Born in 1981, I spent all of my teen years in the 90’s. When Clueless came out I was obsessed, not with just the fashion, but the music, the cast, the concept made all of my 14-year old dreams come true. And here we are 25 years later, and the 90’s classic is still one of my favs.
Let’s take a step back and flashback to January of this year. I started brainstorming ideas for editorial shoots for my 2021 Senior Rep Team. I knew I wanted something bright and fun, but honestly I was clueless (pun totally intended). I felt like so many things had already been done and any concept would look unoriginal.
I happened to stumble across the fact that this year marks the 25th Anniversary of my personal teen fav, Clueless (the movie was released on June 19, 1995). Aside from being completely obsessed with this movie, I hadn't seen any editorials that resembled this concept, but I wasn't sure if my class of 2021 reps would think the concept was cool or lame. I mean, they were born 7 years AFTER the movie's release, but when I told them about the concept, I was shocked at how many said the movie was one of their favorites!
What I really loved most about the Clueless concept is the fact that here we are 25 years after its release, and the fashion trends that were made popular by this cult classic have made a total comeback - plaid, co-ords, tiny backpacks, fanny packs, are all back and better than ever!
When I started planning for the shoot, I knew that I didn't want it to be like Halloween with each senior "dressed up" in an exact replica of the iconic Clueless looks. Because many of the trends from the movie are still popular today it was easy to find similar looks on hot online boutiques. When stylist, Danielle Sten-Guillermo and I met to finalize the looks, we worked to give nods to the ensembles in the movie, but updated them a little to portray how teens would rock these styles in 2020.
I was adamant about using only seniors on my 2021 Senior Rep Team, so I knew I couldn't feature every character from the film, but I wanted to emulate the looks of the different style subsets in the movie.
We were supposed to shoot back in April, but with the Covid outbreak, we were forced to push our shoot to July. Trust me, there was a point that I thought this all wouldn’t happen before the actual anniversary date which was my goal from the beginning.
We kicked off our shoot in studio and then went to a local high school to obtain some shots straight from the movie. I really wanted to incorporate some of the iconic scenes, so I'm thankful for my amazing friends who let me borrow their kick ass white Jeep Wrangler. We had a blast re-creating some of the scenes with Cher's epic driving skills.
So snaps to all of my Class of 2021 Senior Reps for helping make my vision come to life. And a HUGE thank you to my amazing creative team and some of the brands that are killing the style game in 2020:
Concept + Photography // Desiree Ortman Photography
Stylist // Danielle Sten-Guillermo
Make-up // Rachael Wontrop, Fleurt Beauty Company
Hair // Meaghan Whalen, Fleurt Beauty Company
Calligraphy // Whimsy & Ink Studio
Marvin the Martian artwork // Patrick Ortman (my talented hubby)
Stickers // RedBubble.com
Coffee Cups // Z Vault, Bel Air
Wardrobe // 40/Love, Nasty Gal, GUESS, Amazon, Marc Jacobs
Shoes // Nike, Converse, Reebok, Vans
Oh and don't forget to scroll down to get #cluedin on how we're going to channel our inner Cher and do some good!
GIVEBACK GIVEAWAY
Also, in true Cher fashion, we want to use our popularity for a good cause and do something good for humanity. We're going to give away this custom, hand lettered jean jacket by Whimsy & Ink Studio! But that's not it, for every 10 entries, we will donate $5 to VolunTeen, a community-based youth service organization for Harford County teenagers.
HOW TO ENTER
1. Make sure you're following me on IG @desireeortmanphotography 2. Share a screenshot of your fav image in this blog post or my Clueless post on Instagram from July 16, 2020 on your Instagram stories
3. Don't forget to tag me @desireeortmanphotography
Winner will be drawn at random on July 23, 2020 after 9:00pm and announced on my Instagram on July 24, 2020. Open to continental US residents only. Shipping included. This giveaway is run by Desiree Ortman Photography. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram and/or other brands included. Desiree Ortman Photography will donate up to $500 to VolunTeen. VolunTeen is a community-based Lions Clubs youth service organization for Harford County teenagers, centered in Bel Air. It is teen formed and teen ran. Whether the purpose is to fulfill a community service requirement for school, support a cause, or to just gain an invaluable experience, their mission is to create opportunities for teenagers to give back to their community. For more information on VolunTeen visit volunteen.us.
