Have a look at the work of fashion photographer, Frances J Melhop (a New Zealand native now living and working in Italy). Her work is primarily for European fashion magazines and she uses her fantastic and fairy tale images to depict everything from ghosts selling shoes, Thumbelina selling itty-bitty lingerie, shapeshifting women to sell ? and tiny photographed fairies on embroidered backgrounds to sell designer fabric. Browsing through her site is really interesting and I think you will find some of the whimsical combinations compelling.
On the other hand, have a look this astonishing collection of photographs by Hans Silvester of the Surma and Mursi people of East Africa's Omu Valley -- a place that inspires unique fashions from its lush and abundant natural beauty. You can view a slideshow of the photographs here -- and I would recommend the book as well, Ethiopia: Peoples of the Omu Valley, in which Silvester chronicled the daily lives of the people in the Omu Valley, from children's games, rituals, parades and even battles, and a second more recent book Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration From Africa, which also gorgeous.
With special thanks to Masha for the Hans Silvester link and Hillary Blackwood for the Frances Melhop link.
