Labyrinth Movie Masked Ball Inspired Photoshoot

I’m pretty excited to share this one!

It was over a year ago that I and a group of like-minded and eccentric creatives decided we wanted to do a photoshoot inspired by the ballroom scene from Jim Henson’s 1986 movie Labyrinth. The scene is gorgeous. Sinister. Menacing yet seductively entrancing.

Ballroom guests from the 1986 movie Labyrinth

And it is completely unique. Those wonderful masks felt like they should be familiar, but - I looked - and found there isn’t anything really out there that is the right aesthetic to buy. So, we decided to make our own masks. I also looked at ballroom attire, but then again, no…the clothing in the Labyrinth scene was completely different. So the outfits had to be custom made too. I watched the ballroom scene about a million times, and had about a million epiphanies on what made it different from other masked balls. Since when do people dress like pirates for a ball? What I thought were timeless dresses…were really custom designs, and nothing today has those big puffy 80’s sleeves. The guests seem colourful, but with the notable exceptions of Sarah and Jareth,  the ballroom dancers wore an almost muted palette. There are a whole lot of cosplay photos out there inspired by Sarah & Jareth (oh that David Bowie vibe!), but that wasn’t what I wanted. I was looking for the rest of the ballroom scene - all of the other gorgeous dancers surrounded by surreal candelabras and the dreamy, near-nightmare enchantment. How darkly delicious.

You cannot create a ballroom with just one or two characters, but wow, featuring 11 models in a single photoshoot was a bit…ambitious. It was also the first real shoot in my new studio. Let’s just say it was a challenge. But…I’m not really known for doing what’s easy, and if it’s fun, is it really that bad? This is by far the most set & costume design that I have invested into a photoshoot, and it was a labour of love for both the models and myself.

I am normally able to work with clients to gather together the set materials and costuming in an afternoon to a couple of days, depending upon the complexity - I can be pretty resourceful. All of my resources were needed for this one. Outfitting 11 people on a budget took some serious creativity. While I came up with the overall concept, the models were given the opportunity to choose their own characters, and I love the ideas they came up with. Then, we then worked together to turn their vision into reality.

Labyrinth Movie Ballroom Inspired Photoshoot

I will break down some individual elements of the photoshoot and share some of the “tricks” we used to create the characters in follow up posts. If it gives you any ideas for your own images, I would love to see them. Or, if you have some ideas for your own photoshoot that you think we might work together on, well I would love to see those too!

Conspiringly yours,

Jennifer