Some of you may recognize the name Edina Csoboth (@edinacsobothphotography) from the first time she won the fashion category of Sony World Photo Awards in 2011. Since then, one of her best works to date is the stunning series Wake up. It strongly resonates with the vibes that this year has left to us: we all need a kind of awakening to a fresh start. Edina shared some details about the origins of this series, her intentions were pretty similar: “My motivation was mainly personal when I began to work on the concept. Six years ago I had a little break, a kind of a reflection period when I had no chance to deal with photography and I felt that I was getting further and further from what I really love to do. I wanted to send a message to myself with this series. This is how the title came earlier than the editorial. After I needed a story where this awakening could manifest itself. This led me to a storyline where my main character was a sleepwalker, impersonating my story. “
Edina Csoboth
© Edina Csoboth
To embody this sleepy and dreamy character, the make up artist Eszter Galambos created a look with dark rimmed and heavy eyes, which was combined with the streamlined hairstyles of Steven Buzássy hairdresser. We can also see this thrilling duality in the styling. The stylist Lilla Fehér and Edina are old friends, and had a perfect match in their visions. They were partly using garments strongly associated with sleeping: several pieces were nightgowns, and they even turned a blanket into a dress. Parallel with those playful nightdresses, they also worked with shiny and plastic-like materials, which harmonized with the vibrant colours of the neon lights, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. This dreamy ambience could be quite close to a trip or even a nightmare, but the accessories created by Lilla Fehér added some humour and playfulness to the images. Along with their self-created outfits they chose the pieces of two emerging Hungarian brands called Pleasure is Pretty and Feelinkita.
Edina Csoboth
© Edina Csoboth
Edina always puts a big emphasis on finding the location most suitable to her ideas. And what is better for a dreamy surreal editorial than the hidden awkward gems of Budapest at night? For this series she chose some mysterious and lesser known spots, which stimulated new ideas in her fantasy of unusual stories. “When I enter a place and I can imagine a full storyline just by looking at it, I always know that I am at the right place.” – says Edina. The location choice was also perfect from a lighting perspective: with the exception of using a small led light, all the photographs were lit by streetlights.
Edina Csoboth
© Edina Csoboth
When Edina began planning this series, one of her main sources of inspiration was the series Be a Chameleon fit in anywhere be a rockstar stand out everywhere by Sølve Sundsbø. Besides this, she considered the character of her model Carol very stimulating, and as she admitted her enthusiasm for Japanese culture and neon lights which also left their marks on these photos. As Edina grew up in the 90’s, the pop-culture of this era also inspired her a great deal. Her main sources of inspiration are sci-fi, horror and action movies like Blade Runner.
Hair: Steven Buzassy @steven_buzassy Make up: Eszter Galambos Styling: Lilla Fehér @lillafehrdesign Model: Carol @karolmuller5000 Designers: Pleasure is Pretty @pleasureispretty Feelinkita @feelinkota