There’s something so hot about denim. The laid back approach to style has always been a favorite of mine. It’s never over or under dressed, you look casual and cool, but fashionable and chic at the same time. Denim just never looks bad…
Check out how we’re styling it here at the home offices this week.
Lives in: I was born in Slovakia, but moved to Vancouver, Canada when I was 12. About 3 years ago I moved back to Europe, spending two years living in the countryside of Spain, and I’m currently living in London, UK! I love it here, as there is so much culture, and inspiration everywhere!
Shoots with: For digital I use a Pentax K200D, although I dream and am currently saving for a Canon 5D Mark II! I also sometime shoot film, and for that I use a hand me down Cosina CT7. My good friend also just gave me an old Polaroid, and I’m excited to start exploring with it!
Favorite Subject: I really love shooting women! I love the whole 60s, 70s, sunshine,flowing hair, lens flare, freedom vibe, and I think women just tend to lend themselves to that really well! But really I love shooting youth and people in general, boys as well as girls. (My boyfriend has been very patient modeling for me when I want to try out new techniques and ideas!) Fashion shoots inspire me, because there are so many different directions that you can take with a shoot, sometimes inspired by a single dress or shoe. I find the whole creative concept exciting and beautiful.
Inspired by: I draw inspiration from everywhere, from walking around, to music and books,vintage photos, movies, magazines even dreams. I suppose the concepts of nature and youth, of life and freedom and all that it intertwines, really moves and inspires me. Magazines like Dazed & Confused, Love, AnOther Magazine, Flaunt, Interview and many many others constantly provide bursts of happiness and creation! I also love how the internet has managed to connect us all, and I am a regular reader of many great and inspiring blogs. Some of my favorite photographers are Ryan McGinley, Paolo Roversi, Camilla Akrans, and Guy Aroch, which is why it’s so amazing that he just shot the campaign for Free People!
Random Fact: I’ve worked all sorts of jobs to pay rent and afford travel, including being a snowboard instructor as well as a flight attendant!
Also, I usually shoot during the days, but I love post processing my photos at night; it’s the time that I find most inspiring. I love the quiet, the darkness, a glass of red wine, all making way for concentration and evocative thinking. My parents still tell me to this day (I’m 26) that I need to “turn my schedule around” to prepare me for a “real job”.
See more of Lucy’s amazing work here, and also check out her awesome blog!
This month’s featured jewelry designer is one of my personal favorites – Dannijo. The New York based label was founded by sisters Danielle and Jodie Snyder, self-taught jewelry designers who learned how to wirework by playing with their father’s medical tools as kids. Their pieces are handmade using various metals – oxidized silver, gold and gunmetal – mixed with bold colorful elements like druzy quartz, crystals, aqua aura and pearls.
A combination of bohemian whimsy and old-world sophistication, their pieces are incredibly beautiful and eye-catching, making them a favorite among celebrities and fashion designers.
Their inspiration:
“For SS12 we were really inspired by Indonesian surf culture, western elements and Aztec artifacts — think masks, fossils and ancient jewelry dug up from the past. We wanted the collection to be really wearable and able to be stacked and layered as always so we had fun with color and silhouettes while keeping the collection very signature Dannijo. It’s sort of a modern take on remnants of the past.”
I love how the necklaces are styled with vintage tees and faux fur in our October catalog – on the left, the Stella Collar, and on the right, the Tribal Rhaise Pendant.
Today’s Snapshot is of a pair of photographers who wrote in their first email to me, “we are two young photographers, who live far from each other. Though we live on different sides of America, we manage to collaborate and make art together. Distance doesn’t affect our art or relationship; we’re still a dynamic duo.”
Photography by Sofia:
Photography by Luke:
Collaborative Work:
Lives in:
Sofia – I live in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Luke – I call Texas home. But I travel a lot and gather so much inspiration along the way. I’m prone to adventure while on the road! In fact, I may run into Sofia in Paris this spring.
Shoots With:
Sofia – I shoot with my Nikon D90 (digital), my Nikon D90 (film) and a Polaroid camera.
Luke – For digital, a Canon 5D Mark II and for film, a Polaroid 600 SE (although I’m about to start experimenting with medium format!). Sofia and I swap cameras a lot. We may shoot a few videos with her camera but take photos with mine. It all depends on our mood.
Favorite Subject:
Sofia – My favorite subject would have to be people; models and friends help me get my story across. I love to create elaborate, conceptual ideas that tell stories, and provoke people’s imagination. People show such strong emotion, and I find it important and compelling to capture that in the photos. I also love to photograph Luke. We always end up with these personal memories and photo collections of our youth.
