"Sixties Victim" Moodboard

Here is my initial mood-board now that I have done the first part of my research. The main points i want to include are a pastel colour scheme, a strong sense of the spiders and gore and accurate Sixties styling. The image of the nun with stigmata symbolises something bad crossing something good, which represents the clash that I want to have between a glamorous body and hideous wounds. The spiders and the big beehive relate to the theme and the i.D cover shows how you can give a Gothic, creepy twist to a Sixties girl.

GORE: Brain Trauma Research

My concept depicts the model having spiders eating or nesting in her brain, so I researched the physical effects of extreme brain trauma and haemorrhaging. The ones that I'd like to incorporate into my work are:

-Dilated pupils

-Nosebleed

-Bleeding from one or both ears

-Sensitivity to light

I've chosen these ones because I think I will be able to work them into my design in a high fashion way. I also think that these symptoms will contrast the most with the "glamorous" victim, which will give my design an eerie, surreal look. I still want to have my photos have the same effect as Roger Ballen's - scary and horrific without using tonnes of gore. There's just something about them.

EXAMPLES IN FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

Nosebleeds and blood from the eye.

Dialated pupils and pale skin from light sensitivity. 

Sixties Hair Research

I already know that the Beehive is relevant to the Sixties, but I wanted to do more research to see the different variations there were. I also wanted to look at some other types of BIG hairstyles that were worn in the Sixties, to make sure I've chosen the right one and to give myself other options should anything go wrong. I want to rule out the short pixie "Mod" haircut strait away because, although very sixties, it does fit with the Fatal Hairdo story that I've chosen. Here are some of the most fitting:

The most important thing is height to the crown of the head. Now I can go away and start planning hair charts and suggesting ways to create height and volume.

Sixties Make-up Research

Here are a few of the images I found through research that most inspired me, out of the hundreds that are available. The research of this era of make-up will help me make my Gothic look more authentic and era-appropriate.

Further research has enabled me to see more of a "high fashion" side to the Sixties style, rather than the toned-down every day make-up I have described in the analysis' of the Sixties horror movies. This is important as I want my model to be glamorous  as I feel this will make the gore and horror aspect a lot more shocking with such a contrast.

I wanted to research more contemporary versions of sixties make-up to see what was possible, because its important to me to keep in mind that this will be an editorial shoot and that means thinking outside of the box. Here are some of my favourite inspirational images of contemporary sixties make-up:

 

The enhancement of the socket is the main thing that I want to play with after evaluating all these images. The original images have shown me the REAL make-up that was the trend in the sixties, and the contemporary images have shown me what's possible and where you can play while still making the look appear authentic. and I am now able to go away and design some face charts.

 

Sixties Horror Movies: Psycho

Psycho was a good film to look into because it had the same "glamorous" style to the actress as The Birds did. Its strengthened the initial research of make-up I've done, showing strong eyebrows and long long lashes and a pale lip.

The only thing these movies haven't shown me is beehive hair or voluminous hair. I'm hoping further research into sixties fashion, rather than film, will help me.

Sixties Horror Movies: The Birds

The Birds is another Sixties horror movie I watched as research. The protagonist has a more sophisticated  make-up style than the youthful style of Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby, which is what I envision for my own shoot. As the main character is in the same clothes for the majority of the film, it doesn't tell you a lot about style, it does however show you more of Sixties make-up than Rosemary's Baby does. 

Make-up: The classic but more sophisticated make-up comes into play in this film, Tippi Hendren sports the classic sixties pale lip, large lashes and sculpted eyebrows. 

In the clip above, the children can be heard singing "She combed her hair but once a year..." which is very fitting for the Urban Legend that I've chosen to portray.

Sixties Horror Movies: Rosemary's Baby

As part of my research I want to narrow down my research to Gothic genre in the sixties, seeing as that would be the theme of my first character. 

Rosemary's Baby shows a lot of fashion and styling from the early sixties. Above is a mood board I created to easily reference some of the fashion points. The main points shown in the film are:

- A lot of pastel colours, especially blues and yellows

- A lot of peter pan collars

-Short un-tailored dresses with no shoulders that fall strait down and out

-Youth-quake style is highly visible

-Vidal Sassoon hairstyle heavily referenced