- 2 months ago
Director: Starr NathanDirector of Photography: Kevin C. SpenceEditors: Evan Allan, Katie WolfordSenior Producer: Bety DerejeProducers: Gigi Chavarria, Michelle BrunoAssociate Producer: Lea DonenbergAssistant Camera: Maddie RiveraGaffer: Durwin JosephAudio: Mariya ChulichkovaProduction Assistant: Erica PalmieriPortfolio Photographer: Tyler MitchellFashion Editor: Carlos NazarioProduction Coordinators: Tanía Jones, Skyy ForcerProduction Manager: Kristen HelmickLine Producer: Natasha Soto-AlborsAssistant Editor: Fynn LithgowPost Production Coordinator: Holly FrewArt & Graphics Lead: Léa KichlerColorist: Adam RaickovichSupervising Editor: Kameron KeyPost Production Supervisor: Alexa DeutschGlobal Talent Casting Director: Morgan SenesiSenior Visuals Editor & Producer: Kathryn CostiganExecutive Producer: Rahel GebreyesSenior Director, Video: Romy van den BroekeSenior Director, Programming: Linda GittlesonVP, Video Programming: Thespena GuatieriFilmed on Location: Texas Southern University, St. Joseph Church, Bruno's Triangle 7 Ranch, Neon Boots, Big Bend National ParkSpecial Thanks: Ocean of Soul, Charras de Agua Santa, Community of Faith Voices of Faith Choir
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PeopleTranscript
00:00What do you think the most challenging part of this multi-day shoot is going to be?
00:05It's already upon us, it's just time.
00:07When you come to a place like this, like Texas, it's not New York or LA.
00:12It's not like this, it's not bang, bang, bang.
00:14We need time with people.
00:16And so that's been hard because you're up against time and you're up against money.
00:20Over the course of three days, I think we'll probably shoot something like 70 people.
00:25And if you count Ocean of Soul.
00:30We're shooting about 370 people.
00:32It's a lot to do.
00:33I think one of my strongest traits is that I've worked really well under stress.
00:39We're going to do check-ins all week.
00:41You'll see.
01:00Today, we are doing a fitting for our summer 2026 issue commemorating America's 250th anniversary.
01:11And so Tyler Mitchell and I decided to go on a road trip through Texas.
01:19We wanted to find a state that we felt represented all of America.
01:25So the good, the bad, the ugly, and somewhere that felt that it was politically relevant
01:31in this moment.
01:32We wanted to tell a story of America right now.
01:35Different types of landscapes, different types of groups of people, rich history.
01:39I think Texas checked all those boxes.
01:44So we have three models who are going to sort of be our narrators.
01:47Sarah Grace, Ruth Dang, and Erin Wesson.
01:51All three of these women are from Texas.
01:53If there's one thing these women are going to show us, it's the togetherness of Texas.
01:59And perhaps a story that we don't commonly see or hear.
02:04What we're thinking is, you know, Southern charm, Western style, but done in a really modern way.
02:10I like clothes that feel like someone loved making them.
02:14And you can tell when someone paid attention to the details and the fit and the fabric.
02:19And that's what draws me to a garment.
02:21Like someone really loved making this dress.
02:24You can feel that.
02:25We're shooting a really vast array of people.
02:28So young, old, men, women, Latin, black, white, Cherokee.
02:34It's a lot to think about.
02:35It's a lot of moving parts.
02:36We're shooting at probably 20 different locations.
02:40So we're going to constantly be in a state of motion.
02:52One, two, three, three.
02:55These kids are full of life and joy.
02:59It's very impressive how in possession of their physicality they are as such a young woman.
03:07Confident and open, but still quite strong.
03:11I'm impressed by all of these young people.
03:13It's really amazing.
03:14And I feel quite old.
03:21What we're liking the most are these moments of spontaneity.
03:25Like we'll get this really formal picture.
03:27It's really iconic to have.
03:29But in the end, in the edit, I think what's going to feel better is things that feel a bit
03:32off the cuff and spontaneous.
