Monday, September 19, 2011

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


Monday, August 15, 2011

Mercedes Benz Start Up

Hosts: Jarrad Clark of IMG Fashion and Project Runway Australia and JoAnne Caza of Mercedes-Benz Canada.
Model: Fred Lamarche




Winners, Simon Belanger and Jose-Manuel St.Jacques (UNTTLD) and Pao Lim and Danielle Martin (Martin Lim)
Guests: Carolyn Quinn of the FDCC (center) and Shawn Hewson of Bustle Clothing and judge to Project Runway Canada (far right).
Designer Denis Gagnon and myself.

Blogger Candice Pantin (www.montrelinfashion.com) and myself.

Last Thursday I attended an event called the Mercedes-Benz Start Up; a national initiative to discover and mentor up and coming Canadian fashion designers. The event took place at l'Usine C and was organized by IMG, the same public relations company responsible for organizing the New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The program was designed as a nation wide competition, in which Canadian designers were mentored by a panel of industry professionals on the process of building a sustainable business. The winner of the Canadian wide search will receive their own show at Toronto's LG Fashion Week by l'Oréal Paris. I attended the first round of semi-finals, which included the top five designers/labels of choice, including "Martin Lim" by Danielle Martin and Pao Lim, "Faren" by Faren Tami, "Travis Taddeo" by Travis Taddeo, "Anastasia Lomonova" by Anastasia Lomonova and "Unttld" by Simon Belanger and Jose-Manuel St.Jacques. At the end of the runway show a panel of judges announced the two winning finalists, which were "Martin Lim" and "Unttld". The four lucky winners will move onto the final round in Toronto in October, during the Fall/Winter LG Fashion Week to represent each of their labels. Ironically, both sets of winners are not only partners in fashion and design, but also in life. Whoever said couples can't work together is sadly mistaken! In conclusion, it was a lovely night of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, a runway show and mingling with some of fashion's best.

All photos by myself, Amy Lee Corkum

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

5 Bloggers 5 Looks







While attending the Festival of Fashion and Design I shot one particularly special runway show. This year for the first time the festival presented a show crafted by five influential Montreal bloggers, including Gabrielle Lacasse, Robyn Chalmers, Patrick L'Aristocrate, Lolitta Dandoy and Marie Darsingny. Each blogger styled five outfits and the show was appropriately named "Collective: 5 Bloggers, 5 Looks". The show was a beautiful demonstration of the knowledge and love that bloggers have for fashion and authenticated that bloggers know style and know what they're talking about. Each blogger's style ranged drastically from vintage and lace to dark and modern, appealing to all demographics in the audience. One blogger in particular, Lolitta Dandoy, who is a blogger for fashion magazine, Clin d'oeil featured one of my photos on her web blog post. It was a pleasure meeting Lolitta, along with all of the other bloggers and it is wonderful to see my photograph on such a credible website. Thank you, Lolitta!


(Top Image: www.festivalmodedesign.com All other photos by Amy Lee Corkum)

Festival de Mode et Design de Montreal





Last week from August 3rd-6th Montreal celebrated it's 10th fashion and design festival. The festival took over McGill College Street and where cars usually pass, models strut down runways. Each day of the festival offered incredible shows, including the highlight of the festival, Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall/Winter 2011/2012 collection. Gaultier also displayed a runway show demonstrating some of his most iconic designs and influential models, including Montreal's own Francisco Randez and Eve Salvail. I had the privilege of being able to photograph the festival with a press pass, giving me access to the perfect location for great shots of the show. I couldn't believe that I was seeing a Jean Paul Gaultier runway show right in front of my lens, just as it had been shown in Paris Fashion Week. Being a girl who grew up in a small town in New Brunswick, it is in moments like this that I realize how lucky I am to live in a city like Montreal, which presents me with incredible opportunities such as that.
I have recently teamed up with successful fashion blogger, Candice Pantin of www.montrealinfashion.com and I work with Candice as her photographer, attending events such as the Fashion and Design Festival. It is my job to document every fabulous moment to provide her with beautiful imagery to compliment her wonderful writing on her blog. I am very lucky to work with Candice, who gives me the opportunity to attend these amazing events and meet lovely people in the fashion industry, such as Fashion Television's Glen Baxter! In addition, my photography is featured on her blog each time we cover an event together and is viewed by all her loyal readers. Be sure to browse Candice's amazing blog and see all my photos from the Montreal Fashion and Design Festival : www.montrealinfashion.com

On Top of the World


All photos by Patrick St-Arnaud (www.patrickstarnaud.com)







Recently I assisted photographer, Patrick St-Arnaud on a rooftop location photo shoot. As I climbed the awkward metal stairs to the rooftop, I approached closer and closer to utopia. My newly elevated height gave me a bird's eye view of the beautiful city of Montreal and I felt like I was on top of the world. The buildings appeared to be lined up like rows of dominos, seperated only by small ally ways, and in my imagination I dreamed of leaping from one building to the other, as in the film Mary Poppins, during the "Chim Chimney" scene. That day we worked with two lovely models, Kim and Sara, and stylist Melodie Wronski. The wardrobe for the shoot was very colorful, tribal, light and flowy. Absolutely summer and lounging appropriate. My favorite articles of clothing were those from the newest collection by Rachel Roy, whose pieces are available at The Bay downtown. The rooftop gave photographer, Patrick a lot of space and locations to work with and each shot is uniquely different, all while staying fluent with the rooftop look. Altogether, the shoot was an absolute pleasure to be a part of and the team was a pleasure to work with. Be sure to check out Patrick's other work on his website at: www.patrickstarnaud.com and browse stylist, Melodie Wronski's blog at: www.mode34b.com




Friday, June 24, 2011

Scarred for Life



I absolutely love tattoos and consider the body art a fashion statement. My tattoos play as accessories that compliment my outfits and add beauty to an otherwise blank canvas. Currently I only have four tattoos, but can guarantee that by the time I'm six feet under, I'll be covered. For me, my tattoos are stamps that represent landmark moments in my life. Each time that I look at one of my tattoos I remember the age I was when I was inked, and what my life was like at that time. I reminisce as to why that design was important to me at that moment in my life and it reminds of the person I was and how I have grown, changed, developed and matured over the years. Whether a tattoo reminds me to stay grounded to my humble roots or to always remember a lost loved one, each one is as unique as I am. My elders constantly demonstrate their concern for the permanency of a tattoo, but what they don't understand is that my tattoos are the story book of my life and each one reveals a part of me at a moment in time. It is for that reason that I will never regret a tattoo, because I don't regret anything that I learn from and what teaches your more lessons than LIFE?
Below is a link to a tattoo blog for VooDoo Ink, in which I was featured on. Their blog is so visually stimulating I could browse the pages for hours. Check it out!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Masked Ball : The Final Portfolio

This is an exclusive look at my graduating portfolio for the Dawson College Institute of Photography 2011. The portfolio is title "Masked Ball" and is classed under the category of Fashion Editorial. My portfolio has been very positively received by my teachers and industry professionals and I'm am so pleased with the final result. A special thank you goes to my friends, family and loved ones for your help and support.








(Models: Melissa Alexandra Moranelli, Jessica Mclenaghen, Helene Bauer, Kristol Thompson, and Jessica Ciccarello)

All Photos by Amy Lee Corkum/Corkum Photographics.