Jackson for Issue 14

How independent are we really? We’re told that adulthood means freedom, but what about the daily hurdles to climb - the lists of chores, the monotonous ring of an alarm every morning? Sometimes growing up feels like an endless cubicle of polystyrene cups and blue-light, where there was once sunshine. Through all of the clutter, there is still beauty to be found; just listen. It’s in the voice that weighs down on your mind, urging you to climb out and explore.

In this exclusive editorial for our new Issue 14, Jackson Oller at LA models takes to the hills for a healthy dose of Vitamin D. Daria Kobayashi Ritch captures this tale of teenage rebellion; one that follows the lakes and the trees, back to the past. Here, the Californian landscape is a faded postcard of fresh-air and orange light. With his eyes and hair in shades of twig-brown and faded moss, his cheeks bloom like roses in the autumnal air.

Stylist Sean Knight plays with the spirit of American youth. The exclusive looks, all from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, reference pop-culture from the ‘70s and beyond: from Cobain to a Parisian take on the rodeo cowboy. It’s all about the glamour of carelessness; the proportions warp from a little too-tight, to so baggy it’s nearly falling off. In one sense, it’s the mirror of two selves; between boyhood and becoming a ‘man’.

Remember this: whenever things turn grey, there are still vivid pinks in the sky and emerald greens that form in the rocks, all by themselves. Go back to the pines and you’ll feel that pull back to who you were, before you were told who to be.