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Meet Emanuel Vaceanu of Edify Fashion in Tempe

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Emanuel Vaceanu.

Emanuel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a fashion organization, we are new but we are not new to the fashion industry.

Our partners, the senior group, have been involved in the fashion industry doing shows, design, and production, for many years. We are originally from 4 different continents and bring to our table our combined experience in the fashion industry. Europe, South America, the Orient, and the USA.

Our group came about with the desire to bring to the Phoenix area better quality fashion and fashion shows. A creative product where beauty, art, quality, creativity, and imagination are the basic principles behind it. We would like to attract artists and designers at a national and international level to bring to the area the quality that we see today in the top centers of fashion in the world.

To take our concept a step further we have incorporated the most beautiful breed of horses, the Arabians and the most elegant breed of wolfhounds the Borzoi.

These beautiful animals have been part of the elite fashion and aristocracy groups in Europe for hundreds of years. We would like to bring them back and bridge a gap between the most beautiful and elegant animals and fashion, beauty, art, music.

In this modern day and age, when fast food takes the place of a good family meal, where technology replaces good quality communication, we would like to bring back different values for those in our society and area that expect more, that would like to see more. We want to bring to our area what the European fashion has to offer, to show the upcoming generations that there is beauty, art, quality, and values out there that the larger centers like NY and LA have. We are far from the art and quality we find today in Moscow, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong and the list goes on.

As an organization, we face logistic challenges. We have been searching for people, cities, organizations in the area that can look beyond the dollar signs and put our minds together and see how we can produce and create the unique, the quality, the beauty and art that our local community would benefit from.

A little about me personally, my journey to fashion industry and photography.

I have been an artist all my life. Grew up in Europe in a family with art and art books all around. My mother was an artist.

I started with a plastic film camera as a teenager with black and white film and took photos just for fun. We turned my friend’s bathroom in a photo lab. I never expected to do photography as a job. I went to school for music, art, dance, painting, sculpture. I always loved animals and nature.

Years later in the US, my girlfriend bought me my first Nikon camera. I shot children and nature. I worked for photography and art companies in all parts of the business.

As a dancer, the beauty of the human body and form were something I always appreciated. I started shooting the local models in my little studio. Next saving for my first pro camera. 4 megapixels. 🙂 I was shooting for fun and trying to get better, looking at the best in the business and trying to catch up.

At some point, people started asking me how much I charge. What is that? Get paid for it. Ok… let’s check out how much people charge. 🙂 The process of getting better, building a better portfolio never stopped. I started entering national and international competitions and started making finals and a few years later winning. Good deal.

What is my style? I don’t know if I have one. If I noticed something I liked I tried to copy and incorporate that into my style. A few guidelines that would define what I do is beautiful, clean, refined, yet not look fake and artificial. Do I always achieve this? Still working on it.

Being able to keep the natural look if all possible is one of my goals.

What about the future?

I have shot fashion, glamour, bikini, print, advertising commercial and you name it. I started finding the simple fashion to easy and after reaching some personal goals in other styles I feel that I like to bring to my images something more. Sexy can always get attention. Getting attention to fashion or a composition image that has a message may be a bit harder and I am ok with that. The image has to say something, a story if possible, to bring emotion. I am also experimenting with space and depth of field and making an image look from 2 dimensional to 3 dimensional is something I am working on.

I am looking at top European shooters that seem to have an eye for refined beauty and space. I feel that an image is no longer something you put the lights on, pose the model and click. Is a work of art that if it takes a few days to edit that is ok. Some of the greatest works of art took a long time to complete.

Somebody once asked me what is my best asset and my biggest shortcoming. I learned that my gift and my curse is one and the same. My ability to see details, being a perfectionist, striving for quality and to get better all the time is my gift. Where somebody sees a glass half full or half empty I see all the reflections and colors of everything in the room, lighting, contrast and how that could be better.

This is just a small part of my philosophy and creative process behind what I do in the fashion industry about image production along with little history about my journey that brought me where I am today and my voyage to the future.

We are looking forward to our March 16th fashion show. We hope that people will enjoy what we do, come to see the show and support the artists involved in making this and event that will grow to national and international level.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Challenges to name a few:
Relocating to US form E Europe and escaping the communist government.

Starting new working and going to school and trying to grow as an artist. Working on minimal wages and not being able to afford the training that a dancer’s body requires and dealing with physical injuries that come along with that.

Moving to NY to a very competitive market where the best artists from all over the world come to follow their dream. Starting up in a new place with no friends or family support, catching up to the superstars. 🙂
Surviving the crash of the art and dance market in the 90s and relocating to NC.

Starting a few businesses from scratch in a new market, knowing how that operates, finding the support needed was always a challenge.

In any field, there will be competition and people that will try to discourage you from growing, getting better and following your dream.

I think those challenges are pretty common to anybody that had a dream and a vision and like to achieve the quality, the exceptional in any field and especially in arts.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
My main work is split between fashion photography and running the daily activities of the fashion group. Takes a lot of research, knocking on doors, finding the right connections, finding the right quality products that work for our production.

