What are we capable of? We don’t know until we try.
YSA PEREZ, Hollywood, Calif., 2018.
YSA PEREZ by EMARI TRAFFIE
SPICED SUGAH, Flower Market, Los Angeles, Calif.
FLOWER MARKET
You've been a flower in my heart since the day them feelings rose on me.
🌹 WESTSIDE BOOGIE
‘Find Me’ Feat. D’ANNA STEWART
WESTSIDE BOOGIE & JUSTICE, Sherman Oaks, Calif., 2018.
IF I'M ALIVE NOW
Kidder Mountain, New Ipswich, N.H.
Not easy to state the change you made.
If I'm alive now, then I was dead,
Though, like a stone, unbothered by it,
Staying put according to habit.
You didn't just tow me an inch, no--
Nor leave me to set my small bald eye
Skyward again, without hope, of course,
Of apprehending blueness, or stars.
That wasn't it. I slept, say: a snake
Masked among black rocks as a black rock
In the white hiatus of winter--
Like my neighbors, taking no pleasure
In the million perfectly-chisled
Cheeks alighting each moment to melt
My cheeks of basalt. They turned to tears,
Angels weeping over dull natures,
But didn't convince me. Those tears froze.
Each dead head had a visor of ice.
And I slept on like a bent finger.
The first thing I was was sheer air
And the locked drops rising in dew
Limpid as spirits. Many stones lay
Dense and expressionless round about.
I didn't know what to make of it.
I shone, mice-scaled, and unfolded
To pour myself out like a fluid
Among bird feet and the stems of plants.
I wasn't fooled. I knew you at once.
Tree and stone glittered, without shadows.
My finger-length grew lucent as glass.
I started to bud like a March twig:
An arm and a leg, and arm, a leg.
From stone to cloud, so I ascended.
Now I resemble a sort of god
Floating through the air in my soul-shift
Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift.
IDENTITY COFFEE, RIndge, N.H.
SEEING GHOSTS
Dreamt I was seeing ghosts;
the memories made
shadows of their hosts.
like ghouls, their faces passed,
each one reflecting my aghast.
et
09/11/20
HEATH MCNEASE, Ashburnham, Mass., Sept. 2020.
ASHBURNHAM, MA
PROCESSED THROUGH NEGATIVE LAB
EVERYTHING'S FOR SALE
‘Everything’s For Sale’ is a short film directed by Riley Keough, Gina Gammell and Malcolm Washington, the film follows the storyline of Anthony ‘Boogie’ Dixson’s debut album out now, with Shady Records.
Directed by Riley Keough, Gina Gammell and Malcolm Washington
Produced by 271 Pictures
Domenica Castro, Constanza Castro, Kristen Uno, Davida Williams
Cinematography by Martim Vian
Production Design by Alex Dixon
Costume Design by Henna Koskinen
Additional Photography by Ayinde Anderson
Hair and Makeup by Jordana Davis
SFX MU by Jason Hamer, Pepe Mora
Edited by Armen Harootun
Color by Sean Coleman
BTS/Set Stills by Emari Traffie
(Featuring J.I.D., Compton Cowboys, Estevan Oriol, Moises Arias, Sasha Lane and Amy Seimetz)
Special thank you Boogie, the Keyel ‘The Greatest’ Walker, Darttny ‘The Sponsor’ Ellis, Justice, Producers/Angels: Constanza & Domenicah Castro, and the last day crew that allowed me to photograph their beautiful souls.
MUTINY AND THE BOUNTY
PARIS, SAMIRAH (THIS IS HOW I LOOK), & MARGEILA
Read MoreCHEREVICHKIOTVICHKI SS 19
This is a small collection of 600 and Mini Polaroids from a preview of SS 2019 Cherevichkiotvichki presentation in Paris. I wrote about Part 1 last year, if you’d like the beginning of the love story.
The Part One — SS 2019, the collection of men’s and women’s clothing, shoes and accessories titled “The Imperceptible Resonance of a Flowering Thread” was presented together with the preview of shoes from Michael Moir’s Archive.
“A brittle adventure of Cherevichkiotvichki ideology will bring you to the headsprings of the infantile, intangible, anonymous, harmonious and chaotic white.”
Enjoy.
1995
When I go home to my parent's house in New Hampshire, I try to make a point of looking through old photos from when I was young. My mom has about 20 of them. They are all labeled by year from 1987 or so until 2002-ish when digital started to take over and she no longer need to drop of film and get prints to see what she had captured. They are full of the typical family photos; candids of birthday parties, events and weddings, of playdates and baths, of snow angels and naps.
Gucci #guccinotguilty x Tania Sarin
Tania Sarin, inspired but the #guccinotguilty fragrance.
Persona Cosmetics
Simple beauty shots for Persona Cosmetics.
