Mandy-lyn, self portrait
By: Gillian DamborgWhen talking to photographer
Mandy-Lyn Antoniou, she is usually either picking up or dropping off film. She is always shooting and for good reasons. The world of images is moving fast - it’s a tumbling, blink of an eye pace where people are hungry for more and constantly moving on to the next thing. By the time you hit refresh, there are hundreds of thousands of new images on the web--it’s an all you can eat buffet and Mandy-Lyn is here to feed you.
Mandy-lyn has a keen ability for catching the authentic "in between" moments--B-roll in a good way--and her work centers around women. She showcases female sexual power and though there is a lot of nudity, it’s not cheap. Wherever that inner attraction is, Mandy-Lyn brings it out.
Your last name (Antoniou) is neat, does it mean anything?
It's Cypriot. An old Greek lady once told me it means 'priceless.'
What was your first camera?
I started taking photos with disposable cameras, but my first 'real' camera was a hand-me-down from one of my Dad's girlfriends--a late 90's Nikon SLR.
Women are almost always your subjects, why?
Women were designed by the artist, men by the engineer. Both are beautiful, no doubt, but there's some kind of special poetry about a beautiful woman.
Above pantie pics are selects from Hubba Hubba Magazine Issue 2
Do people think you sleep with all the people you shoot? Terry Richardson style?
This made me laugh out loud. I don't know what people think. What do you think?
I think because you make women feel attractive, or maybe your approach is a bit flirty, I just felt like maybe it would get sexy or something. I remember asking you if you did and you talked about how you respect the women you are shooting and that its a totally different thing. But whatever it is, you feel a connection between the people being shot and you. There is something special there. That being said, I’ve been shot by you, so I feel I understand a little about how you work, but what is it about you that makes us girls want to take our clothes off?
This made me laugh too. I wish there was some reliable combination of words that does it, that I could put it in a book and give it to everyone I know. Women are very complex...but it certainly begins with reverence and respect. When I take a photo of a girl, I get to get lost in her beauty. I want to take her out of her world and put her on a pedestal, into a fantasy, I want to immortalize her magic. I guess that women can feel it, when I do that.
How does being a DJ play into being a photographer? Does it at all?
It doesn't, really. Good music is just a cherry on the sundae, or the caramel sauce.
What has been one of the best photoshoot experiences so far?
When I shot
Kristy J. with that flag around her, that was the first time I had seen something that came to life in my mind come to life before my eyes. It was a special moment, but I think you can see that in the photos.
Would you rather shoot portraits in a more set up style, or off-the-cuff in the moment styles? (Yes we’re playing Would You Rather now).
I think it's usually a mix of both. Whatever needs to happen.
When you were 16, what did you think you would be doing now?
I'm sure that every fiber of me hoped for something great.
How did you get the idea for your short video "La Diabla"?
I was sitting on a bus and that song, "Baby Please Don't Leave Me" by Buddy Guy came on my headphones. My mind took that music and went to a natural place, I guess. I saw a girl in a short dress with long hair swaying in the light, and it wouldn't leave me alone. I had to make it just so I could get all the dancing babes out of my head. They were making me crazy.
How was filming different from photographing?
Some of the girls I featured in La Diabla had never been on camera before, had only danced in their underwear alone and in front of the mirror. When I had to work with them, give them direction, I wasn't able to focus on the photography as much. Editing was a big experience for me. That's natural, but the process of it gave me a clearer, louder voice as far as meeting my own aesthetic expectations. I began to see then, that my creative vision was concise - I'm not sure if that made me more or less of a handful to work with.
When is a girl too young to be photographed provocatively?
My opinion is a little too controversial to print, and too long winded to get into. But in short, I think that as long as the subject is being photographed respectfully and responsibly, it's good, and we need it. Sexual arousal is a feeling that we've been taught to associate with guilt and fear. That's fucked up. To my mind, if you look at a beautiful 16-year-old girl and you experience excitement, that's normal. You didn't ask for it, it's human nature. The line is not in the feeling, it is in the doing.
Do you have a personal manifesto or mantra of sorts?
Anais Nin said "Life expands in accordance to ones courage," I remind myself of that often. But there is a great interview with Ira Glass--it's long, but he talks about how all of us who do creative work do it because we have good taste and when we start making work, as artists, well, it's got potential but it's just not that good and our good taste is the reason that we're disappointed. He reminds you that every intelligent, interesting creative goes through this. The most important thing you can do is work, work, work. Hard work, fighting for your good taste and that it closes the gap and you soon see yourself becoming as good as your ambitions. He's right. Don't give up and fight like a mother fucker and you're actually going to be great. I wish I had heard that quote when I was 16, so I like to share it with others when I can.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope alive, happy, making changes, doing great things.
