Almost a hundred years ago we had a job for an exclusive line of shoes and the hook was, various models wearing the shoes, all jumping on a trampoline. Mind you, they were all wearing high heels, some extremely high. We covered the nylon surface of the trampoline with canvas so the heels didn't puncture and catch. That worked well except when the canvas became clumped together and it made for an unstable landing, so to speak.
One of the models was a young 15 year old beauty who had already captured the eye of the high profile fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld in NYC. If you don't know, Karl was a force to be reckoned with, one of the elite designer of the time and is still very engaged in that field. Big Money there. Well, this young model, then know as Kimora Perkins, wasn't the most athletic of the lot. Her tall spindly frame didn't necessarily feel at home with her long arms and legs. Picture a six foot 2 inch 15 year old not totally grown into herself.
I ramble...
The story goes on with an Art Director brought in from California specifically to direct this shoot. Nice enough man and surely talented but with a strange sense of humor. When Kimora was jumping he tried his best to get me to encourage her to go higher and higher. Totally unnecessary for our goals but a sadist nonetheless. I turned to him and said in no uncertain terms that this particular model was earmarked for fame and I wasn't going to take a chance on her falling from that height and risk a career ending injury. He persisted, but then so did I.
I found these shots mixed in amongst the thousands of other poorly filed images from my archive. Not the best from my memory but graphic as to what we were doing. I'll look harder for better examples and post them later.
Oh, the model moved to New York and flourished, married Russel Simmons, all the while building an empire in fashion design labeled, "Phat Fashion" and extended to Baby Phat and KLS. Her name, Kimora Lee Perkins Simmons. You may know her from, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane An regular series on Cable TV that documents her daily life.
This is the last time I'll tell this story. I've told it many a times but as the people who hear it are getting younger and younger and they have little clue as to what I'm going on about. Kimora, way to go girl.
Kimora has remarried recently and those details are available on her website.
One of the models was a young 15 year old beauty who had already captured the eye of the high profile fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld in NYC. If you don't know, Karl was a force to be reckoned with, one of the elite designer of the time and is still very engaged in that field. Big Money there. Well, this young model, then know as Kimora Perkins, wasn't the most athletic of the lot. Her tall spindly frame didn't necessarily feel at home with her long arms and legs. Picture a six foot 2 inch 15 year old not totally grown into herself.
I ramble...
The story goes on with an Art Director brought in from California specifically to direct this shoot. Nice enough man and surely talented but with a strange sense of humor. When Kimora was jumping he tried his best to get me to encourage her to go higher and higher. Totally unnecessary for our goals but a sadist nonetheless. I turned to him and said in no uncertain terms that this particular model was earmarked for fame and I wasn't going to take a chance on her falling from that height and risk a career ending injury. He persisted, but then so did I.
I found these shots mixed in amongst the thousands of other poorly filed images from my archive. Not the best from my memory but graphic as to what we were doing. I'll look harder for better examples and post them later.
Oh, the model moved to New York and flourished, married Russel Simmons, all the while building an empire in fashion design labeled, "Phat Fashion" and extended to Baby Phat and KLS. Her name, Kimora Lee Perkins Simmons. You may know her from, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane An regular series on Cable TV that documents her daily life.
This is the last time I'll tell this story. I've told it many a times but as the people who hear it are getting younger and younger and they have little clue as to what I'm going on about. Kimora, way to go girl.
Kimora has remarried recently and those details are available on her website.
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