What Makes Love True

This video was released a few weeks ago but I'm just writing about it today.  My friend Kellan is a producer at Harbor Film Company, and a while ago, she asked me if I wanted to be the wardrobe stylist for a video.  It was a video for Tiffany's about engagements and love, and would be directed by Ed Burns.  It sounded like fun so I agreed, and a few months ago, the video (you can click on the image above to go to the site to view it) was shot in a photo studio in Chelsea.

Styling can be more creative, but my job was to work with the clothes the couples who were cast in the video had brought to the studio.  They were all real life couples, and all except one of the nine were already married (the remaining couple was engaged).  Some of them were actors or models, but their stories were real.  They all brought different options.  Firstly, I had to make sure that their clothes matched the couch that they would be sitting on.  Secondly, I had to make sure to avoid white and prints, since they would create visual noise on camera.  Thirdly, since it was Tiffany's and the set was simple, they had to be dressed simply.  Basically, they had to look nice, but without the viewer really noticing or thinking about what they were wearing.

When they came in, I hung up their clothes on a rack and tried to make them feel comfortable, and examined what they had brought, and put aside a few options.  Then I showed one of the producers the options and we would confer about which would look best.  I steamed the clothes and had them change into their outfits.  Then I would hand them over to hair and makeup.  After they were done there, I helped the sound guy put lav mics on them.  Once they were ready, we would stand by and I would roll lint off them as necessary.  There were also little adjustments to be made, such as arranging the fabric to remove wrinkles or move the wrinkles around so they were less noticeable, jumping in to hide chest hair that popped out, rearranging a necklace, etc.  Nothing too exciting but it was fun to watch the shoot.

The director would ask the couples questions about how they met and the evolution of their relationship, as well as the story of their engagement.  The first couple that came in was an elderly couple that had been together for a while, and their story ended up being the anchor for the other stories.  They got hours of footage of each couple, so it must have been tough to whittle it down to minutes.  One of the couples that made it into the video are my friends, (the interracial couple) whose wedding I played at.  You can watch the video here.