03:33And you see them now just like chatting and fixing each other's hair.
03:36Like that's the energy we're looking for.
03:39Today we are doing a photo shoot for Vogue magazine.
03:43Vogue magazine.
03:44I honestly thought that it was a joke.
03:47But then when I found out that, you know, they wanted to include the band, I realized that it was
03:51100%.
03:51And I knew that we were going to be able to rise to the occasion.
03:54Brian, can we do some playing here also?
03:57Sure.
03:58I'm just thinking of ways to make it a little less staged if there's some energy in some way.
04:06Two, three.
04:12Eight, two.
04:13Real quick.
04:16They're wonderful.
04:17I mean, I grew up in Atlanta where drum lines and marching bands were a big part of how I
04:23understood, like, football, which was a big part of school culture.
04:27And I understand why people are so drawn to photographing them.
04:36Music translates into energy in photographs.
04:39And I think with the marching band, it was really more about translating an energy than anything else.
04:45With the drum majors and with some of the people I met, they were really responsive to music.
04:51So to wake them up for a photograph or sort of get a certain reaction or a response, it felt
04:56important to play songs.
05:08We're here to portray people that are here living, doing interesting things, gathering, sharing, everyday people mixing with models.
05:17That's how Carlos and I see the world.
05:19I wanted to bring Ruth into their world.
05:21So I thought, you know, something that felt a little collegiate, a little bit preppy.
05:25Nice.
05:25Chin up a bit, Ruth.
05:27Beautiful.
05:27Even more.
05:28That's cute.
05:29Now we got it.
05:30Thank you, guys.
05:31The whole goal of making images is to connect with people.
05:35And the whole goal of making portraits is to make people feel at ease.
05:39And I think that's kind of our superpower.
05:41Hi, mama.
05:42Hi, mama.
05:43Oh, sweet.
05:44Eyes here.
05:45Beautiful, guys.
05:46Great.
05:46Really nice.
05:48Our dynamic and our whole way of working is about being open to what happens in real time.
05:54And then you guys are just like in the middle, really like that.
05:56Cool.
05:57Let's try that.
05:57Yeah.
05:58Just a little adjustments to sort of make it better.
06:02Make it better.
06:02Wow.
06:03You guys are great.
06:03You got it.
06:04Thank you so much.
06:05Thank you so much.
06:06That was perfect.
06:08Good job, brother.
06:09Good job, bro.
06:11Carlos is like my family.
06:12He's like my brother.
06:13You know, we bicker like brothers, but we also really just have a language that it's understood.
06:19It doesn't need to be explained.
06:23Quintanera is a big part of the culture here.
06:29Antonia, do you know how long on Sarah Grace?
06:35Try to show Sarah Grace some of your moves.
06:38I am one of the worst dancers ever.
06:41I have two left feet, but the guys were really helpful and like helping me out with the rhythm
06:47and everything.
06:48And they were super sweet.
06:50Come a little bit closer to each other.
06:52Okay, cool.
06:53Is that sensitive for you, Tyler?
06:55Yeah, that is.
06:56Kind of?
06:57Okay.
06:57I'm just going to physically move them.
06:58You tell me where.
06:59Okay.
07:00We got this.
07:00Maybe Sebastian.
07:01You go on that side with him.
07:03So cute.
07:10The frame was like, who's from Texas?
07:12Genuinely.
07:12Not importing a model who lives in New York or from another place.
07:16And so each of them have really interesting stories.
07:18I mean, Sarah Grace has rose to, you know, high fashion superstardom on her own, but she
07:22really is just a girl from Dallas.
07:25Yeah, nice.
07:25Beautiful there.
07:26Erin has had such an illustrious career and like is such a living legend and has centered
07:32her life down here in Dallas and in Texas in a way that, again, goes against the pressures,
07:38so to speak, after you find success in modeling to stay in one of these epicenters, New York,
07:43Paris, London.
07:44I'm so proud to be from Texas and it's so vast and there is so much storytelling to tell within
07:52the state.
