Unraveling Measure: Cover Shoot

By: Lauren Uliana

For our XIII cover, we wanted to diverge from the classic Measure cover. The first of which meant parting from our traditional border, setting up a new precedent for covers to come. On our inspiration board, we pulled a lot of full- body cover shots. This type of shot was the main focus on set when it came to shooting. Another departure from the standard Measure cover. Lastly, we changed Measure’s color, burning red, creating a more cohesive front cover.  

Photographed | Victoria Tzorbatzoglou

We started planning our long-form feature photoshoot in March, not knowing if it would end up being on the cover. At first, we toyed with the idea of using a “cover-worthy” shot from one of the senior designer shoots. As we did not want to limit ourselves to one shoot, which in turn challenged us at each shoot to produce “cover-worthy” images. However, no matter what happened with the cover, our feature star was getting a spread. So, the directors began brainstorming ideas. Each of us put together different boards of what we thought would be good sources of inspiration for the shoot, then all of us went through them to narrow down which direction we would go in. 

Photographed | Victoria Tzorbatzoglou

After deciding on the inspiration of the shoot, we had to choose what our star would wear. It was suggested that we tap student designers to make custom garments. For this we tasked designers Carlie Marcus, Jules Madey, Lily Wickersham, Jose LinoReyes, and Sagar Nirala to create something truly magical for Alice Tirakian. Madey, who created the garment seen on the cover, stated, “My inspiration was based on her aesthetics. I interpreted her taste as chic, feminine, and twee.” Based on this, Madey produced a black and white striped waffle knit dress that has an oversized bodice with a fitted skirt plus dolman sleeves. Madey was able to capture Tirakian’s style seamlessly. Another key element to Tirakian’s personal aesthetic is her jewelry. Shining silver adorns her fingers on the cover and throughout the feature spread. 

Come to the Measure XII launch this Friday to see all the images we did not choose as well as read all about our radiate cover star.