Gaga Oh La La

For those who know me, know that I absolutely love Lady Gaga! As an avid fan I am always sure to attend her concerts each time she performs here in Montreal. This year I was lucky enough to see her live once again (for the fourth time), thanks to the wonderful generosity of my boyfriend's step-father Sergio and mother, Caroline, who surprised me with tickets for the concert. Another huge THANK YOU to you both ! Naturally, the very first thing that came to mind when I found out I would be going to the concert was my outfit. It has become a tradition at all Lady Gaga concerts that fans a.k.a Little Monsters dress up to imitate the intricate star. Many take inspiration from her music videos to re-create her iconic ensembles. In the past I have embodied her Diet Coke can hair roller look from "Telephone", as well as her "Born This Way" costume she wore at the Grammy Awards when she emerged from the infamous egg. This year I was inspired by her music video "Lady is a Tramp", in which she collaborated with Tony Bennett. 

It was so much fun creating this look! To make the dress I purchased a black lace body suit from American Apparel to wear as the bodice. For the skirt,  I used a black lace table cloth which I purchased from the Dollar Store. I sewed this to the body suit, creating a gorgeous long train in the back of the dress, just as the original Haute Couture gown designed by Tom Ford in 2011. What Ford calls the "Black Floral Chantilly Lace Evening Dress with Jet Detail" retails for thousands of dollars and I re-created it for $51 total. Proof you can be cheap and chic! 

Next I had to emulate the hair and make-up to complete my Gaga look. I love getting creative with make-up and it comes naturally to me since I've always loved to paint and draw since I was a young child. My high school art teacher never agreed with me, but I truly believe make-up artistry is just like painting, however upon a three dimensional canvas. The "Lady is a Tramp" make-up was fairly simple to accomplish, yet the final product was very dramatic. 

The spectacle itself was absolutely incredible, being more of a Broadway Show than a typical rock/pop concert. Gaga brought spectators into a fictitious land of "Government Owned Alien Territory", with a gigantic medieval castle filling the platform of the stage to set the mood. The "Born This Way Ball" went on to include a floating, talking head, a human made horse, a huge blown up belly and legs, dawned in fishnet tights and high heels, which gave birth to the superstar and a motorcycle in which you lay down on your stomach to drive, to name just a few of the show's jaw-dropping features.

(Photo courtesy of Lady Gaga's official Facebook page)

I was extremely fortunate to have caught this performance in particular, as unfortunately Lady Gaga had to cancel the remainder of her tour the next day due to a prolonged injury she had been trying to ignore. Gaga has now had surgery to what has been discovered to be a labral tear to her right hip and is following doctor's strict orders of rest for the injury to heal. 

As a true fan I wish Mother Monster a quick and successful recovery and look forward to her anticipated new album "Art Pop". 

PAWS UP! xo

-Amy Lee

                          My boyfriend, Alex and I enjoying ourselves at the show

New York Fashion Week

A HUGE milestone in my fashion photography career in which I did not have the opportunity to share with you, my readers, was my experience at NEW YORK FASHION WEEK this past September! I had the amazing privilege of attending a hand full of runway shows, displaying the Spring/Summer 2013 collections of tremendously talented designers. Not only did I have access to once in a life time fashion shows ; I was in attendance as media. Which for a photographer means sitting or standing or crouching or just squeezing your ass where ever it'll fit, right at the end of the runway! The best seat in the house, if you ask my opinion. Luckily I come in a small package, derriere and all, making it very easy to jam in between the other photographers!

I met up with fellow Montreal blogger, Candice Pantin of montrealinfashion.com in New York City to do coverage of the infamous fashion week for her website. Candice was focusing on the journalism aspect of the event and myself on the runway and street style photography. Our first day arriving at Lincoln Center, the now new location for NYFW for it's third year in a row, was an absolute whirlwind. We were in such a rush to make it to the first show we didn't even have time to be nervous. As we approached the red ropes to get past security, other bloggers, journalists and fashion enthusiasts alike were snapping pictures of our ensembles, from blouse to stiletto. Upon entering the complex the chaos continued, as jaw dropping outfits zipped past me, rushing to it's next show. Once I snapped out of my couture coma, I too was running to shows such as BCBG:Max Azria, Katya Leonovich and Herve Leger.

                                                                                                                  BCBG: Max Azria

                                                                                                                             Herve Leger

When I was not snapping runway photos, I was outside Lincoln Center capturing street style photos of the chicest people I have ever seen. Breathtaking, unique and mastered wardrobes were seen upon the cool kid, the modern conservative, the flower child and the straight off the runway devotee. I was even lucky enough to capture the outfits of some celebrities, such as fashion designer, Whitney Port and fashion journalist, Leandra Medine of manrepeller.com.

                   Whitney Port and myself 

                                                                         The Man Repeller: Leandra Medine

Artist, Marco Santaniello and Montreal in Fashion's, Candice Pantin

During this trip to New York City I was partaking in some serious soul searching. Ever since graduating from my professional photography program just over one year ago, it has been my goal to move to NYC, with the dream of becoming a big time fashion photographer. It makes sense, everything I aspire to accomplish awaits me in Manhattan (ie: shooting the cover of Vogue. Look out Mario Testino!) However, this journey sincerely made me ask myself "can you do it"? With genuine confession I can say my first day in New York scared me senseless. I was all by myself in the pouring rain, drenched in head to toe Michael Kors and got lost on the subway three times! I went back to my room, called by boyfriend on Skype, cried my eyes out, took a long, relaxing bath and then told myself to shut up and face the city again the next day. Sure it's not all how it seems on Sex and the City, but the beauty of New York City is that it truly can sometimes be that cinematically magical. For example, when you're in a top floor club of a sky scraping building at Max Azria's private party, looking out the big glass windows at the city's lights twinkling in the sky. Below you look down and see Diane Von Furstenburg's head office and 10 minutes before you came up the elevator with Calvin Klein. Then when you think it couldn't be any more cliche, DJ Kiss starts to play Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind". In moments like these you truly realize that if something in life isn't difficult or frightening to achieve, then you aren't dreaming big enough. Personally, I hope my fashion photography goals are achieved in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.

