Published on 06 September 2012

By James

Izzy Ruiz: Living for This

Harvard grad and New York-based artist and film maker Izzy Ruiz created this piece out of a desire to have fun and be creative. Sheer Illusion takes us through the journey of a woman, played by Silvia Ranguelova of Innovative Artists, evolving into a fierce creature very much like the Phoenix rising. She breaks the rules, expressing herself in bold colors and sheer fabrics, harnessing her seductive wiles while subduing you with her feminine charms. And in the end she lights a cigarette and leaves you with just a sly expression and an empty heart.

Izzy had this to say about the process of creating Sheer Illusion: "I didn't quite know what to expect as our team began prepping for this shoot. Our stylist Jorge Rubalcava and I were pulling clothes up until midnight the night before, meanwhile our makeup artist Laura Kaululaau had just stepped off a plane that evening with all her belongings and no place to stay. But, we knew we had some of the most talented up and coming artists in fashion and beauty to create an editorial that would be bright, bold and energetic. My dear friend Margarita Cortes let us take took over the offices of MSophiaPR as our home base where Ion Studio’s Naomi Knights created neon hair pieces using organic powder pigments recently brought over from the Middle East. Ryan Stone of Ted Gibson helmed the luxurious hair of one of the strongest models I’ve ever worked with, Bulgarian born Silvia Ranguelova of Innovative Artists. She had a power and presence but also a lightness of being that was captured with both grit and grace by our photographer Shoko Takayasu."

For those of you who have never been part of a fashion shoot or a photo shoot, you have to understand that it can sometimes take twelve hours and 5,000 photos taken just to get three potential finished shots. Take a look at it Izzy's perspective!