𝔅𝔢𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫, 𝔦𝔱 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔠𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯, 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔩, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔶
ℑ𝔱 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔮𝔲𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱
ℑ𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔰𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔫, 𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔶 𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔱𝔥 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢
𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 V
——
There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers.
Clothing, being an outward expression of who one is on the inside or who one wants to be perceived as on the outside, has a unique relationship to every person, artist, and human on this planet.
For Maia, when she’s home, she’s naked. She wears clothes because she has to. She dresses up because she loves to. Sometimes she’ll go out just to show off an outfit.
Similarly, Shaina often says, “even when I’m going to the grocery store or on a walk, casual has its own definition. It’s still a moment of expressing yourself. My body behind closed doors has an ease at home, usually half-naked, between what I wear running errands, what I will wear while I sew new pieces and try them on my body, and what I will wear later to an event. Out in the world, my clothes have a way of being used as a storytelling device.” For her, each moment she gets to step outside of her creative cave is a time for her to use clothes as a realm of playfulness, an element of expressiveness that is either accurate to her inner world or a means of trying to change her mood by dressing for the experience she is creating, and her body is the canvas of possibility.
Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose
Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing
Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_
Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_
Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan
Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography
Makeup @ediebo.mua
Flames @maia_saavedra_
Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall
Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water
Come back here, man, gimme my daughter
Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water
Come back here, man, gimme my daughter
Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water
Come back here, man, gimme my daughter
Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water
Come back here, man, gimme my daughter
If a mermaid emerges from the LA river but no one is around to see her resurgence does she even really exist…
asking for a friend ᯓ✦
photos by @lexii0022
styling + handmade lace top by me
𝔗𝔬 𝔟𝔢𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔩𝔪 𝔬𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡
𝔗𝔞𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔰
ℭ𝔞𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔦𝔪𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔭𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯?
𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 IV
.𖥔 ݁ ˖. BAHJA .𖥔 ݁ ˖.
There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers.
In the last few years swords, knives, and arrows have been re-circulating as the popular props.
As a flame artist Maia had multiple people ask her to light swords on fire, as if an unlit sword was too basic. We are obsessed with armor and weaponry, and “I think that this is because we value strength, protection and playing with danger.”
Even with the obsession with medieval-era armor, we essentially understand that clothes are complicated* symbolism.
Femininity, sexuality, humility, these are qualities that belong to people, not clothes.
Clothes cannot define the identity of a person. Or to put it another way, never underestimate or assume too much about a woman from her appearance.
Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose
Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing
Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_
Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_
Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan
Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography
Makeup @ediebo.mua
Flames @maia_saavedra_
Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall
Model @bahjasmalls
𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔡𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔡 𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔫 𝔴𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔞𝔩 𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰
𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔡𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔶 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔩𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔰 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰
𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 III
.𖥔 ݁ ˖. TURBO .𖥔 ݁ ˖.
There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers.
Shaina brought her own hand to the styling, sourcing lace, feathers, and fabric from her closet and de- and re- constructing at her sewing machine.
She stitched together pieces of dead stock lace and crochet, inherited from a late wedding dress designer.
Most of the material comes from a box of dresses that never were.
Naturally, she hand-fashioned these into tops, lacey undies, and shapely figures upon the women to complement and soften the chainmail armor.
On the shoot day, the models are involved in the construction, helping each other spray paint through lace from decades past, creating lace-graffiti tights.
In addition to the stenciling, the lace cut-outs are taped directly onto their bodies, each framing a tattoo or clavicle.
Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose
Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing
Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_
Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_
Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan
Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography
Makeup @ediebo.mua
Flames @maia_saavedra_
Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall
𝔏𝔞𝔶𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔞𝔩 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔩𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔪𝔢
𝔓𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔞𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔲𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔬𝔣𝔱 𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔱
𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 II
.𖥔 ݁ ˖. ZEYI .𖥔 ݁ ˖.
There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers.
There are many reasons to use computer-generated elements in photography (safety being a great one), but there’s no way to replace the environment created when things are coinciding in space and time, and the camera can do what it was originally made for - capturing that moment.
Shaina and Maia drew up the photoshoot concept to match the visceral, mystical quality of the Catholic Guilt’s signature chainmail work.
Ella Jackson, the designer of Catholic Guilt, hand makes her garments, inspired by her own dreams, art history, and religion.
Each one requires hundreds to thousands of hours to create.
“Every Catholic Guilt piece is a future artifact or holy relic”.
She’s invented her own chainmail techniques to construct these relics.
Chainmail armor protects against swords and blades, but there is the inevitable vulnerability of the areas between chainmail segments.
These slivers created opportunities for death, and naturally were targets for anyone who wanted to draw blood.
Modern adornment of chainmail leaves space in between to admire and complement the body intentionally, a reverse effect to the once necessary necessity to protect oneself.
Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose
Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing
Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_
Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_
Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan
Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography
Makeup @ediebo.mua
Flames @maia_saavedra_
Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall
Model Zeyi Moise
𝕯𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖑𝖎𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙, 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖊𝖉 𝖇𝖞 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖍𝖔𝖊𝖓𝖎𝖝 ❤️🔥
Clothing as armor
Armor as clothing
Keeping us safe
Revealing our soft sides
A relic on on our skin
Our bodies a canvas for our creations
Clothing as artwork
Artwork as clothing
𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖈 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 + 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖒 • 𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖙 I
——
There’s no AI, just real people, cameras, lenses, lighters, and extinguishers.
The flame-wielding, decorated women of the artists’ dreams become real in front of their eyes.
Donned in layers of lace and Catholic Guilt chainmail, each model completes her look with Shaina (stylist, producer, designer, model) before stepping into the scene.
Maia (fire designer, science consultant, stylist, producer) soaks cloth in flammable liquid, drapes the fabric over large stones, and then, with the help of her flame assistant, Tom, lights each one before dashing off camera.
For a few minutes, the models move gracefully within the circle, thirty pounds of chainmail reflecting the dancing light, until the flames burn away.
The ritualistic rounds of ignition last only a minute or two, and yet the flames raise the temperature drastically and create vortexes of heat that make hair and loose fabric appear to float mid-air.
The imminent danger of flames is met with safety demonstrations, equipment, and debriefing.
Even with the preparation, flames are flames, there’s a healthy amount of precaution to working with them,and each model needs to have an exit route so she can step out as soon as she needs to.
The shoot is a delicate balance of playing with danger and protection - mastery of risk while appearing graceful yet strong with each pose.
Creative Direction: Maia Saavedra-Weisenhaus and Shaina Rose
Chainmail Garments @catholicguilt_clothing
Creative Design+ Styling - @shainarosee and @maia_saavedra_
Photography + Lighting @_chaseharding_
Lighting Assistant @juaanjromaan
Photography + Lighting @holysmokephotography
Makeup @ediebo.mua
Flames @maia_saavedra_
Flame assistant @tom.mendenhall
model @shainarosee
