Wealth In A Modern Picture

Made In Chelsea Cast - Series 1

I have chosen this image to represent wealth - I think this simply screams it. The image shows cast members of the 'scripted' reality TV show 'Made In Chelsea'. The show focuses on a group of privileged twenty-something socialites around their daily lives in the exclusive London borough of Chelsea, following them from beauty salon appointments, to lunches in Michelin restaurants, to nights out in London’s most glamorous nightspots.  The characters all have a seemingly endless amount of money, presumably via daddy-sponsored trust funds, to spend on pure self-indulgence, and it makes for an hour of blissful Monday night escapism.  This escapism is a large part of its’ appeal ; we know it’s nowhere near our drab day to day lives, but maybe that’s why we love it so much.  The characters float around with never a perfectly styled hair out of place, casually carrying designer bags a regular girl could only dream of. 

This image shows wealth through a number of different elements within this image; for example, the setting/backdrop of the image looks like it is set in a very expensive location (e.g. due to the large portrait in the background and the posh-looking rug/couch they are on). 

Each and every model also looks extremely wealthy due to the clothes/shoes they are wearing - all of their dresses look very pricey, and the model on the floor has fur to top it off. All of the girls hair and make-up looks pristine and perfectly done, which would suggest they have had a personal stylist to do it for them, and furthermore, the actual look, made up of their facial expressions and poses, make the models appear wealthy because only one of them is actually smiling, and they are all stood/sat up straight, to the extent that they almost look comfortable! 

The first thing I notice when I look at the image is probably the couch and the girls on it because this is in the centre of the image, and the gold around the edge contrasts the most with the wooden background. However, the image is actually quite busy so your eyes carry on wondering in order to take everything in, so my attention turns to girls, and finally to the portrait and the actual backdrop. The image itself actually looks slightly staged, which may be a clue/relate to the nature of the programme. Everything in the picture looks real, apart from the poses of the girls - they almost look like they are dolls who have been arranged in that rigid position. 

The image is displayed almost like a traditional portrait, but the main difference being there are a group of them, and not just one main subject. The photograph manages to capture the feeling of the show and the fact that it is about a group of privileged young adults, but yet it does not necessarily feature many surroundings that suggest this, thus it is done in a clever way. The angle of the picture is looking directly at the group, which suggests that is how the show will be - it will allow you to directly look into their lives. 

The image does not necessarily remind me of a personal experience, it just makes me think of royalty. Even the colours used makes it seem as though the whole image has a 'wealthy filter' on it, e.g. the colours seem dimmed down slightly, and this adds to the whole feel of the image. 

Reference - 
Author: Anglea Lawless, 
Web adress:http://www.strathclydetelegraph.com/2011/12/flick-or-stick-made-in-chelsea/