A fashion adaptation of Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'

'A Clockwork Orange' is a controversial and a very juxtapositional piece; Alex (the teen protagonist) is a primal savage - a civilised, primal savage who's interests extends to art, Beethoven, rape, violence, and murder. Following my perception and research of the film, I believe that the overall conclusion to the film is the conflict of two minds: the intellectual creative side of man, vs. the primal side. We clearly see this conflict in the scene where Alex chooses to defend himself against a Beethoven bust statue, with a phallic object; this emphasises the idea of the mind vs. the body.

As a designer who relishes particularly in fashion illustrations I have decided to approach this theme through fashion. My theoretical adaptation of Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' will be that all of the characters are costumed in theatrical, haute-couture fashion, possibly inspired by Jean-Paul Gaultier and Alexander McQueen. Fashion has always been considered a depiction of someones status and wealth - particularly obvious
in the 1600's where fabrics, dyes and embellishments along with choice of garments would depict such things. Thus relating to the theme of the film, fashion would equal the creative, intellectual, cultured side of the brain. However, I will contrast this by using 'Savage-Beauty' and very theatrical, anarchist makeup/fashion accessories to bring out the primitive, primal side.

Charcoal on paper and photoshop. Visual demonstration of my idea.

I decided to reverse the gender within the film, to see how it would affect the meaning and perception of the footage, as many feminists have disputed the film's content to say that it has acts of misogyny.

Also I feel that in contemporary fashion, females are a typically commercial way to sell fashion and beauty, and thus may attract more of an audience to the film.

When thinking of the visuals of this campaign, images such as Black Swan come to mind, Alexander McQueen, Jean-Paul Gaultier, theatrical makeup, high fashion. In terms of visual communication, I imagine high-contrast, black and white images possibly with hints of orange just to add a pop of colour and to also tie back to the title 'A Clockwork Orange'. The fashion will be steam-punk due to the use of cogs and gears, with an anarchist vibe.