Design by Barnaby Taylor The Weeknd Moodboard

From searching the internet for images and news articles that capture the identity of our chosen artist, The Weeknd, we were able to create a rough idea of what he’s like as a person and the way he acts in everyday life. This has helped to create a costume that matched the Mis en Scene of the artist. We chose a simplistic costume with plenty of jewellery which connotes well with the original music video.

By looking for news articles we have been able to clearly understand what our star image is like behind all of the fame. From this we have learnt that he is a bold, unique character who works with charities and helps to support the less fortunate. Although he has suffered his fair share of trauma. In an interview The Weeknd opened up about his past and how he used to rely on drugs to “keep sane”. This is what makes him extraordinarily unique, the fact he has offered to open up about the past and how he has changed his life is inspirational.

Theorist Richard Dyer talks about star image, ‘Paradox of The Star’; conveying such a powerful star image with different components, for instance Dyer mentions how we are all the same and that we live on the same level. For example, we see plenty of famous musicians at the football on the weekend just like many of us, they are regular people, possessing something we do not have which makes them special. These big stars aren’t completely perfect as they may have failed at things, such as their driving test – this failure happens to many others worldwide. However these stars are exceptional at what they do, they sing and dance in a unique and quirky way and that’s what separates the two through visual representation.