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COLOR STORY 

DRENCHED IN PURPLE 

PHOTOGRAPHERN TURNED 

FASHION DESIGNER 

MICHAEL BURGAN 

NEW FACES 

ALONDRA VAHAN

Content 

6 PHOTOGRAPHER TURNED 



14 DESIGN OF THE MONTH 

IVORY WRAP TIE DRESS 

16 FASHION EDITORIAL 

DISRUPTING CORPORATE 

AMERICA WITH A LACE 

TRASPARENT DRESS 

20 COLOR STOTY 


24 NEW FACES 

ALONDRA VAHAN

PHOTOGRAPHER TURNED 



What’s your story? 

I’m just a simple kid from New York City who somehow 

ended up in Charlotte North Carolina. I use art 

as an avenue to explore my world and figure out how 

things work. 

Tell us about your start in the beauty industry 

One of my wedding clients referred me to a fashion 

blogger that she ran into at a cafe shop. I followed up 

and they invited me to a fashion show in the music factory. 

Even though i was volunteering i felt like a made 

it. I was hooked. After the show i started shooting for 

there fashion blog on a regular basis. It was all really 

simple. I’d show up the do a few poses and keep changing 

outfits and in less than an hour they would have 

enough content to keep the posting for the rest of the 

month. 

Photography Michael Burgan 

Designer Michael Burgan 

Model Kirsten Lynn B. 

How did you learn to sew? 

My biggest pet peeve in menswear is unfitted clothing. 

It used to drive me mad that they make men’s shirts so 

baggy around the waist. Some retailers do sell slimfit 

but i spend most of my youth wearing uniforms so it 

didn’t matter. Soon i started investing my money into

getting my work uniforms professionally tailored. Naturally this lead to me investigating 

how much would be involved in learning to alter my own clothing and i 

purchased my first sewing machine. 

Are you quitting photography to be a fashion designer now? 

I love photography. That will always be my primary craft. But i like to think of myself 

as an artist not a photographer. I dont think of photography as art. Photography 

is about capturing beauty, but i want to create beauty. Fashion designs allows for 

that. So naturally i wanted to explore fashion design. And just as i expected there 

is nothing more gratifying then photographing clothing that i designed and stitched 

from scratch. 

“I dont think of photography as art. Photography is 

about capturing beauty, but i want to create beauty. 

Fashion designs allows for that” 

Of all things to make why bikinis? 

why not bikinis? as a guy photographer 

that’s one of the most fun things to 

shoot. but there are also many practical 

reasons too. Most swimsuits require less 

than a yard of fabric. That means the 

cost of materials is very minimal. heck i 

can even upcycle a old graphic tee into 

a two piece bikini. Another reason is fit. 

by using designs with sliding triangle 

tops and tie string bottoms, there is a lot 

of room for adjustability. Most models 

i work with fit my suits great even tho 

they are all built different and vary a lot 

in height. 



Videography Justin Turner 

Model Kristina Marie Perry 

What inspires your designs? 

Its always women that inspire me 

Do you intend to sell your line? 

No i like couture garment making. Thats 

where the real art is. Once you start 

thinking about production and scalability 

everything gets watered down. It’s the 

same reason concept cars look so much 

sexier than the production cars that ended 

up in our driveways. no thank you. 

Where do you plan to take this? 

As i improve my sewing skills i would 

like to transition into more complex garments 

like wedding dresses. Especially 

ones that have corset bodices. those are 

amazing. 



Model Savannah Hunt



Model Right Makayla Isaacs 

Model Left Jenna Rose



Model Right Jenna Rose 

Model Left Makayla Isaacs

DESIGN OF THE MONTH 

IVORY WRAP TIE DRESS 



Model Zitlaly Garcia 

I thought it was impossible to actually get bored of 

shooting pretty girls in bikinis. I was wrong. After 

sewing what felt like hundreds of bikinis for my clients 

fashion show i decided to take a break and take on 

some more personal projects. Since my end goal is to 

design bridal i decided to practice a new dress design. 

Not quite a wedding dress but something that might 

look amazing as a bridesmaids dress on a casual beach 

wedding. 

The design was pretty straight forward but i included 

a six foot neck strap so i would have plenty of 

fabric to wrap in multiple ways. I ignored the urge to 

buy pure white fabric and opted for an eggshell. It photographs 

better. All the details show up. Yet in this case 

the details were few. I kept the design to a minimum because 

i wanted lots of contrast with the all the complex 

environments i was going to shoot it in. I decided to 

break it up into two shoots. One in a botanical gardens 

and the other in uptown charlotte. 

The city shoot was the most exciting for me. 

It was the first time i got the satisfaction of seeing my 

design on a real person. My model was Zitlaly from 

Statesville NC. Petite and very feminine which i love. 

We shot near the Mint Museum. That five block radius

“I kept the design to a minimum because i wanted 

lots of contrast with the all the complex environments 

i was going to shoot it in. I decided to 

break it up into two shoots. One in a botanical 

gardens and the other in uptown charlotte” 

is like a photographic utopia for 

me. there is every shade a brick, 

an asian garden, even a urban 

waterfall all right there. The 

urban planning in charlotte is 

simply breathtaking. 

So often when i’m shooting 

i need to constantly be mindful 

not to get mess up the dress. 

Especially a bride’s wedding 

dress. So for the second shoot i 

wanted to get messy on purpose 

since the dress was mine. Finally 

we could ignore grass stains and 

lay across rocks and all that jazz. 

That time i used Icela Stallings. 

She still had that same feminine 

vibe as Zitlay but she also had 

enough tom boy in her to get 

dirty. That trait got her a lot of 

brownie points with me. I think 

i may use her for my next trash 

the dress session. 

Overall i’m pleased with 

this new design. I’m going to 

build on it. Add some lace and 

maybe make it longer with a 

bold side split. The possibilities 

are endless. ke why bikinis? 



Model Zitlaly Garcia



Model Right Icela 

Model Left Zitlay Garcia



Model Icela

FASHION EDITORIAL 

DISRUPTING CORPORATE 

AMERICA WITH A LACE 

TRASPARENT DRESS 

I’m no stranger to transparent clothing. I’ve made 

dozens of lacy swimsuits with a obvious lingerie 

influence. In the beginning stages of me learning 

to sew, lacy fabric hid my sloppy stitching. What 

started out as a crutch started to turn into a signature. 

Since i learned to make swimsuits in the winter 

most of my shoots were shot in the privacy of my 

studio. There was no need to to worry about modesty 

because i could use dramatic lighting to hide just 

how see thru the clothing was. As the summer got 

hotter so did my transparent designs. I started looking 

for models who were bold enough to wear my 

designs outside the studio, in public. 

I made a bodycon with some extra fabric from a 

runway show i did for a client. While i was sewing I 

was was daydreaming of Aubree, my favorite runway 

model from the show. I knew that’s the model 

i was gonna use. Not a single shy bone in her body. 



Model Kirsten Lynn B.




She did not disappoint. 

I was an awe when she 

stepped out of the dressing 

room. So many curves 

for my design to cling too! 

The dress was a vibrant 

hot pink that stood out in 

the sea of blue and white 

collar workers. I made it 

long sleeved to draw more 

attention to her long legs. 

The only lined part was 

the bust and just barely. 

As we walked thru the 

city I watched in fascination 

as construction workers 

and businessmen alike 

almost broke their collective 

necks to get a look at 

Aubree. The transparency 

literally almost caused 

a car accident. I don’t 

think the queen city was 

prepared for that much 

eye candy on their lunch 

break. We were getting 

more attention then we 

got at the fashion show. 

We walked the whole 

length of the center city 

stopping to shoot at every 

scenic background i could 

find. 



Model Savannah Hunt









COLOR STORY 


We all have something that we spurge on. Something 

we always seem to find money for even on our brokest of 

days. For me that thing is fabric. Handcock, my favorite fabric 

store has been going out of business and i’ve been taking 

crazy advantage of all the 85% of sales. Finally i stopped by 

on the last day. The store was depressingly barren. Like it had 

been robbed. The store consolidated the rejected unsold fabric 

to a single bin. I thought i was too late until i stumbled across 

a soft purple knit. I purchased the whole bolt. 

