I’m getting a real taste for these graphic t-shirts with big bold designs. |
The description on the site said this person’s profession was ‘musician’. Makes sense! |
Even her make-up matched the colours in her dress. |
Content from http://www.japanesestreets.com which is quickly becoming one of my favourite sources of inspiration for fashion.
At the weekend I had the opportunity to speak to a Liverpool-based independent pop performer by the name of Beauty via the futuristic powers of Twitter and FormSpring. He’d opened up the floor to his listeners for any questions they might have. I asked about how he’d built up a team of dedicated people to help him achieve his creative vision (he has backing dancers, photographers, and no doubt a whole host of other creative types on side). This was the actual exchange:
Q. How did you get together a team of people to help you? Like, getting gigs, dancers, costume etc?
A. Thanks for the question. Most things I do myself (with PLENTY of hard work) but if you want to make it to the top, you have to be willing to put in the work to get there. My dancers Are all actually close friends of mine, so we have a strong bond and chemistry between us. So yeah, it started with just me and my ideas, but before u know it, you just grow and people will help you out. You don’t really need an agent or a manager straight away to make your way to the top x
A bit further down the list of Formspring questions, I noticed this one:
Q. How Important is image to you?
A. Very important. I’m a pop artist so naturally it is. I used to think that it was shallow to concentrate on image but you have to be aware of it in this industry. It is important to me but I’m not going to bed at night and loosing sleep over it! x
And it got me to thinking… what’s my image?
I made some attempt to be fashionable and cutting edge in my little design for an outfit in this post. I actually wore this out in Birmingham a week or so ago when we went to a Teppanyaki restaurant in the oh-so-up-market Mailbox. Also, I put a moderate amount of planning into my outfit for my last open mic performance, so it’s not like I’ve never entertained thoughts of appearance and presentation.
However, I haven’t given as much thought to the way I look to my audience as, for example, these three adorable ladies.
Incidentally, I found this dress in a shop in Birmingham not long after the release of the single connected with this look. And of course, numerous tops in Primark with the puffed sleeves appeared around the same time. These girls, and in fact much of the fashions in the Japanese music industry, are cutting edge.
So, where exactly does that leave me? I think it’s safe to say I have a lot of thinking to do about what I actually want to achieve, and for what purpose. It’s easy to get completely absorbed in the audio when there is an equally important visual element to being a recording artist. Being a Christian, I want to have an image that is respectful to ideas of modesty and fidelity, but also exciting and not 10 years behind (like, sadly, much Christian media tends to be).
I’ll get back to you on that one. So much thinking, so little energy!
Bye for now,
Caryl