By Elida Silvey

Humongous patterned bows, bedazzled boxing glam-covered shins, and hyper-femme silk figures litter Bristol's suburbia in Dean Davies’ newest zine, Star Potential. Star Potential is a collaborative project between image-maker and lecturer Dean Davies and 19 of his students — alumni of UWE, Bristol’s BA (Hons) Fashion Communication programme. Spanning a three-year period, the project sees Davies offer one-on-one support to his students in order to help them develop their own stylistic voices. By effectively expelling their ideas from the realm of the mind onto that of print, Davies and his students shed light on the joys of collaboration, challenged formal education with their real-world connection and opened up the conversation on cultivating style outside of the vice-like grip of luxury brands.

Davies initially struck me as a photographer who intimately understands Britain’s working class. His careful portrayals of women in Manchester Girls, his previous zine, drew me to his keen photographic eye, while his sensibility for finding and highlighting the wonder in those often overlooked subjects enamored me with his work as a whole. Sharing this sensibility, the images in Star Potential are categorically his own, with their suburban backdrops, regally angled shots and carefully color-graded tones. Despite this established voice, you can still hear his students chiming in throughout with their own versions of an idealized fashion utopia.

This suggests a clear line of communication between mentor and mentee, as the project waxes and wanes from Davies to his students. It’s a thrill to see this kind of collaboration coming from a more traditional educational system, as it provides a refreshing alternative to the Zoom classrooms and isolated learning of recent years and highlights the importance of hands-on experience. As someone who hasn’t had the opportunity of a formal education, this too offers some relief by reassuring me that informal learning, outside of the confines of a classroom, can be just as valuable.

This publication and its subsequent imagery offer a body of work that feels both familiar and unexpected. Each set of two spreads is an embodiment of a unique mentality, with the students' casting and styling choices hinting at themes of sexuality, gender expression and feminine joy, among others. Annalise Fletcher’s pearl-laden model, Alice Alderdice’s soft-lace cowboy and Alice Wilson’s tire-swinging bow business women are vivid examples of this. Elements of humor and recognizable iconography creep throughout — from James Robinson’s leprechaun lads to Alfie White’s boxing glam girlies — creating an enjoyable experience from the onset.

Star Potential also carries a cacophony of playful reference material, with Sophia Goode making references to the ruffled neck pieces popularized during Queen Elizabeth’s reign; Dorny Sunday’s poem Miss Demeanor summoning the true queen, Vivienne Westwood; and Chloe Marshall bringing nostalgia to the forefront with her use of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer lunch box. The casting choices also highlight the diversity of friends, families and acquaintances — people who, despite their incredible stances and striking appearances, look just like everyone else. Far from high fashion models, these scenes and their inhabitants subvert the traditional podiums of stardom in an exercise in make-believe and highlight a world where fashion isn’t exclusive to the Amazonian or heroine chic.

The pieces themselves were particularly compelling. Davies, by encouraging his students to utilize the materials available at their disposal, created the perfect environment for innovation to flourish outside of the logomania of popular fashion brands. Formed from hand-made materials rummaged out of family members’ closets and picked from local charity shops, each student makes a bold statement regarding style within their respective fantasies. Reinforcing the idea that being fashionable doesn’t require large amounts of wealth, but rather that with a bit of experimentation and a hefty side of personality, you can create something truly captivating.

What excites me the most about dressing up in the pages of Star Potential, where self-expression is shaped by the colors, textures and silhouettes of an outfit. A self-referencing game: I’ll put a plethora of pins on my purses to signal, to anyone who might also be a fan, that I am a willing target for conversation. I’ll wear mini skirts that reminds me of the ones Karen O wore in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and thrifted cartoon tees from the Goodwills in my hometown. Fashion for me is an inside joke, a laugh with friends and an opportunity to make new ones through the tongue-in-cheek, wink-wink salute of a collective ‘aha’ moment. Star Potential scratches that primordial itch; it’s a collection of witticism where different voices, threaded together by the distinctive shimmer of Dean Davies’ photography, are able to shine as bright as the North Star, illuminating a more playful pathway forward for fashion’s future. ♦

Purchase Star Potential HERE.

Star Potential: Subverting Stardom with a Playful Wink to Fashion

By Elida Silvey