photographer: stylist: hair stylist: post production: jennifer.rohini using cherry jam. lard. chocolate. make-up by mac
model: nienke.schneider

watch out for some crazy images with some amazing models, photographers, writers, muas, hair stylists, stylists both local – yes. yes. that would be from our very own, beautiful brighton – and from all over europe.

be. boom.boom. happy. now

photographer: kevin mason at garage studios stylist: rachel holland and team of la luminata hair stylist: hugo ratzel and team of headmasters brighton make up: jennifer.rohini and super team of nicola smith, rose-josephine downing, rebecca semus, emma aldridge using make-up by mac, naomi gay and siobhan of namnams face & body art and assisting us was the lovely jenna da costa
models: simone-jane, tanja, sofee nadine, karolina, wills, lydia
creative director: alex thirlwell
creative assistant: eddie hecht

photographer: stylist: hair stylist: post production: jennifer.rohini using make-up by mac
model: christina s.

guided by paul poiret, whom many would describe as the godfather of fashion, she put on theatrical shows to show off her collections which much later inspired the likes of kenzo, gaultier, galliano and yves san laurent.

she was known to be coco chanel’s biggest rival and much to coco’s dismay, elsa became a media and society darling.

born in rome in 1890, she was very interested in art, theatre and music and was involved in radical futurism. she lived and worked in england, where she met the count william de wendt de kerlor, a theosophist and lecturer. after a whirlwind romance they got married and moved to nice. it is not known how she ended up in new york. her marriage to the count was volatile and sensitive and he was unable to settle into any of the countries they lived in. shortly after the birth of daughter gogo, the marriage broke off.

schiap, as she was affectionally known, truly was a creative and her curisority and esprit were appreciated by the many artists with whom she socialised – alfred stieglitz, marcel duchamp, baron de meyer and man ray to name a few.

with the help of artists gaby picabia, schiaparelli and daughter, gogo, moved to paris in 1922, where she met poiret who immediately saw the designer potential in her.

‘bon vêtements de travail’ (good work clothing) is what schiap advertised when she opened her first boutique on rue de la paix with a collection of sporty and functional items, which formed the predecessor to today’s prêt-à-porter. her customer portfolio included american sweethearts katherine hepburn, joan crawford and greta garbo.

this artiste, poet and philosopher pioneered many of fashion’s firsts. she created the first wrap-dress, added visible zips to dresses, padded shoulders and created avant-garde plastic jewellery with decorative insects. she was in so many ways, ahead of her time.

in 1933 she was finally coaxed into designing her first evening gown – a column dress made of white crepe de chine with a modern variation of a swallow-tail suit jacket . both became a major success and the start of her couture career.

amazingly, schiap had no formal training in cutting or sewing but continuously demonstrated innovative designs. her collaborations with artists such as salvador dalí, with whom she designed a whole catalogue of dresses, including the famous lobster and skeleton dress, her amazingly quirky hat collection, designer perfume and innovative jewellery really put her on the map as a creative.

she craved to shock her observers with colours, patterns and textures and ‘shocking’ is the word she herself would often use to name her creations and collections. not at all slow-going for the mid 1930s! many schiap fans agree, if she would be alive today – she would be lady gaga’s chief stylist.

i have to rudely interrupt schiap’s story, drawing narrative to my own. i believe that schiaparelli is hugely underrated, she was one of the first true creatives out there who was not afraid to explore different avenues. i am a make-up artist as well as a photographer and dabble in all sorts of other creative genres. while some take serious issue with that, it is not something i am prepared to be challenged on. i have all the respect for those who have chosen one trade and excel in it. for me, however, the creative process starts with the model search and ends in post production. i am involved in almost every aspect of a shoot and this is my art. thankfully there is a growing group of those that are not scared to spread their wings across creative boundaries and admit to it, even if they are met by shaking heads and humoured smiles.

tense times before the second world war, forced fashion towards a significant shift in rich elegance and schiap’s oppulent and flamboyant designs found a huge following. plenty of loyal and influential customers from both chanel and patou migrated to schiap, whose suggestive, smart and sophisticated garments were taking the fashion world by storm.

5 years before the opening of her boutique at place vendôme, schiap’s career was at its absolute peak but at the dawn of the second world war, schiaparelli escaped paris and fled back to the united states. she returned in 1954 but, unlike chanel, found it difficult to adapt her design visions to the new post-war fashion era which was dominated by dior. after experiencing financial difficulties, she eventually closed her studio and boutique and concentrated on writing her memoirs before passing away in 1973.

elsa schiaparelli in many ways set the foundations for today’s ‘cross-creatives’. she was not afraid to explore different angles of fashion and proved that you don’t have to be born into fashion in order to become it. she was very much involved in the overall process of creation as well as nurturing productive relationships with photographers, like the utterly talented and intensly creative, cecil beaton, and found satisfaction in fusing surrealism with fashion by creating pieces of wearable art rather than pieces of clothing. her original ideas can be seen to this very day, often repeated on the catwalks, eventually filtering into the high street.