Photography: Emari Traffie
Technical Assistant: Jonathan Labez
Hair: Nicolas Flores
Makeup: Rob Sargsyan
Models: Mari DeLeon, Sona Gasparian, Josie Jones
VRAI & ORO: CONNECTEDNESS
Vrai & Oro blessed me with their latest design, The Link Necklace. These photos are inspired by the story behind the piece:
"We don't believe in discounts or sales so we decided to create our own tradition on Black Friday. Every year we design an exclusive piece that speaks to something larger than ourselves. This year we reflected on the connection we each have as humans– the most basic foundation of our being.
The Link Necklace is a daily reminder of this innate connection, designed to encourage you to share your message proudly, to be open-minded and to listen and receive from others.
To help strengthen the conversation, we will be writing a letter to congress for each necklace purchased, supporting one of five key issues that we believe in and stand behind as a team."
Practical note: I would purchase this necklace just for someone to write a letter to congress about an issue, because my list is long.
Techs: I used a Canon 6D Mk II and 35mm 1.4 lens, single continuous light through a water jug in a dark room. My boyfriend held the branch. Settings: 1/100, f 3.2, ISO 1000.
Looking back: Shooting jewelry is an intricate scenario and I haven't got it right on the first try yet. I would next time use a tripod or higher shutter speed and shoot with an 85mm or 100mm.
Crosscheck,
E
LE LABO: POST-ROSE 31 ERA
It was the summer of 2011, and I was fulfilling my dreams of experiencing the quintessential California music festival—not the round sunglasses, maxi skirts and dirty hair dream I envisioned at 15 but as an active-duty Marine on Coachella Music Festival security detail. I was a sweaty road guard getting sunburnt in a polo shirt and khaki shorts. The weekend had a lot of smells, mostly ganja from Wiz Khalifa's set but I digress, I'm talking about Le Labo's Rose 31. Rose and warm cumin, with cedar and vetiver and a wood/musk base make a potent, comforting yet daring unisex combination. Trailing the scent, was Harley Viera-Newton, one of my main woman crushes of the time via Nylon magazine days I can only assume. It was my new favorite scent and I had yet to meet it in person.
Years later when I moved to LA, I quickly saw that Le Labo is inescapable in this city. I moved in Steph who had Rose 31 (formally introduced!) everything. I found out Santal 33 might as well be another name for night out in West Hollywood. Now, and especially because of the sampler set, I've fallen for many pungent vials since—Oud 27 and Vetiver 46, recently. My current day scent is the Bergamote 22 (those numbers are the amount of ingredients). It's a refreshing but affirmative combination of amber, musk, vetiver, grapefruit, cedar and vanilla.
Le Labo just announced the launch of their (massive) skincare line. Although I keep a simple organic routine (should I journal about it? let me know), the line’s base ingredients are plant sourced and as the brand explains it, synthetic ingredients are used when it’s not environmentally conscious to use organic alternatives. I picked up the Hinoki and Sea Buckthorn hand wash which smells great for a long time and doesn't dry out hands. Also, I've tried the basil and sesame shower gel, hinoki macadamia shampoo and hinoki avocado conditioner set. I cut shampoo and conditioner from my routine earlier this year so the set is used as a treat for whenever guests are in town.
So come visit, fam.
Yes, that is a bamboo squatty potty in the second image. I highly recommend getting one.
cherevichkiotvichki ss 2018
in FASHION
'A Collection of Men's & Women's clothing, shoes and accessories titled "TRANSFORMATION INTO ENSUING CONFORMATION" with the third preview of shoes from Micheal Moir's Archive.'
'A shoe by Victoria', in the old Slavic language translates to the name of the clothing atelier 'cherevichki ot vichki.' The shoes are hand-made, natural dyed leather with wooden soles, using traditional Baltic techniques. Accessories include leather bags of the same quality and a collection of hand-dyed garments reminiscent of (to my eye) what was worn as undergarments in the late 1800's. It took me a week to get comfortable saying it, but now it's my favorite word. Cherevichkiotvichki. Try it.
The Cherevichki showroom is carefully crafted in the same manner as the collection. Linen, cotton and other natural fibers, all sourced from Lithuania, hang from wooden frames in staggered sheets, each one fastidiously decorated with the raw items that begat the collection. Cotton blooms are sewn into blossoms, rubber drips down linen, and twine, wire and wood intersect to create a textile wonderland. The scene takes back to Picasso's deconstructed guitars. In retrospect, if I had more presence in the moment, I would have removed my shoes and navigated the room like a temple, pausing at each item to pay homage to the craftsmanship.
