CONTENT PHOTOGRAPHER TURNED FASHION DESIGNER MICHAEL BURGAN BEAUTY SHOOT LEARNING MAKEUP ARTISTRY DESIGN OF THE MONTH IVERY WRAP TIE DRESS FASHION EDITOTIAL PINK HOLLY ROCKS THE RUNWAY COLOR STORY DRENCHED IN PURPLE NEW FACES KYLE LUNDGREN
PHOTOGRAPHER TURNED FASHION DESIGNER MICHAEL BURGAN
Faux leather bikini designed by Michael Burgan. Modeled by Kirsten Lynn
What’s your story?
the Music Factory. Even though i was volunteering i felt like i finally made I’m just a simple kid from New York City who somehow ended up in Char- it. I was finally being commissioned to shoot stunning models just as i always lotte North Carolina. I use art as an avenue to explore my world and figure daydreamed about. I was hooked. After the show i started shooting for out how things work. their fashion blog on a regular basis. It Tell us about your start was all really simple. I’d show up and capture a few poses and keep changin the beauty industry ing outfits. It was so efficient and fast One of my wedding clients referred paced that in less than an hour they me to a fashion blogger that she ran into at a cafe shop. I followed up and would have enough content to keep the posting for the rest of the month. they invited me to a fashion show in
“I like to think of myself as an artist not a photographer” Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Katie King
“just as i expected nothing is more gratifying then
photographing clothing that i designed and stitched from scratch”
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 spent 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. However, i like to think of myself as an artist not a photographer. Photography is about capturing beauty not really creating it. So i need to be the creator to really
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Briana Alexis Wilkins
feel like i’m an artist. I want to be as involved as possible in my personal work. So naturally i wanted to explore fashion design. And just as i expected nothing is more gratifying then photographing clothing that i designed and stitched from scratch.
Of all things to make why bikinis?
What inspires your designs?
I can spend hours on pinterest creating mood boards. That is a huge part of my design process.
Do you intend to sell your line?
I admire couture garment making. Thats where the real art is. Once you Why not bikinis? As a guy photograstart thinking about production and pher that’s one of the most fun things scalability the art gets lost with worto shoot. However, there are also many ries about the economics of starting practical reasons too. Most swimsuits and running a retail business. It’s require less than a yard of fabric. That the same reason concept cars look so means the cost of materials is very much sexier than the production cars minimal. I can even upcycle an old that end up in our driveways. No thank graphic tee into a two piece bikini. you. Another reason is fit. By using designs with sliding triangle tops and tie string Where do you plan to bottoms, there is a lot of room for take this? adjustability. Most models i work with As i improve my sewing skills I would fit my suits great despite the fact they like to transition into more complex are all built different and vary a lot in garments like wedding dresses. Espeheight. cially ones that have corset bodices. Those are amazing!
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Yoanna
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model Top: Makayla Keziah-Isaacs Model Bottom: Jenna Rose
BEAUTY SHOOT LEARNING MAKEUP ARTISTRY
When most admire fashion photography the attention is often on the finish product. Namey the model. Yet there’s so much cool stuff that happens behind the scenes at a fashion shoot so many people involved. It’s almost like a making a movie. You have everything ranging from photographers to stylist and makeup artist. Each person brings their own perspective. Especially with a movie. You have an experienced director present that will insure things closely match his vision. But
because other people are involved the end result is always a composite of the ideas of multiple artist. In other words a movie or big production photoshoot is not a pure representation of the director’s vision. I’m a team player normally. I love collaborating with artist as much as i can. I learn so much from watching people who have mastered their trade but in my personal work i always want to show of what i can do personally as an artist. Not so much what
i can do with a team. So i decided i would get much more involved in my photoshoots. I already had a head start since i started learning fashion fashion design. But there is so much more to learn so i decided the next logical step was to learn makeup. Makeup has always been fascination of mine. I started being more critical of it when i started to hire makeup artist for studio projects. It’s amazing how it can transform for a face. You
can either highlight features, minimize features or even change a person’s face all together. In that way it’s a lot like photography. I suspect eventually i will get even better at makeup than most because of my background in photography. My first step in learning makeup was the research phase. Sounds intellectual but it was actually a lot more fun than it sounds. It mostly involved me in my PJ’s binge watching youtube
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Sarah Gass
tutorials. After hearing the process explained over and over i got the general idea as well as the terminology. Next i needed practice. But i was not committed enough to start investing in my own makeup supplies. Especially when the only art i actually profit on is photography. I needed volunteers. Volunteers that love my work so much that they would be willing to let me experiment on there face using their own supplies. Surprisingly that was easy. After five or six makeup attempts i got the hang of things. My new goal was to design a garment from scratch and tackle both the makeup and photography in a 24 hour time period. Basically a composite of all my acquired skills. I started the clock at 10pm when i started cutting up some fabric. It was a soft crimson red material i got from my sewing teacher jacqueline. I resisting the urge to make another bikini or dress and design something new. I decided on a romper. The trouble with bikinis is that it often confines me to locations that are appropriate for swimwear. Dresses are tricky to design too because i never know how long to make them to get the perfect hem. I knew a
“My new goal was to design
a garment from scratch and tackle both the makeup and photography in a 24 hour time period�
romper would be more fun to photograph if i could figure it out. As i was sewing it i took breaks to reply to the model call i posted on instagram. I had a bite. She agreed to meet in the morning with a fresh face to model it for me. By midnight i was finally done. I was almost too ecstatic to sleep. My model was named Sarah. My goal was to spend no longer than thirty minutes on her makeup. That would be half the time i usually take. The same amount of time most professionals i worked with in the past usually take. I met up with Sarah in downtown concord. Before i started i was super impressed with how great she looked with no makeup at all. This is gonna be easy i thought. My idea for her makeup was to keep things simple and just focus on good blending. My color pallet was gold brown and red. I started with a glossy gold eyeshadow and blended out to a brown.
