Israel Shoot To end my travels after a year and a half abroad I visited the Holy Land, Mothership Israel. One of my oldest childhood friends lives and goes to school in Tel Aviv so we of course opted to collaborate on this photo shoot showcasing my first evening wear collection. He's a highly skilled photographer with a huge heart and a sharp eye. I'm so blessed that he found time (as a Senior working two jobs and taking 18 units at University) to coordinate models, find locations, direct them with wisdom I've yet to see another photographer match. Thanks Christo! On the left you see Christo and myself perched on a stoop in Old Town Yaffa, with my delicious leftover burger and a stunning view of the skyline. We took a celebratory selfie after finishing our third and final photo shoot. To the right you'll find a photo of us from the 90's. There I am (rocking a similar haircut) in the tie dye. Christo is in the bottom right corner in the blue tank top. Our parents were all part of a couples bible study group so while they discussed deeper things, we all collected bugs, raced bikes and performed skits. Christo, some child I don't remember, and my brother! the planI decided to push myself and create my first evening wear line. Why not?I had bought some stunning Thai silks from the local Phetchabun fabric store. I also picked up some cotton african-esc prints at the Sunday market. I knew my models and location before even cutting the fabric. Syrian born Rahaf and Palestinian models Maram and Fadi were incredible. Arab decadence and craftsmanship. So I came to Israel from Vietnam and stayed with Christo's family in Nazareth. They showed me important historical/biblical sites, fed me insanely amazing homemade food every day. Like literally, Christo's parents and both sets of grandparents grow and pickle their own olives. Later they fried like 40 fish by hand for an engagement party. It was insane! Then they sent me on my way to Tel Aviv. I met Christo at his university and we had three photoshoots in the next 30 hours, went shopping, I tried hookah for the first time and we ate endless delicious foods. Here are the results of our hard work. Sewed these garments in my spare time while teaching english abroad.
Literally hauled my 15 lb sewing machine in my suitcase from Thailand to Cambodia to Vietnam where I completed the looks, made my halloween costume and taught my 11 year old host sister how to make purses from curtain sample squares. I gave the machine I bought in Bangkok to Christo's fashion-loving sister, Serene, to thank the Karams for hosting and touring me around Israel. I will be back!
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Arora's Fairy GodmothersThe three fairies in Disney's Sleeping Beauty created a gown for Arora's (the princess they raised) 16th birthday. They had worked hard to keep their magic a secret from her until they begin construction of a dress. Pinning, draping and sewing the dress was a true struggle for them, so they took their wands from the safe and created a dress the easy way. An option I WISH I HAD in clothing construction class! They couldn't decide on a color but finally the stubborn pink one changed the dress at the last second as Arora walked into the room. This shows that all though they had good intentions, not all caretakers were master seamstresses back in the day. Cinderella's animal companionsWhen Cinderella was promised she could attend the Prince's Ball if she had something nice to wear, she immediately started the construction of her gown. Her evil Step Mother and Step Sisters noticed her progress and eagerly gave her an unending amount of chores. She worked as hard as she could, but would never have had a dress if it weren't for her little furry friends. They finished her gown with flying trapeze artist execution. All while singing gleefully and reminding the male mice and birds that they should "leave the sewing to the women" which could be construed as them knowing whats best or that sewing is a gender assigned job for women only. After all their work, the evil stepsisters rip up Cinderella's dress in a jealous rage. They won't find love until the 3rd movie so, they surely learned their lesson of manners in time. CHARLOTTE from |
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