Rachel Riemersma

Styling brief — NABA Milan

One clutch,

TWICE

A black leather clutch styled once conventionally, then against itself.

Role

Styling

Brief

One accessory, two readings

Location

NABA Milan

Frames

Three

The conventional reading — cropped studio frame of legs in burgundy opaque tights and buckled black leather heels mid-stride, a hand lowering the studded black clutch towards the floor
Figure 01 — Miu Miu, lead frame

The brief

Part of a styling course at NABA Milan, exploring how a single accessory can be reinterpreted through opposing visual narratives. The task was to style one item in both a conventional and a non-conventional way. The piece was a black leather Miu Miu clutch.

The first look presents the clutch in a refined, feminine context, shot in the studio and styled with burgundy opaque tights and black leather heels. The second interpretation subverts that elegance, reimagining the clutch through a grungier, masculine lens — shot on the Milan metro, with a male model in studded leather, black painted nails and a cigarette as a prop, positioning the accessory in a raw, urban, alternative environment.

Refined, then undone
The conventional reading — legs in burgundy opaque tights raised vertically against a pale studio ground, buckled heels overhead, the studded clutch resting on the floor alongside
Figure 02 — Conventional
The non-conventional reading — a male model seated on a red moulded Milan metro seat in a worn black leather jacket and studded belt, black painted nails, a cigarette between his fingers, the studded Miu Miu clutch on his lap
Figure 03 — Non-conventional

Credits