The Egg
Bra And Stockings Dstm Corset Simon Azoulay Ring Personal
The Egg is a symbol of renewal and anticipation for new life. It represents the boundary between the visible and the invisible. The invisible part holds significance, hope, and love and is also about change that is inevitable and affects personal life while having an effect on the larger society through the possibility of shaping the future. The story visually emphasizes shape by working with body postures and fabrics.
Styling decisions allow to carefully craft the connection between the self-identification before and during the pregnancy and the unfolding changes to the state the person is in. We speak with Marina Melentieva, a Designer, Art Director, and Model, about the story and teaming up with close friends, Luba Kozorezova, a Photographer, and Elisa Schenke, a Stylist and Creative Consultant who is also part of WÜL Collective. Marina shares “There were days when I just wanted to hide in my own shelter, wrapped in warmth and comfort. And other days, when I felt like a fierce goddess of Mother Earth.”
Photography by Luba Kozorezova represented by THEWAVES Agency Art Direction & Model Marina Melentieva Styling Elisa Schenke part of WÜL Collective
Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
Flower Kasia Kucharska
‘The intention of creating this shoot was to visualise my personal perception of pregnancy. During this time I found myself caught between two very opposite states.’
THE EGG HAS ALWAYS HELD SIGNIFICANT SYMBOLISM. IT IS A VISUAL SHORTHAND FOR NEW LIFE. THE EGG IS PURE IN ITS SHAPE AS IT IS IN ITS MEANING. A SYMBOL OF FERTILITY AND THE CIRCLE OF LIFE.
The intention of creating this shoot was to visualise my personal perception of pregnancy. During this time I found myself caught between two very opposite states. There were days when I just wanted to hide in my own shelter, wrapped in warmth and comfort. And other days, when I felt like a fierce goddess of Mother Earth and surprisingly to myself — sexy. Reflection on this ambivalence gave me the urge to portray this nuanced state with other inspiring women like my close friend Elisa Schenke and the photographer Luba Kozorezova.
Body Stylists Own
‘The juxtaposition of hiding and showing was Elisa’s key styling element. Hiding from the public eye, while giving space and a form of protection to what is happening inside.’
The juxtaposition of hiding and showing was Elisa’s key styling element. Hiding from the public eye, while giving space and a form of protection to what is happening inside. Showing the changes, highlighting the new shapes. She was inspired by the idea of my sheer wedding dress, so we wanted me to wear it again in a modified version, adapted to the new curves. Working with the raw and organic latex material that Kasia Kucharska's designs are made from was the perfect metaphor to visualise the process of growing and blooming. The process of pregnancy, a state that is never complete, always changing, always in flux.
Dress And Body Kasia Kucharska Ring Spustova
Flowers Kasia Kucharska
Dress And Body Kasia Kucharska
‘The setting of me lying on the carpet covered with dozens of flowers was an image that seemed natural right away and connected everything together.’
Luba's decision to shoot on film was a gentle nod to relinquishing immediate control and trusting the process — like in creation and as in pregnancy. The setting of me lying on the carpet covered with dozens of flowers was an image that seemed natural right away and connected everything together. Putting the flowers felt like a ritual. A ritual of grace and celebration of the strength of the female body. Funny how the look with the black gloves and cape made me accidentally become a bird on a nest...
