Author the first editorial series on sustainable fashion for an international print magazine.
Above
Serve as Editor-at-Large for a magazine that captures the essence of art and the environment.
Above magazine started as a biannual publication dedicated to sustainability and environmental protection. It's a magazine that truly lived up to its motto: "For the Earth." The magazine used the beauty of fashion, art, architecture, photography and design to raise awareness of the endangered environment. When I initially encountered the first issue of the magazine—I knew I wanted to contribute in some way. Luckily, Editor and Publisher Nicolas Rachline was on the phone with my agent literally the moment I walked into the door. That's when you begin to wonder whether the energy you put out in the world, is truly the energy that comes back to you.
Samples of Above's fourth issue with Richard Branson hot off the press. Photography by: Shawn Brackbill
“Above is the first and last magazine on earth that celebrates human’s obsession with true natural beauty and everything we do to (ironically) destroy it. It passes through the reverie and the reality of our existence—giving a vivid depiction of our present state. Its refined aesthetic represents the souls of creators, artists, writers, subjects—who all believe not only in their craft, but the sanctity of our environment. It is a magazine that foretells our future before we extinguish our own flame—and it does it all with a connoisseur’s eye for style, culture and taste.”
It was never a dull moment getting to work with these dashing young lads—Philippe Doubinski-Duchene and Nicolas Rachline. Photography by: Shawn Brackbill
Models like Lily Cole (above) and other friends like Anne-Marie van Dijk, Elettra Wiedemann, and Angela Lindvall—young women who are known to be conscious-minded, graced the pages of the magazine.
The roles that I had with above varied. Some of them were expected like generating themes for the issues, writing articles, helping bring on contributors, but I also had the pleasure of using my likeness as part of the art of the magazine. It was—like the rest of my life—an interesting slice of the cerebral and the creative.
One of my favorite aspects of working with above were the videos that I had helped devise, produce and narrate. Most were shot in conjunction with my good friend, cinematographer Clayton Haskell. The End of Bees (below)—highlighting the plight of colony collapse disorder—through the beauty of bees was one such film.
“The bee’s life is like a magic well: the more you draw from it, the more it fills with water.”
Beyond the Wild (below) was a short film done in response to the impending oil and gas drilling that was about to occur in the alpine-arctic region of British colombia, known as the sacred headwaters. the film WAS used in court, which ultimately helped lead to a watershed agreement ceasing any future drilling in the area. Other films can be viewed on the Media page.
“In a rugged knot of mountains in the remote reaches of northern British Columbia lies a stunningly beautiful valley known to the First Nations as the Sacred Headwaters. There, on the southern edge of the Spatsizi Wilderness, the Serengeti of Canada, are born in remarkably close proximity three of Canada’s most important salmon rivers, the Stikine, Skeena and the Nass. In a long day, perhaps two, it is possible to walk through open meadows, following the tracks of grizzly, caribou and wolf, and drink from the very sources of the three rivers that inspired so many of the great cultures of the Pacific Northwest, the Gitxsan and Wet’sutwet’en, the Carrier and Sekani, the Tsimshian, Nisga’a, Tahltan, Haisla and Tlinglit. Keep on for another three days and you’ll reach the origins of the Finlay, headwaters of the MacKenzie, Canada’s greatest river of all.”
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Author a best-selling book that puts sustainability and style front and center.
Climb to the tops of windmills and sail the open seas on TV.