BEHIND THE SCENES – SS24

It looks like we know what we are doing, right? We always have a plan, but planning can go so far when you consider break ups, hormones, traffic, weather, and any unexpected technical issues. It feels like after 4 years and 8 photoshoots, we are semi- professionals!

It started with a world pandemic and a cup of cappuccino on the red sofa with Lisa Maco, our fantastic photographer. I never thought that LiLi The First needed a commercial website and Lisa never tried a fashion photoshoot before, but we needed some creative excitement in our lives, and – I needed to sell a full season collection when no one is coming into the boutique.

Our model for the first photoshoot was a mannequin, she gave us no drama, but it was amateurish. For the second shoot we “volunteered” our daughters and their friends, that was way too young but a step up. Going forward, Lisa got savvier with her equipment, and I started to play, it was a slow but very fun learning curve (who knew that after a pizza lunch you will have zero patience to stand in front of a camera?)

And so, twice a year we move almost everything from large room into the first room, the table, the racks, the mannequins, and create a photography studio. We have a cool backdrops and plenty of props and even a wind blower. It is a long day that starts at 7:30 am.

What we try to do is give the clothes some context, a situation and interpretation. The designer may have a look in mind, but we have the liberty to mix the collections and to show that clothes can fit different personalities and body types. For the SS24 photoshoot, we went Rock n’ Roll: An electric guitar, a yellow chain and  some red roses gave us what we needed. Sometimes, and those are the funniest moments, we are trying to get a specific vibe, so we ask the models to play a specific situation or to show a particular emotion. This time, when told Suzie to “walk like she is in Tokyo” or to Javier to “pretend he dance with a woman he loves”, none of them knew what I was talking about, but when I told them to relax like they are watching a show with a glass of wine or for Raina yell like she was so angry, she was spot on!!

By now, we had three “location” photoshoots: Reverie restaurant, Brasserie Liberte and 1310 Kitchen and Bar restaurant. We collaborated with Dr. Martens, Fluevog shoes and Prospect Optika. Luigi Parasmo is the mastermind behind the hair styling and transformation. We even have a dog, LoLa, the cutest dog in Georgetown is either posing or just walking around the set like it’s her own. We created a monster!

I thought that that was the best photoshoot we ever had, but Lisa says I say that after every photoshoot.