Today’s weather was horrendous to say the least but I’m glad it did not dampen my mood from capturing street style. In fact, the moments felt more natural and authentic which made it worthwhile being in the rain.
To celebrate the opening of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, here are my favourite street style looks and moments which were shot for the City of Melbourne. Please seek my permission for usage by emailing hey@karenwoo.com.au with many thanks.
It still hasn’t sunk in that I have just accomplished one of my all time favourite, fashion editorial work with four high end, luxury brands. A Night to Remember is a DIOR-inspired fashion editorial which celebrates the story of friendship between four girl friends through a series of themes: from getting fashionably ready; drinking cocktails by the Sofitel’s Atrium bar; to arriving in the new Mercedes Benz E250d coupe at the NGV.
This special edition was created for Sofitel Melbourne on Collins in partnership with Dior, NGV and Mercedes Benz Australia, and I cannot begin to fathom what an enormous, yet beautiful process it has been for me both personally and professionally. My mind was completely blown away to the 2% glimpse of what it felt like to work with, and to have my work put in front DIOR Paris, is beyond my wildest dreams. If you have seen DIOR & I, you will know what I mean. The angst, control and the tremendous value they place on their brand and product is formidable.
As excited as I am to attend the Dior GALA and exhibition, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to work with Sofitel, and to my incredible team of talents to produce the following series of images. I hope my story will inspire you to believe in yourself and keep creating. Love to you all xxx
TEAM CREDITS
CREATIVE DIRECTION + PHOTOGRAPHY by KAREN WOO (@heykarenwoo)
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTING by STEPHANIE BOLGIE
FASHION by EMILY EDWARDS (@stylebkofficial)
HAIR by JASMINE RYLAND (@hairbyjasmine_edwardsandco) and JON OSMOND (hairbyjon_edwardsandco)
MAKEUP by TRE DALLAS (@tredallas) and OLIVIA SELLMAN (@oliviasellmanmakeup)
PARTNERS
Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, Dior Melbourne, Mercedes Benz Australia, National Gallery of Victoria
FASHION
Dior, Thurley, Maticevski, Kitte, Sass and Bide, Mollini Shoes, Tony Bianco, Yeojin Bae, Alexandraaus
It’s pretty surreal to see an image of yourself on one of the hero shots for a reputable brand like Samsonite’s. I’m a huge fan of Samsonite’s luggage bags so it was absolutely no brainer for me to partner with Samsonite to bring you a little NYC travel content with their midnight blue, Samsonsite Cosmolite 3 range. Scroll down to get some insider tips on travelling 🙂
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Images of me in Melbourne, taken by Alan Woo.
Images of me in New York, taken by Ruby Wong.
1. Where was your last trip?
My last overseas trip was to New York for September Fashion Week 2016. I spent most of my time in New York travelling upper and lower Manhattan, shooting street style at the major fashion shows like Marc Jacobs, Coach, Phillip Lim, Thom Browne to name a few. The biggest highlights of my trip were going to the Coach Varsity fashion event and re-sees, attending a two day fashion photography workshop and spending time with my good friends eating, shopping and creating travel content. Having my picture taken on top of the Rocks with a full landscape of city scrapers and the Empire State Building in the background was an epic moment.
2. As a photographer, it must be difficult to pack light. How do you get in under the luggage weight restrictions?
In order to pack light, you have to start with the most light-weight luggage bag you can find, and thankfully the Samsonite Cosmolite range are high quality, lightweight and brilliantly designed both inside and outside. I always judge the suitcase by how much I can pack inside. What I love about the Samsonite is that it’s completely hollow with a slim side compartment so you can pack as much as you can. I normally hand carry all my valuable items such as my laptop, photography equipment and hand bags into the Samsonsite Cabin 55cms suitcase. Also it helps keep the luggage weight under 40 kgs.
3. How do you decide to cull items?
When I pack, I usually look at the number of days I’ll be away, the weather and what I’ll be doing. I always pack outfits that I can easily mix and match such a nice jacket, basic tees, pants, jumpsuits and two pairs of sneakers for everyday wear, and at least one nice outfit and heels for going out to a nice restaurant. Otherwise, I normally leave my suit case half empty so I can come home with new outfits. I decide to cull items if I’ve packed too many similar coloured tops and pants, or unnecessary toiletries or amenities.
4. What makes those you keep must haves?
I can’t live without my Camera and laptop gear, hair straightener, comfortable shoes and coat, or my hair and skincare products. These are my essential items as I know it may be expensive and difficult to find when I’m overseas, especially if I’m travelling to a third world country.
5. How important is it to you that your travel look, including luggage, is chic and matches your aesthetic?
When I’m travelling, especially to Fashion Weeks, I think it’s quite important to travel well by being efficient and chic. For example, you don’t want to break a sweat or look uncoordinated while you are lugging an insecure looking, and heavy suitcase around without any spinners. I guess it’s all about completing your overall look and aesthetic.
6. What’s your favourite Samsonite luggage piece to travel with? Why?
The Cabin luggage 55cm spinner piece is definitely my favourite piece because it looks good, light weight, small and convenient to board with. I’ve even use the suit case as my feet rest on long international flights.
7. What’s more important to you in luggage – strength or lightness?
Lightness!
8. What is your number 1 travel tip?
Always pack your most valuable and essential items in the Cabin bag, so you can easily access your bag whenever you need to, or if you need to claim back tax or declare anything at Custom.
It’s been go go go since the new year, that I haven’t had time to let down my hair or even share about my recent work and travels to the Apollo Bay with Mercedes-Benz. I recently went on a road trip with my dear friend Tiffany Newman (This Within) to the Great Ocean Road. I was actually quite surprised to even hear that Mercedes-Benz wanted to feature me, because I didn’t find anything special about myself other than, maybe my crazy pink hair. It all seemed surreal that I remembered calling Berlin to check if this enquiry was legit! Well that’s because they were asking me to cruise with my friend to the Great Ocean Road for 2 days with people whom I didn’t know.
Anyway, as it really turns out it was an adventure of a lifetime. Not only was it incredible to work with Mercedes-Benz, I was able to share this special experience with my good friend, Tiffany as I know she loves to travel and is up for any get away and basking in the sun.
I was the designated driver and I had to drive at precision speeds, between 80-100kms per hour. I cruised through the windy roads, often starting and stopping a few dozen times so we were steer clear of cars. Sometimes parallel driving, crossing over, driving bumper to bumper then repeat to make sure we got all the camera angles needed to make a good film feature. It was so much fun working with Arabella Bartsch and Toby (the duo film crew representing Fischer Appelt) that by the end of the trip, we all became awesome friends!
So here’s my film feature!
Here are behind the scene pics…(all taken on Iphone6)
