Character references

Really just a bunch of despondent fashion boys.

Retro

Joshua "Retro" Bishop
Sad desert photographer boy moved from AZ to LA after dropping out of college. Through some weird twist of fate he ends up meeting and subsequently falling in love with the only child of a Celebrity Power Couple™. He ends up moving to New York City after a tumultuous breakup with said celebrity baby, and maintains a fairly successful career taking pictures for a mason jar-y men's lifestyle magazine. (The two end up getting back together, but that's kind of the story. They love each other a lot though.)

He can be judgmental and shitty, definitely has a superiority complex, but he's also pretty depressed and repressing a lot of lowkey childhood trauma. He loves that whole 1950s aesthetic-- James Dean and Salinger novels, but also adores Blondie and secretly loves classic rom-coms. He's an intellectual dude, prone to getting stuck in his own head, but he's not at all adverse to good trashy fun. He's 100% done cocaine off a dick.

He's a snarky, dry humored dude. Seems pretty straight until he gets a few drinks in him. He's a good guy under it all, it's a lot of defensive posturing. Loves that he can be goofy with his dumb celebrity boyfriend though that's rarely seen in public.

More mood references and some writing snippets etc can be found here. I put his little lookbook below. I think everything should be fairly well laid out? If you have any questions just ask. Have fun dressing him, feel free to go with your gut and play around with it! Sad square desert boy loves earth tones and red shirts.

Cael

Cael Rousseau-Jennings
The only child of Hollywood's top power couple, Cael is nothing if not a brat. He's a fun loving, in the moment dude who spends his allowance (which he receives well into adulthood) on expensive clothes and brunch. Following his and Retro's breakup he falls into a massive downward spiral, eventually getting cut off financially which does not help as much as his parents thought it would.

He's a big puppy. Not the brightest, he's great at working a room and has a real genuine love for people. He's cautious in a subtle sort of way and entitled in an obvious sort of way, but once you've gained his trust he'll do just about anything for you. He's also super emotional and prone to throwing tempers which rarely goes over well as he is an adult. He's into debauchery and has done coke off of most surfaces, but he's also the sweetest boy. It's contextual, you know?

He adores Retro, who takes him pretty seriously and treats him with a kind of respect he hasn't often encountered. He likes to goof off with him, really likes the whole 'he's mean to everyone besides me' thing that Retro has going on. He tones down the trashy in NY, and wardrobe wise introduces a lot more greys and stuff with a better attention to accents? Lip ring is gone in NY as well.

Again we've got his lookbook below. He's designer trash and adores flashy sneakers. There's more mood stuff here, and if you need more vibe references the model Dominik Sadoch is a pretty good jumping off point? Classy-trashy celebrity baby who really has no skills of his own.

Lookbooks 1.

willem

Willem van der Berg
Sad youngest son of a shady Hollywood producer and high level publicist, he grew up in England with occasional awards-season travels to LA. Like Cael has more money than he should. Unlike Cael he isn't stupid and understands how much potential he's wasting and how pointless anything he does is in the long run. He's one of those people whose addiction is overlooked because how could someone who graduated with honors from Cambridge's math department be an addict?

He's pretty image conscious, has spent a lot of time curating this look of hardened trash kid. Spends a lot of time/money trying to look like he has neither. Very smart but also very conscious of the fact that the kind of smart he is isn't good in social situations. When does high level conceptual mathematics come up at parties? Never. Gets along very well with the grungy art kids. Loves that beaten down 80s post  punk vibe.

A long standing childhood crush on Cael comes to (poorly thought out) fruition following a pretty severe car crash in '09. Messy ending brings him back to the UK where he has a string of rough and meaningless relationships before finally by pure coincidence he meets Hiroki.

 Under all the boots and leather jackets though he's just a soft and sensitive boy crippled by existential dread.

Lookbook below!! He really likes his little YSL chelsea boots/jacket. The lankiest boy in the world. Mood references etc can be found here. He's secretly a fucking dork but is really tall and scary so people don't really realize it. He and Hiroki are weird. This photo is very Him.

Hiroki

Hiroki Anno
The son of two well regarded Japanese artists, he grew up in Tokyo before moving to Europe while his father taught in London After publishing his first novel at a remarkably young age he was skyrocketed to a level of fame and regard that people probably shouldn't have until they're well past middle age. He involves himself in many ill-conceived trysts with older men, buys a lot of plants, stops writing, does a lot of drugs, and has a number of breakdowns before he finally settles into a quiet life of being a high functioning neurotic/junkie.

He's very quiet, very observant in that way that writers often are. He has a habit of being that person at the party who'll sit in silence for hours watching the conversation before finally saying the one thing that makes everyone else feel like a fool. It's hard to tell if he's being rude to you or not. He probably is but maybe he's just like that?? Steals stuff when he's drunk, very adamant about connectivity and fate et al. The most introverted person in the world, really just wants to hang out in his minimalist apartment with his plants and his books. Sometimes Willem can come too.

Very neat, well put together. Very few people can tell he's not doing too well because he's a literary genius and he doesn't dress like someone who's addicted to heroin. Wool trousers, long wool coats, well kept oxfords and the like. Very Japanese, a little professorial almost. Never wears anything shorter than 3/4 length sleeves. Think Lemaire, Maison Kitsuné. Often cuffs his pants a little because he smol. 

Meets Willem by chance, decides he's worth his time and energy. Really in all honesty feels like they've met before in some previous life or something. Probably isn't wrong about that. They really adore each other and seem to be on a totally different level than everyone else, it's a little spooky. Hiroki especially so.

He doesn't have a lookbook because I've been in school and can't figure out what shoes he would wear besides oxfords. His mood tag is here. In terms of face structure Hideki Asahina's got the big nose/gaunt cheeks thing going on and is pretty close in appearance!!

Lookbooks 2.