Manon, New York City, 1995. At this pivotal time in my career, I was working with a lot of top-tier fashion models, make up artists, and stylists, each at the top of their game. This shoot was part of a series I was doing for Esquire Magazine, as an homage to the illustrator Antonio Vargas.Joanne Gahr did this sultry make up look, Wayne Lucas—who was just a genius, period—did the styling. Wayne was my second creative eye, helping me push the boundaries of what I was trying to achieve. We’ve worked together for over 20 years, and I trusted him to help bring ideas to life that I couldn’t have done alone.We were working on this series of pin ups where we were painting clothes on the models and gluing on a few pieces of fabric to them, but really, they were fully naked. You wouldn’t know it, unless you really looked. It was an amazing illusion. With Manon, we took it a step further. We borrowed some vintage Fred Leighton jewelry—real, expensive stuff. There was a hair-piece, a necklace, a bracelet, and earrings, that we turned into pasties. She was covered in diamonds, but that wasn’t enough for Wayne, so he bought a ton of fake jewels, and we glued them all along Manon’s arms and hands like long, sparkling gloves.The result was something unique—an alternative, jeweled look that wasn’t clothing but still felt like it. It was shiny, reflective, and just...beautiful. The model, the styling, the makeup—it all came together perfectly. Creating this really ethereal photograph, taking our illusionary pin up concept to another level.
![Kanonik. [Book of Canons].](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0733/4694/1233/files/94903.jpg?v=1780919032&width=480)
