Contralto
Minimalism in form, colors, the scene is questioned with complex definitions and cultural constructs. The deconstruction of the form is manifested in styling and makeup, in the disguise of certain parts of the body while revealing the others.
Deconstruction is also present in the clothes design by Kostas Murkudis and supported by the decision to artfully use white paint playing with the concept of what can emerge to the eye of the viewer. The contraposition of the feminine body with the emotion conveyed through a marble strength in the gaze of the model eventually drives towards the possibility of a new construct of what is feminine.
Contralto is an editorial created by a Milan-based team, photographed by Tommaso Miariniello, style and art direction by Giulia Bernardi. The team met with Kostas Murkudis to shoot his archive. We speak with Tommaso and Giulia to explore behind the scenes' details and main themes. The focus is on a female body through breaking the stereotypes and creating an erotic tension between the physical and the socially accepted body. The preoccupation is with form, with the predefined poses and the fluidity from a rigid well thought of presentation to intuitively create the frame.
Photography and Art Direction Tommaso Mariniello rep by Controluce Styling and Art Direction Giulia Bernardi MUA Anne Timper Hair Dennis Brandt rep by BIGOUDI Model Amber Baker rep by D'Management Group
Clothes by
Kostas Murkudis Archive
‘The contrast between the naked body and the worn garments is a metaphor for the relationship between intimate introspection and social representation’
The editorial merges the discipline of photography with art emphasizing painting with certain elements of color used on the face and body of the model. Tell about this idea and the technical aspects of its realization.
Tommaso: This project encompasses several themes. We started from the idea of an intimate representation of the female body. Fashion is an environment in which the female iconography is often stereotyped: we wanted to detach ourselves from that conception to observe the social, psychological, and sexual aspects as well.
To do this, I drew on my artistic passions, and in particular, on the representation of the female body in figurative art from the realist to the contemporary period, as can be seen from the explicit quote by Gustave Courbet in one of the shots.
The contrast between the naked body and the worn garments is a metaphor for the relationship between intimate introspection and social representation. This combination was the key to expressing different emotional aspects as part of the existence of the female gender in a social fabric: vanity, identity, eroticism. But it was mainly the use of white pigment on the bare skin that allowed for different levels of reading. It recalls the use of plaster or marble in sculpture (materials which, through modeling, give stability and durability to shape over time), but we only see it on certain parts of the body and face, in a disordered and incomplete way. We do not know if the subject is about to solidify into an eternal form or if it is melting to become a new image. It represents the transience of emotions.
Clothes are presented in an undone manner, not fully worn, revealing the nude body. Let’s speak about the styling decisions and the complicated pieces of the collection you chose to present.
Giulia: The focus is not on the styling but on the courage to show a nude body, a fragility, or a strength of the body. The courage to be proud of who we are, so this is the reason for a choice of transparent pieces or not fully worn. Also, the pieces chosen want to represent a meeting of different cultures and personalities that, of course, represent our lives. It’s like a mix of our ancient tradition with our contemporary style.
Tommaso: The choice of presenting clothes in an unordered way stems from the need to represent a woman in transformation. I didn't want to define a single character, but to represent a multitude of them in a single body.
I also found it more interesting to focus on directing the model’s actions rather than presenting the outfits in their perfection.
The selected clothes are a fundamental part of this shooting, and for this reason, they are part of a whole with the rest. I wanted to represent their emotional function, also from the point of view of their construction: for example, there are some garments in which traditionally worked fabrics are combined with synthetic materials with an industrial allure. They symbolize the union of two worlds in a single body.
‘The focus is not on the styling but on the courage to show a nude body, a fragility, or a strength of the body. The courage to be proud of who we are, so this is the reason for a choice of transparent pieces or not fully worn’
— Giulia Bernardi
What were the considerations for casting the model to find the best match for the story?
Tommaso: First of all, I was looking for a girl that could go beyond the conventional aesthetic standards.
I wanted to be able to shoot a woman with strong connotations and a slightly androgynous body, who could feel at ease in posing fully naked and embrace the sense of the project.
Giulia: I wanted a strong female body with a lot of power. I see a tiger in every woman. Protective when it is necessary but roaring when it’s the right time.
What was the most difficult part during the shooting day, and how did you find a solution to make it work?
Tommaso: Portraying an idea with so many levels of reading was not an easy task. Despite having studied a mood board and structured poses, in some cases, I had to rely on intuition or improvisation by the whole team to make the process work better. I had to reshape the story based on the interpreters and the elements I had available to bring out the best from this project: it is the basis of the experience on set in an artistic project.
Secondly, I initially discarded some photographs because they seemed inconsistent with the rest of the shooting, but in the re-elaboration phase, I preferred them over others, precisely because of their stable and uncertain nature. In a project that aims to depict emotions, instability, and uncertainty it can prove to be a fundamental starting point, as an integral part of human nature.
‘Kostas is a master and the most inspiring guy out there. He’s curious and is moved by passion for art and life’
— Giulia Bernardi
Tell about your meeting with Kostas Murkudis. What do you love in his recent collections?
Giulia: Kostas is a master and the most inspiring guy out there. He’s curious and is moved by passion for art and life.
Actually, I love everything about his brand. Kostas produces and designs genuine fashion only for the sake of doing it. His design is innovative and looks to the future. Lately, he's focusing a lot on the youth and all the kids who represent the present and contemporary style. His fashion is also extremely influenced by varied artistic disciplines and the use of structured and geometric forms.
What is admirable about his work is, he can make his clothes appear very simple, clean, and minimal. That's only a first impression: there's a complexity, study, and experimentation behind his designs that are impressive and determine contraposition between the final result and the creative process to get that style. It's a kind of fashion, that is for a niche market, for those who want to find the purity of beauty, an emotion.
