Wrapped in Kink
Designed by Hausoflights
Instagram: @hausoflights
Models:
Tara Miramadi
Instagram: @taramiremadi
Zachery Guibert
Instagram: @zestyzachery
Photographed and edited by Valerie Lendvay
Instagram: @valerielendvayphoto
Make up done by Doña Battaglia
Instagram: @donabmua
Geneva aka Haus of Lights is a designer from Northern California that loves to push limits and make you question preconceived ideals. She doesn’t give a fuck about what your idea of what fashion should be. She uses utilizes clothing to show you what you want, to show you what you actually desire. Her use of texture, color, material, and shape allows her to manipulate her look’s final imagery all while using Freudian principles to entice your own sexuality. Her work is about substance while her competitors outsource tired used up styles that are boring and unoriginal.
The use of generic and made to wear products that are repackaged plagues the rave fashion scene. The night before the shoot I saw Geneva glue gunning individual sequins, painting patterns onto leather skirts, and sewing last minute alterations. This is blood, sweat, and tears.
Geneva and I have been friends for the last the three years and I have watched her brand grow from one clothing piece commissions to being hired by clients to style their entire outfits for events. Here at our website we really want to present to you California’s counter culture from the mouths of the people that are creating it in real time. We want to show you how the sausage is made. I wanted this to be her platform, the main thing I told the whole crew throughout that the shoot was to take ownership, this is their art. I took a step back and was a passenger watching people express themselves through clothing, make up, and photography. I have to take my hat off to the models Zach and Tara for the confidence they exhumed during the whole shoot. They were able to transform themselves into living mannequins while breathing life into these images. Zach is a stun grenade, he made it no secret that he was there to gender bend. He was an absolute delight to be around, his attitude made the shoot feel very authentic. I’m glad Geneva chose him to confuse what you believe to be attractive whether you are a man or a woman. He is an Orange County based model who told us he was willing to get as provocative as possible. Our other model is local to San Diego and one of Geneva’s good friends. Tara was extremely prepared, poised, and punctual. Her beautiful eyes to pieced through the camera. Her bronze features made the sun dance behind her in every shot. Tara’s confidence is palpable.
There will be a deeper dive into the shoot in our behind scenes article written by Casey Cox (my amazing partner in crime), she will discuss our wonderful photographer for this shoot, Valerie Lendvay, who really took the potential of this project and bumped it up two more notches. Valerie’s editing skills are spectacular. The way she used the models as the focal point and edited the focus to create lovely earthy mosaics in the background inspired me. It permanently changed the way I will look at photography going forward. This article is mainly a spot light on the artist Geneva or simply as her friends call her “Neva”. This is our interview.
J: “Neva in terms of fashion who are your biggest influence?”
N: “ I would have to say that it is a mix. I grew up loving McQueen, Galliano, Thierry Mugler, Haute Couture, countless eras of music, and pop culture.”
J: “ Who is your biggest influence as an artist?”
N: “GAGA.”
J: *chuckles* “When did you know?”
N:”I knew it when I saw the “Just dance” music video, it honestly changed my life. It gave me purpose, ever since I’ve been wanting to create esthetically pleasing things that people desire. Of course I was inspired by Frida, Warhol, Dali, and Herring. For me though, Lady Gaga is my reason.
J: “Do you like to push limits?”
N: “I want to see how far you can take it. I want to at the core of it be an innovator. Being aesthetically vocal motivates me.”
J: “Can you take me through your creative process from cradle to grave?”
N: “I can be obsessive but I also work spontaneously. I have a strong mental memory. I usually picture the idea for a new piece from top to bottom in my mind for sometime so I can internalize what I want to do with it. Once I have a clear path to what I want the vision to be then I usually sketch it on my IPad. From there I basically plan the supplies I will need and start from scratch.
J: “Tell me about the grind! Tell me about the guerilla marketing, what did it take to get to the point you are at today?”
N: “I fully immersed myself into the scene. I went to every single festival I could make it to. I met a lot of great people along the way. I started with just styling myself uniquely and it got noticed. People started asking me to style them, one thing led to another, and here I am. “I grew up idolizing the supermodels of the 90’s Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Ru-Paul, Iman. I’ve felt that the millennial generation has a soft spot for vintage so I went with what I knew.” “I wanted to create a meeting point for drag culture, festival life, pop music, hot couture, and human empowerment”
J: “Ah I leads me into my next question perfectly. What does sexual empowerment mean toyou when it comes to your clothing?
N: “I love kink, leather, and using black to its full potential. I want you to be comfortable in your own skin because of the exaggerated sexuality of my pieces. I want it to empower you.”
J: “What does the role of color play for you?”
N: “I use tools like the color wheel, complimentary colors, classic color theory. I use contrast a lot. Black leather is a reoccurring theme in my work. I love taking two extremes and unifying them”
J: “What do you want people to know about you and your brand?”
N: “Everything beautiful comes from a dark place. My projects used to be my place of solitude and became my vehicle to channel my personal pain. I try to be 100% authentic when it comes to my clothing.”
J: “So this is your escape?”
N: “It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. It gives me my greatest high when I completely lose myself in my art”
J: “Is this whole thing about power?”
N: “It’s about enhancing the power within. This gives me true freedom.
J: “What about control?”
N: “This is my universe. I searched for purpose for years and couldn’t find it in anything else. This was my way of seizing authority and control. I want to have power over my environment.
J: “Thank you again for coming all the way down from the bay area for this shoot. It was a real joy doing this project and I’m crazy proud to see how far you’ve come.”
Final note: I want to thank Doña Battaglia that did an amazing job on short notice. She blended Zach and Tara’s contrasting skin tones beautifully. We met at the “Deep House Runway Show” which was my first assignment that you can find on our Fashion page. Her work will speak for itself and you should expect seeing her pop up again in the future.
I want to wish Neva good luck in her next project which is a high contrast line that is going to feature latex. She put this team together and I am sure the team she has for that shoot will
To everyone that was involved with this shoot Geneva, Casey, Val, Doña, Zach, and Tara this shoot was an amazing experience. I can’t thank you enough for being the heart and soul of this project. You should all be extremely proud of yourselves.
The rest of the photos are from the shoot in the sunset cliffs neighborhood in San Diego California. From here they will be put in chronological order, this was a three-hour shoot and Val used every second of sunlight. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.
