One of our favorite things about working out of LA is finding those little pockets of creativity that exist in and around the city. That’s a safe description for the ocean-view studio we used for our Fall Winter 2012 Shoot yesterday in Pacific Palisades. The hilltop space allowed tons of natural light, great acoustics for music to keep everyone excited, and a cool air from the ocean. That it sits adjacent to the custom music studio of a major Hollywood composer (and his endless collection of design books and film posters) helped open up everyone’s creativity.

The new collection is full of luxe details and finishes, signature prints, new styles and colors for coated, and beautiful silhouettes, so we chose the set and styling to emphasize the design: clean, solid tees and shirts and simple heels matched a neutral backdrop and the occasional piece of furniture.  A clean face with a blackened red lip and a tight ponytail was just the right amount of effortless chic and interest for our repeat look book model Angelika.

We’re already picking selects for the look book and it will head off to the printers in a couple weeks. Look for an online version here on The Habit soon afterwards!

Here is a sneak peak of the Harrison Ultra Hi Rise Bell Bottom in Iris, a  new style from the HABITUAL Spring 2012 line, which picks up on both the 70’s and high waisted trends. We’re excited because Spring 2012 marks the first full HABITUAL collection for our Design Director, Jennifer Wojinski. We’ve also selected the Harrison, and this particular shot, to serve as the opener for our Spring 2012 look book, which just went off to the printers.

Pick up any fashion magazine and you’re likely to find a feature that was shot at a private residence somewhere in the hills of Los Angeles. Maybe it was shot at a celebrity’s own home, or it’s an empty space looking for a bit of PR exposure, or maybe it’s one of the many LA homes designed by a famous architect like Frank Lloyd Wright or John Lautner. Between the canyon vistas, city lights, and expansive pooldecks, it’s a look that every photo editor has wanted at some point.

Our last look book shoot was inside an industrial loft.  With floor to ceiling windows, wood slats, bricks and cement floors, it lended the Fall 2011 line a definite New York vibe. For spring, we’re bringing it back to Los Angeles, and it’s our turn to try the home in the hills look. A few scouting visits turned up a beautifully maintained 1920’s Spanish style home in Pacific Palisades overlooking the ocean. The stepped gardens, trellises, stone stairways, benches, koi ponds, archways, and stucco surfaces offered exactly the greenery and texture we wanted to complement the spring line.

We got started in hair and makeup early, before jumping right into the shoot. Because we only make denim, we take a lot of time before the shoot to select tops, shoes and accessories that highlight the best features of the jeans. For example, if we’re showing a high waisted trouser, we can’t pair it with a long shirt or the photo won’t show off the height of the rise. For the most part, looks are preselected and arranged on rolling racks so they are ready to go and help the shoot move quickly.

One of the major concerns with shooting outside is lighting. You’re racing to get everything finished before the sun goes down, and styling, changing into and shooting 21 looks in one day makes for a tight schedule. Also, direct sunlight can make for really harsh lighting. Luckily a thin ocean layer rolled in towards the afternoon and created a brilliant soft light.

First priority during the look book shoot was to capture the core product shots we needed for the look book, a vital tool for sales and publicity which needs to show off the best pieces in the line. Things worked very smoothly and we finished all the shots we needed for the look book by 5:00PM, which left some time to have some fun. As our photographer Tamara joked, “we went from selling product to selling sex”. We shot edgier looks with more artistic blocking and camera settings to capture additional photography for promotional use, advertising, or even the look book itself. 

As expected, casting worked out perfectly; Angelika was fun to have on set, and knew exactly how to show the clothes. We even snuck in a couple of shots of her tattoo, a small Maltese cross on her back - the exact same shape as the HABITUAL Glory pocket. Back in the office, as we’ve started to review the shots, the raw images are so strong we are realizing we won’t need to do much editing in post at all. We can’t wait to send the final Spring 2012 look book off to the printers in a few days.

Succulents are probably familiar to the Southern California dweller, but you may not have heard of them if you live in a rainy area. These typically desert dwelling plants store water in their leaves and roots, which gives them a trademark fuller, fleshier look known as “succulence”. They come in every size, from tiny little plants that can fit on a cocktail ring to giant agave plants and towering cacti. While all cacti are part of the succulent family, there is a huge variety of non-spiny succulents that are not considered cacti (seriously, there are so many).

While the different varieties come from the drier climates as far as Africa, South America, Asia and in the United States, they have become identifiable with the Southern California region because of their popularity as garden and home accents and their water saving properties. Some of our favorite varieties include string of buttons, zebra plants, black roses, flapjacks, and different types of echeveria. We love how easy they are to care for. They are drought resistant and hard to over-water. Most varieties do well both indoors and outdoors. You can also mix and match them in the same container, and fit them almost anywhere you need to – in a flower pot, on a wall, in a garden, or inside a terrarium. We even take them on the road to spruce up the the trade show booth, because they can handle being left in a car or getting bumped around a bit.

Succulents also create a lot of visual interest, because they take on so many shapes, textures and colors: concentric circles, spirals, columns and random forms of green and purple and red.  Most recently, our resident stylist spotted an ideal location for the Spring lookbook shoot in a local LA backyard. Once we saw the pictures below, we were sold!

Sometimes the lines get blurred between working and parenting. And sometimes we have to multi-task. That’s how one of the little ones got her hands on the latest HABITUAL lookbook. Come on… in addition to showing off the latest looks, it is engaging for all ages!

We’re mailing it out this week!