Regina Bakeeva, Hanna Sztepanov and Anael Flores are exploring the passion behind Flow. — Perfect x Istituto Marangoni.
In a series of mentorship workshops with Katie Grand and Istituto Marangoni, MA fashion students were able to dive deep into the world of fashion styling and production, learning the key elements and principles of creating fashion imagery and moving image. Students were split into 5 groups and asked to create and present a creative project, encompassing across different types of media. Sharing their mood boards and inspirations, the groups collaborated and presented their ideas which touched upon mirroring reality with the Metaverse, human connection and pain, the distorted future, intimacy and movement.
During their final module at Istituto Marangoni, students Regina Bakeeva, Hanna Sztepanov and Anael Flores were inspired to incorporate dance and movement into their team project, expressing freedom and passion for your surroundings through the art form of Flow. Expressing their thoughts behind the project and what’s next for them as they graduate and venture out into the creative world, they spoke to Perfect about how this project brought them together, and what they learned about the collaboration process across image-making.
Perfect: What was your initial idea for this collaborative project, what were your starting points?
Team FLOW: Our project is unlayering the philosophy of Flow through the act of freestyle movement. In our everyday life we keep on being interrupted by intrusive thoughts such as “why am I doing this” or “what else should I be doing”, in a way critically evaluating our actions and backing them up with reasoning. However, when a person is truly doing or performing something that is meaningful for them they enter the state of Flow, where there is no need to reflect, as the actions become one with the self, and are carried out effortlessly as if by force. We have aimed to demonstrate this feeling through a short movie, making the public deeply reconsider what it is that truly makes them feel as the best version of themselves and truly present in their actions. Through the act of dancing, we wanted to show how our performers feel in that exact moment, to show the public that this moment of Flow is like breathing, almost automatic, the world could collapse and the person would be completely unaware of it.
Perfect: What was your creative process like, how did the idea develop?
Team FLOW: The process has been incredibly challenging and yet so rewarding. Organising everything before the shoot day was hard to say the least, and it felt as if life was truly testing us. However, on the day everything seemed to aline perfectly and it truly showed us that all of our efforts indeed did pay off. It took us a while to work on post-production as well.
Perfect: How did you work as a group, how did you find the unique synergy amongst all of you?
Team FLOW: Even though there have been some challenges I think the whole group caught the flow and shared the excitement together! Each member of the team brought something truly unique to the project. We definitely have learned a lot from each other.
Perfect: Working with Katie Grand, what were your takeaways from this mentorship project?
Team FLOW: To meet Katie Grand and see how kind and down to earth she is, considering all her achievements, was refreshing. She inspired and shared her tips with us when it comes to shooting, which definitely assisted us to prepare better for the day and consider factors that we have not thought about. Additionally, she put us in contact with people who we can acquire clothing items from, which has changed our entire styling game for the shoot. We are incredibly grateful and inspired!
Perfect: What are your individual goals going forward?
Team FLOW: All of us have just graduated from Istituto Marangoni and we all feel incredibly excited for our professional growth in the fashion/creative industry. We are opened to the world and new opportunities that it holds for us!