Luke – Sofia, of course! We know each other so well that expressing each other through photographs is almost like taking self-portraits. We’re very much a single photographer. But I’m looking forward to exploring photojournalism. I’m fascinated by people who live in rural areas and plan to make some trips out to the country to photograph such distinct characters. There’s so much complexity to play with.
Inspired by:
Sofia- Inspiration comes from just about anything, I could see something silver and it sparks an idea for a shoot. Example: using an oversized spoon and fork for a shoot. Music is also something that has an influence. I listen to music and the songs takes me many places, creating visions in my mind. Fashion, magazines and travel also help me with ideas but sometimes, I can’t even begin to explain where ideas come from, they just appear out of thin air.
Luke – Youth, maps, Canyons and deserts in the Southwest, hibernation, Alzheimer’s, clocks, shoes across telephone lines, shadows of passing airplanes/clouds. Then again, people fascinate me. Just people. In addition to photographing, I write fiction and verse. Both involve crafting characters without losing the complexity of an actual three-dimensional person. Every person is its own story with dozens of other stories attached like branches. I want to explore these branches, snatch each leaf. Similarly, I want to express this in my photos. An artist is one who can express complexity in a single piece of work.
Random Fact
Sofia- I will be traveling to Paris in June. I am so excited to shoot and live there for 3 weeks!
Luke – This summer, I visited a witch doctor in Africa (called a “sangoma” by natives). It was in the back of his yard in a township near Durban. Although it was the afternoon, time seemed warped inside his healing hut. The only light was from candles. All the different bottles of potions glowed green, purple, orange. When he explained his healing methods, he kept looking down at his hands in his lap, sometimes moving a finger over the wrinkles on his palm. I left Africa with these beautiful images of the potions and his beaded headdress and his wrinkled hands.
Day by day I’m so impressed by all of the amazing fashion I come across here at the office. Everywhere there are items that make you want to melt. The styling is so fresh. I find myself staring just taking in the aesthetic of it all.
She was a little camera shy, but I had to capture this necklace for you all. How amazing?!
I love how she knotted the dress and wore it with printed boots to give this look a laidback feel.
This crazy mix match of prints is so daring and perfect. I love how the prints have a funky feel yet the look remains retro and feminine overall.
How stylish is this pairing of the ruffle legging with chambray and booties?
Calling all artists, fashion, and design junkies!! Do you love to create inviting atmospheres? Do you constantly add touches of detail to transform a space? Do you understand the Free People brand thoroughly and love the aesthetic, constantly trying to recreate it in your own world?
Free People is looking to hire a District Visual Manager for its Wholesale division to manage all aspects of merchandising for their specific region. The role requires a highly motivated, energetic, and organized individual, who can drive sales through creative ideas and analysis of what works.
Role & Responsibility:
Training and Development:
Educate and motivate sales associates, specialists and management in each store within the region about the product, sales goals and merchandising objectives
Build the Free People Clientele through customer service and leading by example in the Free People Shop
Train associates on how to build multiple sales and use the directives as a guide for putting key looks together
Merchandising:
Merchandise the floor space to reflect the Free People Corporate image based on the current trend of the season
Communicate and establish effective relationships with visual managers, merchandise managers, selling managers and sales staff to create the Free People Image
Utilize and pass out visual lookbooks and directives to ensure our images are being recreated within the department store environment
Consistent communication with store management regarding floor space, numbers analysis, selling events and review of specialist performance
Selling Analysis:
Analyze and communicate weekly goals to each store of responsibility
Review allocations to your individual stores and communicate any issues
Submit competitive recaps and detailed weekly recaps
While at the POPPED! Music Festival on Saturday I had the opportunity to sit down with the executive producer who organized the fest, Alexis Rosenzweig. She was lovely and had some really interesting insights into festivals, fashion and Philadelphia. Read More
When the nights start drawing in I love nothing more than coming home from work putting on some comfortable clothes and lounging around. The nights are dark early.
So you have an excuse to just stay in and do nothing but be cozy. Comfortable clothes do a lot to your mood; it’s an indulgence that feels great. I’m excited about FP body, now I can be lazy in great clothes.
From our FP body buyer:
Describe FP body started from the basic seamless romper that was perfect for layering under all our sheer slips. We wanted to take comfortable basics to the next level and explore it in terms of lounge wear. We felt our girl was too pretty and cool to be lounging around in boring sweats so we brought the FP aesthetic and created a range that is fashionably comfortable.
