You are currently in the old section of Ben Trovato. This gallery has not been formatted to fit our modern platform.

Lisbeth by Billy Rood

Billy Rood is the man for the big occasions, something he’s proved in 2011 with his many extraordinary stories for Ben Trovato. It started with the highly popular The Abandoned in April, then he got us all scared for Halloween with The Diabolist, and now he’s back with another breath-taking production for Ben Trovato. In the occasion of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s US premiere Billy has shot a video and editorial inspired by the main character, Lisbeth Salander. “She is such an interesting and strong character,” Billy says. “She’s an unusual character/sociopath, but something I’ve felt needed to be shared in the fashion industry.

I feel that this character has and will be a trend in women’s fashion. For me it is a welcoming and refreshing character for women in the fashion industry away from the lifeless and retouched worlds I see in magazines and ads.  I’m always attracted to anti-heroes and Lisbeth is a woman who has hated men (for obvious reasons) but then ends up saving a man…that right there is what inspired me to create images inspired by her story,” Billy continues.

Amelia Pool from Ford Models steps up to the challenge of portraying Lisbeth Salander. A role that has gotten Rooney Mara a lot of attention as of late because of her physical transformation in order to look like the Salander, the character Swedish actress Noomi Rapace so brilliantly played in the original motion picture back in 2009. We asked Billy about Amelia’s transformation: “- Amelia was interesting because she is such the polar opposite of the character. She’s shy, quiet and reserved. It was fun to see her transform herself and be someone completely different. At times we’d be laughing hysterically because of how different she would all of a sudden become and change her look.

The editorial and film takes you through the different stages of Lisbeth Salander. Showing you the strong, the beaten, the revengeful and in the end, the new changed Lisbeth.

In order to create the right looks Billy had a great team with him, including makeup artist Nika Vaughan, hair stylist Sara Jean Stevens, and of course stylist Favia. “The team was great to work with,” Billy claims, before adding “Nika has a background in tattoo and stage makeup so it was fun to see this other creative element she brought to the table. Working with Favia is always a blast and this shoot was even more exciting because it was very similar to his own personal style. Sara who did hair did an amazing job. It was my first time working with her but she fit the story perfectly. She was tatted up and provided the motorcycle featured in the story. It was a long shoot but we all brought our own element and personality into the story which involved a lot more care and creative banter.

The story was shot entirely on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, with 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses.

Credits
Directed and shot by Billy Rood

Featuring Amelia Pool  @  Ford Models
Styling by Favia
Makeup by Nika Vaughan
Hair by Sara Jean Stevens
Photo assistant - Josh Mandell

Music by Black Antler