Fashionable Mail

I'm not talking about that mail that needs 'internet connection'. No, now we'll be talking about the good-old-fashioned mail, that needs paper, a pen, an envelope and...a STAMP!

Why? Well, Johnson Banks have designed a set of postage stamps that celebrate the last 60 years of British fashion. I'm just wondering, are they trying to make the postal office cool again?! Joking...but, really now, I wouldn't mind getting (or writing) a real letter from time to time. Actually, one of my favorite activity while on vacation, is sending postcards!

Now, start planning how in your life is cool/nice/sweet/good enough to deserve a letter from you! I know I am doing the same thing!Text from Johnson Banks (pretty cool, enjoy!):

The great British fashion stamps have been created by London-based graphic designers Johnson Banks, who commissioned highly respected fashion photographer Sølve Sundsbø to photograph 10 outfits chosen to summaries the last 60 years of British fashion. live models – as opposed to static fashion mannequins – were used to achieve dynamic postures and a sense of movement. the models had to embody the ideal silhouettes of the various fashion eras and fit perfectly into the surviving existing garments.


The two-day photo shoot took place at Sundsbø’s London studio. some of the clothes were obtained directly from the designers, whilst others were sourced from specialist vintage fashion stores. Johnson Banks worked closely with the photographer and his assistants, stylists and hair and wig artists. Following the shoot, the features of the models and the background were erased from the images in order to focus the viewer’s gaze upon each of the distinctive British fashion designs.

'It’s hard to make clothes look interesting if no one’s wearing them,' explains Johnson Banks creative director Michael Johnson. 'on a tailor’s dummy they seem flat and lifeless. on the other hand, we didn’t want models or celebrities to distract from the design, which is what we are celebrating.
For example, there’s a great photo of Ringo Starr wearing a classic Tommy Nutter suit in the 1970s, but you just think, ‘there’s a great photo of Ringo’ and don’t look at the suit.'
 
Johnson and co-designer Kath Tudball decided on a radical compromise: shoot the clothes being modelled for real but then digitally remove the faces and hands. First, however, they had to actually get hold of the precious artifacts, which meant the long process of persuading the designers or their estates to loan them out for a few days or sourcing them from obliging vintage stores (a task that took over three months).

The striking images finally came together during a two-day shoot June 2011. afterwards, judicious cropping and retouching were used to bring out the lines, textures and movement of the garments – for once, it was the clothes that were striking a pose.

From: Designboom