Dream BIG xo
Amy Lee

{all photos by Amy Lee Corkum}

A Monstrous Occasion

Although Halloween has already come and gone, I still wanted to share with you all my decor for the haunted holiday. I really love decorating my home for Halloween and Christmas every year, because holiday decor adds festivity to your home for the special occasion. My boyfriend Alex and I had a Halloween party at our apartment this year, so for the party I really wanted to decorate our home as much to the theme as possible. A lot of my decorations were ideas I came up with myself and others I researched inspiration on websites such as "pinterest". Although, my ideal recommendation for a Halloween filled website is Martha Stewart's official web page. Martha's favorite holiday is Halloween, therefore she has plenty of Halloween related content on her website. She offers crafty decor ideas, Fall recipes, floral arrangements and much more. Further, every year Martha releases a Halloween edition of her monthly magazine "Martha"! But this edition is more than your average issue. The magazine includes craft cut outs, tons of recipes and hundreds of glossy pages, featuring pictures of the holiday.

www.marthastewart.com

Here are some craft ideas of my own that I wanted to share!

Tape scary shaped cut outs underneath your lamp shade and it will project an eerie silhouette.

Medicine jars are a great accessory for Halloween decor, as they create the appearance of a haunted laboratory. Try placing items such as skeleton bones, eye balls or insects in a glass jar and you'll instantly create a spooky look.

An angry bird atop a rusty bird cage looks like it's straight out of a scene from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". I found my bird cage at Winners for $14.99 and the bird at the Dollarama! Truthfully, the majority of my Halloween decorations are from the dollar store. Decorating does not have to be expensive to look amazing, you just need to be creative.

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween and that you'll remember my decorating tips for next year! xo

Falling in Love

Fall is one of my favorite seasons of all. Mainly because I love Fall fashion. Weather is the perfect temperature to wear layers of different textures, patterns and fabrics. When I envision the ideal Fall outfit I see a camel-colored cable knit sweater, layered on top of a long-sleeved, collared denim button up with a beautiful classic poncho atop dark denim jeans. A full brimmed, floppy hat, great leather boots and a slouchy, casual, python and leather handbag. 
Fall also provides a personal annual tradition - the September Issue of American Vogue. Which this year featured Lady Gaga on the cover. I was in heaven! October 7th also presented a first annual celebration. The one year anniversary of my relationship with boyfriend, Alex. I won't get mushy, but I will say he makes me the happiest girl in the world. On a recent gorgeous Fall day we decided to do a little photo shoot in the park near our apartment. My go-to Fall piece for the photo shoot was my camel- colored knit poncho which I purchased at Zara last year. Also, a new favorite addition to my Fall wardrobe, calf hair chetah print loafers from Michael Kors. 

On a side note, this is my first blog post in over a year! I hope to be posting more, so stay tuned! 

Have great night! xo

Montreal Fashion Week

Montreal celebrated it's 21st Fashion Week this year and what a celebration it was! I saw some irony in the fact that I myself am also 21 years old, and just as the Fashion Week feel I am growing towards bigger accomplishments every year. This was my first year working as a photographer at the fashion week, while covering runway shows and backstage beauty for local fashion blog, Montreal In Fashion (www.montrealinfashion.com). The Fashion Week took place at it's usual location of the Marché Bonsecours, located in beautiful Old Montreal. While the location was gorgeous, I must admit that this fashion photographer did not look so graceful tackling the cobble stone road in 4 inch heels. Very funny! I was seen wobbling towards the Marché Bonsecours each day of the fashion week, which lasted a duration of four days, from September 6th to 8th. I was lucky enough to be accredited a media pass for the entire fashion week, thanks to my amazing co-worker and Montreal In Fashion creator, Candice Pantin. Candice and I covered a majority of the shows from Martin Lim, UNTTLD, Travis Taddeo, Dimitri Chris, Barila and many more. We also were granted special access backstage for many of the shows, which allowed us to do some beauty photography, capturing the amazing make up done by Cover Girl and the beautiful hairstyles, created by Pantene. Many veteran fashion week attendees expressed to me their admiration for the caliber of talent and precision to technicalities by this year's designers. Proving that Montreal has some incredible talent to offer in the fashion and design industry. Seeing this talent and beautiful craftsmanship first hand, I encourage anyone who is reading to attend your own local fashion weeks and to support local designers by purchasing unique pieces from their collections.

I had the most incredible time photographing at the Montreal Fashion Week and am extremely looking forward to the next. I felt like I was really in my element combining the two things I love most in life, which are fashion and photography. I'm so proud and lucky to have opportunities to work at such events and credit my hard work and determination, which has finally paid off. However, my experience at the Fashion Week would not have been so enjoyable if it weren't for Candice being there to show this rookie the ropes.

{ALL PHOTOS BY AMY LEE CORKUM*}

*first photo by pagguy guillet