Hi friends, I recently celebrated my 21st birthday on November 21st, (golden birthday!!) and I truly can’t express how proud I am of everything I’ve accomplished in the past year. I directed my first shoot for Lotus right after I turned 20 and it was one of the most stressful but exciting experiences of my life so far.
Hopefully you’ve seen issue 8 of the magazine which features my Vintage Vortex shoot. (If you haven’t, go check it out right now!!!) As assistant stylist I didn’t expect to get my own shoot, but I was excited to have the opportunity to bring my vision into reality and even create my own layouts as well.
Making the collage style layouts was exactly like what I used to do with magazine clippings when I was little. I would cut out pictures of what I liked from magazines and glue them all together on pages of printer paper until I had enough for my very own “magazine.” So it was really nostalgic for me getting to use this style for the layouts — seven year old me would be so proud! No space for anything to breathe on a page, just crammed full of cool pictures. It’s busy and chaotic, but I think it was perfect to represent the shoot and I had way too much fun making them!
For the styling of Vintage Vortex I had the idea to dress everyone in vintage, thrifted and second hand clothes to show how cool old, reused clothing can be when you style them right. Most of my closet is already these kinds of clothes so I knew I could feature some of my best pieces I’ve collected over the years. I believe I succeeded in my effort, the shoot came out even better than I expected and when it was over I could not believe how perfectly it came together.
After my most recent shoots which will be in the upcoming issue, I’ve learned this is the nature of directing and styling these shoots. I’ve realized there is only so much stressing and planning I can do until the day of, and that's when everything finally falls into place. It's like the closest thing I’ve experienced to magic. I swear it's so exciting to see the vision you stressed over for months right in front of you.
Now that I’m head stylist I definitely feel more pressure, but I’m much more confident in what I know I can accomplish. The upcoming issue has two amazing shoots in it that took a lot of planning, freaking out and last minute decisions, but of course everything came together by the day of the shoots like I knew they would. I am so thankful to everyone that helped with these shoots, and to the editors-in-chief who gave me the opportunity to make them happen.
I can’t wait to see what else I create with the help of Lotus, this mag has already given me so much. It has helped me discover my talents for creative directing, shooting, styling and even modeling when I was in the bodega shoot for the 2020 issue during my freshman year. It has been a journey, but I am so grateful for Lotus helping me grow and find my passions. Time to see what 21 brings me!
Yours truly,
Mars
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