Introduction
I traveled to L.A. due to my cousin passing away from cancer. The trip was much needed, since I had been land locked in New York for 2 years. When I touched down into the city of angels, I reached out to artist/ architect/ photographer, Charles Osawa, to see if he wanted to meet up and shoot the shits. Of course, he was down, and we met up at the Undefeated Store on Melrose.
"I've been a fan of Undefeated since 2008. Back then I had just graduated college and started internships with Undrcrwn Footwear and Apparel. The streetwear game has been very kind to me over the years, so much that I had to pay homage to one of the first stores to really kick this fly shit off." ~ Vanache
After scoring a few Undefeated exclusives, Charles and I scoped out a few locations to have an impromptu photo session. When we were on the East coast, we've been talking heavily about shooting together, but never had the right schedules to make it happen. Today, it seems like fortune is in our favor.
The Collection
This is only a fraction of what Charles has in his inventory, but we decided to use these particular pieces for our shoot.
"These are Gold Filled Brass chains, and the cubes are all candy wrapper refuse. I change my production process frequently, so some things are different on each. The Silver, is real sterling silver, and I used Japanese and American snacks for the filling. HAHAHA. For instance, the blue one is filled with rice crispy treats packaging." ~ Charles Osawa
What's my Motivation?
Now for the fun part: coming up with ideas to shoot. We never shot together prior to this, so we didn't know what to expect from each other. He had been shooting consistently for high profile clients for some years now, and I had been at least 3 yrs removed from my 7 years as a photographer; transitioning into being a model. Long Story short, Ego's could have been a major issue here.
Fortunately for us, our chemistry was on points! When we started rifting on ideas, whatever we came up with, felt natural.
1. The King Seat
The King Seat (pose) was all Charles' Idea. He styled the necklaces and expressed; "I'm thinking of a king sitting in his seat, judging his people. I see him wise and virtuous, but also very human. Can you do that?"Instantly, I thought about the only King who fits that description: King Solomon.
Here is how it came out.
2. The Mischief Maker
The Mischief Maker was my idea. I had just copped this sweet ass Undefeated Tee and was super hype to show it off. I wanted to let my hair down for this look, because I felt edgy and hip in my own way.
Mischief Makers was one of my favorite games for the Nintendo 64 back in the day. Feeling the vibe even more from the color choices, I immediately channeled the Mischief Maker inside of me.
* FAIR WARNING*
This video is a complete play through until the end of the game. Only for true Lifers. Just sayin.
3. No More Parties in LA
No more Parties was a culmination of Charles' styling with my musical ear. Charles was like, "Yo, I really like that shirt on you. The quality is impeccable, but what if we mess up the buttons a little bit, almost like you had a wild night."
Coincidentally, I did come from a party the night before for my cousins passing, and Nigerians don't mourn the dead with tears and endless moaning; we celebrate the dead with a raging party. We believe that when our people die, they are crossing over into heaven; which is our true home. So believe you me; I still had some heaven hangover ringing in my ears.
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That's when Ye' called out to me and was like, "Please, No more parties in L.A."
Top Picks From the Collection
Conclusion
This was only the beginning, who knows what possibilities we'll be able to uncover as our partnership grows.
Purchase a pendant for yourself / gift HERE.
Charles' Pendants are also available for purchase at TAGS retail store located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.
Check back on the Fashion side to see where and what I'm doing next.
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