Kelle Calco
“I’ve never traveled, only relocated. Portland made me a hippie. New Orleans, a pirate. Pittsburgh put me in denim. New York, a vampire.” Kelle Calco
occupation: singer, songwriter, DJ, and party host
Once upon a time there was a party, hosted by three people, sitting in three different spaces at a lounge with their three different groups of friends. I knew and was with two of the three, when my eyes suddenly landed and stayed glued to the third group, for their very atypical visual appearance on the New York City 2010 fashion landscape. There were maybe twenty or so people, not a black or flannel shirt in sight, but in eclectic and refreshingly colorful, ethnic patterns and captivating wide-brimmed bushman hats. But the one in the center, Kelle, who was clearly the host, threw me permanently out of what was the tale end of my “solemn-monk” phase and…
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Nicolas, a.k.a. Gloomy Palmz
“I invite you to look beyond the surface of my art and craft, and consider these hard times as but an opportunity for us to retake some real control by means of efficiency, recycling, and influential expression.” Nicolas
occupation: freelance digital/analog artist
Nicolas was born in Gabon on the west coast of Africa – on his paternal side, he is half-French, and on his maternal, is half-American. He lived in many places growing up, from Cameroon in Central Africa to Upstate New York to Paris to a summer house in Country Cork, Ireland. At twelve, he landed for seven years on the post-colonial Ivory Coast, where his father was an exporter of bananas and pineapples. It was there that Nicolas had the unusual experience of living in an exotic country of plantations and wide-open beaches. His father liked to draw and his uncle, who is an established
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Kristine Barilli
occupation: DJ, student, and musician
“I am obsessed with anything from London in the late ’70s, Seditionaries, Anton LaVey, black metal, Clockwork Orange, anything black, anything dead, the New Atlantis by Francis Bacon, Bas Jan Ader, anyone crazed and creative.” Kristine Barilli
I always leave a SLU shoot inspired by a tip or idea. In Kristine’s case, it was many things, but the one I followed through on was the Rick Owens onesie (birthday present to myself). She fully convinced me of its worthiness for every day and every occasion (you could sleep in it or wear it for black tie), which is pretty much how Kristine always dresses. She despises Halloween, because for her, every day is an organic expression of “dressing up” as she feels. It’s all about her uniform of…
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Marcelo Burlon
occupation: Editor-in-Chief of Rodeo Magazine, Stylist, DJ, and Party Organizer
Fashion makes me feel free and young. Marcelo Burlon
Marcelo is the second of four people that Jeffrey Williams found for us in Milan. We now have Angela Grossi, who lives in Milan, as a permanent ambassador for us there, so there will be many more from Italy to come. Marcelo was born in Patagonia, Argentina and at the age of 8, remembers putting on fashion shows in his backyard. Presently, the “character” that makes-up Marcelo is someone with the passion and energy to launch and edit a magazine, organize PR events for companies like Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Jil Sander, Prada, and Maison Martin Margiela, style, and dj. Considering how productive Marcelo is, it is not surprising that he is inspired by someone as prolific as Alejandro Jodorowsky, who was an iconic…
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Nikole Ramirez
occupation: student, dj and entrepreneur
“I am not one to talk very much. I am the person that walks into the bar and goes straight to the corner to watch everyone else.” Nikole Ramirez
Nikole has a picture of her “Nana” in her closet in honor of what a big influence she was on her style – she was very glamorous (I remember a big head of coiffed hair) and she never left the house without makeup. It’s hard not to notice the correlation between the strong and well-dressed women in her family (her mother too) to Nikole’s fascination with the performance artist Leigh Bowery, guys in drag, and club kids, whom she is so inspired by because of their freedom to express themselves in the most extreme ways. She loves watching their confidence to appear in public looking “completely ridiculous, with glitter all over their…
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