fate royale

gloves. Dents London

It’s all fun and games in fate royale. This editorial is produced by the creative duo Emalea Jones as photographer and director and Hussy ElCeliemy on styling. The visual shows models Florence RoseKeenan Yates, Rachel Simpson, Teddy Jackson and Lee Jay Hoy as they experience a house of horrors and seal their royale fate. Hair by Sam Arnold and make up by Jack Oliver.

To learn more about the creative direction for the visual and editorial, Schön! has an exclusive chat with Emalea Jones and Hussy ElCeliemy to get the inside scoop on the influences and inspirations for the moodboard, determining the set and styling, and more.

 

suit. Alexander McQueen
shoes. Kurt Geiger
earrings + ring. Schiaparelli
scarf. Shaku
opposite
jacket. Roberto Cavalli
catsuit. Studio FCLX
mask. Libidex
gloves. Dents London

coat + shirt. MM6 Maison Margiela
hat. Kyle Hoo

What were some influences for this shoot that inspired you to create it? Any specific imagery in film, tv, or something else?

Emalea: The stories I like to create are based on expressions of trying to understand / work out this little world, our existence on this earth, it’s disgustingness and beauty. I’m a big lefty so draw a lot of my inspiration from different aspects of societal issues. This one came into being because of my thoughts of doom surrounding the future for our working class, climate change and the ever growing far right, topics which keep me up at night. I was playing around with the idea of creating a family dynamic that doesn’t adhere to the nuclear family set up. That wants rid of the old confined ways of life. 

Which is why I keep it surreal or fantastical with lots of layers, such as life! I think its very much a form of escapism for me personally, away from the real world yet inherently tied up in real life problems, feelings and/or experiences, a lot of the time I like to keep a sense of humour or lightness within my work, which I think is quite bit like my personality to be honest.

As for aesthetics I grew up being inspired by Directors and storytellers such as; Terry Pratchett, David Lynch and Tim Burton. 

When pulling looks for the models, how did you determine what styles, textures, and shapes that you wanted to showcase in order to get the creative message across?

Hussy: We went for bold shoulders and exaggerated silhouettes for Florence and Rachel since they were depicting the role of demons hell-bent on taunting the mailman Keenan who I wanted to style almost like a high-fashion messenger boy. Teddy was the pet in the latex gimp suit and we immediately knew we wanted to layer edgy leather coats with his look. Emalea also had a clear vision of what she had in mind from the beginning but still gave me space to express myself which made the process much easier. 

Emalea: We wanted Glamour yet a bit gothy / off beat to be our style choice across all of the characters.

jacket. Roberto Cavalli
catsuit. Studio FCLX
shoes. Grenson
mask. Libidex
gloves. Dents London

left to right
catsuit. Studio FCLX
mask. Libidex
suit. Alexander McQueen
earrings + ring. Schiaparelli
scarf. Shaku

full look. AREA
opposite
suit. Alexander McQueen
earrings + ring. Schiaparelli
scarf. Shaku

What is the connection between the styling and the set location?

Hussy: We wanted to showcase darker themes that were demonically contrasting to the exterior of the bright and colourful set location, complimenting how haunting the interior of the house is. The styling acts as a unit for the inside of the residence, relating to the overly fake beautiful world. There was a strong concept with clear character outlines and a specific colour palette which helped make a connection between the styling, set location, and the general concept as a whole.

Emalea: Especially for the outside shots I wanted a juxtaposition of darkness and sharpness to go with the grandiose beauty of the Hampstead House which I think Hussy did brilliantly.

If you could describe the editorial in a single sentence, what would it be?

Emalea: Probably something like “A Weird little Tale on the observations of society.”

left to right
dress. Roberto Cavalli
shoes. Kurt Geiger
scarf. Shaku
gloves. Patrick Mcdowell
coat. MM6 Maison Margiela
shoes. Grenson
necklace. PK Bijoux
opposite
left to right
coat. MM6 Maison Margiela
necklace. PK Bijoux
dress. Roberto Cavalli
scarf. Shaku

left & right
jacket. Roberto Cavalli
catsuit. Studio FCLX
shoes. Grenson
mask. Libidex
gloves. Dents London
coat. MM6 Maison Margiela
shoes. Grenson
necklace. PK Bijoux
opposite
middle (top)
dress. Roberto Cavalli
scarf. Shaku
gloves. Patrick Mcdowell
middle (down)
full look. AREA

Every shot is incredibly powerful. what was some of the direction that captured this concept?

Emalea: The set up was about a demonic family where the daughter Demonica (Played by Florence) of Lady Lilith (played by Rachel) had got caught up in human characteristics such as greed and consumerism yet was living in a tiny telephone box. I wanted to get across a glamorous moody teenager being told to come home For Flo. For Rachel I wanted a sharp no nonsense disapproving mother. The no face man who was creeping outside the house was Uncle Sam (played by Lee) I want to give him an old school business look that was also soulless to give a sense of impending doom around capitalism. Mx Satan (played by Teddy) I wanted to create a motherly tone to their role, a caretaker in the family but who also can unfortunately become subservient from the need of people pleasing. and lastly for Postie (Played by Keenan) we created a worker ready to join forces and fight back against a system that doesn’t serve him.

When people view this editorial, what do you hope they take away from it?

Emalea: I think I want people to be like “what the hell was that about” to be so confused at first so they start dissecting it, see what themes they can uncover. Yet I also just want people to get out of my work what they will, it doesn’t have to be the reason I created it but to unravel things about ourselves through experiencing a range of emotions. Feeling emotions through play (Art) is an act of discovery and I find that thrilling which is my main reason for creating.

dress. Roberto Cavalli
shoes. Kurt Geiger
scarf. Shaku
gloves. Patrick Mcdowell
opposite
coat. MM6 Maison Margiela
necklace. PK Bijoux

full look. AREA

Follow Emalea Jones and Hussy ElCeliemy on Instagram to keep up with their work.

photography + direction. Emalea Jones
fashion. Hussy ElCeliemy
models. Florence Rose @ Milk Model Management, Keenan Yates @ Nevs, Rachel Simpson @ D1 Models, Teddy Jackson @ First London + Lee Jay Hoy
hair. Sam Arnold
make up. Jack Oliver
1st ad. Niamh Mcparland
dop. Matt Buttler
1st ac. Myles Wilkinson-Gayle
gaffer. Atikah Zainidi
wig. Vodka
make up assistant. Elliott
hair assistant. Tanahya Grace
production assistants. Dario Deluca, Jamila Fadhlaoui + Reisha Richards


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