Mary Ginnifer is a Creative Director, Stylist, Artist and Designer from Cork. She has a BA Hons Degree in Fine Art and Design from the Crawford College of Art And Design Cork and has been working as a Stylist and Creative Director for the past five years.
Styling and directing fashion editorials for such prestigious fashion publications as The Irish Times, Life, Style Magazine, Institute Magazine and Flawless Magazine to name but a few. It is her creative concepts and ability to create captivating and often dark-romantic, otherworldly fashion stories through her styling, production design and creative direction, that make Mary’s conceptual work stand out from the rest and capture the attention of influential Fashion Editors such as Deirdre McQuillan of The Irish Times, who has written many feature articles on Mary describing her as a ‘Stylist who turns the ordinary into the extraordinary’ and has published several of her creative shoots. Mary’s roles are wide and varied from Director, Producer, Creative Director, Production Designer to Stylist and often Fashion Designer and MUA. She lives and breathes creativity and is hot demand from not only Fashion Photographers and the fashion industry but also is regularly called upon by Singers, Hair Salon Directors and Film Makers to bring her creative touch to their creative projects.
Mary says she draws inspiration from so many things but in particular fine art, film, theatre, music and philosophy influence her creative thought process hugely. She also credits her late mother as being a huge inspiration to her, with happy memories of her mum telling her own enchanting fairy tales and making beautiful costumes for herself and her sisters for school plays and Halloween fuelling her creative passion.
In her childhood her father also encouraged her love for drawing nature, which has also greatly informed Mary’s work. Her styling approach is often avant-garde peppered with contemporary touches and it is her attention to detail that leaves people in awe and comparing her creations to the work of Tim Walker and Alexander McQueen, much to her delight. The featured shoot entitled ‘Oui Rebel!’ supports these statements where old world decadence and Parisian charm meet in a most creative and fantastical way…
“Drawing on my varied influences from both the fine art and haute couture worlds and my passion for antiques and vintage, I conceived of the concept, marrying old world decadence and a youthful angst, aptly titled ‘Oui Rebel!’. Referencing Delacroix’s charged ‘Liberty Leading the People’ and Westwood’s statement punk oeuvre, I playfully merged vintage and contemporary pieces creating painterly and fresh scenes. Whimsical touches set theatrically against the emotive and large scale canvases of Irish artist Tony O’ Connor, speak to my romantic sensibilities”.
Cutting-edge couture was bountifully represented with such high-end Cork based boutiques as Samui, Olori, Monreal, Marc Cain, Salingers and Irish designers such as Valecia and Elaine Honey contributing, as well as my favourite go-to vintage havens; Mercury Goes Retrograde and The Retro Workshop Cork nationally and Gladrags Vintage stateside! Furthermore Topman’s youthful and street style was featured along with that of MacCarthy’s Ltd.
Tongue-in-cheek military accents were provided by Medalika Designs, all the way from Lithuania and of course myself creating bespoke millinery, adding my own quirky touches. Beautifully crafted handbags that compliment the story came from Kent Stetson of Rhode Island, U.S.A.
My fabulous team of creative colleagues consisted of:
Director, Producer, Creative Director, Stylist: Mary Ginnifer
Photographer: Miki Barlok, Art Department: Mary Ginnifer, Jill Wild, Assistant Stylist: Elaine Honey, Hair: Aaron Healy of, Wayne Lloyd Hairdressing, Makeup: Nicole Lynch, Models: Nathan Adams, Graham O’ Mahony, Cian Denn of Runaway Modelling Agency. Gillian Aherne, Aoife Begley of Pulse Models Cork, Geraldine Coughlan independent model.
With special thanks to Tony O’ Connor- Equine Art, Revival:Antiques,Retro and Collectables, A Rockin’ Good Way, Anarchy Antiques, Aidan Quigley’s Revolution Vintage and Vinyl ( all available at Mother Jones Flea Market Cork), Jacqui Brown of The Village Hall Cork and Jill Wild for contributing props.