Here's a little context so you can also appreciate this (if you don't already). Cherevichkiotvichki is the offspring of Lithuanian-born Victoria Andrejeva. To my calculations, it's the thirteenth Cherevichki collection and yet another testament to her mastery of process and freedom of form. The label (mostly leather, mostly shoes in the beginning) met early acclaim with cosigns from Rei Kawakubo (Trading Museum Comme des Garçon) and successive collaborations with Yohji Yamamoto, Toogood and Dover Street Market, as well as Mona Moore in LA.
“You can only truly understand the act of creation through the series of all variations.”
107SS18 FLARED COAT, LIGHT SILK, BEIGE
This collection comes in a set, like its predecessors. Part one is titled 'Transformation into Ensuing Conformation.' The white Parisian room pulls my attention every which way as I gingerly step (cursing my tall black boots) through the delicate structures around the shoes. I took inventory of the things I knew to expect, the quality, the innovation, the collaboration. I would offer comparisons of Cherevichki to other brands but it feels like a different world altogether, one from a past time connected to the future.
It's all art, in which she seamlessly zips her USSR inspired almost-Edwardian forms with details and raw modern edges that call out to Yamamoto. Almost invisible zippers appear on the seams of a light but durable jacket. Leather handbags with graffiti'd canvases reveal scrawled Russian profanity and coffee cup stains. Grey almost gauze-like Lithuanian textiles fill out the shapes of soviet uniform pattern jackets with removable inserts, panels, and collars (shown below half-zipped). I mentally wish-list everything, but specifically a smooth cream underhat that straps under the chin like an updated bonnet.
106SS18 ADJUSTABLE UNLINED COAT WITH ZIP, WAXED COAT, CREAM
125SS18 ASYMMETRIC UNDERHEAT, LIGHT SILK, BEIGE
104SS18 COAT WITH REMOVABLE LINING AND COLLAR, MEDIUM LINEN MESH, GREY
99SS18 TWO PIECE DRESS, LIGHT LINEN MESH, GREY
Cherevichki, Op. 14 - Comic-fantasy opera in four acts by Jakov Polonskij (1885) Overture to the opera "Cherevichki" (The Slippers) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), a revision of his earlier opera "Vakula the Smith". Both works are based on the story "Christmas Eve" by Nikolai Gogol, which is found in his collection "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka".
![[picasso, 'guitare' paris, jan-feb 1914]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/51f6c73de4b0e11effa053d8/1507949356049-7WUV3DYDNQHRC2F629P9/picasso+guitar+%2F+emaritraffie.com)
[picasso, 'guitare' paris, jan-feb 1914]
“On ne peut vraiment suivre l’acte créateur qu’à travers la sèrie de touts les variations.”
NIKE FASHIONAIR x VSCO
Nike and VSCO gave me a few pairs of Vapormax's and a futuristic concept and asked me (and three other amazing photographers) to create some inspired, collaborative high fashion images. Really, the story is not about the future—it's about now.
Photographer: Emari Traffie
Models: Ciarra Walters & Kimi Singer
Stylist: Bukunmi Grace
Makeup: Celina Rodriguez
Hair: Sarah Dougherty
Producer: Meagan Judkins
REEBOK x ALLI HAGENDORF
REEBOK X ALLI HAGENDORF
Alli is the Head of Rock at Spotify and also crushes it in the gym. Reebok and I teamed up with her to capture a day in her life.
BARRIE
Lisa Dengler and I collaborated to shoot a few looks with Barrie Knitwear. The idea behind the shoot was a Los Angeles day in the life—but the real. Lisa made laundry, breakfast, grocery shopping and gas pumping look magical. Enjoy!
'SUNROOF' BOOGIE feat. Dana Williams (behind the scenes)
When a Compton rapper with multiple love lives meets up with an almost all female dream production team headed by directing duo Gina Gammell & Riley Keough you get this magic.
'Sunroof' by Boogie feat. Dana Williams, production by @lordquestmusic, @keyeleyek and @amairejohnson
Directed by Gina Gammell and Riley Keough
Produced by Davida Williams, Domenica Castro and Jessica Schul
Styled by Ari
Stills by Emari Traffie
Bones + Feathers
Several years ago when I was visiting LA (never thought I'd live here one day btw, you never know where you will be in the future) my now-roomate Steph Matson introduced me to Cole, co-founder of Bones + Feathers Collective and I immediately went home and bought a snake-vertebrae necklace that would see many compliments in it's day.
Fast forward to today. Enjoy. Have fun choosing (I couldn't pick one fave if I had to).
PALM SPRINGS x SIMON x VOGUE
Went to Palm Springs (and OF COURSE Joshua Tree but I'm saving those photos because there is too much good here) with my girls Lisa Dengler (as y'all know I'm pretty much shooting her forever because we are a match made in heaven—my own opinion) and Madelynn Furlong (@wideeyedlegless). Thanks Simon and Vogue. We had fun. Go follow both of these girl's blogs for supreme content.
