Community Philo-sophy

words by Maria Egolf-Romero | questions by Darnell Thomas & Mariah Romero

photography by Danny Allegretti

This street style story honors the breezy love shared by friends who stay out and enjoy summer evenings. We asked some friends of the community some questions about friendship, style in the southwest and creativity. Many referenced feelings of unconditional love, color-inspiration borrowed from nature, and the ways their environments motivate them to keep making art. This is summer in the desert with a creative bunch of friends.

Matron Records founder, musician, promoter, artist and designer | she/her | Triple Leo

Friendship is part mutual respect and part mutual fascination. I am in absolute awe of my closest friends and continue to learn and be inspired by each of them everyday. There are those times where one of you is struggling and I so value the kind of friendship that can navigate the tight and difficult spaces and use them as opportunities to grow closer and learn from one another. Friendship should also be about silliness and knowing how to crack a smile on your friend’s face even on the bad days.

How has the Southwest inspired your personal style?

I feel quite spoiled to have grown up in Santa Fe, a place I’ve been quite happy to continue calling home. It has without a doubt influenced my style, from the cool summer nights and forgiving winters to casual sensibilities and gorgeous outdoors.I suppose that those factors have influenced me to adopt a very practical, functional style. Even on the days where I rep my more femme side and rock a sundress, you can bet I’ve got bike shorts underneath and running shoes in the car. The mountains are always calling here and I always want to be ready to seize the moment and get outdoors. I often joke that my style is “hipster ninja,” because I live in running leggings which give me equal flexibility running around a stage as across the desert.

What motivates you as a creative?

I have always been a creator with this fierce, non-stop drive to create things. As I have gotten older, that innate urge to make things has been compounded by many other motivations on the periphery and grown beyond an internal force to become a source of activism and therapy. When I create, I organize the world I am in, finding new meanings in the hidden places and giving shape and understanding to the most elusive and frustrating of feelings. Now I am moved to create in order heal myself and to give voice greater issues such as violence against women, racism, mental health, LGBTQ+ rights, etc. Often art is the only common ground between people when it comes to the difficult feelings and overwhelmingness of social justice issues and can communicate in a way that speaking alone cannot. I create to find this common ground, to navigate the hard stuff and create a new language for what I can’t say with words.

makes photographs | they/them | gemini

Friendship to me is all about respect and fun. For me it’s impossible to be friends with someone if I don’t respect them or they don’t respect me. Friendship is also about being there for people regardless of circumstance.

How has the Southwest inspired your personal style?

The Southwest has influenced my personal style in many ways. The tans and browns of the desert that are accented by extreme colors have inspired me to no end. The flowers and the sky are both beautiful and never ending! I truly believe i’ve embraced color living in the southwest, which is nice!

What motivates you as a creative?

As a creative I’m motivated by change, opportunity, and everyday life. I’m one of those people that believes participating in life is an essential part of my practice and if I wasn’t trying to live my life to the fullest I’d be doing my practice a disservice.

musician | she/her | Libra

Friendship should be all about growth, bad decisions, Laughter, fighting, loving, planning to go somewhere but somehow get caught in a 3 hour meme-athon stuffed with burrito spot in your friends basement.

How has the Southwest inspired your personal style?

Santa Fe is such a free spirited and relaxed town. With a little funk ad quark here and there. And that’s me all the way.

What motivates you as a creative?

What motivates me is seeing all my budz do so well at what they love! There is so much magic in the arts and it’s such a good feeling to see that. The more I’m around greatness the more I want to be great.

owner of The Stith Collection | Virgo

Friendship should be about love, laughter, inspiration and trust.

How has the Southwest inspired your personal style?

Living in Santa Fe has had a major impact on my style. The natural beauty of our surroundings has definitely inspired the colors I wear. The presence of so many amazing Native American artisans has inspired me to wear more jewelry and locally handmade things. With over 300+ sunny days in SF, hats have become a practical accessory that I use to limit sun exposure but also use to add style to almost every outfit.

What motivates you as a creative?

Many different things motivated me to create. Curiosity is a huge factor. I have been lucky because the majority of my life I have been surrounded by friends who are creative and creativity is truly one of those things that is contagious. If you are looking for inspiration for creation hang out with my friends! There are also so many muses living in and around Santa Fe, many of them don’t even know they motivate and inspire me but there are a few people (who I run into often) whose presence brings motivation into my life. I also have to mention something that is hard to exactly pinpoint. It’s kind of a desire to try and make things better or to just try and do it differently. I’m not sure where it comes from and what drives it but I do have this desire.

freelance video editor | he/him/his | aquarius

Friendship should be all about... unconditional love throughout the flux of life. The ability to enjoy and value each other regardless of the circumstances, good times, bad times, in-between times. The freedom and support to grow and change as individuals, while maintaining that acceptance and fondness foreach other.

How has the Southwest inspired your personal style?

Especially coming into adulthood here, Santa Fe has opened me up to the breadth of realities everyone around me is experiencing at any given moment. This has allowed me to explore myself and my style, trying on a bunch of different things and evolving, finding what sticks and learning from the rest.

What motivates you as a creative?

My motivation as a creative person is the everlasting pursuit of my own exploration and expression, and to the understanding of others. Openness to art and its different viewpoints is imperative to understanding the nuanced realities of the world we share.

filmmaker at Meow Wolf | Taurus

Friendship should be all about knowing you love and are loved no matter what. Sometimes I feel like I change faster than I can keep up with and I lose track of who I am and that’s a shitty feeling. But regardless of how I’m feeling about myself, my friends totally do know who I am and love me for it and that is so grounding and honestly feels so essential to my well being. I love my friends so so so much.

How has the Southwest inspired your personal style?

Living in Santa Fe has definitely inspired my personal style because there’s not that many people here. I get dressed with the idea that people who already know me will see me, so it feels like a more intimate form of communication and expression than if I was going to go walk out on the streets of a big city or something. I also think since there’s so few folks in my age range that live in Santa Fe, I’m especially inspired by those who do!There are some real stylin’ folks in this town!

What motivates you as a creative?

Art and creativity transform our world, and that really motivates me because I want our world to be better! As creators, if we can envision the world we want to see and then make work the that moves us closer to that world, that seems like a life worth living to me.