Chiiz Volume 7 :Fashion Photography

The Backstage Brilliance
Ishaan Nair
Ishaan Nair, filmmaker and photographer, has been working since his
education in direction and cinematography from New York. In his search
for himself, he discovered an innate talent for photography. Without any
formal training he has shot covers and editorials for Harper’s Bazaar,
L’Officiel, Marie Claire. His skills have led him to photograph some of the
best-known faces of the thriving Indian film industry. With a stronghold
in fashion, he has shot advertising campaigns, films and shows for the
most celebrated designers.
‘Kaash’, a film written and directed by him marks his directorial debut. After having it’s world
premier at Tokyo International film festival, it is now slated to release this year. More recently
he has directed commercials for Dove, Puma, Lakme, Taj Palaces, Apple Music, Jaipur
Jewels and more. Website: ishaannair.net
Bright lights, ravishing dresses, enchanting smiles of beautiful models and
hardworking stylists. Fashion show, a place where the level of talent is quite
high and is a place where beauty is showcased with pride. Fashion designers
participate and their work is enhanced by charming models. But have you ever seen
the backstage of a fashion show? Well, one will think that models just stand in line
and wait till their turn comes to perform, but is that so?
There is an army of people working in full potential to showcase their talent to the
fans and guests. A backstage of a fashion show is a place where final decisions are
taken models are munching and stylists are making changes. The fun part is, stylists
are never satisfied with their setup, and they make last-minute adjustments and work
under a lot of pressure to make the show a success. It is an organised madness where
makeup artists are running behind the models and they even get their dresses ready
seconds before their ramp-walk.
The stylists face a lot of issues, sometimes the models get late due to traffic or because
of their last show somewhere. They come running with makeup and it becomes
challenging for the makeup artists to work at the last minute. But when all these
challenges are overcome, the fashion show becomes successful. Well, fashion show
is one thing and fashion week is something far more hectic with so many things to
be taken care of.
All the models are getting ready at the last minute makes it difficult deciding who
will be walking first. There are times when the models go to other shows making
the designers call their backups. The models get limited time for their walk and the
time spent returning, changing and walking again. Ramp walk is also one thing
that enhances the designer’s outfits. Models, managers, stylists, makeup artists and
fashion elites make a fashion show successful but most of the hefty work is done
backstage.
Backstage is one place where there is no time to relax or even take a break. It is a place
where fun can’t be missed. There are a lot of photographers too who get the best shots
right before the models walk. The look on their faces some scared, some thrilled and
some of them are just in a hurry to finish the work. The best part is that you will also
find fans, a lot of them just to have a glimpse of their favourite artists. The fans also
play a vital role in the fashion business because they are the ones who take their work
to another level by buying the outfits the designers showcase in the fashion shows all
around the world.
Ankit Tyagi
Facelift Stage
Canon EOS 5D Mark II 50mm F/7.1 1/160s ISO160
ankit@chiiz.com
Ankit, a journalism student, with intense love towards photography.
He writes for a digital marketing company and believes in the power
of words. The dream is to explore and find different perceptions in
life. He likes watching classic movies and follows Alfred Hitchcock.
Vol 7
71