay tuned…

Team Credits-

Photographer- Lars Borges

Stylist- Biki John

Model- Tatiana (M4 Models)

Hair and make-up- Servullo Mendez (Nude Agency)

Photographer’s Assistant- Tintin Jonsson

Stylist’s Assistant- Anne Stoevhase

Unless otherwise stated, all pictures are credited to Lars Borges.

My Madonna-inspired Fashion Shoot

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80's Fashion, Kristian Aadnevik, Madonna, Madonna fashion

What I love about styling is that it allows me to indulge in my personal inspirations and pay tribute to artists who have played a major role in my life.  One such artist goes by the short and iconic name of- Madonna.  I should elaborate on that and stress- the 80′s Madonna.  Although I have keenly watched her many transformations and evolving dance styles- there was a particular care-free, natural charm she had in her fashion and dance style in the 80s which I feel is unbeatable and irreplaceable.

Case in point, compare her ‘True Blue’ 80′s album cover, where all you see is her head flung back in cool rapture with her ‘Hard Candy’ noughties album where she is pimped out in gold rings, boxer belts, fetish boots and various other bells and whistles-

 Not long ago I had a chance to do a Madonna-inspired 80′s shoot, and it was a lot of fun to do.  Here are some of the images from the shoot-

Anyone who saw Madonna in the Eighties ‘screwball comedy’/just so darn awful it was good’, ‘Who’s that Girl’, will know why I love the hair and makeup of this shoot:

The ‘Madonna’ vest is mine and I got if from H & M.  All the crosses the model is wearing are mine as well, which I collected from various London markets.

I adored the mis-match style of this combination, the sky tye-dye leggings are from American Apparel.  The white lace gloves are mine.

How cute is that royal blue, ruffle-tiered, ra-ra skirt?

Those amazing gold leather trousers are from one of my favourite designers, Kristian Aadnevik.

Front cover Madonna pictures courtesy of Fanfire.com and Stylefrizz.com

My Dries Van Noten Fall 2011 Review in Husk Magazine’s A/W 2011 issue

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Bonsai, David Bowie, Dries Van Noten Fall 2011, Husk Magazine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Ziggy Stardust

Today, the editor of Husk magazine confirmed that the magazine was now ready to send me issues of the latest Vol II, No III, Fall/Winter 2011 issue.  I’m very excited to see how the magazine will display the article I wrote reviewing Dries Van Noten’s (aka The Prints Master) Fall women’s wear collection.

I am especially proud of this piece of work because I had a 24 hour deadline to critique a complex collection.  After all, writing about a collection primarily inspired by disparate influences namely- David Bowie’s flamboyant, adrogynous character, ‘Ziggy Stardust’, the Ballet Russes principal dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky and the Japanese art form, Bonsai- is no easy feat.

Copies of the latest issue can be bought online, please see here for details-http://huskmagazine.de/shop-2/

To read the full article please go to www.bikijohn.com

Picture courtesy of style.com