For the re-launch of our FP Movement line, we were excited to collaborate with Ballet Zaida, the fine arts project helmed by photographer Oliver Endahl!
The purpose of Ballet Zaida is to expose the world to ballet, and to evolve the art of ballet itself. Before I became a ballet photographer I danced ballet myself for over a decade in the San Francisco Bay Area. I enjoy every form of art, but ballet is my favorite – I think it can lend itself & collaborate with every other form of art there is. I think that Free People & ballet go hand in hand. The style of Free People is very whimsical & ethereal, both of which are infused with ballet, so I was very excited to get to photograph dancers wearing the new FP Movement line.
Our photo shoot took place in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a favorite location of mine. The architecture of the concert hall is otherworldly. The curves, textures & lines of every wall, corner & hallway are beautiful. We used 2 Ballet Zaida Affinities for the photoshoot, Alanna Christina & Morgan Quinn, as well as dancers Nicole Voris and Sasha DeSola. The outfits had the whimsical feeling of Free People, but were also infused with the essence of the dancers.
Be sure to follow these beauties on FP Me: Alanna Christina, Morgan Jean Quinn, Nicole Voris, and Sasha DeSola.
Shop the FP Movement trend.
Half Moon Tank, Ruched Seamless Shorts
Follow Alanna Christina on FP Me.
Ruched Seamless Shorts, Off The Shoulder Long Sleeve, Your Inner Ballerina Legwarmer
Your Inner Ballerina Legwarmer
Follow Morgan Jean Quinn on FP Me.
Follow Nicole Voris on FP Me.
Topanga Cutoff Sweats, Cassandra Crop Cover
Ruched Seamless Shorts, Ruffle Crop Cami
Topanga Cutoff Sweats, Cassandra Crop Cover
Follow Sasha DeSola on FP Me.
Shop the FP Movement trend.
Thank you for showing these beautiful, strong, artistic women. Every photo is an inspiration.
http://lamentinglizzie.blogspot.com/
I love this! So beautiful! I hope everyone will stfu now & move on with their lives. :)
These dancers of Ballet Zaida are absolutely beautiful! Lovely re-launch of the products! I wrote an article about it discussing how you guys & gals over at Free People may have had a stroke of advertising genius with this whole uproar! Here it is: http://thedancegrad.com/free-people-ballet-campaign-a-stroke-of-genius/
Best,
Christina
TheDanceGrad.com
Oh wow this is breathtaking, absolutely stunning!
juliettelaura.blogspot.com
So Incredibly Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing.
The Weaver Of Words…..give me 15 words and I’ll tell you a tale
http://www.averyfairytale.wordpress.com
I love how all the ballerinas from the previous post are now all silent. This post is beautiful. Stunning photos!
So happy to see this! All the girls in the Ballet Zaida are gorgeous! Thanks for getting your act together FP!
Way to make a comeback. These are flawless and so awe inspiring.
A very good change. Ballet Zaida and Oliver Endahl have always been a class act. This is a wonderful union for both of you.
Now that’s more like it! Beautiful!
Sooooo much better! These are ballerinas!
Gorgeous! There is no doubt that these are true ballet dancers taken by a gifted artist.
Why wasn’t this done from the beginning?
Thank you, FP for realizing your shocking error, and relaunching using real dancers. The clothes not only look appealing now, but so do the beautiful, classically trained dancer’s bodies! I just wish you had launched this line correctly. Your other ‘dancer’ is horrible. To be honest, I was afraid she would break her ankles, dancing en pointe when she obviously never had before! Next time, think before you launch.
Be still my heart.
Its beautiful! I love balet so so much <3 !!
MUCH BETTER!!!! So beautiful. The clothes look fantastic, the dancers are gorgeous, and I am now willing to buy from this line.
Thank you! These trained dancers looks fabulous in this collection!!!!
A lovely, successful relaunch.
, Congratulations to FP.
Thank you for taking us seriously and using real dancers.
Thank you for finally highlighting some real dancers who are well deserving, inspiring, and beautiful. Yay for learning from your mistakes! The whole campaign inspired a post on my blog: http://read-between-the-lanes.com/2014/05/16/free-the-dancers-people/
xx
-A
I prefer the original ad. This girl doesn’t make me wanna buy stuff. Real ballet dancers are snobs and need to get over themselves or get back to their training.
Thank you FP for this relaunch. As a dancer, I was saddened but the fact that there are millions of young women who have been training for years to become ballerinas or professional dancers and you had chosen a model who was not a real dancer. That being said, there is no doubt that the previously young woman had taken a few classes recreational class here and there but she was in no way trained correctly or strictly. It was insulting but at no fault of the model, but insulting in the way that portraying that any person can throw… Read more »
OHHH FP much much better! I fb you to offer my assistance and I’m glad you were able to re-launch with some good guidance and believability. There is still ways to make the ballerinas look more down to earth and casual while still inspiring the best example with room to explore. I’m proud to like you now and will continue to watch and see how you grow.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this! About time a company fixes a mistake if they made one. Seriously, I appreciate this a lot.