The Evolution of a Nickname

Nicknames are given out of love. Here is the list of names my friends and family have christened me with over the years. If you did not develop the name, then please do not refer to me as such. Except for "J." That is pretty neutral. No one can really reserve first initial nicknames, not after Gossip Girl or 9/11.

Rome
Roma
Roma Downey
Roma Downey Jr.
Roma D
Romatherapy

Here are the nicknames I am giving to Hurricane Sandy (which is quite ironic because my good friend Steven gave me the name "Roma D" because of the line in Grease where Sandy sings "Look at me! I'm Sandra D!")

Hurricane Hella Inconvenient
Hurricane of Emotions
Rude

Everything seems to be going awry today. JUST PLEASE GOD DON'T LET MY WIFI GO OUT! And scene.


- jerome

Italians and Outerwear

While I was living in Milan, I received a lesson in creating a lasting wardrobe built from classic and quality pieces that stay sartorially relevant and functional for a very long time. Just being around the Milanese teaches you a great deal, the first being that Americans are sloppy. Casual to Italians (and this is not reserved for the fashion capitol Milan) is still polished. Sweats are dressed up. They take pride in how they present themselves to the world. As winter nears and the leaves change color, outerwear is an important part of dressing up again. Thank goodness for that because as a San Franciscan I have the urge to bring a jacket everywhere I go no matter what my eyes tell me about the weather outside. My collection of outwear does not always live up to what I have learned during my time abroad because for some reason I used to believe I could pull off womenswear and have it look correct on my body type but I hope I can get it right with time. Here are some men I met in Milan who knew what they were doing.



I took these photos on main luxury shopping streets in Milan, more specifically Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga. All these men were either running errands or going to work. Look how well the clothes fit, the comfort and naturalness of the ensemble, and how each piece can be worn today or years from now. My theory holds up: I took these 4 or 5 years ago.


-jerome

Winter is Coming

The cold is coming fast and it is making me feel nostalgic. A revisiting to my fall/winter outerwear was long overdue because of the sweltering heat from this summer. Rediscovering things in your wardrobe can be such a rewarding experience especially when you realize you were right when you said, "I WILL TOTALLY WEAR THIS ALL THE TIME". Looking through my collection I came across pieces I used to style a past project. I am surprised I never posted this shoot. This was another collaboration I did with Anthony Deeying during a visit to New York. It is strange to think that we did this together a year ago, and now I live here. The model Jon Paul (FORD) was such a sport and really knew how to move, producing amazing shots considering the freezing cold. I love a good night shoot in Central Park!

Outerwear pieces by Burberry Prorsum, Alexander Wang, and Alexander McQueen

- jerome

Target Acquired: AMBUSH Designs Claw Rings

It's an AMBUSH!!! These are some statement rings if I ever saw one. They have such a powerful weight to them and so fun to wear! The blue version comes with gold bands (as I assume all of the other styles do) and the silver is the same color throughout. The shipping from Japan was unbelievably fast. I am very pleased with the quality of AMBUSH's products and customer service. I highly recommend getting these before they are knocked off! If you are thinking about ordering, here is a sizing tip: my ring finger is a US size 8, so I ordered the size "3" on the website. This worked out perfectly for the other fingers. Good luck!

- jerome

Free Me

It is always a pleasure to find old projects on the Internet when you are googling yourself "just in case" when doing random searches. I came across this shoot I did with Anthony Deeying, a dear and talented friend of mine whom I've worked with many times before. Pulling clothing for this shoot was relatively painless. Many pieces came from my personal wardrobe. I was unaware that this project would be optioned for a magazine, and it was a surprise to see it published in TANTALUM (read the Anthony's interview below). Maybe I did read this forever ago, but for some reason it was so new to me to see it again...