schiap showed us: if you really want to be someone in this world, just be it. you can be part of the industry but choose your place within it.

yves saint laurent famously described her impact on the world’s fashion capital: ‘she slapped paris. she smacked it. she tortured it. she bewitched it. and it fell madly in love with her.’

i think in fact the whole world did…

we salute you, schiaparelli!

words: jennifer.rohini

have something brilliant to add? can think of another underrated fashion icon who deserves more credit? for goodness sake, please leave a comment below. do it now..

photographer: stylist: post production: jennifer.rohini
wig: the souks /doha
glasses: rayban
shoes: d.perkins

who doesn’t possess an individual characteristic these days? we know only few. and those ‘simpletons’ should be loved dearly as they balance out the other demanding and overly stimulating side of life. the world is full of those sorts, that visually scream louder than a butcher on a saturday morning meat market…with their kinky, worn brogues, oxfam knit jumper circa 1982 and vintage, yes vintaaaaage galliano, baby blue, frothy chiffon dresses, oh-so edith bouvier beale.

last week i sat next to a fake lady gaga. she was quietly sipping a g&t at the windmill, her perfectly preened nails in roadkill red, running through her nylon blonde wig, mid-length, baby, mid-length. dressed in, wet, black leggings, feathery cardi and courages plateau heels she escaped before i snapped her up on my digital appendage.

are we under too much pressure to be individual? are we just a product of trend dictatorship? when do we strip it back?

our model, scarlett b., is gorgeously nervous, with big, clear blue eyes and a gap in her teeth so wonderfully unconventional, even madonna would turn green with envy. patiently she spends hours with two creative nutbags (the collective enticknap & rohini is born) who are clearly in their element, sometimes forgetting that the model in front of them is alive and requires the occasional food and drink.

having individuality is a process. but , individuals is who we are already.

photographer: stylist: hair stylist: post production: words: jennifer.rohini in collaboration with  the amazingness that is make-up super artist : samantha enticknap using make-up by mac

model: scarlett.b

all scarlett could think about, was whether or not the milk in the fridge had gone past its’ expiry date

interested in booking model scarlett b. or make-up extraordinaire sam enticknap? leave a comment below or get in touch!

have something to add? for goodness sake, please leave a comment below. do it now, before you forget the brilliant thing you were going to write.

bust: 86cm

waist: 65cm

hips: 92 cm

shoe: 5/6, size: 6/8,

height 5’9”

current location: london

i meet karolina for the first time on a rowdy friday night in november at the prince albert pub in brighton. possibly not the smartest setting but after a week of tough love and tough work which very nearly takes me over the edge of sanity, i need an unhinged environment to take my mind off things. she looks far too ethereal for this grubby establishment. obviously i had seen her work before and am surprised to be met by her demure smile, beautifully coy presence and soft voice. but don’t let that fool you. this 19 year old is a tough professional in every sense of the way and she knows her stuff.

photo by andrzej lepka

photo by ewa pater for magazine moda&styl, clothes from michal marczewski

we meet again in febuary to shoot for a client. incredibly versatile, this unconventional beauty works easily with little or no direction. her poses are creative and she fluidly moves from one position to the next. her face takes a lot of make-up and her hair is easy to style. she is just a great performer and the team love working with her.

photo by camillo echeverri

photo and feature photo by adrianna cudak

photo by andrzej lepka

photo by Marsy Hild Thorsdottir, with clothes from David Longshaw

hunted by agencies, karolina is currently not signed. interested in working with karolina? contact us at makeup@jenniferrohini.com or leave a comment below!

10 years ago i auditioned for a place at rada. my chosen interview piece was a scene from mike nichols’ who’s afraid of virginia woolf. i spent weeks studying Liz Taylor in this role, which in 1966 secured her, her second academy award.

bye bye Liz…you will be missed…

photograph: Elizabeth Taylor in 1963/michael ochs archives/getty images

in today’s urban plains, the question of heritage is one of high interest. while some enjoy sharing their half-this, half-that backgrounds or even go as far as justifying their origin in quarter quantifications, others chose not to at all.
does it really matter more where your seeds are from or how many miles they have travelled and where you have decided to let them grow?
back-to-the-roots is not a place i wanted to visit. but my younger sister did and still escapes to, whenever her busy schedule allows. she revels in her diversity, more than anyone i know, and in the past has often challenged my defined european tendencies. it’s not something i have chosen but what comes naturally to me. and while i recently feel that my connection to a certain little pearl in the indian ocean has grown stronger, i wonder how my future offspring will answer the question: ‘so, where are you actually from?’

photographer: stylist: make-up: hair stylist: post production: words: jennifer.rohini
model: özgül.savas