Fashion is one of the most important modes of self-expression in society. I personally “dress to impress”. For that reason I wanted to create a body of work centered on personal street style within different contexts. I began by asking what the significance of the relationship between fashion and audience is. When lockdown struck I started to wonder "What happens to self-expression when there is no one looking?".
My investigation began in the streets of two fashion capitals: Milan and London. I started with a candid approach (image 1), experimenting from a distance. As my confidence grew, I engaged with the subject to show a stronger connection between the wearer and the audience, in this case the audience being the viewer (images 2-5). I then went from the street to the runway of a Paris Fashion Week show. Images 6 and 8 show what takes place behind the scenes to prepare for the audience. I put myself in a photojournalist's shoes for image 7 to document the designer’s self-expression and the audience in attendance. I returned to London’s center during lockdown to discover empty streets and empty stores (images 9-10). With no audience, there was no self-expression to be found.
