Skin Season
PERFECTION “Swimsuit photos were probably the last thing in the world they would have expected me to be doing at RISD,” Bjorn Iooss 03 PH readily admits. But earlier this year shooting skin led to one of the most visible photography gigs on the planet, when his photo of Russian model Irina Shayk was selected from stacks of contenders for the cover of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (estimated circulation: 60 million). Iooss had done work for advertising and several VOGUE editions, but had never shot for Sports Illustrated before. On the morning of the shoot on the beach in Maui, he realized he was looking at something potentially special: “It was beautiful. The light had just come up.” And, he adds, “The crazy thing about it was that it was the first morning, the first girl, the first look, and it was perfect.” bjorniooss.com
Stylish Sunscreen The convergence of two major hat-wearing seasons— summer and a royal wedding—makes it a heady time to be Eric Javits 78 PT. Since 1978, when he crafted his first hat to help a friend get noticed at the
Old salts and landlubbers alike can proudly bare summer
door of Studio 54, the millinery and accessories
skin adorned with the work of Duke Riley 95 PT, founder
designer has been synonymous with easy glamour.
Eric Javits
Marked for Life
Performers as diverse as Bette Midler, Alicia Keys, the Rockettes, Madonna and Britney Spears have commis-
78 PT
of East River Tattoo in Brooklyn. He and the other artists on staff specialize in custom designs influenced by maritime folk art, scrimshaw and 19th-century tattoos— think Queequeg, not Kat Von D. Riley’s interest in folk history
sioned special
is more than skin deep: through his projects outside the
editions. Javits hats
tattoo studio, he addresses “forgotten unclaimed frontiers”
have graced the heads
on the edges of urban areas, often where water meets land.
of at least two first
Recent adventures in the name of art include An Invitation
ladies and accentuated
to Lubberland, his attempt to rediscover a river beneath
the runways at Donna
Cleveland that was the site of a booming shantytown during
Karan, Carolina Herrera,
the Depression, and a cross-country journey by freight train
Arnold Scaasi and Bob Mackie shows. For women out enjoying the elements but shy of the sun, Javits invented
to reconstruct the defunct “hobo census” of the US. eastrivertattoo.com dukeriley.info
the popular Squishee: a faux-straw chapeau that springs back into tip-top shape after being stuffed into a suitcase. ericjavits.com
Lara Kurtzman 00 PT kelacalaq.com What do feminist comedian Janeane Garofalo and R&B femme fatale Rihanna have in common? They both go for the irreverence of Kelacala Q, a jewelry line used to accentuate the abundance of bronzed skin in this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
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Jennifer Clinch Guertin 96 PT anchorsteamtattoo.com Nothing celebrates skin like a good tattoo. As owner of Anchor Steam Tattoo Gallery in seaside Newport, RI, Guertin has been perfecting her body art for over a decade. From Nemo to mermaids with Afros, Samurai warriors to Wonder Woman, her portfolio makes an indelible impression.