Behind the Photos Part 1 : Eli & Sky

Photography is one of my favorite aspects of my job, and I rarely outsource the work to other people unless it feels special and personal.  This is the beginning of a series where I explain the origins of my photos, and the relationship between me, the models, and photographers.

PART 1 : Eli and Sky

I met Eli and Sky through a stylist in early March.  It was just at the beginning of the pandemic when I realized all plans for me to photograph my own models this spring were falling through.  The timing of the lockdown was disappointing because my 2020 line is probably the most proud I have been of a new line in years.  I was so excited to personally shoot the pieces on model, and that was clearly not a possibility.  

Thank God Eli and Sky came to the rescue.  Eli is a photographer, and his partner, Sky, is an oncologist (she is both beautiful AND working to cure cancer - sheesh).  Both from St Lucia and currently living in Brooklyn.  Because they live together, they could safely create content during the pandemic, which is something I could not do.  We did a social distanced jewelry drop-off and officially met outside on their stoop in Bed-Stuy, and they have been creating beautiful content for me ever since.  

At the beginning of the summer we discovered that we were both coincidentally quarantining on Long Island, and were able to get together to do two small shoots in Southampton.  It was a unique experience to be able to photograph side by side with Eli but from a different angle.  The addition of their friend, Ed, made for a really fun second shoot since it was the first time I've shot two models at once.

I love having a relationship with the models and photographers that I work with--it makes working with them so much more fulfilling, and I find having a connection to your model really helps make the content better.   I’m looking forward to spending more time with Eli and Sky, and I'm happy to call them my friends!