Blue Shoes

Writer & Photographer | Libby Edwards

Model | Ava Kalitowski

In a little suburb of West London, outside the coffee shop that my boyfriend owns, I ran to meet Ava for our photoshoot. There she was sitting coolly outside on a bench with a cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, already surrounded by the boys of the cafe. She has an air about her. What I believe Kate Moss to be like in the 90’s; a muse to everyone and effortlessly cool. 

I first met Ava two years ago, during my semester abroad, when I got hired to photograph a music event. She was the coolest looking person in the room. I didn’t say a word to her, but I worked up the courage to take a photograph of her in the crowd, it was my favorite of the night. 

When I came back to London two years later I immediately messaged her. To no surprise, she continued to thrive and had made a name for herself in the booming arts and fashion world of London. At just nineteen, she was modeling for the coolest brands, working fashion week and spending her free time collaborating with other creatives, like me. 

Like most of my shoots there was no strict vision. I like to send a moodboard with certain ideas for posing and styling, but ultimately when I work with someone I like to spend an afternoon with them and see what sparks inspiration. Ava was in a white tank top and a floor length navy skirt. Out of her large bag, she pulled out the most fabulous pair of blue shoes I’d ever seen. 

“We must revolve the shoot around these shoes.” she said. 

“Absolutely.” I said. 

I quickly realized that I had left the battery to my camera charging at my boyfriend’s apartment, 10 minutes away. I left Ava with the boys, hopped on a bike and rushed to the apartment. Suddenly I remembered that their door hated me. I couldn’t get the key to turn and in a fit of rage tried to turn it as hard as I could, snapping it in half. In a panic I rushed back, I didn’t even care about the key, I was too excited for the shoot. 

Luckily I still had my film camera, though it had been giving me trouble recently, (one out of every three times, the film wouldn’t take and I would end up with a blank roll.) I prayed to god that I had loaded it properly, these pictures were too important. 

We spent an afternoon walking around the coffee shop and found our way to a Japanese garden. I only had 36 shots on my camera and I made sure that each one counted. Though it was one of the most stressful technical days of my career, working with Ava was a breeze. She knew how to make every setup exciting and beautiful. We found some bars protecting a window and both stopped, we knew she had to climb them. These were bars I had passed so many times before and never noticed, but today they