Yvan Rodic
“I just want to use the universal language of photography, to show the reality of places. I mean how amazing it is for people living in LA…to see cool kids in Moscow… it breaks so many cliches. And that is for me, my drive.. the most surprising element.” Yvan Rodic
occupation: blogger, photographer, world traveler
What happens when a kid is from Switzerland, where the only fashion that exists is “modest and low key” and it’s unacceptable to be cool, whose passions are archeology, traveling and photography? A state of the art blog is born (one of my favorites) called Face Hunter, which holds me like glue, in much the same way that National Geographic does, especially the portraits, or even a Vermeer painting. Yvan’s subjects are found in every nook and cranny of the world and his pictures are slices of…
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Laura Helms
“My maternal grandmother and her husband lived in the mountains of North Carolina – he was a furniture-maker and woodworker and she would paint it all. My other grandmother lived in Geneva and had all of her clothes made. She wore Pucci and velvet jackets with fur trim, with lots of colors and rich textures. My mother really loved Calvin Klein’s first collections in the ’70s, a very minimalist aesthetic. I’m a combination of them all.” Laura Helms
occupation: fashion historian, photographer, and curator’s assistant
Laura has her “Bardot” moments in her ballet flats and gingham in the summer, but it’s the only time you will see her out of her glam-rock couture and Terry de Haviland platforms. Her arresting beauty rivals the movie siren’s; however, a sexy gap in her front teeth, piercing eyes, and golden waist-length hair (that provide a Jerry Hall mystique) aside, Laura is every…
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Lesa Amoore
“Fashion is, by design, mood-depending, and energy-altering. That is my favorite thing about it.” Lesa Amoore
occupation: creative director, consultant, stylist, and photographer
Lesa is a mom with a successful modeling career under her belt, including Vogue covers, world travels, and that “less is more” style that comes from experience. When you’ve been around enough of the new season’s runway boots, you develop an eye for the eternally perfect ones that take you everywhere and go with everything, like her buttery leather Margiela ones that have a nail for a heel. As she says, “they are just rock and roll enough, without being over-the-top or losing any classic perks.” It’s hard to deny their classic, edgy power when worn with anything from a clean black dress to leggings to jeans. Lesa’s penchant for the understated brought on an interesting dilemma when iconic hairdresser Oribe convinced her to play with…
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Mari J Brooklyn
“I want to be a fashion comedian.” Mari J Brooklyn
occupation: photographer, fashion writer, designer, magazine coordinator, and artist
Clothes are so much about whom is wearing them. Mari J has backpacked the world, inhales ideas, and it shows. She derives cultural references for her style from Tokyo to Bob Marley to Disneyland. I admire her freedom with creative impulses, like cutting her hair on the spot or throwing her three-year-old’s “happy birthday skirt” with pompoms in the hem under a dress to give it the right volume. Everyday is Halloween for Mari J, in the sense that she is unafraid to fully express herself and she doesn’t feel she needs a reason to, whether it’s picking herself up and traveling to India and Indonesia, hitchhiking through Japan, or recycling African fabric into art. Mari J redefines the rules in…
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Tucson John
“I love being a global nomad. Travel is so important. You can’t get these experiences on Google. You have to be there, feel it, taste it, really soak it in.” Tucson John
occupation: freelance photographer
I often encourage people to try to take the time to look at everyone on SLU, because I feel there is at least something inspiring to take from each person, if not many things. After years of styling models and celebrities, I have come to the conclusion that though I love clothes and live for the moment when it all comes together on a shoot, in some original and exciting way, the ultimate creative encounter (and high) is the connection between people and their shared ideas and individual stories. I was beginning my quest for the new victims for this site during the Fall 2010 fashion shows, when I spotted John’s gigantic red coral…
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