Purple simply doesn’t speak to me. Never has. I always 

thought of it as juvenile or childish. So after my purchase i 

had to consult Pinterest for some online inspiration. I created 

a moodboard of high fashion imagery with a purple focus. I 

quickly discovered in the right context purple could look very 

luxurious and elegant. Especially when adorned with gold. So 

i took notes and begin to sew up some patterns from scratch. 

I got really ambitious with the first design. I attempted to do a 

high side split and a plunging back. To be honest it was kind 

of a fail. For one thing the split ended up being a lot higher 

than intended. I blame that on my mannequin being only half 

of a body. The split on the back didn’t hold up either. I even 

tried installing bonning to get it to hold its shape. That didn’t 

work either. It was going on late until the afternoon and i was 




still wrenching on the dress. Eventually I was forced to quit because i got a 

text that my model Marissa was already on her way to shoot it. 

This was my second time shooting with Marissa. The first time we met 

she modeled some bikinis i made back when i was going threw my swimsuit 

phase. Her impressive curves made my bikini designs look jaw dropping so 

i was hoping she can do the same in something more modest. We’ll… relatively 

speaking. We met on campus in the botanical gardens. That seems to 

be my go to spot. As she changed into the dress I started pacing back in forth 

doubting my skills and hoping it would fit. But i was overwhelmed with satisfaction 

when i finally saw her in it. The split pulled to one side making the 

skirt bottom look asymmetrical and and the flap on the back appeared deliberate. 

Basically all the flaws in the design just made it look more interesting. 

But something else added to the beauty of the shoot. It started to rain. 

Normally photographers run for shelter at the nearest sight of rain but not 






Videography Justin Turner 

Model Kristina Marie Perry 

me. I deliberately shoot with less expensive 

equipment so that I can shoot and 

less-than-ideal conditions without fear. 

The mist just added another layer of atmosphere. 

purple could look very luxurious 

and elegant. Especially when adorned 

with gold. So i took notes and begin to 

sew up some patterns from scratch. 

I got really ambitious with the first 

design. I attempted to do a high side split 

and a plunging back. To be honest it was 

kind of a fail. For one thing the split ended 

up being a lot higher than intended. I 

blame that on my mannequin being only 

half of a body. The split on the back didn’t 

hold up either. I even tried installing bonning 

to get it to hold its shape. That didn’t 

work either. It was going on late until the 

afternoon and i was still wrenching on the 

dress. Eventually I was forced to quit because 

i got a text that my model Marissa 

was already on her way to shoot it. 

SKILLS AND HOP- 

ING IT WOULD FIT. 

BUT I WAS OVER- 

WHELMED WITH SAT- 

ISFACTION WHEN I 

FINALLY SAW HER IN 

IT. THE SPLIT PULLED 

TO ONE SIDE MAKING 

THE SKIRT BOTTOM 

LOOK ASYMMETRI- 



Model Savannah Hunt









NEW FACES 

ALONDRA VAHAN 

What’s your story? 

I’m just a simple kid from New York City who somehow 

ended up in Charlotte North Carolina. I use art 

as an avenue to explore my world and figure out how 

things work. 

Tell us about your start in the beauty industry 

One of my wedding clients referred me to a fashion 

blogger that she ran into at a cafe shop. I followed up 

and they invited me to a fashion show in the music factory. 

Even though i was volunteering i felt like a made 

it. I was hooked. After the show i started shooting for 

there fashion blog on a regular basis. It was all really 

simple. I’d show up the do a few poses and keep changing 

outfits and in less than an hour they would have 

enough content to keep the posting for the rest of the 

month. 

How did you learn to sew? 

My biggest pet peeve in menswear is unfitted clothing. 

It used to drive me mad that they make men’s shirts so 

baggy around the waist. Some retailers do sell slimfit 

but i spend most of my youth wearing uniforms so it 

didn’t matter. Soon i started investing my money into

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