As part of our Found Fashion series, we sent Olen our stylist and Kirstyn our photographer into the dome with five looks styled from second hand clothes shops. The clothes were generously lent to us by Debra Ireland and Irish Cancer Society.

How do you feel about this kind of upcycled/second hand clothes styling for a photoshoot?

Kirstyn: I was amazed at how easily Olen seemed put together all the looks for this shoot from second hand clothes. It goes to show there are beautiful finds in second-hand shops. I wonder if you showed someone these photos without informing them the clothes were second-hand, would they notice anything exceptionally different about the shots? Maybe not. I also feel that undertaking a shoot with these second-hand garments results in looks that are actually attainable by the people consuming the images. It’s not another high-end designer shoot, where you admire the beauty of the images, but know you’ll never wear clothes like that.

Olen, what drew you to Kirstyn’s photography style?

Kirstyn, could you describe your photography style? 

How do you find Olen’s style?

I love how Olen invents ways of doing things that I would never ever think of doing! I like his sense of experimentation. I find his style very forward-thinking. He doesn’t just get a model to wear something bizarre or wear something in a non-typical way for the sake of it. It all seems considered, not random. He’s also very open-minded which makes him a great person to collaborate with. He’s atypical, unpredictable and fun!

How was the dome?

Olen: It was raining on the day of the shoot but you couldn’t tell that from Kirstyn’s photos!

Kirstyn: It was brilliant. I was a bit concerned about how the light would be inside beforehand but actually we had no problems with lighting. It was somewhat other-wordly! Given that it’s a confined space, we had to frame the shots carefully. It’s quite chaotic in there, with a lot of stuff lying around, so instead of trying to tidy everything up and out of the shot, we just left it in. It definitely made for an interesting location to shoot in. It was cool to be able to shoot in natural light but in an interesting indoor space with one large surrounding light source. There were definitely restrictions associated with shooting in the dome but I quite enjoy a challenge.

Where do you want to see this project go? What kinds of looks and shoots are you excited about doing with this?

Kirstyn: I want to see this project inspire people who never wear vintage/second hand clothes to go out and dress themselves in someone else’s clothes. I want to see a more circular and sustainable fashion industry. I watched a documentary about fast fashion called True Cost and realised that the way we buy fashion is not sustainable, nor is it remotely ethical (for the most part).