July 20, 2010

Behind the Scenes: Cover Shoot with Rider Strong

Okay, Hoot admits it — we’re Boy (Meets World) crazy. Did you know that Rider Strong, who played Shawn Hunter on the hit ’90s sitcom, attended Columbia College? In 2004, he graduated magna cum laude in English, in fact. Amazing. No wonder he’s our Winter 2010/2011 | Bicoastal issue cover star, eh?

Today, I flew over to Los Angeles to style (along with my lovely assistant, Elaine Low) and interview the actor, director, and writer. The photographer was his brother, Shiloh Strong, who also acts, directs, and writes. Our make-up artist, Christa McCarthy, and hairstylist, Mandi Aparicio, were great company and offered Elaine and me some beauty tips in-between the shots.

Shiloh Strong

Elaine Low

Noel Duan

Elaine Low

Noel Duan

I managed to contain my Mr. Feeny jokes, but I couldn’t help but ask Rider about Shawn Hunter’s illustrious hair. Oh, and about his favorite books in Lit Hum. Curious? Stay tuned for the issue in January!

Noel Duan

Editor in Chief

posted by Noel Duan on 07/20/10 @ 2:07 am Comments (0)
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April 1, 2010

Armani on Broadway

Bwog.net

Bwog.net

According to our lovely friends at Bwog, there was an Armani photoshoot on Broadway today! Unfortunately, we were too busy basking in the sun to check out the scene ourselves — but you can visit Bwog for more photos!

To our dismay, this wasn’t an Armani underwear advertisement à la David Beckham.

Noel Duan
Co-Editor in Chief

posted by Noel Duan on 04/01/10 @ 11:00 pm Comments (0)
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March 28, 2010

Behind the Scenes: Spring/Summer Trends Photo Shoot

Anna Cooperberg (CC '12)

This past Friday, a few Hoot members — Style Director Michele Levbarg-Klein (CC ‘12), makeup artist Sharon Shum (CC ‘13), photographer Tina Gao (BC  ‘10), and model Danielle Dodo (BC ‘12) — hopped on over to central Park for the spring/summer trends photoshoot. We shot around Bethesda Fountain, a beautiful location in the park backed by a lake and ringed with early blooming trees.

Anna Cooperberg (CC '12)

However, the lovely spring weather we’ve been experiencing lately didn’t stay around for our afternoon shoot- though the sun was still high in the sky, it was chilly like no other! Our model, Danielle, had to look relaxed and calm in skimpy summer dresses even in the cold gusty air. But this is a common fashion dilemma- since photos are shot before the season they’ll be published in, models often have to pose in bikinis in the winter or parkas in the heat. As they say, it’s a mad mad mad mad world; but at least it’s one that’s unbearably chic.

Anna Cooperberg (CC '12)

Despite the chilliness, the shoot worked out quite well- we even garnered a few spectators from park visitors! And to top it off, for the majority of a shoot we had some good ol’ entertainment in the form of a man blowing gigantic bubbles, to the joy of various children (and adults).

Make sure to pick up a copy of our premier issue, Spring/Summer 2010, when it comes out next month; we can’t reveal all of the spring trends in the shoot, but look forward to many more girly florals, bright primary colors, and funky textures. For now, enjoy the impending spring!

Anna Cooperberg
Accessories Director

posted by Anna Cooperberg on 03/28/10 @ 4:11 pm Comments (1)
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March 14, 2010

Behind the Scenes: Cover Shoot with Kelly Killoren Bensimon

Jami Kandel

While many students were packing up their bags and shuffling back home in the rain on Friday morning, several of us at Hoot — Noel Duan (CC ‘13), Michele Levbarg-Klein (CC ‘12), Jina Lim (CC ‘13), and Sharon Shum (CC ‘13) — were shooting our Spring/Summer 2010 cover feature with Kelly Killoren Bensimon (GS ‘98), one of the stars of ‘The Real Housewives of New York City’ and the founding editor of ELLE Accessories. She, along with her publicist, Jami Kandel of B|W|R, and her personal assistant, Jessie Bandy, graciously allowed us into her beautiful downtown apartment for an intimate photoshoot.

Sharon Shum (CC ‘13)

The photographer was Jeffrey Zhang and the hair and makeup was done by Bradley Irion and Quinn Murphy, respectively.

Noel Duan (CC ‘13)

Kelly’s dogs were incredibly adorable — so adorable, in fact, that we decided to shoot one of the looks with them!

Sharon Shum (CC ‘13)

One of our favorite looks was a simple concept with a knit sweater from the Columbia University bookstore, Kelly’s own leggings, and Kelly’s own boat shoes. We all thought the sweater would be too heavy and bulky to look fashionable, but Kelly made it look good! Maybe Hoot will be rocking Columbia couture soon?

Noel Duan (CC ‘13)

Apparently, one of Kelly’s daughters has the same giant Chanel doll — retrieved from the Chanel store — as Michele, our Style Director! You can be a fashionista at any age, no?

Noel Duan (CC ‘13)

And yet, while it looks like fun and games in retrospect, we wouldn’t have been able to complete the photoshoot successfully without some old fashioned steaming and ironing. Every fashion intern knows how important it is to have wrinkle-free frocks. The camera hides nothing — even though Photoshop can work its wonders!

We finished shooting fairly early, and we had enough time to interview Kelly before lunch. She was terribly excited for the opportunity to appear on our cover — so excited, in fact, that she blogged about us on her blog! Click here to read the post.

Make sure to check the premiere issue, Spring/Summer 2010, when it comes out, to see what Kelly reveals to us in the interview! While we can’t reveal much to you right now, we hope our first issue will inspire you to look past misconceptions and preconceptions in both the Columbia University community and the world beyond.

Noel Duan
Co-Editor in Chief

posted by Noel Duan on 03/14/10 @ 12:41 pm Comments (3)
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