Ellie and I first talked about this project over coffee at Café Reggio. We had both just returned to our home countries, she to China, me to Vietnam after years of being away. I spent years away from home, held in a limbo of papers, FaceTime calls, and imagined memories. When I finally returned, nothing felt real. It felt like stepping into a version of the past that no longer fit. And Ellie had the exact same experience, we both had a fever dream first week being back home.
She told me about her collection, Fever Dream— Is a Girl, which traced her girlhood into womanhood. The title made sense immediately. That space between growing up and becoming is disorienting, vivid, and impossible to fully explain. We didn’t want this to be just another fashion shoot. I saw a world that these garments deserve to exist in. Ellie brought in twenty of her closest friends, many flying in from Ohio, it became something bigger than both of us. The set was chaotic in the best way, fabric draped everywhere, fans humming, petals being thrown, everyone moving with so much care.
The images follow a dreamlike progression from soft, playful symbols of girlhood like pillows and bubbles to more sculptural, blooming forms that embody womanhood.
This project is about growing up in between places, cultures, identities. About the blurry line between who you were and who you’re becoming.
Creative Director/Designer: @ellieiscozy
Shoot Production Lead: @the.colonial.duck
Lead Photographer/Set Designer: @tommyltran
Photographers: @palmer_charles @svintxclaire @ari_elgharsi@digitalhorrors
Videographers: @_____justen @aydiosmioitsxio
Writer: @suburban.hoodie
Models: @annie_jguo @wh0killedjulie @joiexiao
Makeup/Hair: @marissa.xu @ccarmenlf @wh0killedjulie
Post Production/Art Directions: @ellieiscozy @angelo_evans21@tommyltran
DJ: @gmoser444
PA: @aydiosmioitsxio, @ljgil01 , @codybutler8 , @jawnsh , @lydzhouu , @kat_martenet , @bradl3yr0ck
Shoot Production Lead: @the.colonial.duck
Lead Photographer/Set Designer: @tommyltran
Photographers: @palmer_charles @svintxclaire @ari_elgharsi@digitalhorrors
Videographers: @_____justen @aydiosmioitsxio
Writer: @suburban.hoodie
Models: @annie_jguo @wh0killedjulie @joiexiao
Makeup/Hair: @marissa.xu @ccarmenlf @wh0killedjulie
Post Production/Art Directions: @ellieiscozy @angelo_evans21@tommyltran
DJ: @gmoser444
PA: @aydiosmioitsxio, @ljgil01 , @codybutler8 , @jawnsh , @lydzhouu , @kat_martenet , @bradl3yr0ck
