A Conversation With Creative Director and Fashion Stylist, Julia Morris

Photography by Julia Morris

Peachy Magazine sat down with Kiev-born freelance creative director and fashion stylist Julia Morris to explore her latest editorial. Julia Morris creates fashion tales inspired by her heritage in her native country with traces of the big city aesthetics’ edginess. In this piece, we dive into the concepts and creative direction behind the shoot.

What’s the story behind the making of the shoot?

Our make-up artist Michelle got inspired by 70’s Biba and her use of color. It was totally new and unknown at the time, Biba just threw out all the rules. I loved the make-up direction and have decided to stick to it but to go with other shoot’s components in the direction far from authentic 70’s. Because “the hint” on something sometimes is more convincing than direct quotation. The wig, clothing, mixed lighting – these are elements far from that decade. Also it was important to find a model who had a look both suitable for “edgy” decisions and “pretty” colors make-up. Deirdra was a perfect choice.

What concepts or themes did you aim for with this shoot?

I wanted to show 2 different worlds. I like to think that the wider shots where Deirdra wears the wig show the “fantasy, pretty” world. It is too perfect to be true. And it’s up to the audience to think who our heroine is – is she an actress, a performer, a dancer? The tight shots are very raw emotion wise. I also think they show more vulnerability since Deirdra wears just a wig cap, so this is a state “in between” – when the actress is all ready for the show but it hasn’t started yet. It is a very intense moment of a “real” world.

What was the thought behind working with the photographic blurry look on parts of the shoot?

This tool lets our imagination build by itself the rest of the picture that is out of focus. We are able to see something that is not there, and for each person it will be something different. From a practical point, such technique is useful when you work with contrast (like large bright spots of make-up in our case) or the big unusual shapes (we had a wig).

What would your advice be to younger creatives going into this industry?

I would definitely advise to focus on the idea and your unique voice first. It is like a base of the building, it has to be strong. Your gear, lighting decisions, post production, film or digital choice – these are just the tools that support the initial concept and help you bring your ideas to life. And if you know exactly what you want to say and you want to be heard everything else will fall into place magically.