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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Features Want to be a model for local apparel line The Flock?
Posted By Kimberly Lawson on Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 5:58 PM
At last September’s Charlotte N.C. Fashion Week — think New York Fashion Week on a much, much smaller scale — local designer Cigi Guz did something a little unorthodox in the fashion industry when she debuted her apparel line The Flock: Instead of contracting folks from a modeling agency, she asked average people in the Charlotte community, like Jody Sullivan, owner of The Breakfast Club, Brian Bouwman, local furniture designer and Tonia Bendickson, anchor for WBTV news, to walk her designs down the catwalk. (See pictures here.)
And although The Flock features simple, classic pieces — nothing like the boldly patterned, shimmery sequined, accosting colored outfits already seen from other designers — the audience loved it.
The stunt at Charlotte N.C. Fashion Week wouldn’t be the only unorthodox move we’d see from this budding designer. On Oct. 16, Guz (pictured below) orchestrated the first ever Public Photo Shoot Project … right smack in the middle of Uptown Charlotte. Held at the corner of Trade and Tryon streets, the Public Photo Shoot Project was an opportunity for regular citizens, regardless of their size, style or look, to model pieces from The Flock and have their photos taken by a professional photographer. Guz worked with photographer Sara Renee that day, styling people in her signature simplistic clothing and accessorizing as she saw fit, and 58 average-looking people became models.
“I wanted an interactive way to reach my customers and to collaborate with other artists in the city and other business owners, to not only market the product but for people to also experience the product and be a part of something,” Guz says. “I want them to be a part of my company, because essentially it is about them. [The Public Photo Shoot Project] is an extension of me as a business.”
Sounds exciting and innovative, doesn’t it? Well, she’s doing it again.
With the spring collection of The Flock ready to be shown off, Guz has collaborated with local photographer and CL contributor Jasiatic to present the next Public Photo Shoot Project on Feb. 21 at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille. Starting at 6 p.m., average Charlotteans, with or without professional modeling experience, who have signed up on the Public Photo School Project site and paid their $20 modeling fee will get the chance to rock one of the “five must-have pieces” from the spring collection of The Flock. The model will be accessorized and styled by Guz (and her second-in-command stylist/intern Chanel Price) then photographed by a professional photographer. About a week later, the photos will be released to participants at a photo release party.
Want to be a part of this movement? Visit www.publicphotoshootproject.com.
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