fabulous fashion
When Fabulous sent three top fashion snappers to follow the all new Ford Fiesta around Britain, we expected some startling pictures to emerge - and they most certainly did.Cutting-edge photographers Katie Kaars, Lee Strickland and Diego Merino were chosen to give their unique take on the all new Ford Fiesta. Inspired by the good-looking car they all chose urban locations and shot the car at dusk - the time of the night when the fashionistas come out to play.We think they showed off the all new Ford Fiesta in a fantastic light. Have a look at these amazing photos for yourself in the galleries.
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  • Katie Kaars

    The first photographer on our All New Ford Fiesta project, Katie Kaars, is the epitome of elfin rock cool, with striped t-shirt, black jeans and sunglasses. As she cycles to jobs in London on her beloved retro 1970s fold-up bike, she could herself be a model.But as a top professional photographer Katie's place is on the business side of the lens, and she's justly renowned for her work on fashion and music. Recent jobs have included Mike Skinner of The Streets - "He was really lovely and a delight to work with," she says - and New York band We Are Scientists who were ‘really funny guys‘. "I love working with musicians as they've usually got something to say," she says. “You can have a laugh with them.” She also loves cars. "I was delighted when I saw the new Fiesta, and instantly knew it would be a great car to shoot."For several years, Katie, 31, has been sought after for her cool eye. Her work has appeared in many publications around the world, including Harpers Bazaar, ELLE and Grazia - plus, she’s taken snaps for many commercial clients. She's had a bit of form photographing cars. As well as the All New Ford Fiesta, which she calls a ’seriously sleek car’, she recently had a fantastic time taking photographs of the hot rods at Santa Pod racetrack in Northamptonshire. "There were some brilliant cars there, which made our models look good," she recalls. She was delighted to take on the task of snapping the All New Ford Fiesta. "It's a classic name, and when I saw it, I was struck by how good it looked,” she says.From Sydney, Australia, Katie always wanted to be a photographer. After graduating from the Sydney College of the Arts she became a photographic assistant to Australian Vogue photographer Richard Bailey, and learned her trade. Then she set off to New York, where she stayed for five years and had “a fantastic time“, living large and doing photographic shoots for Italian Vogue and many others.The lure of creative London proved strong, and Katie moved to the East End - an area that has the highest concentration of artists in Europe. "That's partly why I like this area,“ says Katie. “It‘s got such a buzz to it, which is why I chose it for the location of the Fiesta shoot. It was a perfect fit - the urban location and the cool car."Since she’s been in the UK, Katie has made a great name for herself as a photographer of up-and-coming musicians, working for the NME as well as record companies. She snaps them all, but her specialty is in up-and-coming solo performers like Sandi Thom and KT Tunstall - her shot of Tunstall posing rainbow braces is famous. It's helped by Katie's growing reputation as being sweet to work with.But while she indulges her passions for nightlife and bands, Katie also has a typically Australian love of the outdoors, running, swimming and going to music festivals when she can find the time. Does she get homesick for Oz at all? "Well, I'm a huge fan of Kylie and I love it there," she smiles. “But I think I’ll stay in the UK for a while yet.”

