Monologue
A gorgeous circular apartment in an old building in Moscow with the high ceilings, wooden floors, enormous windows becomes a stage for the editorial “Monologue”. Extravagant with overtones of subtle elegance, the character evolves, exposing various angles of her personality. Through long and medium shots, the focus on elements changes, and the new components of living in the apartment are revealed. The styling offers an exclusive diversity of moods and creative freedom.
Marina Nova, an art director, and stylist teamed up with Anastacia Belyaeva, a photographer, Anastasie Bezhan, a makeup artist, and Anya Kastenka, a model to explore the symbiosis of character with their environment and style leading towards a formation of a new appearance. As Marina puts it, “We provided the model freedom of action and self-expression. Exactly in this way, it becomes possible to explore all the facets of physicality.” The initial plan was to shoot with an older model, which would have led to different results of this experiment.
We speak with the creative team to reveal some of the behind the scenes details. The editorial was shot just before the quarantine kicked in under some pressing conditions. We discuss the way styling influences the structuring of the character, and the shooting in a circle 180sq.m. old Moscow apartment. The team shares their creative processes during the lockdown and the preferable way to approach the situation to unleash imagination.
Photography Anastacia Belyaeva Production AAMU Art Direction & Style Marina Nova MUA Anastasie Bezhan Model Anya Kastenka
Clothes by
Ksenia Kuleshova INSHADE Ripsi Design
‘Limitations are a catalyst for the development of creative initiatives, forcing you to adapt to these conditions and try new things’
— Anastacia Belyaeva
What are some of your tips to stay creative and work on new project conceptions during the lockdown?
Anastacia Belyaeva: In addition to all the known negative aspects of isolation and quarantine, it’s worth noting the positive one - a large amount of free time that we all lacked to complete the ideas for the long-ago planned projects. Limitations are a catalyst for the development of creative initiatives, forcing you to adapt to these conditions and try new things.
I have dreamed for quite some time to master Product Photography without involving a set designer, studio, expensive props, and I can say that quarantine helped me in this. I started to see the beauty in everyday things, familiar objects, which inspired me incredibly. I realized that you can create anywhere, even in a lockdown, especially when there's the Internet, and your work still can be seen.
In conditions of stress and limitations, we often lack the strength not only to start a new project but to complete the ones we have begun. My advice is simple - just do it. I get inspiration and the desire to develop more in the process.
To create, a person needs to connect to the flow. To experience this state and gain strength, energy, inspiration — sports, yoga, and meditation are very helpful.
Anastasie Bezhan: In this period, when everything slowed down — nature blossomed... Why shouldn't we bloom as well? We are the ones to decide how to perceive the situation, whether as a collapse or an opportunity, that’s it. This is a beautiful time to stop, to realize what you need, what you choose, where you're heading — this is a repose.
And then you get a second breath, there are no more restrictions in creativity, in anything. Did you want to work on crazy makeups? Go ahead and do it! Now it’s definitely not the time to rely on customers! And this is incredible perhaps this is exactly what every creator, every person needed.
‘The apartment with an area of 180sq.m was built and designed for an aristocrat woman for her personal use. It’s a circular apartment’
— Marina Nova
What is the main mood you wanted to create for the editorial, and what are some of the elements that helped to achieve it?
Marina Nova: The location was our initial inspiration. The acquaintances, the owners of the apartment, let us in for several hours. The apartment with an area of 180sq.m was built and designed for an aristocrat woman for her personal use. It’s a circular apartment. Which means one can move from one room to another in a circle. High ceilings, white walls, moldings, wooden floors — the old Moscow — these places charge you with a special energy.
‘The shooting was happening just before the lockdown, in a rather tense atmosphere. We knew that after this shooting, we might not be able to gather as a team and shoot again in a regular mode for quite some time’
— Anastasie Bezhan
Through styling, the juxtaposition of characteristics is created. We are exposed to a variety of styling decisions from sexual looks to the sleek feminine looks with long silhouettes strengthened with silk fabrics to more edgy, complicated looks with powerful posing. Let’s speak about the creation of styles for the story.
Marina Nova: Quite often, we explore themes of physicality and spirituality. This editorial became a continuation of these explorations. It's fascinating how a person is transformed when influenced by the place, the way the character and their unique personality is revealed, how diverse are the emotions and how magnificent is the image of a person. For this purpose, we put the person in clothes of a different nature to observe their behavior. We provided the model freedom of action and self-expression. Exactly in this way, it becomes possible to explore all the facets of physicality.
‘The quickest and yielding the ripest fruits — this is a definition of this team's work. I would not add or remove a thing’
— Anya Kastenko
What were some of the highlights from the photoshoot?
Anastasie Bezhan: This shooting was in planning for about a month with an older model, however, the day before the shooting, when everything was ready, the older model informed us that she was feeling unwell, and we had to look urgently for a replacement. By chance, our stylist met Anya in the vintage market, and she happily agreed to join the team.
We had to change the concept of shooting and styling variations on the go. The shooting was happening just before the lockdown, in a rather tense atmosphere. We knew that after this shooting, we might not be able to gather as a team and shoot again in a regular mode for quite some time. This story in particular, and the whole day, in general, were like a breath of inspiration for us. We completely surrendered to the moment and temporarily abstracted from the outside world.
If you were to add one more look/photo - what would it be?
Anya Kastenko: This is not the first time I work with this team, and each time after the shooting, I get a huge "clot" of energy from the girls. The shooting was pretty fast — teamwork. The quickest and yielding the ripest fruits — this is a definition of this team's work. I would not add or remove a thing. Everything turned out to be exactly as it was supposed to, and it's great!
