under the sun

lauren rosen

I have been kind of obsessed with all of the fabric I have been finding lately. I have been using it with still lifes and with my friends. the project before this, I made my friend coleman look like a sicilian widow and with this beach photo I wanted to do just the opposite. my dear friend lauren and I decided to head to the beach to create something dramatic with tons of shadows. since lauren looks amazing in all of my norma kamali ensembles I had her wear my asymmetrical one piece bathing suit by the designer. I know its hard too see the details of the bathing suit, but there is a mesh cut out portion on the stomach, that is quite sexy-chic. what's great about the beach in the winter time is that not that many people are on it, so its like you get the whole beach to yourself. I had lauren just wave the fabric around and I told her to try and get it under the sun. she did just that and I like this moment, I caught of her. its very simple and all we really see is her silhouette. to me, that says a lot and I just like how minimal, yet dramatic this feels. also, the way that fabric sways beneath the sun is really quite beautiful. we didn't plan too much this day, but I like it when something ethereal like this happens. perhaps, I was thinking of some of the photos herb ritts use to take in the 90's and how he used chiffon fabric. whatever it was, it felt dark, mysterious, and magical.....just the way I like it!

fabric flow

photo by alexi lubomirski

okay, so while I had images of herb ritts photography in my mind I was also thinking about this image, as well. I have had this pic saved on my computer desktop for some time so I think subconsciously this was the motivation for me to get some black chiffon fabric. I really love how liya kebede looks with that fabric and how she is holding it above her head and the corresponding shadow behind her. I believe this photo was taken in the mojave desert and I know in the desert, you can do such amazing work with silhouettes. even though lauren looks nothing like this picture, this was the inspiration for our beach photograph. I was very loosely influenced by this, but I think you can tell in a strange way. if you've never seen this layout, definitely check it out. the whole editorial is very minimal noir-chic with tons of mysterious shadows. I highly recommend looking through it, if you love that type of look and style.