  • Lee Strickland

    He’s photographed the contestants of TV programme Make Me A Supermodel in Times Square, he’s travelled across the world from Miami to Yucatan to photograph campaigns for Ray-Ban Aviator and Absolut Vodka, and since returning to Britain from a soujourn in Paris, he’s hob-nobbed with pop royalty James Morrison while shooting the cover for his number one album. Now the top fashion and celebrity photographer Lee Strickland has taken to the back streets of Kent to shoot the all new Ford Fiesta - a car that really captured his imagination. When challenged by Ford to capture the urban, edgy image of its latest Fiesta, Lee immediately decided to locate the shoot in the gritty streets of Chatham. With rows of terraced houses as his backdrop, not to mention the crowds of locals curious to see their street turned into a modelling location, Lee used the sleek and stylish design of the car, coupled with the cutting edge styling of his models, to achieve his vision of creating a futuristic and aspirational image for the new Ford Fiesta. "It's been inspirational," says Lee. "The new Fiesta was a great model to work with." The new Fiesta, with its sculpted styling, provoked plenty of ideas for the photographer. "This street could be anywhere in the country, everyone knows a street like this," says Lee. "And in the same way, everyone is familiar with Ford Feista as a brand. However, this new model takes the Fiesta to a completely new level and that greatly influenced my decision to locate the shoot in a Medway town rather than London. I wanted a completely generic location, reinforced by an urban environment. The location demonstrates that the car can go anywhere and won’t look out of place." Working alongside Lee, was deputy fashion editor of Fabulous Magazine, Lynne Mc Kenna, who was responsible for styling the shoot’s models, Bryony Bradford and Liam Carter. "Our sense of style comes from influences around us, from the people we see on the streets every day, and shooting this campaign in an urban setting really tied in well with that idea," explains Lynne. "My vision when it came to styling the models for the shoot was to portray them as cool, young urbanites who are image conscious but comfortable in their own, personal sense of style." For both models, Bryony and Liam, this was their first professional job which helped lend an air of excitement and freshness behind the scenes at the shoot."Lee is one of the best in the business and has such an awe-inspiring reputation," says Bryony. ""But he’s so relaxed and cool, which really shines through in the shots we’ve taken today." I love the car and the clothes are fantastic; they demonstrate a really individual sense of style - they’re comfortable but they make a statement, just like the car."

  • Diego Merino

    Deigo Merino doesn’t really like being this side of the lens. “I much prefer taking the photographs than being in them,” says the top Spanish photographer, the second of our celebrated snappers to shoot the stunning All New Ford Fiesta. Nor does he even like talking about himself, contrary to the full-on image of the shouty sharp-shooter. “I’m low-key. That’s the way I like to be. Some are loud. I'm quiet.”But while he prefers to be the photographer rather than the subject, Diego, 36, loves a challenge. Born in Madrid, he originally wanted to be a film director, and graduated in film studies. He then began to assist on films and commercials then, in the meantime, became interested in photography. His shoot with the All New Ford Fiesta certainly showed an ease with a camera. "If the subject matter's right then that helps," says Diego. "The Fiesta has a great shape, so it was relatively easy."After Madrid, Diego moved to New York and started to work for fashion photographers Tom Munro, Carter Smith and Nathaniel Goldberg before branching out on his own. He insists he doesn’t have any particular feel for clothes - “I just like taking pictures” - but a glance at his snaps will reveal that Diego has a great sense of shape and proportion, and his skills are in demand from top magazines such as Arena, GQ and Interview. He’s particularly strong on menswear, and with his Che Guevara-like good looks, he’d look pretty good in the latest clothes himself - if he could stand the attention. "I like to take photographs of clothes and cars as they make good graphic subjects," he says. "For example, the Fiesta fits well into an urban location".When not holding a camera, Diego, 36, prefers to spend a lot of time alone, criss-crossing the world. Indeed, he's a bit of a globetrotter. Not only does he divide his time between his home town, Madrid, his adopted home of London, and to a lesser extent New York, but he also loves to travel further afield, and has recently returned from Madagascar, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. “I’m always on the go,” he says. “It’s the way I like to be, and work takes me to some amazing places.”For his Fabulous shoot for the All New Ford Fiesta, Diego drove from London to Liverpool on a big motorbike, and set about his shoot in painstaking fashion, working well into the night, making sure that he lit the striking car just-so, and giving the scene just the right note of edgy drama. He’s a perfectionist, and if he returns to his first love of film, who knows? One day, we might even have the chance to watch a beautifully-finished Diego Merino movie. “That door is still open,” he says. “Perhaps it will come to pass.”


  • Watch the new Fiesta TV commercial, brought to you by Ford.

  • Top professional photographer Katie Kaars shoots the Fiesta in London's super-stylish Brick Lane.

  • Watch the new Fiesta TV commercial, brought to you by Ford.

  • Fashion and celebrity photographer Lee Strickland captures the Fiesta's style in Chatham, Kent.

  • Watch the new Fiesta TV commercial, brought to you by Ford.

  • Photographer Diego Merino takes the Fiesta to the quirky lights of Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool.