"I love how Angel’s silver lids [by makeup artist Christina Lee] reflect the mirror floor and waters.

I learned about Christina’s work because they have worked with other Miami artists that I admire and am in community with, so I felt like it would align with this queer family vibe on set. Christina’s work has such a range across editorial looks and is part of the current vanguard of Miami creative styling, so I was excited to work with them!

Angel in the Outlined Top channeling fluidity, lush waters and liquid caresses. See the full campaign at chromat.co

"The way that Black people embody trans-ness and genderqueerness is really specific and beautiful and complicated. It exists outside of a Western mainstream– often white– understanding of trans-ness as a consequence of colonial violence and the erasure of indigenous embodiments of gender. We’re thinking through contemporary, historical, and interpersonal interpretations when we celebrate our bodies and so it was a dream to curate a creative environment where the team could empathize with that dynamic."

-Nadia

See the full campaign at chromat.co

Starr wears the Strata Suit

"As a photographer that has a background in fashion design, I truly believe fashion is symbolic and can be used to tell a story. Within my work I merge fashion and photography to tell stories of the Black and Latinx diaspora.

As an Afro-Latina, I feel our stories are underrepresented and are just now being “accepted” and “understood” by society. Fashion photography is a great avenue to express and liberate ourselves from expectations and limitations. Fashion photographs can be anything you want, they can be a fantastical and surreal world where you can be unapologetically Black."

-Diana Eusebio

See the full campaign at chromat.co

"[Diana] has a remarkable talent for creating these surreal environments in her photographs that elevates the narrative around the garments, musicians, and models that she photographs. There’s always a really potent energy, emotion, and heat to the way she sets up her shoots, particularly with how she uses color and digital manipulation."

-Nadia

Starr wears the Delta Duotone Suit. See the full campaign shot by Diana Eusebio at chromat.co

"When I first learned about Chromat in high school, the cage pieces were what really drew me in. The cages are so badass and look so powerful and I loved this idea of bringing the scale of architecture so close to the femme body and breaking up architectural rigidity in doing so."

-Nadia

Angel wears the Outlined Top and Mikito Bottom, with a red architectural Chromat cage. See the full campaign shot by Diana Eusebio at chromat.co

"It was really special to work with two Black non-binary models as well. As a trans person, swimwear can feel really precarious? Like our bodies are hyper-visible but we aren’t necessarily in control of how our environment reacts to our presence.

The way that Black people embody trans-ness and genderqueerness is really specific and beautiful and complicated. It exists outside of a Western mainstream– often white– understanding of trans-ness as a consequence of colonial violence and the erasure of indigenous embodiments of gender. We’re thinking through contemporary, historical, and interpersonal interpretations when we celebrate our bodies and so it was a dream to curate a creative environment where the team could empathize with that dynamic. We didn’t have to explicitly explain or outline how to engage with these identities because there was an implicit understanding.

There wasn’t necessarily a distinction between something being femme or masc, which is also something I respect about a lot of Chromat pieces. They allow for a certain fluidity."

-Nadia Wolff

Starr wears the Mikito Top + Bottom. See the full campaign creative directed by Nadia Wolff and shot by Diana Eusebio at https://chromat.co/blogs/news/bioluminescent

"With the staging, we were thinking about how a body of water resembles a mirror and how to stage that image within the shoreline itself. The models stand on this mirror ground that blurs the boundary between this glassy surface, the sand, and the ocean. The set really makes it feel like the models are standing on the water or sky."

-Nadia Wolff

See the full campaign directored by Nadia Wolff and shot by Diana Eusebio at https://chromat.co/blogs/news/bioluminescent

"We shot when there were murmurs of a tropical storm heading to Florida. The wind was definitely fighting us that day but I think the intensity of the climate really comes through in these images."

-Nadia Wolff, creative director and stylist

Angel wears the Uniform Top and Banded Bottom. Starr wears the Mikito Set. See the full campaign shot by Diana Eusebio at https://chromat.co/blogs/news/bioluminescent

"I want all people to view these images and feel the emotions that come with each color group, whether that’s the bliss and warmth of the yellow series, or the passion and drama of the red series, or the peacefulness of the ebb and flow of the beach at night in the blue and white series.

This photoshoot was created by an all black team -including the creative director, photographer, photo assistant, models, and hair and make up artist- so I want other black people viewing these photos to feel fully represented within a major fashion campaign. And for everyone to see how beautiful black creations can be in different colors, lights and emotions."

-Diana Eusebio, photographer

Learn more about the campaign at https://chromat.co/blogs/news/bioluminescent

Photo Credits

Creative Direction + Stylist: Nadia Wolff @naandia

Photographer: Diana Eusebio @dianaeusebiostudio

Photo Assistant: Nathan Turnage @nathankenrick

Models: Starr @pbx.tv and Angel Ilona @fathalleberry

MUA/Hair: Christina Lee @sightofstina

"The strong Afro-Latinx and Caribbean heritage found in Miami was a major source of inspiration for the campaign. It was essential to honor the fluid environment the artistic community down south has created, leading stylist and creative director Nadia Wolff and photographer Diana Eusebio to actively seek out Black and genderfluid talent to elevate their vision, from models Starr and Angel Ilona, to assistant Nathan Turnage and all the way to makeup artist Christina Lee.

"The way that Black people embody trans-ness and genderqueerness is really specific and beautiful and complicated. It exists outside of a Western mainstream — often white — understanding of trans-ness as a consequence of colonial violence and the erasure of indigenous embodiments of gender," said Wolff. "There wasn't necessarily a distinction between something being femme or masc, which is also something I respect about a lot of Chromat pieces."

Liberating and defiant are often two things that come to mind when describing the cult-following Chromat has accumulated over the last few years — it was only right to center the label's ethos into every step of the production process."

-Ana Escalante, Paper Mag

https://www.papermag.com/chromat-miami-swim-campaign-2654807364.html

"I started with a mood board titled "liberation aesthetic,” and was drawn to images of individuals in these powerful postures where their gaze really confronts the viewer. In our planning there was a big emphasis on capturing the potency of a vivid beach sky, and really emphasizing the magnificence of this space where the ocean and sky meets the shore. That space is so weighted, but also grounding and visually striking.

I’m Haitian-american and Diana, our photographer, has Dominican heritage so we both have a strong connection to the ocean and beach as artists steeped in Caribbean aesthetics. We wanted it to feel like there was almost a fiery presence behind the models, and also transform the energy of the images through color."

-Nadia Wolff, creative director and stylist

Learn more about the inspiration behind Miami-based artists Nadia Wolff and Diana Eusebio's new radiant and chromatic campaign at https://chromat.co/blogs/news/bioluminescent

Photo Credits

Creative Direction + Stylist: Nadia Wolff @naandia

Photographer: Diana Eusebio @dianaeusebiostudio

Photo Assistant: Nathan Turnage @nathankenrick

Models: Starr @pbx.tv and Angel Ilona @fathalleberry

MUA/Hair: Christina Lee @sightofstina

Chromat SWIM + Miami Beach = a perfect summer combo!

The Delta X Suit in Cosmo shot by Abby Silverman

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a35996863/swimwear-trends-2021/#Neon

"We believe in shifting our culture towards a circular economy, where “waste” no longer exists and all consumables are part of a closed-loop lifecycle. Our messaging encourages us all to RETHINK single-use consumption and to embrace lifestyles with more action and less clutter. This begins with understanding how the 5Rs can be incorporated into all facets of society.

We promote ways to REDUCE the amount of waste we send to the landfill by refusing single-use plastics.

We spawn innovative means to REUSE what we already have instead of spending time and money on products we don’t need.

We promote RECYCLING and regenerating objects unfit for reuse into functional and indispensable innovations.

We RECAPTURE marine debris to prevent its consumption by marine life, its harmful interaction with our global food web, and its impacts on the aesthetic and intrinsic values of our oceans.

We advocate for the REDESIGN of marine debris into artistic and functional contributions to our society."

-Debris Free Oceans

See you Sunday at the Beach Clean up! July 11 from 5-7pm at 1 Hotel South Beach (2341 Collins Ave)

RSVP tinyurl.com/beachclean21

This Sunday, come in your #ChromatSWIM ready to get your hands dirty!

Sun, July 11 from 5-7pm at 1 Hotel South Beach (2341 Collins Ave)

RSVP to the Beach clean up with Debris Free Oceans at tinyurl.com/beachclean21

Read the interview and listen to the Chroma x Chromat Mix here: https://chromat.co/blogs/news/chroma

Ladin in the Strata Bodysuit in Velvet, photo by Sienna Fekete