AnOther Magazine
Photographer: Tim Walker. Model(s): Rooney Mara. Source: Another Magazine. Stylist: Katie Shillingford. Makeup: Sam Bryant. Hair: Shon.
Posted Sep 27, 2017
Rooney Mara explores Fashion Worlds, Creative Spheres, Cultural Shifts in “Universal” by Tim Walker for AnOther Magazine, 09/17. Never before have I been so moved by the human condition. Viewing this editorial I was touched by this vessel of the visual. Watching Tim Walker turn his talents toward the extreme we witness his vision erupt. The distinction of being passes over the page, all providing a picture of poetic intent. Visually arresting we are swept away by his abstract intention. We see a woman. Clear eyed and focused, we are engrossed. Fascinated by the fantasy we find ourselves lost in the fall. Truly compelled by that which we are to be ~ we are met with a confluence of energy.
Katie Shillingford invites us to fly through the mind’s eye, falling over high the fantasy sky. Exquisitely complex yet savagely simple, her styles are less about the covering of clothing as the movement of material. In one of the most captivating covers done to date, this story settles into that sweet place of strange. Crafted in artful compilation, fashions fuse in syncopated harmony. Fabrics meld like molded clay from fur, silk, cotton and lace. A compelling connection exists between art and instinct, as images thrive independently while aching to be attached. A reflection of innocence reads through plastic, as she is caped in clear cellophane. Standing in perfect profile, Mara is draped in crisp, white ruffles with an iron shape gracing her face. Medieval in architecture futuristic in application, the black apparatus sits directly on her skin as if it is attached. A plethora of high fashion finds it’s fluid form fusing a series of faux fur styles. Color has been cast away, as she lays on the baron floor wearing nothing but a final line tied ’round her wrist leading to nowhere.
Sam Bryant celebrates the new Naked Face. What was once considered clean skin is now makeup made to look like none. A conceptual construct that takes neo-naked to the next level. Cosmetics have long left the concept of covering behind, as Bryant and his ilk have unearthed a more fluid approach to application. Features of the face are left to be found like digging for gems through dirt from the exotic ground. As we go forth in our process of artistic discovery we are less inclined to use cover-up as a brand of beauty (exclusively). We Don’t Cover We Discover. Shon attaches long locks giving Mara an ethereal presence. Mimicking in kind her hair on the vine she sits back as her hands, feet and head are connected to the tree limb. Thriving independently she aches to be attached. Beauty bends as art contends to find it’s willful end. Her face never gives her away, as Katie contends that each image is a reflection of your own intention.
Dressed in darkness hidden in time some people thrive on the truth of the climb. Pearls are strung through the air in kind, keeping her tied-up and loosely confined. Her limbs are connected to different tree sources, as she stands in the center like a marionette doll. Doe-like features appear animated, with snow-white skin that makes her eyes shine. Laying on the ground with her hair pulled high, four strings spread out to different parts of the sky. In these precarious pictures it’s as if her body is bound. Tied-up and confined jeweled lines have been attached to various limb sites. Upon close examination it appears as if the concept of freedom has been interrupted. Pearls may make it look pretty but in the end they are merely tools of confinement. Tim Walker takes our hand as he leads us down the path of surrealistic salvation.