Fashion is something which is always changing and, in my opinion, can’t really be defined. Fashion at its highest is an artistic visual expression and can be seen everywhere, and  our own fair city is no different. Photography is a pinnacle art form in the world we live in today. Fashion and photography are the ultimate collaborators, and you can look no further than your phone to see it on Instagram. The world-wide phenomenon has over one billion users and has led to the rise of both fashion bloggers and artists, giving them a platform to showcase their talents. Ireland’s brilliant artists are no strangers to Instagram. One of its most prominent rising stars is Amber O’Shea, a photographer based in Dublin. She has been shooting for 4 years and is currently honing her art by studying a BA in Photography at IADT, graduating in 2021. Amber says her inspirations come from “contemporary culture, fashion, literature and music, and her experiences in everyday life”. She describes herself as “someone who works at the junction of mixed media and graphics, contemporary fashion, and editorial style”. Unique style and perspective gives her art an edge above the rest. I was lucky to get to chat with her about all things photography, art and fashion in Dublin.

 

Ciarán: “Your style is incredible, what are your inspirations? Do you feel like it influences your art?”

 

Amber: “I’d describe my style as evolving, I think there’s always a certain era to the way I work both personally and professionally. I know I have a keen eye on being a fashion photographer but I love trying new things all of the time, I never like to stick to one category. The way I work is that I love to fuse multiple styles all into one. One big thing for me is self-expression so I love to work with people who really embrace their style and identity. Right now I’m learning how to make videos and I’ve been documenting the people in my life so my style is always changing and I like that. Regarding how I dress, self-expression is so important to me. I’ve always been influenced by Vivienne Westwood, Gaga, and music played a big part into the way that I dress. I dress for myself and I think that’s the important thing to let go of what other people might think of you, dress the way of what makes you happy and what makes you feel good. I think the way I dress myself is that I like to experiment and my style always changes yet stays the same.”

 

Ciarán: “Do you think that photography has had an influence on fashion as well?”

 

Amber: “I think photography massively impacts the fashion world whether it comes down to the latest campaigns, selfie culture and Instagram. I think it functions as a tool to show how society and culture communicate about how they feel about the current trends. I think photography is an essential part of fashion and as a key factor in trend development. I love seeing the fuse between fashion and photography. It always shows us something new.”

 

Ciarán: “How do you think photography and fashion merge?”

 

Amber: “I think fashion and photography individually are always changing and there is always something new to be discovered. I believe that every art form influences one another.”

 

Ciarán: “What are your thoughts on Instagram? It’s such a huge visual platform that a lot of people use as portfolios- do you feel like it’s a negative or a positive to photography/fashion?”

 

Amber: “Using Instagram as an online portfolio is the current thing to do, it’s so easy to share your work and get a growing audience it also makes it widely accessible to see what and how other photographers are working and to also see what are the current trends in photography. I am grateful to have met such wonderful artists because of this platform and it also gave me confidence to grow my work and it helped me in many ways. However there are negative views about Instagram. I don’t agree that your work or yourself is given it’s value by the number or likes of following you have. And this is a big issue in our society and it is doing colossal damage to people’s self esteem and sense of worth, I am guilty of this to a certain extent but then I always have to give myself a reality check. Instagram isn’t going to be there forever, times are always changing.”

 

Ciarán: “Instagram is such a huge platform for both fashion bloggers and photographs-do you think another visual based social media platform will appear?”

 

Amber: “I think that Instagram is the most current thing for photographers and influencers to be using but I have no doubt that there will be another brand new app. There are always competitors out there trying to make the next best thing, but new trendy apps always die out eventually until people get bored or sick of it and move onto something else.”

 

Ciarán: “What do you think about the style In Dublin at the moment and do you have any favourites?”

 

Amber: “I do like the style in Dublin and I think it’s becoming more influenced by my generation, I see how street style is evolving and you can see how the upcoming musicians and artists have an influence on reflecting that back into fashion and style in Dublin. I think music has a big effect on culture in Dublin, regarding club nights, upcoming artists and musicians I think these play a key role into the way people are dressing, and how more and more young people are quitting following trends and wearing what embraces them to feel good. There is a high rise in sustainable fashion in Dublin and it’s incredible because you get inspired by the things you already have that you can repurpose and reuse. I think personally I always had the mentality that I needed to have a sewing machine to be able to repurpose my clothes but it’s so much easier and more than that. I follow so many talented people on Instagram and they upload these incredible tutorials of cutting up or dyeing clothing to make brand new pieces. It is insanely amazing. I think Dublin is very inspiring as people around my age group have been great at creating swap shops, charity shop hauls and spreading informative ways on becoming a sustainable fashion wearer and what fast fashion is doing to our world. For more information my top people would be @lucindaggg_ @tarastewartdj @kee_mon”

To view her work you can check out her Instagram @o.shea.o, which displays her work and portfolio.