We didn’t want to limit ourselves when designing into this concept – we looked into great silhouettes that can be carried from indoor dressing to outdoor dressing, when styled carefully – for instances the fleecy sweat pants that are online right now are ideal for curling up on the sofa but then you can team them with some biker boots and a leather jacket and be ready to head out the door. The Kimonos are thrown on for some decorative warmth over your basic lounge wear but can also be worn in a cool way with jeans and a simple top for a night out.
The items I love the most are the ones that can transition from the indoors to the outdoors, the body hugging soft rompers are cute whilst the kimonos add that touch of fancy that can easly be taken as outerwear and you can never go wrong with a pair of cozy lined sweat pants
Interested in being in the thick of the business of fashion? Dying to be a huge asset to a brand growing at a rapid pace? Are you super motivated, ambitious, a fast learner and a fashion and social media junkie with her finger on the pulse of the industry? If so, this could be the opportunity you’ve been seeking.
Free People is hiring an Assistant to the Managing Director of Wholesale! If you’re stylish, organized, good with numbers, and this sounds like your dream job, you just might want to apply. Click here for more details. And, check out a day in the life below:
Could this be you….?
8:00AM: Jump off the subway in the shoes you picked up at the sample sale this past weekend.
8:05AM: Stop into your favorite café to grab a large coffee (you’re gonna need it) and Greek yogurt before heading into the office.
8:15AM: Get to your desk and get organized for the long (but fun) day ahead. You check up on email to make sure that none of the international stores emailed you with urgent matters throughout the night.
9:05AM: What’s this? Free People’s favorite boutique in San Francisco placed an order at the tradeshows, and now they’d like to double it? Great! Forward to your coworker, and then get back to pulling sales data for your boss. Thank god you’re an Excel expert ;)
9:45AM: Big meeting on the calendar at 10! Have to get all of your things together!
11AM: Post meeting time to organize your notes and email the international wholesale team to check up on some of the topics covered. It looks like they’ll be having market visits with big buyers and we want them to have the samples for next Spring to show.
12PM: Short break! Bruno’s dying to go out, and you’ve been running around all morning. First you stop to get a greek salad and green tea, then you head out to walk him for a short bit.
12:45PM: Back to work. You have to put together some packets that will be going out to wholesale’s clients.
1:30PM: Another meeting. This time you’re meeting with your boss and other coworkers about a strategy for getting the upcoming capsule collection into key stores. This takes a lot of analyzing past numbers and behaviors which you’ve been preparing for the past few days. You take notes for her during the meeting, so that she doesn’t miss a thing.
2:30PM: You update your boss’s twitter – she asks you to do this sometimes when she’s crazy busy.
2:35PM: Yikes! Don’t forget you have to book her flight for next month (and also don’t forget she’s a vegetarian – you’ll want to select the vegetarian option for her).
3:30PM: Wow your eyes hurt from staring at these spreadsheets…check and see what today’s special is at the café. It’s pretzel day?! Time to grab Suzy and hit that up. Bruno will appreciate the added walk =P
3:45PM: Back to updating our best sellers. That’s so interesting that they ordered so many of that top. You wouldn’t think that it would be right for their customer. Hm..maybe you’ll want to have somebody check up on this.
4:30PM: Adding some appointments to your boss’s calendar. She needs to meet with Joe, Bob, and Heather about performance in the UK.
5PM: The phone rings. It’s her daughter, let her know she’s on the phone and pass her through.
6:00PM: End of day email check. It looks like you have to begin organizing a showroom appointment for October. You can start that tomorrow, but don’t forget to make a note in your color-coded calendar so you don’t forget!
6:15PM: What? It’s after six already!? You need to email Rachel very quickly to see what ever happened with those samples. Then you’ll get going! Hmm…what should you wear tomorrow?
Is this you? Click here for more details and to apply – this position is located in New York City.
The rain may have moved it to a new location, but we’re still heading to the POPPED! music festival tomorrow, where we’ll be documenting all the fashion and music so if you’re going, look for us there! If you find us, you just might get a little treat ;) Read More
This week’s style file is for all of you Lou’s out there who find inspiration in menswear. Believe it or not, there are a decent amount of men working around this office, and their fashion is just as much fun to observe as the ladies.
Our (fairly new) production assistant is one of the sharp men making a statement here. He has an eye for good fashion with tailored pieces, luxe sweaters, and vintage details. I love that he’s not afraid to wear a patterned sock, and how sharp does he look in those men’s high-water pants?? You can pretty much bet he’ll have a button-up shirt on, but the range of color, pattern, and fabric combinations in the outfit as a whole steer it away from ever getting boring. There’s a true refined quality to the way he dresses that takes a good eye to pull off.
