Silver Lining
I'm on Cloud 9.
Today I had my first model shooting (not me- we hired one) for my new campaign. A year ago we tried merchandising a separate brand only to have it fail due to high prices and the fact that I was not on set to help style and pick the model. But this time we did all the shots in the studio, I got to pick the model and had total control of the set, the hair and the overall mood of the shoot.
Admittedly I was nervous- nervous due to the fact that I never got to see the model in person and agencies tend to exaggerate on proportions. What if the clothes didn't fit, what if she didn't know how to pose, what if she was actually really ugly in real life? While her casting shots were rather mediocre and a colleague just snubbed her as "ugly and not likeable" for a model, I ended up choosing her though I was doubtful after the comments made on my decision.
But omg when she came around the corner at the office, I just stared. 5'9" with really skinny legs (actually I would prefer if she fattened up a little, she looks a little like Bambi), big doe eyes and a full pouty lip. Her hair was thick and stick straight with no layering whatsoever. Her English name is Eva. She's from Guangzhou. She's 19 but taking a gap year to model for low key runway shows in China. She hasn't done photo shoots per se so she told me she's nervous.
As for me, I had my arsenal ready. I had all the shoes lined up, sunglasses both retro/aviator, thick and thin belts, my favorite black hat and my platform heels in case none of the merchandised shoes fit her. My rack of clothes had four sets that will determine the direction of fashion at this company for the next month- all ironed, all perfectly categorized by their own themes and outfit sets.
She was quite stiff. A little nervous (she's high school!). She's quiet. But when we got her to loosen up (which involves me prancing around and encouraging her that the shots look good while doing the pose with her), we got PRADA and Jill Stuart. I could already see the palm trees, see the sand beneath my feet- I could picture someone wearing this in real life.
My elation over this comes from the fact that it's not only that she looked good and the shots were pretty but the fact that all the hard work that goes behind getting the clothes on the model (surfing our site for decently priced clothes that still look and feel good, ordering in which some are canceled, stocking in warehouse, keeping track of stock in warehouse, borrowing items through system, keeping a record of all borrowed items, styling, ordering more items to further visualize a layout, thinking of the right text and to even think of a theme that ties all these pieces together)- it was about five weeks of backend work that finally pulled together and created these distilled, perfect sets. I could see these on ASOS, I could see these as print ads, I could see these at our store in the States, I could see these as what girls would look at and say "I wanna look like her. I wanna dress like she does." In descended both an element of fantasy and wearability at the same time.
Those four hours showed for my five weeks of work.
My colleague who laughed at my choice was astonished by my excitement over the model so she came in to look. My gut was right! My colleague's photos for a model shooting came in from Korea yesterday- the model's face was too round and she made the clothes look extremely awkward. While it's not entirely her fault (I've been there done that a year ago and it was incredibly frustrating to see all that backend work resorting in ugly photos).
I love it- I think my talents lie in one word: editing.
I've noticed that what I love to do is take things that most people say are ugly, cheap, and untrendy and make them think otherwise. It's why I loved going to thrift stores- precisely for the uncool factor (at that time) to find unique pieces that most people would never have dreamed of placing in their closets. People would say "what you found that where?" or "that was only $? It looks expensive!" It's why I love working at noisy cafes where I can filter out sound myself- libraries that already are vacuums make me irritated. It' s why I am where I am now at this job. I hate it when people just throw everything up, with no concept, no dream, no vision of the end product. I love packaging things into one pristine idea. I love making cheap things look extremely expensive. I want to show people at this company what fashion should look like and the power of imagination and passion for this industry.
First set launches next week. i'm so so so excited to show everyone the rest of my sets. Peaches, blush pink, mango yellow all blend together and tickle me silly.
It's hours like these where I think I am doing what I was made to do. Or at least am able to grasp a small slice of it.
I can't wait to see photos on Monday. I'm very apprehensive about how the web team will handle the photos (ugly pricing labels, please no!) but at least the photos turned out well.
I think the best thing about it was that even when everyone said "no that doesn't look good"- I still held my ground and stuck with what I thought looked good- and changed their minds when they saw the photos.
I can't wait to go to work on Monday!
I was carrying green and black heels today for the next modeling session in the coming month. My colleague saw them and started all her negativity again.
I will show you that Lego green and cobalt blue block heels can look amazing- i will style them with lots of stripes, retro round sunglasses and a huge floppy hat and no one will say to me again "those are hard colors to wear whereas the pink and black are ok." I will show you what it's like to think in alternatives, to think in possibilities and not what is. I will make you fall in love with cobalt blue and Lego green. All you need is a little vision and imagination.
