Looking no further than what we already had in front of us, yet doing so with an alternate emphasis, the first shoot of ROCKET Magazine’s Fall/Winter 2017 edition focused on accessories. As a means to grapple with fashion more holistically, the shoot allowed us to place emphasis on the components of style that tend to go understated, yet demonstrably can speak volumes on their own. With this came a recognition of a trend that has emerged in recent years and departs from the focus of conventional fashion shoots: an emergence of accessories that move beyond functionality and have started to represent an essential component to any complete look or collection.
Though planned and executed like any other shoot, the accessories shoot presented the ROCKET staff with the unique opportunity to alter their perspectives and see both their typical roles and the elements of shoots in a new way. Structurally speaking, the focus on accessories, as opposed to outfits, was exciting and unfamiliar for a number of staff members. However, it also provided a unique opportunity. The style co-editor Dalton Lackey said, “By focusing on accessories as opposed to full outfits, the style team was forced to take an in-depth look at a huge aspect of fashion that we felt we weren’t necessarily overlooking, but one that we weren’t giving the attention we felt it deserved.”
Just as the focus of the shoot was shifted away from a traditional focus, the perspectives of many of our staff members, who during the shoot served as models, was altered. By filling in as models, staff members abandoned their roles as creative directors and influencers to adopt a new viewpoint. Bronwyn Roseli, ROCKET’s fashion director, who participated as a model in the shoot, said that “Using staff as models has now allowed for the ROCKET team as a whole to better understand the difficulties and challenges our models face and improve upon communication and how we use future models in shoots to come.”
Simultaneously distinguishing an outfit and unifying a series, accessories are much more than what we carry with us. Being the first shoot of the new edition, the accessories shoot nods at the innovative approaches ROCKET Magazine is striving for as we explore and claim our new creative vision.
Peter Makey and Keegan Leighty
photography: Jon Merlino