Where is fashion going? Follow the 2022 "Image Makers" - Los Angeles Timestwitterfacebookenvelope

A face is never just a face in Los Angeles. Well, it is. Kind of. You know how it be. People use theirs to get theirs out here. And that begins with knowing what you have. Superior facial awareness is a valuable commodity in this city. Many pray at the altar of angles to the gods who (we hope) see only our good side. Actors and thespians get the most props for knowing what to do with their mugs. But molding oneself into a desirable image is a form practiced by more than just the most recognizable people in this company town.

It’s not enough to possess glamorous cheek bones, muscular jawlines, rejiggered noses and defined brow ridges. The assets must work for you. You can only fake it for so long. The West Hollywood boot camps for your face, the Insta-friendly reconstructive surgeries in Studio City and the filters that monopolize the billboards on La Cienega and Santa Monica are just projections for projection’s sake. Image making is about expressing something. There should always be some there there.

You can’t have style without substance. In L.A., material matters; what we pull from breathes energy into what we create. Sometimes we grab from experience, other times we tap the elements. Some prefer to look inside. The conduits channel inspiration from without. That last point is worth stopping on for a sec: For all the linking and building and lip service to “community,” image making is, at its core, a practice of connecting meaningfully with a source. It means nothing if you don’t give. The cornerstone of image making is adding value so others can do the same.

Last year, the “Image Makers” of L.A. tried to tell you: Style is a communal affair. A wise dogg once sang from the rafters: “It ain’t no fun, if the homies can’t have none.” So, this year, we’ve decided to double down, and let a new class of Image Makers show you where fashion is going: to the root.

Our second installment of “Image Makers” is about synthesizing and seizing all the means of production. The designers, models, fashion workers, artists in this issue have something radical in store. Come Tees OG Sonya Sombreuil can show you how clothing can be a medium through which to interact with, and challenge, the world. Tommy Bogo, of TOMBOGO, will give you a sneak peek of the future of functional high fashion. Nancy Stella Soto will take you to the Fashion District for an on-site master class in treating each garment as a canvas for experimentation. Ashley S.P. and Jennifer Zapata of Género Neutral can help you understand why physical spaces in L.A. have always been sacred.

Fashion wouldn’t be anything without the narrative threads that make the work. There are the stories that are sewn in; but just as important are the stories that are told once the clothes come on. We’ve assembled a cast of models — Briana King, Sarita Fernandez, Eddie Lopez Bautista, Bay Davis, Natalia Lemper, Julissa Aaron, the Polio Brothers, Tianna Arata — to school you on the art of folding one's experience into the narrative.

Before you leave, we’ll take you down memory lane: Mom n Dad Vintage is going to pull a few ’90s/2000s fits for your nostalgic pleasure and we’ll revisit the film set crew jacket as a totem of a bygone era. That’s the thing about L.A. style. — it’s all about showing your work. Catch what the Image Makers are laying down. There’s more than enough material for you to create something for yourself.

Ian F. Blair
Editor in Chief


Image logo by Vivi Naranjo For The Times

Streetwear doesn’t need to feel like the status quo. It could be more like Come Tees

Streetwear doesn’t need to feel like the status quo. It could be more like Come Tees

There is no normalcy to the clothing artist Sonya Sombreuil makes. She is moving at her own speed  Read the story  👚  
In a fashion world built on exclusivity Género Neutral is a space that says ‘I see you’

In a fashion world built on exclusivity Género Neutral is a space that says ‘I see you’

Physical spaces in L.A. have always been sacred. Ashley S.P. and Jennifer Zapata see their concept shop as a vehicle for community and an homage to their friendship  Read the story  🌱  
Functional fashion is about problem solving. Tommy Bogo has the solutions on deck

Functional fashion is about problem solving. Tommy Bogo has the solutions on deck

The L.A.-based designer behind TOMBOGO uses sustainable materials to create clothes that feel fluid, scrappy and utilitarian  Read the story  🥽  
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As it turns out, Mom n Dad do know a little somethin’ somethin’ about vintage