07:53I'm just really grateful that in a really beautiful way, it is both shining a light on how diverse
08:01Texas is, as well as like telling the poetry of the place.
08:06Okay, we got it for sure.
08:08And I think Ruth is just this amazing emblem for the diaspora here, for really the range
08:14of people that have found home and refuge in Texas, and that is the Sudanese community
08:19in her case.
08:20You know, her parents, from what I understand, are a part of the Lost Boys and Girls generation,
08:24so they fled Sudan during conflict.
08:26That story, the story of immigration to this country, is like one that we were interested
08:30in highlighting subtly through Ruth's beauty and through her family's radiance.
08:42We looked at the church as a gathering space where special moments happen, and we looked
08:47at a choir as a community where beautiful sound is made, and I think I really love that in a
08:54photograph.
08:54I really believe in that specifically for Black people in the South.
08:58I really believe in that for people in America at the moment, and I do find that exciting
09:03to portray.
09:04Jesus!
09:06Jesus!
09:07Jesus!
09:08Jesus!
09:09Jesus!
09:10Well, in the South, we love to have church, and I would say the energy that you need for
09:15that is outstanding, energy that can capitalize and captivate the audience.
09:21And someone who's never experienced it would need encouragement from the choir.
09:24Someone who's never experienced it would need love from the choir, would need uplifting
09:28voices.
09:28They would need something that will touch their heart, so when you spread love and you give
09:33love, it's an amazing feeling for a person who's never experienced love through worship.
09:47Today, we're currently at a Black-owned ranch.
09:50We're going to photograph these Black cowboys.
09:52Not that that's a new conversation, but we were interested in this community in particular.
09:57How are we feeling today, Darren?
09:58Irritable.
10:00The vibe is tired, but the vibe is excited.
10:03We're excited.
10:04We're hot.
10:05The oppressive Southern heat is definitely...
10:08He doesn't like it.
10:10Oh, I can't.
10:14When Dennis and I first got the call, I was actually speechless, but also it brought me
10:18back a full-circle moment of me as a young little girl on the Navajo reservation looking
10:24through a love magazine.
10:27I went back to that moment of looking through this magazine at eight years old and wishing
10:33I saw myself in it and now being able to actually be on set.
10:39Beautiful, no?
10:41I mean, you guys look amazing.
10:43Gorgeous.
10:49Anything for the shot.
10:51So it's good to see that with this type of platform, people that look like me, that's
10:57from the tribal lands, that's from the indigenous lands of this country and around the world,
11:04can finally see themselves.
11:17I want the world to know that black cowboys do as this.
11:19This is an everyday lifestyle with me.
11:21The culture runs pretty deep for black families.
11:23I know generations as seven to eight generations.
11:26Like me personally, I have a son that's just born and he definitely will be rodeoing as well.
11:30So he'll be the fifth generation cowboy in my family.
11:33My dad was a charro.
11:34So I'm riding his horse and his name is Regalo.
11:37Regalo is a present.
11:38It's this regalo that he gave to me to connect with the horses, to feel the passion when
11:43riding.
11:43It's what really motivates me to teach my daughter.
11:47It's just something that fills me with life knowing that it comes from generations.
11:55I would say everything bigger in Texas.
11:57It comes down to our style, our culture, our swagger, the way we move and treat ourselves.
12:02Texas is America.
12:04Texas is its own country.
12:06It's itself.
12:07We've got everything here.
12:08You've got the ports, you've got culture, you've got music, you've got food, you've got
12:12everything.
12:12We're part of the United States, but we can carry ourselves.
12:16We can take care of ourselves.
12:18What does Juneteenth mean to you?
12:24Juneteenth is a day of celebration.
12:27We were emancipated.
12:28It's our Fourth of July.
12:30It's the Black people's Fourth of July.
12:32Red soda water, watermelon, red velvet cake, all those things that accent the blood that
12:37was shed on the land for us.
12:39So that's what those red things represent.
12:42It's a celebration of us being free.
12:46I think today we really feel the purpose of this shoot, which is to bring all of these
12:52worlds together.
