MONTREAL—LiveCamNetwork.com's Brookelynne Briar is a featured model in this month's Fashion section at Vice.com. Briar, owner/operator of BrookelynneBriar.com as well as marketing and media director for 2much.net, was one of three models from the webcam site who posed for Vice photographer John Londono. Briar's set, entitled "The Webcam Girl," was the one finally selected.
"The experience was intense," Briar said. "We went through seven or eight hair and make-up changes, and about ten different outfits. The studio, was my apartment. The concept expanded to take over nearly every room in the house by the time we finished.
"In the end," she added, "we shot for 12 hours."
Originally slated for the print edition, Briar's pictorial was rescheduled for the web edition due to the delay of a re-shoot. That suited Briar just fine. "They put up a link to my site," she said.
"It was a straight up Fashion Feature," Briar said. "Every spring, Vice releases their annual fashion issue, and they had asked local photographer John Londono if he was interested in shooting for it, and if he had any ideas."
According to Londono, "Sex was to be their fashion theme. Said Vice: "It won’t just be an issue about the prevalence of bondage in high-end fashion with page after page of risqué photo shoots—it’s also about fashion as a form of self expression, sexual freedom, the constraints of religion, and breaking social barriers."
Briar added, "His original idea was to shoot camgirls in high fashion, in their cam studios. That's why he got in touch with Mark, as he had heard that LiveCamNetwork.com operated a physical studio."
Mark Prince, owner and founder of live video chat software company 2much.net, whose LiveCamNetwork.com is at once a demo as well as a fully operational site where Briar operates, was quick to correct Londono.
"Mark explained we no longer have a studio, and the models all work from home," Briar said. "So John decided to shoot each model in her bedroom or work space."
"I realized studios were not as popular as they once were," Londono said. "So I got some help from Mark to reach out to girls that would be interested in this documentary style fashion-shoot."
"For the second shoot, the photographer had us models log into our chat accounts," Briar said. "Then he logged in as a chatter, and photographed himself and the computer screen using his DSLR camera."
The result is a conceptual take that transforms its elements, including dildos and ball-gags, into something they aren't. "He [Londono] mainly wanted something high-fashion, that revolved around cam work and playing on what regular people may consider the extremes," Briar said. "Thus the bondage, pony play, nun with the dildo-cross and ball gag. There was not too much of a deep meaning behind it, so don't dig too far into it."
While the sessions were difficult and condensed, taking place in the week between Christmas and New Year's, Londono said he was very satisfied with the experience and its results. "Brooke is so professional and hard working," he said. "I really enjoyed working with her. She was also helpful in adding to the concepts, with props and ideas."
The mainstream photographer is now also a fan. "On a funny note, Brooke was my first ever webcam show. She's very good!"
