ByGeorge Lookbook-Austin
The new modern day meeting, more often than not, involves Instagram in one way or another. One day, in my direct messages, I came across a Creative Director- Brittani Lepley. She wrote to me about a shoot she was bringing together for the high end boutique ByGeorge in Austin, Texas. She had envisioned a dancer giving their holiday collection a life of it’s own. She didn’t want the subject being worn by the clothes. There was nothing about being a clothes horse here. Instead, she imagined dance at the forefront of many of the shots. Injecting an explosive vitality into pieces that could otherwise appear inherently precious. They were luxurious items but they didn’t need to be presented on a pedestal. I arrived in Austin the night before the shoot, with Brittani picking me up from the airport and conversation flowing freely. The kind of familiarity that solidifies one’s belief in past lives. She dropped me at The Driskill - one of Austin’s oldest hotels that was built in 1886. Infamously known for being haunted, I dropped my bags in my room and promptly ordered a scotch to quiet my overactive imagination, taunting me that I could be a mere few hours out from being haunted in an unfamiliar place. The room they got for me was the one we’d be shooting in for the first half of the next day. It was and continues to be, the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. About six times bigger than my tiny guest house in Los Angeles, or anything I’d found myself in in New York, I decided luxury was something I was very partial to. My bank account told me otherwise. I savored the fifteen hours I had in it, as an abrupt knock on the door shook me out of my fantasizing; the minute bottle of scotch had arrived. I opened the double doors onto an extravagantly large balcony, plonking myself down, with a quiet smile knowing my luck. Sipping the mellifluous liquid, staring at the black and white checkered tile underfoot, the faint sounds of live blues living among the humid warmth. Eventually the sound of blues in the night summoned me out of my chair. I swigged the last of the nectar, wincing a little, threw my jacket on and walked into the first bar I found live music at. I ordered a Shinerbock (when in Texas), lazily leaned up against the bar and reveled in the anonymous company and musical talent that surrounded me. When the next morning rolled around, I couldn’t believe the team that I’d be fortunate enough to work with. To this day this is my favorite editorial I’ve ever done. It was one of those jobs you’d fantasize about and and last it was in front of me. Every single element was perfect.
Photos Alexandra Valenti Creative Director Brittani Lepley Hair and Makeup Kelsey James
