It comes as no surprise that as soon as Samantha Pleet’s x UO capsule collection was released I quickly headed over to UO’s blog to take a gander at the accompanying video and lookbook “Post Script”. Aside from the video and lookbook being strikingly beautiful and enchanting (no surprise there), I especially loved what Samantha had to say about the idea behind the video:“It was such a cold winter in New York, and we just had on our minds the juxtaposition of what we were seeing and what our West Coast LA friends were sharing of their experience of like, being on the beach in January while we were freezing and miserable. We wanted to explore the idea of how people follow what their friends are doing, everyone sees life through Instagram and photos, so even when you’re far away you feel like you’re there. You feel like you know what everyone is doing all the time.”  I can wholeheartedly relate to this sentiment. Well before the internet, and especially social media, it was hard to ever truly experience someone else’s perspective since we had no visual to accompany it, only in phone calls, letters (email) and pictures sent could we experience another’s world. It was often only our imaginations that could take us to another place instantly. Nowadays, even if your friends are across the world, with a simple click of a button and a post to instagram, you can see what everyone is up to without even asking. It’s hard to remember what life was like before this. What was it like not knowing what was happening all the time, always, with everyone? While I feel social media creates such a wonderful connection (I have met so many amazing people online), it also creates a disconnect – relationships often don’t feel as personal as they once used to. I hate to admit I sometimes forget I haven’t spoken to some of my friends from far away (heck, even friends close by) in a little while because I feel as though I already know what has been going on. And of course, the ever familiar feeling that only perfectly curated feeds and blogs can make you feel as if everyones life is far more exciting than your own. Just like Samantha stated: “the message is really this ‘it’s always greener’. you always want to escape to a world you’re not in.”

Photography: Hannah Metz
Models: Hannah Metz, Erin Cherry, Ariana Papademetopoulos, Ashley Symone Lee, Nathalie Kelly