The Blackout Collection, collaboration between Danielle Keasling and Sarah Mac, debuts bold color with even bolder makeup. The concept makes us take a deep look at color, shapes, and form and the ways in which to use makeup, color, and styling skills to manipulate a stunning image. Take a peek at this amazing collection and learn more about the inspiration and what led to these empowering images.
What does this collection symbolize?
GROUNDING: a "ground" is usually idealized as an infinite source for charge. Like when lightening grounds itself.
How did you come up with this look?
Sarah was really into clean lines and precision cuts at the time so she indulged those inspirations, she is also a incredibly talented colorist and wanted to create a strong color collection with the sharp lines. I wanted to compliment Sarah's color choices and push myself way out of the box and do some interesting Avant Garde work. This is not my strong suit, but after taking a masters class last year with Nicolas French, Chris Baran, and Ruth Roche, I was inspired to create something WAY out of my comfort zone! I wanted to play more off the abstract shapes the lightening makes when it cracks across the sky.
Was there a source of inspiration for this shoot?
The inspiration behind this shoot was Electricity, specifically the grounding of lighting to the earth in the pitch-black night and the beautiful colors it produces.
How did you work with the makeup artist to create the finished look?
Before the shoot we showed Tim some swipes of ideas for the makeup and the color schemes for the hair. Come shoot day we let Tim do his thing. He basically painted the models with black theatrical paint and played the eyes up with color inspirations from the hair.
What was the most important aspect of this shoot?
The makeup! We really wanted the colors of the hair to really pop just like lightening does. We needed an amazing canvas to help achieve that and Timothy really nailed it. The hero of this shoot is the bold colors, precision shapes and abstract art created with the Avant Garde looks.
What are you hoping to express to your audience through these images?
Life is increasingly busy so remember to try to slow down sometimes. Pay attention to the beauty around you, the simple things. You never know how it may inspire you to create something that you never thought imaginable. We created a collection from something VERY simple. You don't need to have a huge story to create something very cool. The little things in life that can inspire are all around us.
How did you decide on the color scheme for the shoot?
For the clean cuts Sarah played off primary colors and fused them together seamlessly. As for the Avant Garde I took the direction from Sarah and her creations and pushed those colors a little further.
What was the biggest challenge of this shoot?
Honestly, this team had such great chemistry and the shoot really flowed together so nice. There was a lot of preparation in this shoot. I guess it would just be trying not to smear Timothy's amazing makeup on the hair.
Written by both Danielle Keasling and Sarah Mac. Be sure to stalk these two amazing artists and stay tuned for their latest inspirations and adventures!
Hair Collaboration: Danielle Keasling and Sarah Mac
Makeup: Timothy Cabell
Photographer: Will Mydell