“Its rare to find someone who can master the
the sultry look but also do things like deliver a convincing yet pretty laugh on command. I was super impressed�
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Sarah Gass
She forgot her contour kit so i got creative and used the lightest eyeshadow she had to do highlights all over. I finished the look with a bold red lip to match the design. One of the best things about the shoot was getting to work with sarah. I always push models to show a bit of range. Its rare to find someone who can master the the sultry look but also do things like deliver a convincing yet pretty laugh on command. I was super impressed. I can’t wait to work with her again. Eventually i want to experiment with bolder looks. Also master the art of contouring. Yet, overall i was super satisfied with the results from the shoot. Being so involved in the whole process was very satisfying. It left me feeling inspired to create bigger and better things in the near future.
DESIGN OF THE MONTH IVORY WRAP TIE DRESS
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Zitaly 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.
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 garden and the other in uptown charlotte. The city shoot was the most exciting for me. That five block radius is like a photographic utopia for me. First time i got The design was pretty straight forward the satisfaction of seeing my design on but i included a six foot neck strap so a real person. My model was Zitlaly i would have plenty of fabric to wrap from Statesville NC. Petite and very in multiple ways. I ignored the urge to feminine which i love. We shot near buy pure white fabric and opted for an the Mint Museum. That five block
radius 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. Icela 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.
“I decided to break it up into two shoots. One in a botanical garden and the other in uptown charlotte. The city shoot was the most exciting for me”
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model Top: Icela Model Right: Zitaly Garcia
FASHION EDITORIAL PINK HOLLY ROCKS THE RUNWAY
Despite blazing temperatures, nothing made it sink in that summer arrived more than being backstage at a poolside fashion show. Charlotte Seen was hosting another amazing runway show. It was on a luxurious private residence hidden from street view. The palm trees and tropical landscaping made me forget
i was still in Charlotte, North Carolina. The most exciting part was this would be the first official runway show for the Pink Holly Design Team. It would also be the first time seeing all my sewing projects being flaunted down a runway. Holly is a entrepreneur that aspires to build her own swimwear empire. In the startup phase of
her company she has been hiring me to handle the production, photography and the marketing for her swimwear brand. Thats a lot of responsibility but also lots of fun for me. An amazing learning experience.
for their moment to shine. It’s mostly organized chaos. Clothes are everywhere and often there is limited privacy to change. Under normal circumstances conditions like that would be very stressful. But with Holly around this just wasn’t the case. Her high Here is a list of the top energy consumed the room. She also five things i learned from took charged in both selecting, dressour first runway show. ing and organizing the models. The order and enthusiasm she contributed 1) Holly makes every- backstage had a direct correlation to thing more fun! the success of the show. I realized Backstage at a runway show is not a i could have never had pulled it off glamorous as some may assume. You without her. won’t find any models in silk robes passively lounging in luxury waiting 2) I can turn even a wash room into a photo studio As a wedding photographer i’ve learned to shoot in less than ideal places due to time restrictions imposed on me at weddings. This skillset definitely came in handy backstage. On this property backstage consisted of a small den and a bathroom with a sauna. This fully furnished interior was packed with twelve models five stylist and multiple organizers and photographers. I kept scanning the room looking for a blank wall to get a few shots of the models but their was none. So i
had to get creative. What stood out to me at the space was the beautiful dark textured tiles in the restroom. So holly and i started pulling models. We got a bunch of captures carefully avoiding the sink, toilet or anything in the background that would reveal that we were actually in a bathroom.
