Christy Rilling Atelier was honored to collaborate with legendary artist, photographer and filmmaker, Laurie Simmons, for the photoshoot of our first bespoke collection.

Laurie’s stunning photographs show our models against rich, colorful backgrounds, holding masks of their own faces, which give them a mysterious, filmic quality.

Laurie said: “While it was important to me to feature Christy’s clothes, I also wanted to include references to her beautiful color sense and her background in theater and costume design. The masks were a great way to point to that history as well as give the models a formal prop - something like a fan or a lorgnette.

“Christy made it clear she wanted me to work in my usual style and honestly it’s hard for me to get away from that 1950’s movie musical Cinemascope look that is such an influence on me. I think there’s a great synergy between Christy’s clothes and my shooting style.

“The biggest challenge was the use of color in the backgrounds. We wanted to make a color story and also want the clothes to pop. It’s always a delicate balance to make a statement with the background and not overwhelm the subject.

“I’m thrilled with the pictures but I’m truly enthralled with the collection. It inspired me! And it made my job much easier.”