Old Joliet Prison - Photoshoot Event

February 13, 2019Renee Lang

The Old Joliet Prison Event

On 9/20/18, myself, Mélange Studio and an amazing group of creatives had the honor of hosting the very first Fashion Photoshoot, at the Abandoned Old Joliet Prison, located in Joliet IL. It has always been a dream of mine, to get inside of the prison walls and when the lightbulb for a fashion focused photoshoot turned on, there was no looking back.

I spent many months communicating with the City of Joliet and the Museum to determine if this brainchild was even possible. Once they gave me the green light, I started to curate models, photographers, hair stylist, makeup artist, production assistants, a videographer and three of Chicago’s hottest fashion designers. Everything was starting to come together nicely.

I toured the prison 3 times prior to the event to make sure that I understood what was required and needed to keep everyone involved comfortable and safe in a building that requires major upgrades. To make this possible I knew that I had to provide mobile safety lighting, walkie-talkies, maps, a detailed schedule and a production assistant for each of the 7 shooting locations. It rained the night before so we had the hurdle of shooting in standing water, breathing moist stale air and an overall crumbling environment that is not ideal for custom designer outfits. But did that stop us or put a damper on our event...no it didn’t. This event was an experience of a LIFETIME and I am so honored that myself, Mélange Studio and the wonderful group of creatives had the opportunity of seeing such a magnificent piece of architectural history as well as pave the way for all future creatives that would like to shoot at there.

We also had the honor of having Leila B’ Smiths, Homan Wongs and Kim Gagliardo-smith photos published.

Leila’s images were published in a well known Fashion Magazine called Elegant Magazine http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1548107

Homan Wong’s images were published in Red Silk Carpet Magazine and The Joliet Harold News, along with Kim Gagliardo-Smith. https://www.theherald-news.com/2019/01/22/almost-too-pretty-for-a-prison-lockport-director-stages-shoot-in-old-joliet-prison/ay8m4yg/

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Creative Director

· Renee Lang–Schweikle

Event Director

· Renee Lang–Schweikle

Production Manager

· Mark Schweikle

Production Assistants

· Lauren Cintron

· Ashley Fein

· Daniel Rader

· Erica Sosa

Fashion Director