3) Live feedback is amaz-
ing Social media is great for live feedback. I’ve learned feedback is more evident at a live fashion show. You can actually see people’s reactions. Holly and i got so many positive comments about a particular persian blue halter top we designed. It was a keyhole design with a collar and decorative contrasting stitching. We love showing people what we can do and then hearing what people love about it. Learning what grabs people has a strong influence on our design process. Holly choose
“Holly and i got so many positive comments about a particular persian blue halter top we designed”
Taylor Freeze to model it. She was a beautiful model with a toned body and perfect tan. She had a real strong look that complimented the bold blue. She was really a head turner.
4) Huffman and Isabel are show stoppers!
“Huffman and Isabel are show stoppers!”
Speaking of head turners I can’t give a proper recap of our runway show without giving a shout out to Aubree Huffman. She volunteered to fill in last minute as a model when she was already busy helping keep things running smooth backstage. Holly and I practically high fived each other when we found out she was willing to volunteer. She caught our attention with her stunning auburn hair and curvy figure. The best part was she had that high energy we are always looking for in pink holly models. Can’t wait to recruit her for future design projects. Looking back at the photos Isabel was probably my personal favorite. Her mixed heritage and dark skin gave her an exotic look that stood out from the rest. Plus she was in my favorite design.
5) This is exactly what i was born to do
I was so ecstatic after this show. Many more to come as her and I wrench on more designs and build our design team. I’m learning so much in the process. Hopefully soon will hire a more competent seamstress so i’m freed up to focus on marketing. In any case i’m just happy to finally contributing to the growing fashion scene in Charlotte.
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model Left: Aubree Huffman Model Right: Taylor Freeze
COLOR STORY DRENCHED IN PURPLE
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 as an artist. 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.
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Marissa Wick
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 wearing 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
“Basically all the flaws in the design just made it look more interesting”
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 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. Once the suede fabric got damp it started to darken and take on a whole new look. I realized the fabric looked better wet than dry. A few weeks later i had two more purple dresses completed. I wanted to pick up where i left off with the wet look so i waited on the rain again. I met up with the Chelsea Wozinsky and her little sister Angelia. The
best part about working with them is that it doesn’t feel like work at all. We just explored the park in the middle of a rain storm and chased ducks in stuff near the pond. The more fun we had the better the photos got. As we started
to wrap up the shoot my only disappointment was that i never really got a shot of them immersed in the water. The pond was simply too dark and muddy. But on the way back Chelsea remembered her gym pool was nearby. So we detoured and talked the desk clerk into letting us shoot in the pool. I was ecstatic! Finally an empty pool with no supervision. Total creative freedom. The pool shots were my favorite of the day. So needless to say i have a newfound appreciation for purple. I’m liking this pattern of me taking things that i don’t like and trying to figure out how to make it beautiful. If you want to get philosophical you could argue that’s essentially what life is all about. You always have to make the best of what you have to work with.
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Chelsea Wozinsky
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model Top: Angelia Wozinsky Model Bottom : Chelsea Wozinsky
Designer: Michael Burgan Photographer: Michael Burgan Model: Kylie Lundgren
NEW FACES KYLIE LUNDGREN
What is your origin story?
every opportunity I’ve been given to model. It’s always exciting for me to be able to change my look and style -I’m just a country girl from a small town that likes tall guys and even taller with every photoshoot. trucks! I’ve always loved to draw and grew up in a family of artists. I express How would you describe your personal style? my artistic side through makeup and -I don’t stick to one style. I go from fashion. preppy to edgy. I also like trying new trends! I normally am the first in my How did you first get group of friends to try out a new style. involved in the fashion scene? -I first got involved in the fashion scene when I was asked to model a necklace for a boutique in Myrtle Beach. Ever since then I’ve enjoyed
What’s your dream photoshoot concept?
-The edgier the better! I love shooting dauntless shots. Creativity is very
important to me. I love when the photo His look is timeless and his clothes are expresses a specific feeling or mood. easy to wear for any body type. The ambiance of lighting and special effects is a special interest to me. All modesty aside, what do you feel you bring to Who is your favorite de- the table as a model? signer and why? -I’ve got the hour glass shape every -My favorite designer is Calvin Klein girl is jealous of and most models because I love all of his collections. don’t have that. I also bring a great
“I’m just a country girl from a small town that likes tall guys and even taller trucks!”
energy to the shoot and take direction well. I cheered in high school so I’m very flexible and it helps me do difficult poses.
every photoshoot fun and adventurous. He makes each model feel at ease and pulls out their very best features. He’s also not afraid to take a little risk!
If you had to give up all
What would you like to
your projects and do just one full time what would it be? -I would be interested in anything in fashion. I’m especially interested in makeup and modeling! Even designing clothes has a great appeal to me!
What’s it like working with Michael Burgan Photography
-Michael is so personable and makes
transition into after your modeling career ends? -I would like to prove to people that it’s actually possible to model being 5 foot 2. I plan to get a degree in the dental field but creativity will always be part of my life. Whether it’s teaching someone to do their makeup or making art for my own personal enjoyment, helping this world to become a more beautiful place is definitely part of my plan.