How do you dress your mood?
How comfortable are you in your skin? What about your clothes, the daily routine of dressing up, stepping outside the comfort zone? How Do You Dress Your Mood? - is a story in which Kat Collings and Lois Wong research the effect that clothes have on the person, the mood, and the moves of the body.
Kat follows the choreographic journey with the camera, deciding on the moments to pause the flow and capture the essence of the being in one’s skin and one’s clothes. She explains that “Our bodies move and interact with our clothing in a new way every day, depending on how we feel emotionally and physically, producing a new variation each time.”
The study of the mood through clothes touches on some additional layers as comfort, self-awareness, confidence, the sensation of textile and colors. Lois points out the process of shooting, “I had to hand over control of how the shape of my body would look in the shots and focus on fully articulating even the most minute changes in my moods.” The story asks for a live interpretation of the feelings at the moment, for questioning the micro changes in moves due to the changes in outwear, and understanding of which memories are evoked because of wearing a familiar piece from the wardrobe.
‘Training and working as contemporary dancers in the field of improvisation using textures and emotions is very familiar to us, so I knew that I wanted to magnify this through abstract movement.’
— Kat Collings
Tell about the collaboration with Lois Wong and how did you meet.
Kat: Lois and I met 12 years ago. We were both training at the performing arts school, Arts Ed; we were only thirteen. The collaboration we worked on focuses on how the clothes we wear mask our bodies, forming an extra layer of skin and expression. I notice how we associate different colours and styles with moods to either hide, enhance, or disguise our expression. Our bodies move and interact with our clothing in a new way every day, depending on how we feel emotionally and physically, producing a new variation each time. Lois’ movement in this project is an expression of what we could be experiencing day to day but on a much smaller physical scale. Training and working as contemporary dancers in the field of improvisation using textures and emotions is very familiar to us, so I knew that I wanted to magnify this through abstract movement. I have worked in many ways in which movement can be produced. There are no limits when exploring with all the senses - movement is endless. For this project, I wanted to explore the fundamental characteristics of where the association between mood and colour starts. I used four colours: black, white, grey, and denim. For me, these are the “go-to” colours in a wardrobe that many people of all ages have.
‘I think the choices of clothing we wear can enhance or support the mood we are in. For example, some styles of clothing are comfortable or uncomfortable and may restrict or liberate our emotions physically.’
— Kat Collings
How do you think the choices of the clothes we wear affect our mood, our character during the day?
Kat: I think the choices of clothing we wear can enhance or support the mood we are in. For example, some styles of clothing are comfortable or uncomfortable and may restrict or liberate our emotions physically. A great example is denim. Denim is versatile and can adapt to the change in our moods, and therefore our movement (conscious or subconscious) reflects that versatility. Among other things, denim can be the clothing of work or comfort and relatability. When you’re walking down the street in a pair of jeans you can have a sense of familiarity with others, a way to express yourself without feeling shy because of denim’s ubiquity in the fashion of today. Whether we are aware of it or not, the colour and mood associations we form about clothing plays a part in the construction of the body’s movement, bringing a subtle choreography to our actions.
‘None of the choreography was set, but rather, those were just individual explorations on how I reacted to the sensation of the fabric textures against my skin, as well as the ways in which those sensations affected the way I would outwardly behave.’
— Lois Wong
Each image features a choreographic element and is caught in movement. Was choreography spontaneous or planned? From a technical perspective, what was important for you to capture during the process?
Lois: Kat and I had discussions about the kinds of feelings and personal intentions each outfit might provoke or invoke. None of the choreography was set, but rather, those were just individual explorations on how I reacted to the sensation of the fabric textures against my skin, as well as the ways in which those sensations affected the way I would outwardly behave. It was important for me to physicalise those reactions with genuine instincts and as little thought process behind them as possible. I had to hand over control of how the shape of my body would look in the shots and focus on fully articulating even the most minute changes in my moods.
Kat: From a photography perspective, I wanted to capture the most natural movement possible per garment. In doing so, I watched Lois get into the flow of moving before photographing. When I noticed repetition and heard her breath more prominent, I knew that was the most accurate moment to capture her.
‘The more my skin was covered up in the various fabrics, the more comfortable I found myself to be. This reality seems to either be a byproduct of our society's perception of female sexuality or of the conservativeness that is embedded in my culture.’
— Lois Wong
What were some of the emotions resulting from the ‘dance’ and change of moods?
Lois: In hindsight, I felt that a lot of my emotional responses to what I was wearing came from very personal associations. Kat and I both agreed that denim wear felt the most relaxed, natural, and those feelings allowed me to exude a kind of confidence that differed from the other garments. In some cases, the garments felt like armour, bringing about a sense of power and assertiveness that was reflected in the thickness and stiffness of the materials. The more my skin was covered up in the various fabrics, the more comfortable I found myself to be. This reality seems to either be a byproduct of our society's perception of female sexuality or of the conservativeness that is embedded in my culture.
‘The most precious moment is the image development process. I always love scanning images and recollecting the whole shoot like rewatching a movie.’
— Kat Collings
Which moment from this project is most precious to you?
Kat: For me, the most precious moment is the image development process. I always love scanning images and recollecting the whole shoot like rewatching a movie. It was particularly special putting the photos together in a series and seeing how the combination of movement from body and clothing in each shot was defining a story.