TANTALUM: Anthony, thank you for your amazing story "FREE ME" for the first issue of Tantalum can you tell us how the editorial came about?
ANTHONY DEEYING: The editorial came to life thanks to the stylist; Jerome Ison. He loves patterns especially Starts/Polka dots/stripes. He was able to pull pieces that focused on mixed patterns in the same color palette and add stacks of bracelets which is his go to personal style as well.
TANTALUM: The model has such great presence, did you direct her or did she just bust out in those moves?
ANTHONY DEEYING: Evan is one of the best movers I have ever had the pleasure of working with. We gave her some 'key' poses to mimic and she ran with it... we had music playing and she got into the mood and went to town. Her hair was also so amazing, between hair flips and wind she made it work.
TANTALUM: Whose idea was it to use a leather harness usually reserved for The Folsom st fair mixed with a vintage cardigan!?
ANTHONY DEEYING: The Harness is actually designed by Zana Bayne (www.zanabayne.com) who is a dear friend of the stylist. Her pieces are addictive! beautifully hand made, and just will make any outfit so cool.
TANTALUM: The images are far less static then typical fashion editorials, do you find that sense of movement is common in your style of shooting?
ANTHONY DEEYING: Movement is very common in my shooting. As much as I love the standstill poses in other editorials - My style is very much emotion and movement, giving the freedom to the model to make it their own with the mood we've worked on for the shoot.
TANTALUM: How did you get into photography? was it something you always wanted to do or was it a fortunate accident?
ANTHONY DEEYING: I've been fortunate enough to be in the arts my entire life. I was apart of an intense magnet program in high school that specialized in fine arts so I was able to be in the dark room and learn colors, patterns, you name it from some amazing teachers at a young age. But photography as a job I never thought - originally I wanted to design, but then got bored and tried photographing my friends... submitted them to agencies and was booked for my first test shoot the next day.
TANTALUM: Do you have any mentors/muses?
ANTHONY DEEYING: Muses, yes.. many - I love awkward people... not the typical 'pretty models' I like character that comes out in photos. Evan (in this editorial) is definitely a muse for me. I wouldn't narrow it down to just one person, but a handful of amazing talent i've been able to photograph and produce amazing pieces. Mentors; I absolutely adore Steven Klein's work - I'm a goth kid at heart and the dark, emotional images he's able to produce just blow my mind and I think he's a genius. Also Hedi Slimane is a huge influence - the raw simplicity of his work is something I've admired and respect.
TANTALUM: What do you look for when figuring out who to use for your editorial team??
ANTHONY DEEYING: I work very hard to narrow down talent. I sort through so many books and websites seeing what the stylists/makeup artists have to offer. It's extremely taxing, but I do it because I know what I want and who will be able to deliver it. I love giving up and coming people a chance, but it's done after much research of them. haha. I'm very picky.
TANTALUM: What inspires you?
ANTHONY DEEYING: Again, movement/emotion is a major thing for me.
TANTALUM: How did it feel to see you work in print for the very first time??
ANTHONY DEEYING: Actually, the first time my work was published in print I took the cover of the magazine! The editor actually had an original cover already lined up but saw my shots, pulled it.. and replaced the image for the cover with the one I shot. It was for a French magazine, and I was fortunate to get a cover and three page feature in the issue! I also ended up being in Paris while the issue was on stands - so walking around Paris and seeing my image on the cover was beyond incredible.
TANTALUM: Final thoughts funny stuff that happened on shoot day??
ANTHONY DEEYING: To get the movement shots Evan had to be jumping around, dancing, whipping her hair around in the studio with no A/C poor thing had to break every now and then to get her makeup and hair reset because she was breaking a sweat. But she looked amazing and was definitely a trooper.

- jerome

Target Confirmed: Put Your Claws Up

Behold the AMBUSH Design Claw Ring. This baby has just enough whimsy to be classified as cute, and all the danger required in my prerequisites for jewelry. I first saw this baby on CL, the leader for the K-pop group 2NE1. I worship those girls with no apologies and their ring game is always on point. On one interview, CL was whipping her hand around with these huge claws on them and my heart skipped a beat. When I went to their show last Friday she was wearing the rings again in multiple colors and I was researching by the time I sat down on the train ride home. The ring is by the Japanese designer AMBUSH as part of their HOLY MOUNTAIN collection. Evil eyes, claws, crosses, and furs AND SEN M. IS MODELING OMGOMGOMG all strike a chord with me and my fate was sealed.

The only catches were the Japanese website and sizing, so I had to task a friend to translate for me. You have to put in all your information and they send you a confirmation email in about a week before you process the actual payment (still waiting for my confirmation - but let me know if you need help when ordering from the US). If you are curious, I am going to pull the trigger on the silver and blue claws in a size 16, the Japanese equivalent of my size 8 ring finger. You can also see the ring featured in the latest issue of i-D on newstands now.

- jerome

Hello, I Am Still Alive

Brian Lichtenberg Tank, Dior Homme Waistcoat, Cheap Monday Shorts, Zana Bayne Basic Harness, 5cm x Dr. Martens Boots
Hello, everyone! I am sorry I haven't been posting anything lately. The move to New York has kept me busy with new adventures that I am excited to share. Much has changed for me in my life and it has been filled with highs and lows, and a lot of new wardrobe acquisitions! Also, this is my new Sailor moon tattoo (I am quite proud of it - talk about henshin). Tomorrow I am going to see my favorite k-pop band, 2NE1. It will be my first time in New Jersey to see 2NE1 for the first time on their first world tour. A whole world of firsts. Anyway, this is what I have been wearing lately. I look like Tifa Lockheart most of the time. For those of you who don't know who that is, look it up because AMYAYZING.

This is my first full fledged summer in New York and it is absolutely beautiful. Walking around at night without a jacket and nothing but warm air rushing around your body is just as romantic as it sounds. Though the day heat is getting old, it does make my morning stroll through the West Village to get to work that much more pleasant. I haven't quite figured out how to dress in this weather without sweating profusely anyway. Is it me or am I not supposed to really care for these few months? Legit summer weather for a native San Franciscan means a shopping trip is in order. Eventually, I will wrap my head around summer dressing, but dang do I miss layering.
If you do want to see what makes me tick, I update my tumblr. quite frequently. It serves as an inspiration board more than anything else. Stay tuned for what will hopefully be continued regular broadcasting!!

- jerome