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forte_forte: underwater fashion photoshoot

Sarah Lee

Have you ever opened your eyes, diving under a wave in the sea? It is such an ethereal experience – physically and visually. Floating, swimming, and dancing beneath the clouds of breaking waves in the sea is such a freeing and “present” experience. Yet I have found it is a realm foreign and mysterious to most, even those fortunate enough to live near the sea.

Late last year, I was commissioned to photograph forte_forte’s 10th anniversary collection “beneath the clouds” of the sea and portray this concept with their Summer’13 capsule collection, designed by Giada Forte.  Here are some of the final results:

There was something amazing about working on this project, and I think it boils down to it’s simplicity and method of collaboration: A few emails, midnight skype meetings with the Art Director all the way on the other side of the globe, and … a few girls in the sea.

Logistically speaking, it might not have looked that simple: the photography for this series took place through the month of August. I would swim out from the shoreline with the models, dodging the reef, urchins, and occasionally surfers and shoot for hours, multiple times. No floatation, no fins for the models … they were absolute rock stars. It takes someone special to be able to pull it off the drag of garments under waves so gracefully and delicately, and am thankful for the girls I was able to work with for this project. A few times to expedite the process, I went so far as to put the collection in a backpack, swim out to the breaking waves with it on, and have the models change in and out of them the middle of the ocean between sets. Luckily the surf crowd was more curious than disturbed. 

Below are several links to published material via print and web I have found online, as well as an interview I did with Marie Claire Italy about the project.

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/2596/Forte_Forte