Fashion Shoot / Why I've Been Away

Well, let's start with my cup of coffee on this cloudy Sunday... I've been away awhile, hopping from here to there... it's been fun, but it's also been a little weird without a good old blog update. Get ready for lots of pictures in this one ;)

A lot has been happening in my life.
It's funny how you can feel like you go through periods in your life where nothing at all changes and you're bored stiff of your lifestyle, and suddenly - BAM. And you're thrown into huge changes, which are great and exciting, but also a little nerve-wracking and confusing. I've been getting ready to go to Grad School down in Atlanta, at the Savannah College of Art & Design. Part of my absence here was due to flying down with my mom to check out the school and do some apartment shopping. We only had a few days, and we didn't actually end up settling on a place... so at this point I may be living out of a cardboard box, haha... (no, really.)


I also had the pleasure and privilege of styling a Fashion Film Shoot a few weeks ago.
My lovely friend and model, Sarah Hawkins, has the honour of being named one of the 8 New Faces for Bergdorf Goodman's 5F campaign, and asked me to come style a short film she was collaborating on outside of Philadelphia. Of course, I jumped right in my little car and headed up with my pieces. Not only did I have an amazing time styling her and helping with the filming, I got to take a bunch of awesome behind-the-scenes shots to share with you all!

The film is still in production, but I'll post it here as soon as it's released!
{ all photos in this post (c) erin mcmanness 2011 }

My friend Sarah was dressed in NINO Brand's new Spring Collection, that hasn't even been released on the website yet - but you get a sneak peek here! My favourite piece was the full-length skirt, in ocean-gray and champagne silk.

We all met at ZUZU Gallery, right outside of Philadelphia on a lovely, sunny Saturday. ZUZU was such a gorgeous space - with great light, a chic vibe, and tons of handmade jewelry from local artists (so of course I was instantly a fan). I took a bunch of my pieces to match with the luxurious, draping pieces from NINO. (Pictured above is my Royal Parisian Necklace)

Filmmaker Edan Cohen shot simply breathtaking footage of Sarah in various outfits from NINO, styled with my own pieces - we had a lot of fun checking out some of his shots! The light in the studio was perfect, and some of the preview shots we saw were really ethereal and beautiful. The film is going to be great; I'll be sure to embed it here when it's released ;)

It was really cool to have the opportunity to take some shots of the filming, since I'm used to only having my jewelry pieces and myself as a model! Sarah and I collaborated on many of the outfit and jewelry pairings - in the second outfit, Sarah wore a duotone dress in a neutral palette, and we added in a pop of hot pink with my Hot Pink Bloom Ring.

One of the coolest parts of the shoot was collaborating with artist Denise Fikes. She does incredible paintings of women in bright, bold colours. Edan filmed as Denise busted out gorgeous, organic line drawings of Sarah in various outfits. As a fellow illustrator, it was an awesome opportunity to see someone so skilled at work. Denise was a professor of art for a number of years, and I'm probably going to adopt her philosophy of always painting in heels while at school, haha!


All in all, it was an awesome day filled with some really creative, collaborative people. I can't wait to see the video and share it with you all!

Also, did I mention that I scored some cherry red wedges for only $17? 
Yes ma'am. ;) Have a great day, everyone!