Styles Vibe by Jude McEwen, Toni & Guy Perth Central, Australia

Brad de Waal
Feb 9, 2021
2 min read

It's a sense felt in the body and in the mind, you can feel it within yourself and within the room you're standing in. It can be both good and bad and be felt almost immediately. In the case of this year's 2020 collection by Jude McEwen, many elements and a new collective of inspirational people came into play to inspire this feeling that is "VIBE.

The collection is largely inspired by Jude's work over the last twelve months on the development and design of the new young 'Future Talent' Mentor Program that she wrote for TONI&GUY Australia. Jude found herself immersed in a continuous momentum of new creative and positive minds eager to reach out to be a part of this program to learn and experiment. From her part, it involved accepting change and embracing a new generational approach within the digital age with fresh visions and new perspectives. Discovering a great new energy and source of creative inspiration through this mentoring program brought about the collection you see - it's the 'VIBE' of this initiative.

The hair is graphic, strong, defined and elegant in appearance. Texture plays an integral part in this collection. Inspired by Alexander McQueen's lace stitching techniques into fabrics, Jude drew inspiration from this technique into the hair prep with the use of crochet needles to weave hair through hair. Building this crafted texture technique that is exaggerated against the shapes of the hair and its natural movement adds a sense of playfulness and individuality to each look.

Recognizing the variety in today's fashion and as a form of individual expression, both the hair and overall styling was approached with a duality of strength meets delicate feminine edging. Graphic shapes of hair are accessorized with leather in clothing and is matched with a dash of softness in the treatment of the hair and characterized with feminine flowing lace throughout the looks. The fashion styling and makeup added to the execution of each look with another intentional element of softness, showcased the true inner strength of womanhood and her independence.

To truly get a sense of the overall vibe pulsating through the creative styling, photography was always approached with the intention of creating a black and white collection. This was to highlight dimension and silhouette. To capture a true feeling, black and white photography was the perfect medium to achieve this. The lighting was designed for adjustable output based on the different tone and shapes of the hair.

'VIBE'' is a powerful, fierce and positively encompassing feeling you just want to join in and be a part of.