Remember friendship bracelets from grade school?

Remember the joy, the feeling of connection that gave you?  Well, the fashion phenomenon of twinning is like friendship bracelets for grown-ups. The days of being mortified because you showed up at a party in the same dress as someone else are over. Now fun-loving friends do it on purpose.

 

What exactly is twinning?

It’s when two people, or in this case a person and their dog, wear matching or very similar outfits, and are delighted by this co-ordinated turn of events.

Dressing alike fulfills a desire to connect with one another. Photographs of this connection add to the joy by filling the viewer with a similar delight. It reminds me of a warm-up exercise actors often do.

Mirroring, what’s that?

Basically one person leads, and the other follows, duplicating their every movement.  If you do it well, you can’t tell who’s the leader and who follows. It connects you instantly because your full focus is completely outside yourself, on the other person, who will determine your next move.  I like to think twinning in fashion does something similar, creating the powerful bond that comes with teamwork.

My stay-home adventure has been photographing a series of self portraits as I twin with my dogs.

I intended to present the collection at LA Fashion Week, but the pandemic had other plans. We’re still on for the rest of the tour, virus willing, as most of the shows take place in the summer and fall. Whatever I miss will fall into 2021. But in the mean time, I’m taking pictures. My guess is they will get more fun, more creative as I get better sat it.

 

I found the perfect photographic tool for the say-home Instagramer.

It’s called Pivo Pod, and it enables me to take photos and videos of myself, with the camera following my face. The days of needing to pay a photographer or videographer are over. Its features are endless, and I’m just beginning to learn all of the possibilities, so stay tuned.

 

My mission as an artist is to bring joy.

And right now we need joy, lots of joy. And since we’re all home doing our patriotic duty as couch potatriots, photos are one way we can find and share our joy. I hope to find ways to include everyone in my silliness, with simple how-to videos you can easily follow to create fun twinning photos of you and your dog using simple household items.

In this time of difficulty, there is brightness to grab onto. The virus is burning down the house, but we will rebuild a new and better world. An era that offers a better life for more people. The power of fashion will lead us there, twinning will help. How freeing that we’ve grown beyond social embarrassment to embrace dressing like a friend. How freeing it is to embrace this playfully empowering unity driven by humor, connection and love–– no words needed, just color, shape and a heap of character there to do the talking for you.

xoxo

Lola