The first day I met Adrian White was my 1st day at SoLA Contemporary. He is the President of the nonprofit and came to support the installation of the exhibit MASH curated by the amazing artist, Mark Steven Greenfield. Adrian took note of my personal style, which I was surprised by because I’d put on clothes to work in. Not thinking much of it, we started talking and immediately clicked.
My Grandparents are from South Carolina. Adrian, hailing from North Carolina carried with him a southern charm I was familiar with. He is a kind and intentional creator who always stays curious. He showed me a book of Black photography (mostly African based) I was in love with it and he asked me if I wanted to collab on a shoot where I’d be the stylist! Something I’ve always wanted to do but never had made the time for.
Some months later, we went Downtown to find fabric for a backdrop. We hit a few smaller spots but good ol’ Michael Levine had us covered.
Shout out to all my Otis Fashion friends for putting me onto the spot back in our college days!
He chose the backdrop. We decided my gorgeous cousin Summer would be the model.
Next we all went to Melrose to hit some thrift stores for clothes. I think the majority of what we found was at American Vintage.
Since Adrian primarily shoots in Black and White, I focused on finding pieces that were textured, patterned and high in contrast. I didn’t want any looks to be too refined, I wanted the pairings to be kinda offbeat and peculiar.
The day we shot was really windy! Adrian did his best to try and keep the backdrop up. Every few seconds the bottom would fly up like a cape or completely blow over but he did his thang!
While on set he asked if I wanted some shots. I was reluctant because I usually don’t like pictures of myself but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. My favorite photo is actually the one I was most nervous about, he asked me to look right into the camera and I remember thinking “Oh no…” haha
Most importantly, he encouraged Summer and I to be ourselves. I think our individual energies and our close sibling-like relationship really shines through here.