Greg Kessler‘s Model Morphosis stories for the New York Times has been one of their most popular and innovative fashion week features for the past several years. There was no better way to see the transformation of the models from the pretty girls next door into the beautiful, at times other worldly swans that grace the runway. We chatted with Greg to find out about the new iTunes app he developed that lets everyone create their very own morphs. (Check out the 2 morphs created below just for models.com!)
Mirte Maas at Valentino Couture
MDC: How did the morph idea come about and how many seasons have you been doing it?
Greg Kessler: The idea came up in a meeting with the Times before fashion week a few years ago. I was mainly shooting the beauty pages for T magazine featuring finished looks and product. At the time we had just begun shooting another online transformations piece where we followed a girl from show to show documenting her looks over the course of the day. It was a good feature but there was still something I felt we weren’t showing. There is a lot going on when a girl sits in hair and makeup for 2 hours for a 15 minute show. The model morphs really came from what we were already doing, with what we felt like was missing; more of the actual process that took the girl onto the runway. With the morph, we could really see how the girl was changing. She wasn’t just changing outfits, but her actual look.
MDC: Why the app?
GK: Friends told me how much they liked the feature on the Times so I decided they should be able to do their own morphosis at home. The app is more of a tool for people to morph themselves. Whether they are comparing their makeup, sunglasses, or mashing up their face with a friend. I thought it would be fun and a fun thing to share with friends.
MDC: What other apps do you like and why?
GK: I’m always looking at Twitter and Instagram. And the Weather Channel app. I like swiping between the cities. I wish the plane moved that fast :)
MDC: What other applications can you see for the morph? I personally think there’s so many usages for it!
GK: I’d like to see interior designers use the morph to look at rooms before and after they’ve work on the space or at least the room before paired with their rendering of the room they would like to create.
MDC: Now, a general question… what is one of your favorite shows to do in each city and why?
GK: I definitely have favorite girls and designers but I always like to see how a designer evolves their signatures from season to season.. I’m a big fan of Marni for their prints and Balmain for the embroidered jackets they are doing right now. Another one is Guillaume at Carven, the construction of his dresses are fantastic. Valentino right now is also pretty beautiful. The way Raf’s sensitivity transfers to a dress. I can probably go on about a lot of them really. The same goes for models. It’s like casting a girl or wearing an outfit, you choose one for different reasons whether it’s to create a feeling or evoke a certain emotion.
Chrystal Copland at Costello Tagliapietra
Check out the app at the iTunes store.
Greg Kessler’s website
