Working with Lavish Living Collection was the greatest experience I’ve had as a model. The quality of the clothing was exceptional. The photoshoot shoot was a welcoming event to say the least. Mingling wasn’t an issue because of the diverse group and their different perspectives. Not to mention, the most important thing exhibited at the shoot: the ability of LLC to make everyone feel comfortable. It did not feel like a photoshoot. It felt like a young group of cultured men and women gathered to chill and incorporate their own style into this brand. The hospitality and sophisticated manners shown by the LLC staff, was the hook-line and sinker for me, and the main reason everyone could just be themselves. The fluency of the shoot instilled, no doubt in my mind, that Lavish Living is really a lifestyle.

    At first I did not know what to expect. The shoot started with a total of seven people all from different backgrounds. The only girl present at the start of the shoot was a pretty, young female who had gone to school with Jason Sergenton (Co-CEO of LLC). She had done plenty of shoots before, and was currently working at one of the top three prestigious nightclubs in Boston. The rest of the candidates were males who were all doing their own thing: a barber who took home appointments, a photographer who had his own photography label, a carpenter who sold wooden necklaces and bracelets made from scratch, an aspiring model, and me, a college grad with an English degree. This just goes to show all of the versatility LLC had included in their project, and this was not an accident. A perfect example of some of LLC’s main points in their mission statement: urban, elegant, and stylish all displayed in the models selected for this photoshoot.

Besides the strategy of putting all of these people into the same room, LLC provided complimentary drinks on the house. Once I saw the drinks, I knew things were going to be just fine. On top of that, the cameraman was an energetic, positive dude who let you freestyle your own poses and moves with a little bit of position tweaking when needed. He also provided the music for everyone and with DJ Esko’s “Project E.T.” tape dropping earlier that week there were no complaints about song selection. Between all of these things I was in the zone and ready to bang out these pictures, and so was everyone else.

I was feeling the clothes that were laid out in front of me. There were wheat joggers, black and white striped crew neck sweaters, hoodies, embroidered hats and much more. I soon found out that these items were hand designed by a specific designer: Mary Kate Macdonald. This came as a surprise to me because the quality of these products were so high-caliber that you would have thought they were put together by multiple designers. The feel to this season’s collection definitely had that smooth urban vibe to it. The women’s collection also had it’s own classic feel to it combined with an elegant look which included a body tight two-piece dress. The top piece was an all black long sleeve crop-top with a white stripe going down the arm on each side. The bottom piece was an all black high-waisted slim fit dress that stopped right below the knees. Did I mention this two-piece set was made from a mildly see-through, tough sheer material? Needless to say, The fellas had no problems waiting as the female pieces were being modeled.

This photoshoot helped me to understand and see how a shoot should really be done. The professionalism and positive vibes that were exhibited at this shoot were one of a kind. This photoshoot taught me that being comfortable is the most important thing at events like this. It goes beyond the photoshoot. I learned being comfortable, and being in your zone, is the best way to be anywhere. You will excel and get the most out of life this way.  Without comfort-ability being yourself is harder to accomplish and the LLC staff obviously knew this. This is how I knew Lavish Living was really about what their mission statement said. Now I understand why this brand says, 

"Love is Life, Life is Lavish. "