I can say without a doubt that the following shoot was the most death defying to date… and that’s including the time we shot in a haunted antiques warehouse in the bowels of the most crime-ridden neighborhood in Oakland!
After we were forced to abandon our original plan of shooting on top of nearby Mount Lemmon because of severe fire conditions (didn’t think it would be cool to be running a smoke machine up there – we prefer to prevent mass hysteria when possible), we drove wayyyy out into the desert in search of a few trees.
Following several miles of meandering dirt roads we came upon this ominous cracked crater of a pond bed surrounded by sparse mesquite trees in the middle of a known smuggling corridor and thought, “Well it’s no forest, but it’ll do.” Amongst the storm of gunshots we kept hearing with disturbing consistency, this location afforded some pretty amazing captures. David Olsen, the editor of Zocalo, seemed to like it too, he made the first one the cover shot for the June issue! Worth it? You tell me…
Fire Warning:
Summer’s Hottest Trends, Adapted for Life in the Desert
By Amber Mortensen, Painfully Hip
Photos by Ryan Mihalyi
Wardrobe Styling and Art Direction by Amber Mortensen and Bradley Rhea
Hair by Raul Mendoza at Fringe Salon (4861 E Grant Rd #111)
Model: Jessaca Marie Haag
Special thanks to Abraham Cooper and Jonathan Saupe
It’s June in the desert. The sun is relentless, cicadas are celebrating, and temperatures are rising, but what’s this? Hemlines are descending, modesty is rampant, and …black is the new black? Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but pretty much every trend you’ve come to associate with summer (sundresses, shorts, mini skirts, color, color, and more color) have been sent to trial by fire this year. So how do Tucsonans keep cool when fashion publications are telling us that long sleeves, trousers, ankle length hemlines, and black are haute stuff this season? Anything loose and floaty has risen to the top of my wish list. Especially chiffon, the textile equivalent of whipped cream. It’s cool, breathable, and just plain sumptuous. American Apparel (988 E University Ave) offers loads of the stuff. Maxi skirts, cropped blouses, long-sleeved button-ups and even pants in delicious sheer chiffon.
As far as these allegedly low hemlines go, skirts are especially versatile this season. I recommend the high-waisted variety, paired with a fluttery, cropped top or a fitted tank. I love a billowy maxi skirt as a swimsuit cover-up (as seen at the TYP/TFG runway show last month at the Fox Theater), but really anything below the knee is hip for summer. Just don’t forget to add an airy pair of gypsy-esque trousers to your closet while you’re at it.
Black is in, but so is nude. Now with this list of trends, it would be understandable to just decide to translated this to streaking, but first let me explain. Nudity (as far as I know), is still illegal in downtown Tucson, but anything wearable from light peach to pinky beige to tan is so hot, it’s barely legal. All the way down to your toe nail polish, nude is the new black, at least for us desert-dwellers.
And of course there is always room for color on my spectrum, especially for accessories like skinny leather belts and hats. Mindlessly pairing saturated blues, greens, purples and turquoise with your nude, black and otherwise neutral separates will make you appear as though you’ve got this color-blocking trend on lockdown. The point however, is to take whatever trends you’re into this season and make them your own somehow. That’s something we Tucsonans are best at.
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Couldn’t resist including this hotness in conclusion (Abraham was the best fog wrangler in tarnation):
It’s been decided. I’ve found 3 of my most favorite (and most comfortable) swimsuits to date in the last few months. So I took it as a sign that I should go ahead and spend one month this Autumn on the island of Oahu, land of coconut breezes, misty rainforests, overpriced milk, and my favorite gay couple. So I’ll definitely be putting my swimsuits (here is the first) to great use, since lounging on the beach eating stolen coconuts with Bradley will be all I can afford to do.
I am beginning to be mildly over the tribal print trend, but it’ll be totally be a go in swimwear for at least the rest of the year. Perhaps the colors are a little, “Body Glove SS1994″ but I’m having this total mid-90s throwback phase right now and I think I like it. This monokini can give me an awkward tanline anytime. It fits well, stays put, and, get this: you don’t have to peel the whole thing off when you need to pee!
If you know me, you know how exciting it was for me to put thrift store clothes and seconds-from-the-grave candy apple platforms on a recent Harper’s BAZAAR cover model. Have you ever felt preemptively intimidated by a 16 year old before?
Yeeeah, I mean …me neither…
I could also mention that this editorial was thrown together in less than 24 hours, but I won’t. The inspirations ranged from “punk” and “tomboy” to “feminine 1940s-60s silhouettes,” with sources from American Apparel to St. Vincent de Paul… all with a decidedly juicy color pallette. Our team was perfection and we had a blast.
Photos by Matthew Priestley
Written and styled by Amber Mortensen, Painfully Hip
Model- Jeanne Johnston, FORD
MUA – Lizzy Marsh
Hair – Amy Freudenberg
Special Thanks to Abraham Cooper, Jasmine Jarrett and Matt Wade at American Apparel, Tucson.
This post brought to you by Express. All opinions are 100% mine.
This time I’m just going to skip my obligatory “not sorry I live in the desert” disclaimer and just go ahead and say it. “I’m thinking about swim suits!
I love working on these sweet little trend direction shoots for Buffalo Exchange Fashion for several reasons. A) I get to raid Tucson’s Buffalo Exchange locations and try on 18,000 incredible outfits without getting flack for not buying anything. B) Buffalo locations here are some of my favorite EVER because of an overabundance of vintage which many a non-desert dwelling vintage fiend might consider poisoning their grandma for. C) My friend Bradley at Buffalo Exchange is the equivalent of a handsome and sophisticated golden retriever puppy. D) Because Bradley unkowingly reads my mind and assists with buying all the new merchandise Buffalo carries on a daily basis, it could remain unsaid that their selection for me personally, is to-kill-maim-or-die-for.
So we just decided to do two shoots this season.
Presented in an easy-to-view, thoughtfully embedded slideshow – just click the full screen button in the bottom right corner of the screen to zoom. See if you can spot the intensely rubbery jello jigglers we made just for the shoot.
From Buffalo Exchange Fashion:
“Think about the fifties, girlish pan collared blouses and flirty a-line minis. Think vibrant splashes of orange and yellow, blues and citrusy greens amidst a palate of soft neutrals. Or lightweight boxy cut knits in dusty pinks and desert-like tones with high-rise cutoffs and a sunhat so big that you could shade your entire crew. Think about headscarves and ikat, turquoise and stacked wooden bangles, studio frames, wedges and tooled leather saddlebags.”
Photos by the incredible Krysta Jabczenski
Styling by Bradley Rhea and Amber Mortensen
Model is the lovely Ann Thayer
From Buffalo Exchange Fashion:
“Full minis and mid-calf length skirts, chambray boyfriend blouses and satin shorts. Striking pops of classic red, brushed metals and PRINTS! Big 40’s-like floral, geometric shapes, tribal interpretations and a whole slew of different sized stripes. This spring definitely promises to be a stylish one! If it ever arrives, that is…”
Photos by Abraham Cooper
Styling by Bradley Rhea and Amber Mortensen
Model is Amber Mortensen of Painfully Hip
All images were either created by the Painfully Hip Design Collective, used with permission, or found on the web and believed to be in the public domain. If any images that appear are in violation of copyright law, please let me know and i will remove them immediately.
Thanks for reading,
Amber
painfullyhip at gmail.com
