BTS With Rouge: Fall Fashion Shoots
Studded belts and silk scarves are draped over the glass coffee table, a smattering of barrettes surrounded by hot pink tassels, red pom-poms, and big gold hoops are among the collection on the accessory tray.
As always, it is “go big or go home” at the Rouge fashion shoot.
Perched on the arm of the couch, I look around my living room at the assortment of models, the executive team, and general body members that have converged there amidst a stupendous explosion of garments.
The door to my apartment is flung wide open, with confused neighbors witnessing the bomb, or, Rouge, in other words, that has dropped in my living room as they pass by.
The back of the couch is draped in utility green, mustard yellow, belt chains and more, leaving my precarious position the only one that is garment-free.
In the corner, the clothing rack is bursting with flashes of snakeskin and leopard print, satin and denim, and chunky knits to flesh out the mix. On the floor is a sea of shoes. Bubblegum pink Doc Martens by the door and silver stilettos hanging out with a pair of red cowboy boots under the window.
The Rouge fashion shoots are always a blur of color, print, and an indescribable buzz that comes from knowing that you’re in the midst of creating something amazing.
Maluma’s latest album drifts through the speaker as Madeleine Howell, and Grace Bedsole, our fashion editors, sort through the assemblage of clothing to piece together the final looks for the shoot. Our Editor-in-chief, Vanessa Vassileva, bounces between rooms, approving menswear and womenswear looks, while everyone else fills in where they’re needed, or just takes a moment to soak in all the activity.
The fashion shoots are very much a collaborative effort
Some people donate their space, many people donate their clothes, and everyone donates their time.
As final touches on makeup are being finished, clothes are packed up and rides are arranged--
It’s time to shoot.
I walk into the enormous house we’re about to shoot in, an electric guitar in one hand and an amp in the other. Below my feet is an emerald green carpet, the walls blanketed in a silvery fleur-de-lis style wallpaper that leads all the way up the grand staircase.
We all crane our necks looking around this gorgeous, historic home, the excitement growing as we envision all of the possibilities.
Wandering around the house, we find an entrance foyer with a black and white, patterned tile floor, a wood-paneled library with a stone fireplace, a piano with sheet music for “When I Was Your Man” still sitting on it, and a pool table scattered with billiard balls.
I catch a slow-motion video of one of our models twirling in her shiny, blue pleated skirt while two of our models pretend to fight over the electric guitar for a shot in a sun-soaked room in the back of the house.
Our models climb ladders, lay on the floor, shoot pool, play the piano, run through the library, and go up and down the grand staircase a million times over the next two hours as energy flows through all of us.
A resounding chorus of “what about this?” and “try from this angle” strikes to the beat of our beauty editor’s playlist as we get shots of fringe flying as a model moves and a male model’s locks are being shaken.
As we head back to my apartment after day one of shooting, I’m scrolling through all of the behind-the-scenes shots I snapped on my phone, giddy with excitement to see the final photos.
Once all of the models have gotten their things and left for the day, the executive team members that were present for the shoot all clamber onto my couch, squeezing together and peering over each other’s shoulders to get a first glimpse at some of the shots that Stephanie Lopez, our photo editor, got.
Tomorrow, we get to do it all again for our second shoot.
The Rouge Bomb will drop again, this time in red.
The set-up is the same, with a slightly different cast of characters. Our graphic design editor, Morgan Poss, sits on the floor flipping through my issues of Vogue, as her red Marc Jacobs handbag is confiscated in the name of the Rouge “Seeing Red” fashion shoot.
Our male model for the day sits among the mass of red sweaters and plaid fabric on the couch, the lace on the delicate collar of his Valentino-red shirt framing his face and his bold mustache.
In a last-minute decision, our beauty editor, Christin Walls, ends up thrust into the spotlight, as we enlist her to take the spot of a model that couldn’t make it.
With all three of our models dressed and made-up in all shades of red, we’re ready to head to our shoot location.
Today’s shoot looks quite a bit different from yesterday’s. Instead of shooting in the plush environment of a historic, southern-style home, we are, quite literally, in the middle of the street.
The sun is shining through the overhanging leaves of the trees lining this beautiful neighborhood street as we run in and out of the street with our backdrop to get shots in between cars passing through.
Curious neighbors say hello as they walk by-- elderly couples, a father with a baby, and two young boys on a bike ride.
The wind is blowing our backdrop around the models, but we embrace it. The sheet billows against them, outlining their fire-red outfits, as Stephanie shoots shot after shot, and we hope that the backdrop doesn’t fall down again.
By the end of the afternoon, a slight chill has set in, although the sun still shines. We are all hungry and tired after spending our day seeing red.
The thrill of the shoots still lingers in our veins, dwindling as it sets in that we did it.
An entire weekend of shooting for the very first issue of the magazine as Rouge is in the books-- and we couldn’t be more in love.
