One of the best things about working in fashion is the creative aspect.
You can bring ideas from a sketch to a tangible object, create a cohesive collection that tells a story, and share your passion for (in Latico’s case) the highest quality full-grain leather bags & accessories.
Then, the magic happens and your brand story shines through a coordination of visionaries carefully curated to produce beautiful product branding… the photo shoot team.
8:00am: Arrive in the studio, begin to unpack the seemingly endless amount of bags and prepare for the shoot. Stylists, videographer, photographer, hair + makeup artist, assistants and our spring bags are getting organized for the day. One of the clothing racks almost falls on our stylist, but such is life when on set! Our photographer begins to set up her camera equipment and test lighting and angles. She shares with me her favorite part about working with the Latico team “Always great shooting with such a lovely group who are continuously working together to push and make beautiful photographs to match the beautiful bags!”
8:15am: Our first model arrives on set, we have worked with her before. Her smile is truly infectious and lights up a room. The styling team goes through a variety of wardrobe options with her and she then settles into hair and makeup for a fresh and natural look that is on target with the Latico brand. Our energetic hair and makeup artist (with a vibey and upbeat music playlist ;) ) describes the atmosphere on set, “As a freelance hair and makeup artist my on-set coworkers are ever changing- it’s always a blast to be on set with Latico Leathers because of its family oriented approach! Latico usually pulls the same artists back on set which is truly a freelancing treat!”
11:30am: Shoutout to our Head of Marketing, Ben, for getting us power snacks and New York pizza! He has been working tirelessly on helping plan this shoot “I’m glad that everything is coming to fruition. We have put together a great team, the energy is aligned, and can’t wait for the final product!” While working on computer work throughout the day, he stops onto set to check out the progress. He take a few peeks at the monitor and gives an exuberant thumbs up.
11:45pm: Our second model of the day arrives on set. Our stylists and beauty team work their magic and the second half of the day energetically begins. We play with different options to see which pieces evoke the right feel and vision for our spring collection.Oftentimes it’s a bit of trial and error, seeing what works well together on a certain model. It is similar to playing dress up, and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t fun playing with clothes and accessories all day.
1:30pm: We continue shooting spring styles… more than halfway done! There is much tweaking that happens behind the scenes to help bring each shot to life. Making sure the bags are properly stuffed with paper or props, steaming packaging kinks out of the leather straps, adjusting shoulder strap lengths, and of course, more poking and prodding our models so that any sort of Janet Jackson mishaps can be best avoided.. Our stylist describes her vision for the wardrobe and styling on set, “There was a lot to work with in regards to the styles of bags- each style came in a number of color ways which allowed us to mix and match within the palette of our looks. We were also able to mix together different styles that might seem unexpected but worked really well together” Throughout the day it was a mix of trial and error with testing out different outfits in front of certain backgrounds, seeing what worked and what didn’t. I love seeing the process of each look coming together. Sometimes we’d see an outfit with a bag and collectively gasp as it worked perfectly together!
Our stylist is also a fan of Latico bags, “There is something for everyone! There are styles that lean into the boho aesthetic along with sleeker styles that are great for more everyday work wear. You can also tell that these are well thought out designs and the attention to detail is stunning. There are style lines, woven textures, and fringe - the craftsmanship of all of these elements is beautiful and you can tell a lot of love and development went into each piece”
3:30pm: Our Spring 2023 shoot comes to a wrap! Everyone on the set begins to break down racks, pack up their belongings, and say their goodbyes. Working at Latico has been a great experience for me personally and working with a small company allows me to be involved in multiple aspects of the business that in a larger company I wouldn’t necessarily be a part of. It is both fascinating and fun to see the process from a simple design on paper to an entire cohesive collection. Having worked here for a short time, I’ve amassed a small collection of Latico bags that is growing! After seeing all the new spring colors in some fan favorites and the brand new styles, I can confidently say I will be adding a few more!
Together, the whole team worked seamlessly to create beautiful imagery complimenting the features, quality, timeless style and natural essence of Latico Leather bags. Aligning the right mood, artists, creators and product is where magic happens. Our brand story was artfully evoked allowing our leather bags to simply shine. Such a memorable day. ICYMI, I may be giving my new Nelly bag (in a brand new color) a little lap hug right now ;), you should hug yours, too!...they’re fabulous.
