Photographer Melanie Rey
Model and Fashion Connor Holloway
Hair Christine Moore
Writer Riley Liljestrom
Production Coordinator Evgeny Popov
Video Christine Moore and Melanie Rey
Low-lying waves crest shallow, caressing the shore of umber grains. The sky changes on a whim. Clouds shed like a pin-striped suit traded for the blue flow of his shirt, anchored in bows. Evoking the posture of the trees, the dancer stretches skyward. Connor seems on the cusp of floating. An insistent force tugs cloyingly towards the hidden world deep beneath the bark-cushioned floor. Wooden tendrils crawl deep. For decades, knowing only the world of silt, while whispered tales of sunshine fall from above. But giants, too, may be uprooted. Sylvan fingers crave the salt-kissed air.
Breeze gossips across the water, sending layers of translucent fabric giggling aloft. Draped in pale pink tulle, Connor hovers suspended in time by Mélanie Rey’s photography. A handprint on glass; a sea-smoothed branch cradled by water. The soft palette of the shoot blends the dancer into the landscape, creating a world where the subject is the sky and sea as much as the model. A world where Connor might float out of the frame with a gust of wind. Gliding across the sand, the sailing kite becomes an extension of themself. Ribbons flit and trail. The silk of the world dances.
In the moment the tree lets go, its foundation, loosened by erosion and time, is weightless. For a breath, the tree might be falling or flying. Like a bubble escaped from the seafoam that might quickly plummet and shatter against the ground, or it might ascend, a rainbow orb disappearing into the blue. Connor explores this ephemeral feeling of freedom, their forms and movements creating buoyancy. If it weren’t for the anchor of their heavy black shoes, perhaps their feet too would let go of the ground. Black chiffon becomes a parachute, taking to the air as naturally as a feather. Surrender to the current, release all effort. Float, just until sunset.
Above left: Connor wears Jacket by Maison Margiela, Shirt by Comme des Garçons, and Shorts by Simone Rocha
Above right: Connor wears Dress by Bouchra Jarrar
Above: Connor wears Skirt by Noir Kei Ninomiya, Dress by Bouchra Jarrar, and Trousers by Tory Burch
Above left: Connor wears Shirt by Comme des Garçons
Above right: Connor wears Trousers by Noir Kei Ninomiya
Above left: Connor wears Full Look by Balenciaga
Above right: Connor wears Skirt by Noir Kei Ninomiya
Above: Connor wears Top by Comme des Garçons
Above left: Connor wears Top as Before, Trousers by Noir Kei Ninomiya, and Shoes by Dr Martens
Above right: Connor wears Look as Before with Shoes by Dr Martens
Above left: Connor wears Look as Before with Shorts by Simone Rocha
Above right: Connor wears Look as Before
