Crooks & Castles is an urban men's clothing line (they also have a women's collection but it's mainly focused on menswear) that is pretty big with a lot of celebrities and artists in the hip hop industry. In fact, people like Jay Z have been trying to buy the label from the owners because the style of "hip hop couture" is gaining more momentum. Of course the owners know a good thing when they see it so they've continued to turn down any offers to be bought out.
Anyways, I submitted myself to one of their casting calls. They're working on a new lookbook and other related print material to showcase the latest designs. Although the shoot is not paid it is for tearsheets and will be published internationally in the markets where the line is sold. Needless to say, I'm always down for a tearsheet opportunity of that caliber!
I got to the shopping center about an hour and a half early, parked in the garage and killed some time at a restaurant called Ketchup, which was across the way. A few minutes before my call time I headed over to the Crooks & Castles store and introduced myself to the people in charge of the casting. I was asked to bring a bikini and to wear form fitting clothing.
My outfit was pretty much similar to what I wore to the Oribe casting, except this time I wore a black top--trust me, there's no need to always wear a completely different outfit to each casting you go to...my dark skinny jeans and taupe heels are pretty much my casting uniform (unless instructed to dress otherwise) and I simply switch up the top as needed.
I filled out a basic form with my contact info and was told to go to the bathroom to change into my bathing suit. For swimwear I always opt for a plain, black string bikini, which I got from Victoria's Secret. The cut is flattering for my body type and photographs well with my skin tone. After changing and lotioning up (can't be ashy in photos!), I met with the casting director and one of the designers for the clothing line.
This particular shoot was actually a test shoot to see how I photographed in the clothes and to obviously meet the client(s) in person. The casting director took five photos of me in my swimsuit: full body frontal, full body profiles (both sides), full body back shot and a full body frontal where I could pose however I wanted--for the other pictures they simply wanted my arms at my sides with no posing.
The next part of the test shoot involved having me wear one of the shirts from the clothing line, which was a blue, white and black plaid, short-sleeved button-up shirt. The casting director told me I could do what I wanted in terms of posing but the goal was to be sexy while still showing off the shirt. He took three shots of me with the shirt. And that was it for the test shoot.
One of the designers explained that they would be using a handful of models for different shoots, which would span across multiple days. Each style of clothing they want to photograph for the line calls for a different set up and location, so the next phase on their end is to select which models would be better suited for each shoot set up.
Overall, it was a painless test shoot, although after the fact I can now think of much better poses I could have done with the shirt (dang it LOL) but that always happens so no use crying over spilled milk. Besides, they've seen my portfolio and I obviously know what to do when it's time for the actual shoot so I'm hoping to hear from them soon to find out if I've officially booked the gig so that I can plan out the shoot dates on my calendar. Lots to look forward to!
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