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Interviewed by: Creative Director Giuseppe Castrenze

What is fashion for me?

Being as I am a fashion model myself, fashion means more than just a look. It has made me who I am today. When I was a child we couldn't afford the "name-brands". I came from a smaller Mid-West town in Kentucky where Abercrombie & Fitch, Polo and Guess were the very few name brands we had in our market. My grandmother taught me how to distress jeans myself, paint my own t-shirts, and wear pink, simply because I liked it not because “boys aren’t supposed to wear it”. I never understood how a color could be construed as gender specific. She also taught me how to design my own necklaces and bracelets. She influenced me to be me an individual and fashion was always my way of doing that. As a very small child I used to love playing dress-up using the clothing and accessories of my family members. I was always getting into a closet, makeup vanity or jewelry box and creating random looks. As I grew into my pre-teen and teen years this faded and I became more fabricated to the Midwest "way of life". Fashion for me is the loudest way of saying "THIS IS ME!" without having to say anything at all. Fashion is a way of escaping the "cage" of society that we call "normal". With fashion there is no such thing as normal. The way you dress allows you to be your own person and express your individuality. As a form of self-expression, fashion can make us feel empowered and more in touch with our inner self. We can feel more confident if the clothes we are wearing and the way we present ourselves matches up with our personality, identity and mood. It's the first thing people see when they see you. I feel like fashion and being able to express yourself through clothing, jewelry, accessories, sneakers, boots, whatever it may be is the most important thing we can do for ourselves to be comfortable in our own skin. Fashion is YOU!

How does your work reflect your personality?

I always tell people when discussing my work "we live in a dark world, you have to find the beauty in it". It isn’t a literal statement but more metaphorical. My work explains what I mean by that. I love overly saturated photos with intense dark contrast and black outlines.The dark outlines represent the darkness that surrounds us, the evil of the world, the global issues that keep us from having world peace. My colors represent the true beauty the world has, that's why I over saturate my images. We have more beauty in this world than darkness but regardless darkness will be here so it's up to us to determine our perspectives. This is why I do what I do. This reflects on my personality because outside of photography this is who I am. I bring people to the beauty of life, not the darkness but to see the beauty you have to recognize the darkness. I see the world in such an interesting way, I see significance in all the small details of everything. The ruggedness of my photos express how I feel physically and mentally. I'm strong, beautiful, but I have scars, I make mistakes,I can't draw straight lines or even a perfect circle, but who can? My point of that is, we all live with darknesses but we are surrounded by beauty. No one is perfect and neither is my photography but to me, that's what makes it perfect. It is truly my way of self expression.

The freedom to express how much and how important it is to you?

Our freedom of expression is how we survive. Alfred Stieglitz, a famous American photographer and modern art promoter from the late 1800’s says "The goal of art was the vital expression of self". Artistic expression opens the heart to new opportunities to learn more about yourself. Creative expression is right for your overall health and wellbeing. It is an outlet for stress, negative emotions, and pent up frustrations. Expressing yourself freely without restriction is art, and it will dramatically improve your mental health. I am a huge advocate for mental health awareness and I strongly encourage everyone to be healthy, think healthy, eat healthy, and make art! There are an unfathomable amount of ways to artistically express yourself. I encourage you to practice 1 way at least once per day everyday and see how your mental health and even physical health will begin to change!

Fashion storytelling, but it also affects social changes. The entire world has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has made a significant impact on the entire world's mental health and overall wellbeing. We have lost so many lives. Our economy has crashed and people are in distress. I have had family members with the virus and it is awful. What we know as the “norm” is forever changed. During this time I have decided to stay focused more than ever working on my goals, my mind, body and soul. I will remain faithful and believe we will all come back from this stronger than before!

What is the philosophy of your work?

Photography ignites my passion for many other things than just taking a photo. Photography has taught me to appreciate life itself, the world, and all of the intricacies within. I’m amazed at what an image can do. Surprised, scared, happy, mad, lonely, confused, nostalgic, etc. These are just some of the feelings that an image can make you feel. As an artist focused mainly on photography, one of the greatest things I can do with my passion is help someone see the true beauty that they really have. All of the passion that I invest into my images become joy when they stir emotions. I love life and I love people. I want people to be able to express their emotions through my photography to help others express theirs.

I wonder if the focus shoot will be less on fashion though and more on creativity in general? Thoughts? I think that creativity should be more of the focus when doing fashion because the fashion speaks for itself already. Creativity allows the statement the clothing is portraying to come alive. Also, creativity in the fashion industry today is motivated by the need to cater to this century's mindsets. In result, most fashion designers have portrayed their interests in thinking of new design ideas. With social media platforms having the massive influence it does on society , there is a rising wave of competitiveness in the fashion industry. This has motivated most designers to focus on new designs to stay within modern trends and to focus more on the creativity of photoshoots versus the clothing itself.