Androgynous: partly male and partly female in appearance; of indeterminate sex.
(photos below)
Most of the editorial style shoots I have done in the past have been primarily women in womenswear. This time I decided to push myself and use a theme that speaks to me quite personally... Being an androgynous cis male. I don't find there to be any problem with mixing menswear or traditional mens style, with womenswear or traditional womens style.
For the storyline of this shoot I really wanted to think outside of my comfort zone and come up with a unique story for this character I was playing for the shoot. This character happened to have been a struggling androgynous cis male escort who had been living in a motel room. Hence, why the looks and a mix of high and low. Depending on how he was doing one week he was able to afford a dope pair of 14 inch platform over the knee boots covered in glitter, or a pair of Loewe high waisted jeans. On the flip side sometimes he had to resort to a plastic jacket or a thrifted pink camo jacket.
The best way to really tell the story of this characters twisted Pretty Woman story is the way I have arranged the shots below. I wanted to show how in the beginning he is clearly struggling to find any bookings to the last images of him in a tub covered in cash or in a Lynx fur coat with a Gucci hockey mask on accepting a stack of cash from someone. One thing I made sure was in the background of some shots was the neon pink "love" sign. Underneath the main story of this struggling androgynous guy is the true story which is LOVE. Loving yourself and others no matter how you choose to present yourself to the world and what anyone has to say about it. This character may have not been getting jobs because of his choice to be an androgynous cis male escort and still never conformed despite his struggle. That is how we should all go through life. BEING OUR AUTHENTIC SELVES.
Now, I just wanted to finish this post with thanking Ashley Gallerani for always making me feel comfortable and supporting me during any styling or shoot we've done together. I absolutely need to also thank one of my best friends Scott Kitson for supporting whatever I do as well as assisting Ashley and I on this shoot. Especially for being my cheerleader while shooting looks I wasn't comfortable being shot in. It means the world to me. <3