12:56We are at Neon Boots, a line dancing bar.
13:00Tonight there's going to be about 200 to 250 people coming to do the Thursday night line
13:06dance, which is a tradition in the community.
13:09In addition to shooting the locals, however, we are shooting a band.
13:15The singer is Benita.
13:16She's a cumbia singer, quite popular here in Texas.
13:18This is gorgeous.
13:19I love this.
13:20I love it.
13:21Right?
13:21I think we should try this.
13:22So it's sort of this collision of two cultures, Mexican, Latino culture and line dancing culture.
13:28I think this is something that they look forward to every week and something that's theirs.
13:32So to have some Yankees in green short shorts come in and, you know, interrupt their flow,
13:39it might be great.
13:41Might not be great.
13:43We're going to discover it together.
13:45Wow.
13:45Look who just walked in the door.
13:47Wait, what are you guys doing here?
13:49That's amazing.
13:50Did we invite them here or did they just?
13:52That's amazing.
13:54Hello.
13:54How are you?
13:55Oh, I did it.
13:56Oh, I could get a W.
13:57I'm so excited to see you guys.
13:59You know, we're making friends along the way.
14:29So how's everyone feeling?
14:32Oh, really?
14:33I feel like shit.
14:35I'm fucking tired.
14:37I slept 0.5 hours.
14:39We're in Big Bend, which is so breathtakingly beautiful.
14:45And it is also the scene of every fucking crime.
14:48This is the place where you disappear, where no one ever hears from you again.
14:54So to answer your question, I am tired.
14:57I need a shower.
15:01And I'm very cranky.
15:03Are the looks making you feel better?
15:04No.
15:06No, I'm joking.
15:07The looks are making me feel great.
15:18This is wild.
15:19When you're in environments like this, it just reminds you how small you are.
15:24I'm so glad we're here.
15:26I'm, like, getting emotional.
15:27This is really gorgeous.
15:28We wanted to highlight a national park, particularly because of the way this current administration
15:34is stripping resources from arts, from culture, from the parks, from nature, from the way
15:39this administration seems to have little regard for the ecology of this nation in certain ways.
15:43And so we wanted to find a park that excited us visually as a playground for our photographs,
15:48but also with the background and knowledge that there are spaces much like this in our
15:53country that don't get the sort of support that they should.
15:58You're nice there.
15:59That three-quarters beautiful roof.
16:00And sort of, every now and then, look towards your sisters because they're coming towards you.
16:04Beautiful.
16:05Wow, wow, wow, wow.
16:06Nice.
16:07And right back here over your shoulder.
16:08Nice.
16:09Look at each other.
16:10Yeah, find each other.
16:11Yeah.
16:12Exactly.
16:12So beautiful.
16:14My favorite part about this shoot has been seeing my family interacting with people and
16:19getting the makeup done.
16:20And, like, I see my mom and I was like, Mama, is that you, boo?
16:25Separate yourself a little bit.
16:27No way.
16:27A little bit more.
16:28Beautiful.
16:29And then maybe you just touch it like that.
16:31Gorgeous.
16:32Nice.
16:37Texans are such deeply prideful, talented, and culturally rich people.
16:47The food, the music, the entertainment, the sense of spirituality here, it exceeded my expectations,
16:57I have to say.
16:57After having just done the last shot, what was your favorite moment of the past few days?
17:03Oh.
17:05I enjoyed the journey.
17:06Like, I will remember more the journey and the conversations more than, you know, the
17:10actual, like, crafting of the thing, even though that's amazingly important.
17:14It's like, I'll remember chatting shit with you.
17:16I'll remember getting to know Antonia, getting to know Michaela.
17:18It was like kind of a school field trip by the end.
17:21It was definitely a school field trip.
17:22We wanted to make memorable pictures and memorable places that are both beautiful and grounded
17:27and, like, an important, urgent history.
17:28And I think we did that.
17:30So I think we succeeded.
17:32I'm never going to forget this shoot.
17:33That's for sure.
18:04I'm never going to forget this shoot.
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