"A" scene.

"A" place to be, hang, or be acknowledge

Where is your scene right now? New York? Mexico City? Paris? None of the above? Le watch party? Maybe. I really want to go to one. Experience it. Like-minded people passionate for fashion. I remember that first watch party popping on my feed. I remember I felt a tad of cringe, but quickly told myself that was just old programming. Fashion embeds this idea of exclusivity and mean girl energy that is so addictive. You want to sit with them. You take it, and hope one day you make it to that front row. This is still the reality, but things are changing. Thank you Mark and Jeff for trying, it’s cute. I’m not gonna hate, you go guys. Welcome to the funnest most chaotic dramatic industry. Why does everybody now want to be in fashion? Rhetorical question.

Seventeen years ago, when I grabbed my first fashion photo book, I was hooked. Everything about fashion was cocaine to my teenage brain. I was a junkie (I still am). Tumblr for hours on end and trying to figure out my favorite photographer’s kits. It was so hard to find content or information about what happens behind the scenes. Now we have so much content, and BTS that you can learn so fast and apply yourself. I started testing and shooting right away. My brother and sister were my first models. I knew fashion design would come later, I was first hooked by the lens. Later in my career I would work side by side with some amazing Mexican designers. Just a few, but some of the best. Like Patrick once said, fashion photographers need to understand fashion as much as light. Something like that.

Scenes are so important. They create gravity points for artists, creatives, chefs, beautiful people, parties, bars, drugs, secrets, ambitions, hunger, success. Good decisiones, bad decisiones, martinis and negronis (hopefully). Scenes are not just about indulging, although they could be (why not?). Scenes are important to connect, nurture relationships, make friends, and close business.

Over the past five years, after graduating from the university of life, I realized I have never really had a solid portfolio, truly worth the work I have done myself or with my team. Lazy? Yes. But also tricky, as I grow in demand each year I find it ironic, we still don’t have a formal portfolio. Now don’t get me wrong, the second we have an opportunity we scramble and build a specific brief to fit what the client wants. After so many years, we can always find examples and necessary digital assets from past work to get the job in hand. We have a good ratio, and most people that don’t onboard, it’s usually because of budget reasons (Rich people are the most stingy). We are a bit pricey (I guess), but I know what we are worth, if you hire us. Know your value. Know your scene. It can take years to find it, or get into it, so don’t give up quickly. Enjoy the process, the falls, the wins. The middle points. It’s not that you’re going to be selling and networking all the time in the scene you want to be part of, but a scene can back you up. Can make you feel the value that no portfolio will ever give you. Street credit and know-how are important for any development. Social currency demands you are not just a nobody. Being part of a scene in some ways gives you social currency without having to make a dancing video on TikTok, and considering becoming an influencer. I do feel that scaling down. Craft coming back. Smart is hot. Knowing is hot. Dumb is finally dumb again. It was never cool. (I also have a paranoid feeling that this all will collapse and will go back to being NPC’s, but .. let’s not give that a chance.)

The scene in Mexico City can be tricky, friendly and vicious. With time anything can be understood. I gave this city ten years, and the reward has to be: being able to move around with my balls dropped. Still I have many layers to go, but enjoy my current middle point.

There are many scenes in Mexico City. Many. But not all scenes are truly on top. Obviously everyone thinks their scene is the coolest and in many ways it is (If you believe it you can do it). If you believe your scene is the best, then you go Glen Coco. Still, there are ranks (sorry not sorry). If you know you know, but if you don’t it is pretty obvious (You see, the old bitchy programming coming out?). I will software update eventually. Fashion needs to enter into a new era, and will get there.

I love all the free press Le Watch Party is getting from the recent happenings. He knows what he is doing. He never needed Vogue, or anyone. It would have been nice, why not. Big names are always so tempting and full of vanity. But now with them stealing the concept, or whatever they are trying to copy, they just validated LWP. I really hope they don’t stay on that wagon for long, and I do feel that. A lot of FOMO after watching the latest posts. LWP doesn’t need Vogue, but they needed a push. Any upcoming project does. Classic dinosaur move by Vogue. I went to TikTok to see what people were commenting from the latest LWP posts, and it was just filled with people repeating the stealing situation and praising. So I went in to stir the pot.

That’s me, LUi.

I guess 131 people understood what I was saying. I was baiting them a little and two people fell right into it. Watch how one of the comments just replies with the obvious, trying to defend when I am literally saying congrats, let’s fund LWP, let’s free ourselves from big boring traditional names. Then the other one made me laugh. What do you mean I missed a few steps? Just because I wasn’t all indignant and talking about the stealing? We need to move faster and with more positivity. But I guess people like festering about the bad.

I left that last comment to see where they take their response. Straight into it, how are we going to help LWP go further? I really want to invite Lyas to Mexico City. Not during Mexico’s Fashion Week, please no. There is talent in this city, a lot of it. Maybe he can consult us on how to democratize our scene, and make it funner. Sometimes an outside can have a strong perspective. Lyas is smart and I hope I get to meet him one day to talk and have a good conversation. I would love to interview him. Either we meet in Paris or he comes to Mexico City. Lyas, if you somehow see this, just letting you know we will host you and give a proper tour of our beautiful scene. Interwoven with the best food in the world, the most surreal urban situations, and the most real people.

So, do you agree? Disagree?

By the way, if you someone made it this far, I want to give you a gift, if you are thinking about starting a project or maybe a magazine style substack or whatever. I really love the name “A” scene for a magazine or zine, or book. I don’t know when I will have the time to actually use it, so if you like it take it. First come, first serve.

Name: “a” scene.

Tag: @ ”a”scenemag

Slogan: “A” place to be, hang, or be acknowledge.

Purpose: A medium about different scenes, creative and all types. About people, about art, culture, politics and knowledge.

See you at the office

LUi

Side note: We are taking the office mess to interviews and VICE style documentation, with me as the host. Sorry not sorry, but I am sort of funny no? 🥺. So I am letting the universe know, and decree that I will reach my goals.

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