Bantam came together for Zersten’s premier collection at Concord Fashion Week back in March of 2019. Even though it was quite some time ago the ideas for the collection kept flowing and I continued to revisit them through the year. I especially wanted to shoot the collection, and show off the versatility of the pieces.
I was hard set on a location with industrial features. I kept picturing a brick wall with a rusted fire escape; models hanging over the rails at contorted angles in true vogue fashion. I soon discovered there are very few fire escapes and most of them are right next to dumpsters – so not aesthetic! Camp North End was a last minute switch, but I think it was a perfect location – just right amount or rustic industrialization and modern art.
Karen Dunn is family portrait photographer based in south Charlotte. She specializes in natural light photography and her ability to capture the perfect moment amazes me. Karen and I met at a fitting for her daughter, she gave me her card and agreed to get together sometime for a shoot. I am so grateful for her direction and excitement to explore fashion photography.
For this shoot, the collection of models came from the group I met at the Charlotte Seen‘s Sustainable Style Show and then joined me again for Charlotte Fashion week. These ladies are absolutely fabulous. They are incredible professional and creative. I love how they take my concept and totally run with it, they were able to embrace the location and allow the clothes speak through them with a whole new attitude.
I was so excited to have a real stylist on location with me for this shoot. Reagan is a local fashion blogger that I was so lucky to finally meet at Charlotte fashion week, and we became fast friends. She was able to take what I had and rearrange the clothes and accessories into new looks for the shoot. She put together a really cool ‘behind the scenes’ blog post where she talks about her experience. I would encourage you to give it a read and follow her for some fabulous outfit inspo.
I was so happy to shoot at Camp North End. The location was recommended by Karen Dunn and I think it was the perfect place. I have so much appreciation for they way that Camp North End has recreated the space yet keeps the integrity of it’s origins. There were so many textures and colors to work with. The murals add a lot of dimension to the photos; I was especially excited about Jason Moore‘s black and white image. Karen used the grid lines in his painting to play with dimension and I really love the way it compliments the prints in the clothes.
Bantam will be available for purchase at QueenFlea’s Winter Market on Nov 30th (Day 2). Check out the Popping up blog post for more information.
Thank you again to everyone who made this happen!
Photographer: Karen Dunn Photography
Models: Hollyn Dunn, Kennedy Guyton, Kendal Evans, and Jordan Hitchcock
Location: Camp North End
Muralist: James Moore
Stylist: Reagan Vanderhill
Makeup Artist: Capri Greer
And one last thank you to all the moms who provide rides (and blankets!). As always, thank you to my incredibly supportive fiance, thanks for being the sandwich delivery guy – and so much more!
You rock!
I enjoy your work, thankyou for all the great blog posts.