Fashion is cyclical and swings in a pendulum. Diffetent trends come and go with various shapes and silhouettes coming in and out of style. The year is about halfway over and I think it’s fair to say 2017 is the year of the sleeve.
Back in May a friend with albinism contacted me to let me know Diandra Forrest (a well known model with albinism) was putting on a charity fundraiser and fashion presentation for the third annual International Albinism Awareness Day. They also let me know she was looking for models with albinism to join her. I was instantly interested. I’ve never been a part of something like this and the idea of making a quick trip to NYC seemed a little crazy. But after exchanging a few emails with Diandra and the producer putting the event together, I booked my ticket and anxiously waited for the day to arrive.
It’s been a while since I wrote about what’s been up with my participation in Nike Toronto’s community-building creative initiative FMFounders. So much has happened within this family of artists, designers, and creatives. I can’t share some things just yet but I’m happy to be able to share this. Recently Nike enlisted dear friend and photographer Nilly and I to spearhead an experience for all the others based on our skills in visual media. Keep reading to see tons of pics and see more about our photo session / family reunion.
There are many reasons bloggers decide to start chronically their lives in the digital sphere. While I’ve stopped and started multiples times, I’ve been running this particular blog for over a year and a half. I look up to the OGs of the blogosphere like Feral Creature who has been blogging for 10 years now. She recently published a post about being at a crossroads in her journey and it made me stop and think about my own path.
An eternity ago, when I was in high school, I was a punk. More like a punk/goth/anime kid. And one of the staples of my wardrobe were band tees. A friend gave me a The Starting Line tee, I picked up a My Chemical Romance tee from Hot Topic, and a few of my comrades wore this popular tee to showcase their love for The Used. The guy I crushed on had long hair down his back and one of the four shirts he wore was a Led Zeppelin tee.
Somewhere along the line I retired my music merch but more and more in the past few years I’m starting to see it make a comeback in fashion and I’m more than happy to take part.
I was shaking. Sitting on the edge of this concrete ledge my body felt tight and stiff with anxiety. We were about two stories up which isn’t that high I suppose but still, every second up there felt like an eternity. I tried to calm myself because I didn’t want to let the fear show on my face.
After about a minute it was over. I had to come down. I didn’t care whether we got the shot or not. Then I looked at the camera to see the results. ‘Wow,’ I exhaled in relief, pleased to see what we’d captured.
On Monday I conceptualized the idea and did the prop styling. On Tuesday I executed the idea, including the hair, makeup, and photography. On Wednesday I did the post production to bring the most out of the images that I could. Today I am publishing it. Sharing this departure from my normal style as my 100th post. An exploration of myself as the artist, the muse, and the canvas as a way to heal.
