Special Feature: Behind the scenes of Adriana Lima’s Numéro Tokyo shoot

Photography: Vincent Peters

Hair: David Von Cannon

Make-up: Ozzy Salvatierra

Wardrobe Styling: Joanne Blades

A mommy of two, with over 10 years in the modeling game, and a career stretching pass the age of 30, Supermodel Adriana Lima recently recouped her Victoria’s Secret roots for the latest issue of Numéro Tokyo.

Interesting enough, I was booked as an editorial model for this very shoot. Posing as a guy with an afro (as seen behind Adriana above), my appearance in Numéro Tokyo ran neck-and-neck to the edgy 1970’s subway theme they sought to portray.

If you have any familiarity with American photographer Bruce Davidson, it was the old school NYC grittiness of his infamous subway series that served as the inspiration behind this shoot. A few photos from Davidson’s popular series can be seen below:

During a set change break, Adriana and I posed for a quick flick on the streets of NYC. Working with a Supermodel is always a plus, as we all enjoyed a lavish catered lunch inside Adriana’s trailer to the right.

Another amazing shot of Adriana as seen in Numéro Tokyo, while I posted up behind her as sexy background blur(red shirt).

In between Adriana Lima’s numerous wardrobe changes, top photographer Vincent Peters took advantage of some light testing on myself and another model. At this point, Vincent Peters had us coupled up as “girlfriend & boyfriend”. Not sure why I look like a zombie in this shot. :-/

Adriana seated and posed while my back and profile gripped the pole. Above, I sported a white tank top and basic denim jeans. A wardrobe choice totally opposite of my usual dapper and deluxe apparel. Which you can check out here.

In these set of shots, Adriana and I had been directed to glare into each others eyes, playing more kosher to the themes contrast. Imagine how intimidating it should have been to stare into the eyes of one of the most sought after women in the world.

It would’ve been awkward indeed, yet being the down-to-earth person that Adriana is, she’d began smirking with laughter before we even made eye-contact! Shooting a few dozen frames, Adriana bounced in and out of her silly nature amidst pouty lips and sultry gazes. Obviously, she’s super talented.

Mind you, I had only been on set for five minutes before I was pushed into my first set of shots, as seen above.

In correlation to this Numéro Tokyo editorial, I have been asked the following questions:

– Did you guys actually shut down the NYC subway system to do this shoot?

– Was Adriana Lima really shooting in see-through lingerie in public?

– Is Adriana Lima really that tall in person?

Don’t hate me, but I’ll just leave those questions to the mystery of those of us who were on set. ^_^

Here, hair stylist David Von Cannon pins a few finishing touches to Adriana’s hair while I snapped shots from the wardrobe area. As you can see, we were actually shooting in a real NYC train station. 😉

There were a ton of “extra” models on set, with the majority all being African-American and Hispanic descent. Even though not all of the subjects in Bruce Davidson’s subway series were minorities, I’m assuming we were all within the best skin tone to compliment with Adriana being the star model.

I’ve read a ton of feedback on this editorial via other blogs. Some saying it’s tacky and distasteful, others saying its super sexy and steamy. I personally think Adriana (+ us “extra’s”) could have been better styled. Yet on a collaboration level, Adriana and Triumph would make for another great modeling duo in the future. 😉

Adriana’s Numéro Tokyo covershot.

What are you thoughts on Adriana Lima’s Numéro Tokyo editorial, as seen in their December 2013 issue?