Elliss COLLECTION II
Elliss launches the campaign for COLLECTION 2 of her eponymous line, set on the atmospheric Isle of Grain
The narrative of female sexuality was once again written into a collection of quiet consideration for Elliss Solomon’s second offering – aptly named COLLECTION II – from her eponymous line that launched in June of last year, and which has recently been stocked at LN-CC. Elliss eschews the seasonally driven in place of work that feels a natural continuation from the last, drawing from unconscious influence and conscious thoughts. Coming from a creative home (both of her parents work in design) and graduating from Central Saint Martins last year, Elliss’ understanding of the world has always been set against a backdrop of visual, artistic means. Drawing from discordant surroundings to inform her work, she challenges archaic ideology through photocopied prints, skewing realities into soft shapes and watercolour wash. For her most recent collection, the tired portrayal of femininity in current culture is challenged through the vintage erotica that informs organic cotton prints. The female form is removed from contemporary male gaze, and viewed through Elliss’ way of seeing, of art and of feminism.
Prints appear as life drawn nudes in charcoal line, and abstracted parts harmoniously placed, created from cut-outs in Le Nu Esthetique, a 20th century magazine that references mythology and symbolism in playful, nostalgic means. Scissors slice around soft curves, figures float in unison on faded backgrounds, creating new shapes through negative space and mirroring the twists and turns of flesh in paper cuts and careful placement. These undulating curves inspired the sculptural explorations of Anousha Payne that were on show during the ELLISS presentation at 71A Gallery in February earlier this year; metal shapes bloomed and carved through the space, models walked around and through them, and the organic formations seemed to shiver at their touch.
Below, we exclusively reveal the campaign for COLLECTION II, styled by Patricia Villirillo and shot by Samuel Bradley in the Isle of Grain, Kent.
View more of the campaign at https://www.pylotmagazine.com/elliss-collection-ii/