What's your favorite thing about being a woman?
As I said, we're art. I wish all of us [women] could see that.
18.06.13
Dive on in with swimwear designer Beth Richards
Photos and words by: Kate Brown
Remember summer? The temperature kicks up and then something else starts to boil: beach season--the onset of those few short, sandy months, when interest peaks in less clothes and more skin. But bathing suit shopping can be more stressful than the bikini wax to go with it. For this reason, swimwear designer Beth Richards sees her work as a kind of problem-solving. And as far as problems go, tackling the female body and swim culture these days makes for a bold project.
"I built this collection so that all women could feel really confident about what I was making them," she says, thumbing through her newest collection for spring/summer 2013 which just launched last month. "I was really stumped by the fact I was making things that brought out women’s insecurities."
Beth has an acute appreciation for the empowered female. She bases her line around timeless bold and beautiful women. There's Brigitte (Bardot) and Jolene (an homage to Dolly Parton, who wore a similar half-top in one of her performances). Then you have Maud (the Swedish vixen from 1983's Octopussy) and Faye (no other than Faye Dunaway). "Women would be like 'Oh it’s just me. I’m all legs. I’m all torso--don’t worry about it.' But I do worry about those things, a lot."
Despite the inherent challenges designing swimwear, Beth Richards has had no trouble getting recognition for her more-is-more tailored designs. Even in a highly competitive market, where swimsuits are a quick commodity, the line had industry nods from the likes of French Vogue within its first season. And almost immediately after the launch, you could click on Beth Richards on online luxury shop Net-A-Porter, a few names above Mara Hoffman and Pucci. Not bad for a burgeoning designer who lives and works most of the year from Vancouver, miles and miles from New York and Paris fashion hubs.
"Since the brand's inception, it has been my goal to present my work at a high level where it would be taken seriously," she explains. "It was and still is a huge compliment to be regarded as being a brand that could sit beside established houses."
But Beth also credits Vancouver for much of her creative motivation. "When I got here I had no idea what to do, I would search vintage shops and find a cut that I like but it would have an insane tropical print," she recalls. "Usually plans evolve at the beach. The next thing you know you're all on bikes and you're going to a barbeque somewhere... Having a largely black collection makes it easy to merge in with your existing wardrobe."
For both seasons, black has played a heavy role in her designs, but it doesn't exist alone. "I love the duality of having contrast, and that's black and white. It's very important to the line itself, so having more of the white involved was an easy thing to bring in." In the same vein of thinking, s/s '13 incorporates hard lines with lace, and adds some more gentleness to her chunky collection with a crop top or flowy mesh skirt, which doubles as a more playful functional rash guard.
Looking around her beautiful downtown Vancouver apartment, it's clear that Beth's line is a total honest manifestation of herself. A minimalist at heart, her home is incredibly modern with elements of the old--black furniture and fresh white accents, with small touches of feminine. A vintage surfboard on the balcony, and by her samples, a canvas that says "locals only.'
"I’m a huge fan of skate culture. Nick Fensom who does SNEEZE magazine shot our last two seasons and campaigns. Having a level of authenticity really matters to me," she says. "It's always an amalgamation of a lot of subtleties that really make a line what it is: locals only, Z boys, Brigitte Bardot, crosses, icons."
Originally hailing from the much colder city of Toronto, Beth has been designing clothes and accessories for thirteen years (swimwear was always the long-term dream). A ballerina through her youth, she seemed destined for a career in dance. She was accepted to dance full-time in school, but the passion for it just wasn't there anymore. Maybe by chance or fate, she opted for an elective course in clothing design. Almost instantly, her energy for dance transformed into a passion for designing, and, with one look at her line, a devotion to movement and the body is clear in her work. Full pieces, bodysuits and last season's Cross legging shows an understated tribute to her past.
Ever evolving but holding true to herself and what she loves is a promising way to continue growing in the design world. But creating beautiful swimsuits (with Italian fabric no less) that make women feel good will be an unchanging theme. "Not that we’re going to solve all the world’s body issues right here with this line, but if we can minimize them a little bit and make everyone feel a bit better and cooler at the same time, then that’s a good thing." 