I find my work lately a lot more of a fashion and art director. On photography, most of the time goes in coordinating a creative team and putting together a project, from designers to make up artists, outfits, accessories, animal trainers, location scouting and test shots, image research for compositions, scheduling and getting bigger projects together take most of my time. Did I mention a lot of research :)? The actual process of pressing the button on the camera is a very small part of the creative process these days.

I would say I am specialized in fashion and fashion photography.

People in the business would probably know me for that and being picky and particular about all aspects of the business.

Proud of? That is a good question.

Probably best achievements winning international photography competitions from 40 thousand competitors, getting a job on Broadway auditioning against guys in top 3 in the nation, First places in national competitions. Probably, best achievement is being able to guide and help local people towards a higher and better level.

What sets us apart from others:
Probably repeating myself. I would say attention to detail, The desire to see beyond the dollar signs and limitations and strive to do better. Strive for quality, beauty, art. Producing a creative product competitive worldwide.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a very active kid. Always running chasing the soccer ball, doing gymnastics, long distance running, riding the bicycle across the country from W side to the Black Sea. As a kid and teenager, I explored many activities. Martial arts, flying small plains and gliders, parachute jumping, painting, sculpturing, dance, playing guitar. I enjoyed doing a lot of reading and national competition being part of a book club. Participate in many dance competitions and shows. Above all loved animals and nature. Going camping, hiking and fishing with friends was a weekly event and during school breaks, I spent weeks in the mountains in a small village helping my Aunt with the daily activity of people leaving off the land. Dragging wood from the river or forest, gather mushrooms and berries, cut hay, gather fruits from orchards, plant and gather crops from gardens, collect the honey bee and more. Many memorable nights seating around the kitchen table with family and kids cracking nuts and getting them ready for market and listening to stories about real witches. Seating by the local primitive whiskey distillery by the water mill at the river watching the fire and listening to the old timers tell stories. Did I mention cooking smoke bacon and cheese on the coals and eating those with homemade bread and homegrown veggies. 🙂

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
SHOOTING IN FLAGSTAFF, THE RED GOWN, SPONSORED BY:www.edifyfashion.com @edifyfashion, www.emanuelphoto.com, DRESS DESIGNER: Gail Friend @gail.friend.designs, JEWELRY: Lana May @bead.lana, MODELS:Vanessa Mapes @vanessa.mapes Erika R Hall @erikahalll7, FORD/Robert Black Agency – Modeling and Talent Agency, Scottsdale, AZ @fordrba, HMUA: Nataliya Kovchan De Sanchéz @nataliya_kovchan_mua, STYLIST: Sandra Mateu Yotty @gitanastyling, ASSISTANTS: Sandra Mateu Yotty@gitanastyling , Christina Hahn, PHOTOGRAPHY: Emanuel, White fashion with the 2 white wold hounds, Commissioned by: Galina Couture. Dress Designer: Antoaneta Balabanova and Galina Mihaleva, Jewelry: Lana May, Model Aubri Cooley, Assistants, Patrick Roeser, Mark Zyga, Sheryl Cooley, MUA: Jamie Kouri. Dog trainer: Brad Zerbe Southwest Sighthound Rescue, Champion dogs: Chico and Thor, Photographer, post production, art director and Jack of all trades: Emanuel, Crystal with Castle, Model: Crystal Hill, MUA: Bell Tratenberg, Dress By: Mescantes Corsets, Assistants: John B, Richard L, Post production: Emanuel, SPONSOR / PRODUCER for Phoenix Fashion Week: Emanuel Photo for Marie Margot Couture, MODEL: Madison Farrell, HMUA / LIGHTING ASSISTANT: Nataliya Kovchan De Sanchéz, BALLGOWN DESIGNER: Maggie Burns / Marie Margot Couture, HEAD PIECES: Cyndie Turtoro Verity, PHOTOGRAPHY: Emanuel for https://www.facebook.com/EmanuelPhotoz/, COMMISSIONED BY VIP GLOBAL DESIGNERS SHOWCASE, www.vipglobaldesignershowcase.com/, www.vpgdsboutique.com/, Model: Camille , The Agency Arizona, Designers: Global, HMUA: Lolitta Schultz, Filechia Rodriguez, Photography and post production: Emanue, PRODUCERS:Emanuel Photo & Bischequestrian,ART DIRECTOR / PHOTOGRAPHY/ POST PRODUCTION:Emanuel https://www.facebook.com/EmanuelPhotoz/, MODELS: from FORD/Robert Black Agency – Modeling and Talent Agency, Scottsdale, AZ, Brooke Villone / Bianca Meed / Lennon Gergen, DESIGNERS: Galina Couture. Antoaneta Balabanova, Jane Goh-Kwa with Northern clover, Caryl Wilson and Cheryl Sikes with WILD INSTINCTS, Jewelry: Lana May, HMUA TEAM: Danitza Glam Rush, Lolitta Schultz, Nataliya Kovchan De Sanchéz, HORSE TRANERS: Dede Bich, ASSISTANT HORSE TRAINER: Javier Pina, DOG TRAINERS: Jenny Coomler, Deneen Kentch Cone, ASSISTANT STYLING: Clarisse Ringwald, ASSISTANT HAIR ACCESSORIES:Cyndie Turtoro Verity, ASSISTANTS PHOTOGRAPHY AND LIGHTING: Damoen Cone, Eric Viruel, Pri Same

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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