Today I had my first model shooting (not me- we hired one) for my new campaign. A year ago we tried merchandising a separate brand only to have it fail due to high prices and the fact that I was not on set to help style and pick the model. But this time we did all the shots in the studio, I got to pick the model and had total control of the set, the hair and the overall mood of the shoot.
Admittedly I was nervous- nervous due to the fact that I never got to see the model in person and agencies tend to exaggerate on proportions. What if the clothes didn't fit, what if she didn't know how to pose, what if she was actually really ugly in real life? While her casting shots were rather mediocre and a colleague just snubbed her as "ugly and not likeable" for a model, I ended up choosing her though I was doubtful after the comments made on my decision.
But omg when she came around the corner at the office, I just stared. 5'9" with really skinny legs (actually I would prefer if she fattened up a little, she looks a little like Bambi), big doe eyes and a full pouty lip. Her hair was thick and stick straight with no layering whatsoever. Her English name is Eva. She's from Guangzhou. She's 19 but taking a gap year to model for low key runway shows in China. She hasn't done photo shoots per se so she told me she's nervous.
As for me, I had my arsenal ready. I had all the shoes lined up, sunglasses both retro/aviator, thick and thin belts, my favorite black hat and my platform heels in case none of the merchandised shoes fit her. My rack of clothes had four sets that will determine the direction of fashion at this company for the next month- all ironed, all perfectly categorized by their own themes and outfit sets.
She was quite stiff. A little nervous (she's high school!). She's quiet. But when we got her to loosen up (which involves me prancing around and encouraging her that the shots look good while doing the pose with her), we got PRADA and Jill Stuart. I could already see the palm trees, see the sand beneath my feet- I could picture someone wearing this in real life.
My elation over this comes from the fact that it's not only that she looked good and the shots were pretty but the fact that all the hard work that goes behind getting the clothes on the model (surfing our site for decently priced clothes that still look and feel good, ordering in which some are canceled, stocking in warehouse, keeping track of stock in warehouse, borrowing items through system, keeping a record of all borrowed items, styling, ordering more items to further visualize a layout, thinking of the right text and to even think of a theme that ties all these pieces together)- it was about five weeks of backend work that finally pulled together and created these distilled, perfect sets. I could see these on ASOS, I could see these as print ads, I could see these at our store in the States, I could see these as what girls would look at and say "I wanna look like her. I wanna dress like she does." In descended both an element of fantasy and wearability at the same time.
Those four hours showed for my five weeks of work.
My colleague who laughed at my choice was astonished by my excitement over the model so she came in to look. My gut was right! My colleague's photos for a model shooting came in from Korea yesterday- the model's face was too round and she made the clothes look extremely awkward. While it's not entirely her fault (I've been there done that a year ago and it was incredibly frustrating to see all that backend work resorting in ugly photos).
I love it- I think my talents lie in one word: editing.
I've noticed that what I love to do is take things that most people say are ugly, cheap, and untrendy and make them think otherwise. It's why I loved going to thrift stores- precisely for the uncool factor (at that time) to find unique pieces that most people would never have dreamed of placing in their closets. People would say "what you found that where?" or "that was only $? It looks expensive!" It's why I love working at noisy cafes where I can filter out sound myself- libraries that already are vacuums make me irritated. It' s why I am where I am now at this job. I hate it when people just throw everything up, with no concept, no dream, no vision of the end product. I love packaging things into one pristine idea. I love making cheap things look extremely expensive. I want to show people at this company what fashion should look like and the power of imagination and passion for this industry.
First set launches next week. i'm so so so excited to show everyone the rest of my sets. Peaches, blush pink, mango yellow all blend together and tickle me silly.
It's hours like these where I think I am doing what I was made to do. Or at least am able to grasp a small slice of it.
I can't wait to see photos on Monday. I'm very apprehensive about how the web team will handle the photos (ugly pricing labels, please no!) but at least the photos turned out well.
I think the best thing about it was that even when everyone said "no that doesn't look good"- I still held my ground and stuck with what I thought looked good- and changed their minds when they saw the photos.
I can't wait to go to work on Monday!
I was carrying green and black heels today for the next modeling session in the coming month. My colleague saw them and started all her negativity again.
I will show you that Lego green and cobalt blue block heels can look amazing- i will style them with lots of stripes, retro round sunglasses and a huge floppy hat and no one will say to me again "those are hard colors to wear whereas the pink and black are ok." I will show you what it's like to think in alternatives, to think in possibilities and not what is. I will make you fall in love with cobalt blue and Lego green. All you need is a little vision and imagination.
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