'Blue With Envy' Development

'BLUE WITH ENVY'

'My friends and I were going to Bestival and I was stressing out about washing my hair and desperately wanted to dye it blue but everyone was saying not to. We are at the festival and a girl comes dancing into our group with newly blue hair and everyone loves it. Instantly I am extremely jealous of her hair and I leave the festival.'

"Often jealousy in a dream is the result of your self image or self esteem being low. It is often seen in dreams where a young woman feels that another person is more attractive than she is." - Tony Crisp, Dream Dictionary.

This statement is very accurate as I do suffer from a lot of self-doubt and low self-esteem. Within this dream the girl was extremely fun loving and carefree. I was jealous of her comfortability in her own skin and her confidence to approach a completely new group of people, not just the colour of her hair. Funnily enough, I had met this girl the day before in real life at a photoshoot where I styled a blue wig on her. After waking from the dream I finally decided to take the plunge and I dyed my hair blue. But this didn't alter my self esteem, it only created a distraction from addressing the deeper issue.

I have chosen to recreate this dream because there is a lot of potential to create interesting lighting and produce something different from the other more disturbing dreams. I hope to capture a carefree festival vibe within this shoot but also want to capture an alternative light of the jealousy side of the dream.

INSPIRATION:

Ashish's SS16 collection showed models skating down the runway on skateboards, showing a carefree, youthful attitude, whilst sporting colourfully embellished clothing, makeup and hair. As shown in the middle photo, the models went down the runway having fun and embracing a tomboy-like persona, which captures the personality of the girl in my dream. Sequins and glitter are a reoccurring main accessory at festivals. From my experience of Bestival last summer, sequins and glitter may as well have been poured over my head - it went everywhere1 And this is exactly what they have done to the models. The models all sported sequin covered eyes and colourful, glittery nails - something that will be incorporated into my shoot.

Ashish SS16

'Festival Hair' often consists of a very bohemian look. Hair is often loosely waved with additional braids or hair wraps. Flowers and feathers are also a commonly used accessory in hair at festivals to imitate a hippie/bohemian style. As the dream consisted of the girl sporting blue hair, I will be using a blue wig and cutting and styling it to the desired shape. I will also add braids and hair wraps to enhance the festival theme.

I would like to capture a free spirit element of this character and show how her beauty shone through her looks. A beautiful personality is something to be more jealous about than the exterior. But this girl also knew that she had made me jealous and therefore had a real smug, forced happiness that I wish to present.

MOOD BOARD:

MODEL & PHOTOGRAPHER:

Model: Ruby Munslow

Ruby was the actual girl in the dream!

LIGHTING TEST SHOOT IMAGES:

HAIR & FACE CHART:

WIG STYLING:

I cut and styled the pastel blue wig and purchased a turban because I feel it creates a bit of edge and fashion statement (whilst also disguising the terrible quality of the wig). I also added two hair wraps to the wig with thread and some additional plaints to emphasise that festival feel.

REFLECTION:

I have decided against using Ruby as the model after deliberation of what sort of mood I wish to portray. I have now asked Laya Hibbert. I have worked with her before and she has a very versatile look and love how she can transform herself in front of the camera. She also has a brilliant sassy little attitude for this dream.

IMPROVEMENTS: