LCF alumnus Chirag Grover, MA Fashion Media Production, recently collaborated with creative agency Holition to create the ‘Hollow Face’ for Fashion Space Gallery’s Warpaint: Alexander McQueen and Make-Up exhibition. The amazing face can be seen at the LCF entrance to John Princes Street right now!

We caught up with Chirag to find out how he was involved and the inspirations behind his work…

Why did you choose to study MA Fashion Media Production?

I was a print graphic designer before I started this course with an interest in fashion graphics and a fear for the digital medium. I knew the future was digital and I wanted to explore this mix of fashion, graphics and the digital sector which my course was quite apt for.

How did you find out about the chance to work with Holition for the Warpaint exhibition?

I have been working with Holition for around a year now as a Digital Designer and as Holition was the digital collaborator for the Warpaint Exhibition this gave me a great opportunity to work on a prestigious project involving stalwarts like McQueen and LCF.

Can you tell us a bit about the project?

To coincide with the V&A’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Exhibition, Holition collaborated with Fashion Space Gallery on Warpaint: Alexander McQueen and Make-Up, the first ever exhibition to explore McQueen’s catwalk make-up. At the entrance space of LCF’s John Princes Street visitors are greeted with Holition’s spectacular ‘Face’ which uses projection mapping to slowly layer the makeup which then re-imagines the moment when water pours down causing the models’ makeup to run which then morphs into looks from McQueen’s ‘What A Merry Go Round’ (A/W 2001) show. The installation takes a 200 year old optical illusion idea which has been updated for the 21st century.

Holition has also created three virtual looks using its new ‘Face by Holition’ technology so that visitors can experience some of the genius behind McQueen’s catwalk shows. When looking at the wall-mounted iPads in the gallery itself, Holition’s accurate face-tracking technology ‘sees’ and locates the features on a face and is intuitive enough to discern between the skin of the lips, eyes, and other facial contours.

Tell us a bit more about projection mapping…

This particular projection mapping piece is based on the ‘Hollow face’ optical Illusion where visual content is projected onto a hollow face carving. It creates an illusion of a moving face, where you feel as if the model is looking directly at you or follows your eye wherever you go in the room. The content projected used two iconic makeup looks from Alexander McQueen shows.

What were the inspirations behind your work with Holition, and what were your main responsibilities?

The inspiration for this project came from the aspiration of the consumers to be a part of iconic McQueen makeup looks and experience McQueen’s creativity first hand. My main responsibilities were to design all the graphic elements of the project, ranging from the branding of the project, digitally painting the different McQueen makeup looks in the virtual try on and projection, the UI designs, to handling the visual content for our different social media platforms.

How can students get involved in something like this?

Holition often provides mentoring for the different courses at LCF and they like to explore collaborative working opportunities for projects. Last year, I got a chance to make an augmented reality fashion app with them through the college, which resulted in me joining Holition full-time as a graphic designer.

What was it like seeing your work on display at LCF?

I came to London 2 years ago from India to do my Masters without knowing anyone in the UK and a bit unsure if it was the right step I took for my future. Seeing the work I created being displayed two years later , not as a student, but working for a company like Holition, reinforces the belief, that I did take the right step by coming to LCF for my Masters.

What’s next for your future career?

My next step is to keep exploring this fine blend of fashion, graphics and the digital medium.