As it turns out, Mom n Dad do know a little somethin’ somethin’ about vintage

In L.A.’s competitive vintage scene, Nick Flanagan and Lex Muro specialize in showing you the right way to take it back  Read the story  🍒  
You, too, can be touched by Çedouze

You, too, can be touched by Çedouze

Guillermo Juarez's designs are symbols of fullness and holiness — and love offerings to the higher power that watches over Los Angeles  Read the story  👁‍🗨  
This is what made Briana King fire

This is what made Briana King fire

The skater and model didn’t need the industry to show her what was cool. She figured it out by getting right within  Read the story  🛹  
You know the real thing when you see Eddie Lopez Bautista

You know the real thing when you see Eddie Lopez Bautista

Modeling doesn't have to be about clout or fame. It can be an expression of how one moves through the world  Read the story  🤠  
Streaming services are where movies go to die. But we will always have the crew merch

Streaming services are where movies go to die. But we will always have the crew merch

When films lose their appeal with the public, turn into cult objects or get killed by giants like Warner Bros. Discovery, what is left of the work? Jackets given out at wrap parties  Read the story  🎬  
Modeling as a trust exercise, with Natalia Lemper and Julissa Aaron

Modeling as a trust exercise, with Natalia Lemper and Julissa Aaron

The L.A. duo is pushing their craft into more expansive, sometimes challenging territory by leaning on each other  Read the story  👭🏽  
The many expressions of Bay Davis’ liberation practice

The many expressions of Bay Davis’ liberation practice

Modeling is a call to visibility and to being trans loudly: “I love being playful with the real world”  Read the story  🐚  
Only Tianna Arata can #FreeTianna

Only Tianna Arata can #FreeTianna

Through modeling, she's breaking out of the identity she’s felt boxed into for the last two years — the organizer who was arrested and is still facing charges  Read the story  💅🏾  
‘We’re each other’s security blanket on shoots’

‘We’re each other’s security blanket on shoots’

Model Sarita Fernandez and makeup artist Selena Ruiz on the power of gassing each other up on set and ending the night at Phở 87  Read the story  💄  
Shout out to all the hands that touched a Nancy Stella Soto

Shout out to all the hands that touched a Nancy Stella Soto

With each collection, the experimental designer traces the myriad inspirations from the city that she draws from regularly: her community, the evening light, the scrambled architecture of L.A.  Read the story  🌃  
That same energy hits different in front of the camera

That same energy hits different in front of the camera

The Polio brothers are shaking up the modeling game with a bond that’s hard to explain  Read the story  👯‍♂️  
What would it look like to truly transform the fashion industry from the ground up?

What would it look like to truly transform the fashion industry from the ground up?

Suay Sew Shop is attempting something that feels necessary: showing that waste is a choice that doesn’t need to be made  Read the story  🧵  
All clothing has a past, just like you. Every piece is one of one, just like you

All clothing has a past, just like you. Every piece is one of one, just like you

Last One Left’s Christopher M. Bailey’s latest collection is an experiment in sustainably remixing the fashion of yesterday  Read the story  ♻️  
L.A. is about warm energy. This stylist will show you how to get your shine on

L.A. is about warm energy. This stylist will show you how to get your shine on

Marcus Correa knows fashion doesn’t mean anything without the specific stories that people bring with them  Read the story  ✨  
7 fashion items to help you switch up your wardrobe just enough for fall in L.A.

7 fashion items to help you switch up your wardrobe just enough for fall in L.A.

From Delos to Busybdy to DITA, here's how you add fresh colors, textures and silhouettes to your closet  Read the story  👛  
15 pop-ups, drops and events to give your calendar the love it deserves in September

15 pop-ups, drops and events to give your calendar the love it deserves in September

From the L.A. designers taking over NYFW to the buzziest shows in town, the Drip Index has got you covered  Read the story  👟