dress. Gorm
tights. Hue
shoes. Miu Miu
opposite
sweater. Noisy May
skirt. Tristan Rèhel
Colourblind photographer Nick Merzetti is taking viewers on a brand new journey. Inspired in large part by Alice in Wonderland, Merzetti joins creative director Alba Feinaj to tell a story of dreamlike adventure, starring model Brett and styled by Amber Watkins. For more insight into the series, Schön! joins Merzetti to discuss his career, influences and High Tea.
The last time we spoke was in February. What has changed in your life since then?
Coronavirus is fading away, so work is ramping up! Honestly, I’m dying to get out and see a new city. It’s been too long. I think we are all in the same boat! Less time grinding for pay, more time making memories!
You mentioned that you’re a believer in psychedelics and their potential role in the artistic process. How has your experience with psychedelics shaped your creative vision?
Psychedelics help my process in two important ways. First, they help you dial into the beauty in everything. If you’re painting, just the act of the paint leaving the brush might ignite your curiosity. You can’t help create in a different way when the process itself is fascinating. Second, psychedelics help ground me emotionally. Mindfulness, meditation and psychedelics have a synergistic effect that leaves me less prone to creativity-crushing anxiety.
gown. Tristan Réhel
hat. Echo
shoes. Jeffrey Campbell
opposite
dress. Gorm
gown. Tristan Réhel
sweater. Noisy May
skirt. Tristan Rèhel
What were some of your influences for this shoot?
Alice in Wonderland, definitely. The whole Cheshire Cat and sense of shrinking or growing. On top of that, my realisation of how key playfulness is to creativity. I tried to capture that here, definitely!
You play with elements like forced perspective in this shoot. How do you keep your artistic eye feeling ‘fresh’ after so many shoots?
That’s the hard part, isn’t it? I think it’s really trying to cultivate a sense of playfulness. Really trying to make sure that you are giving yourself whatever you need to have fun! When you are in a space to be playful, you are curious, and experimentation and tangential thinking spring up from that. Sometimes we get so lost in the desire to create for our career that you forget that it should be fun. It’s a simple thing, but the minute it veers into stress or work it really cuts off access to that childlike part of your brain.
You brought on Art Director Alba Feinaj for this shoot. What insight did she provide that helped you hone your creative vision for this piece?
Alba is a wonderfully curious person. She’s the type of person that will collect dead bugs, leaves and rocks while she is running around doing errands, and then pull them out during a shoot and elevate everything. Alba tells a story about being a kid in Greece and finding this hidden clearing in a forest and running around eating raspberries and rolling down hills. We definitely tried to pull from that experience here.
dress. Gorm
tights. Hue
shoes. Miu Miu
opposite
full look. L’uomo Strano
On the fun side, your cat also makes an appearance in this piece. Can you introduce our readers to her and tell us a little about her?
She’s the most wonderful cat. She’s a hairless Devon Rex, so she needs to be close to people for warmth. She was raised with dogs, so she wants nothing more than to play fetch and sleep in your arms. She hangs out with our little parrot a lot (when the parrot is not tormenting her). Surprisingly, we didn’t realise that the model Brett had a hairless cat tattoo on her neck until we started shooting!
What’s been inspiring you lately?
That Thierry Mugler documentary on YouTube is super inspiring! If I could work with one dream designer, it would be him! Lately I’ve been inspired a lot by my friends. I’ve been doing my best to surround myself with people I want to emulate, and watching them succeed is so motivating!
gown. Tristan Réhel
hat. Echo
shoes. Jeffrey Campbell
opposite
dress 1. Gorm
dress 2. Mango
cap. Tristan Réhel
gown. Tristan Réhel
hat. Echo
shoes. Jeffrey Campbell
opposite
dress 1. Gorm
dress 2. Mango
cap. Tristan Réhel
full look. L’uomo Strano
What’s next for you?
I want to start simplifying things and concentrating on a good concept and getting the best performances I can get out of people. I also want to move on to directing more film!
From art director Alba Feinaj:
What were some of your influences for this shoot?
We drew a lot of inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz. Just like in both these movies, we wanted to take our main character (and the audience) on a “trip” to an unknown land filled with beauty, surprises and a touch of madness. Our first shot is that of Brett waking up in her bed, but instead of her room, she’s in the middle of a green field, and instead of pyjamas, she’s in a pillow back dress and ballerina shoes. And that’s how her adventure begins! Keeping in mind the intention to evoke a feeling of curiosity, excitement and surprise, we then let our imagination run free when putting everything else together.
dress. Gorm
tights. Hue
shoes. Miu Miu
opposite
dress 1. Gorm
dress 2. Mango
cap. Tristan Réhel
full look. L’uomo Strano
This Schön! online exclusive has been produced by
photography. Nick Merzetti
fashion. Amber Watkins
creative direction. Alba Feinaj
model. Brett @ Next Models
make up. Angela Lee
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