Zyla Ray
In theater and film, mise-en-scène refers to the way in which set design, props, and the placement of other actors influence the visual character of a production. The idea that the items that physically surround a scene are as important to the plot as the action itself is at the heart of the creative decisions of many visual artists, including online content creators.
While you could post, tag and call it a day, some lifestyle and fashion influencers are sticking to creating a continuous story through their grid. Organized in Instagram’s three-row layout, these curated images appear as one long photo series. We spoke to three creators to find out what their story is, exactly.
Shelly, Christy, and the Reknitted Promise Series (NYCxClothes)
On their Instagram profile, Shellsey and Christy Joseph describe themselves as “sisters with a talent for storytelling and building community.” This succinct description alludes to a multi-platform lifestyle brand that includes photography, video, writing, and events. Through each of these disciplines, the duo explores the boundaries of narrative memoir while highlighting the clothing that informed different stages of their lives.
The sisters moved from Haiti to New York City after the tragic earthquake in 2010, and once they were settled, they decided to document their journey as new immigrants and fashion enthusiasts. Though fashion is often looked down upon as superficial, the sisters understood the importance of the culture it creates. Centering style on their platform allowed Shelsey and Christy to approach other topics and find people with the same experiences.
“We realized early on that the images [best] “It’s a way to establish that initial connection with people,” Shellsey told ESSENCE.com over a Zoom call. “So we started to put more effort into the image-making aspect of our work, showing not just wardrobe but styling, and thinking more about weaving in elements that evoke the New York story and our background,” she said.
Posting their outfits is just one piece of the puzzle: They set the scene with each post through their captions, locations, and meticulous composition, with the sisters achieving storytelling primarily through details that go beyond the clothes.
Having grown as creatives for over 13 years, making work for their website, Instagram, and now TikTok, the sisters approach their authorship with the same thoughtfulness they apply to their impact. Earlier this year, the sisters released a video and photo series that explored the psychology of black female intimacy through hair care, a nostalgic reimagining of what it might be like for a sister to help you undo a braid. Christie, who served as creative director on the project, said the imagery of black directors like Spike Lee was the inspiration for the project.
“Last year I started to get more serious about directing. I started taking classes and really returning to my calling, which is using digital storytelling and film and using some techniques to tell very personal stories,” Christie said.
Zyla Ray
Reminiscing about undoing her grandmother’s hair, Christy wanted to capture the nostalgia of being surrounded by Black women and bonding over intimate conversations. The project explored the nostalgia that shapes the connections many Black women make and imagery that reflects the safe spaces we cherish most. For NYCxClothes, this meant creating a set that would remind viewers of home and framing imagery to bring that intimacy to the screen.
“In terms of sets, I’ve watched a lot of Spike Lee movies and have always been inspired by his craft. I love the magic of filmmaking,” Christie says. “Everyday life can feel like it happens a certain way, but when you turn the camera on it and shoot a movie, there’s a little bit more magic in thinking about the set, thinking about the costumes, combining that with a real-life scenario, and then you heighten it by thinking a little bit about the story.”
NYCxClothes applies this bird’s-eye view of image-making to all of their lifestyle content, considering who, what, and where in addition to core fashion elements. Their idea of mise-en-scène is primarily inspired by film, keeping in mind how everything is positioned within a film frame. From set and prop design to lighting and even how the sisters are blocked throughout a scene, their work is an exercise in telling an ongoing story through photographic composition.
It’s no secret that the fields of arts, media, and entertainment often intersect. Many people work in more than one field at a time professionally, and as the capabilities of visual storytelling on social media continue to evolve, online creators are now able to blend different styles to tell their stories.
Simi Moonlight
Creating communication images for style influencers
The way we capture images is evolving, especially in the age of fast fashion. Slower, longer-form content production counters the overconsumption of images and materials and forces the audience to engage with a comprehensive portrayal of clothing. For example, NYCxClothes is definitely a lifestyle and fashion blog, but the focus is on everything surrounding the brand. Designers featured are highlighted by stories the sisters tell that inspire readers to follow.
For Christy and Shelsey, recurring themes are identity, their Haitian heritage, and their experience as immigrants in New York. To promote not only their products but also the lifestyle and concepts behind their collections, they create a series of micro-editorials (some spontaneous style reviews, some branded projects) with greater technical sophistication and a larger production investment. They rotate between producing and editing. Sometimes they outsource. Most of the time, they own all the roles themselves. Combined with a knowledgeable perspective on the evolution of fashion influences, they have created a brand of style content that is self-aware and knows its place in the industry. They discuss these ideas in the written portion of their blog, which covers conversations about sustainability, the material composition of their clothes, and what it means to be a conscious consumer.
Some content creators are increasingly adopting strategies that influence long-form narratives to address deeper topics surrounding fashion psychology. Creator and model Simi Muhumuza, who goes by the name Simi Moonlight across all platforms, has built a wide following over the years through thoughtful posts that highlight her signature style and personal growth trajectory. For her, fashion is very personal, and as her style evolves, so does her ability to speak to the themes that influence the clothes she gravitates to, such as plus-body presence and the historical context of trends. She mentions these topics in her captions and then expands on them on TikTok, usually marrying her words with a thoughtful visual profile on her page. For Simi, the vibrant color palette seen throughout her feed has become a big part of her brand identity, and her carefully curated shoot locations help her maintain a certain visual continuity.
“Rather than searching for an environment, I’m thinking about how the environment that’s already there can become part of the story because I think that really helps me a lot in terms of finding beauty in everything – finding beauty in everything,” Simi said over a video call.
For Shellsey, Christy and Simi, the ordinariness of everyday life is a common canvas, even if their platforms are different aesthetically. The New York City subway proves to be just as effective a backdrop as a pre-designed set. The laid-back look provides a foundation for the work, allowing creators to personalize their content by conveying what was happening in the real world when they took the photo. Simi often takes a more spontaneous approach when writing captions and choosing photo settings, following what comes to mind in the moment, but without sacrificing the depth that conveys the context of the content.
“I think looks alone are no longer enough because there has to be something that makes someone feel attached to you and safe with you. And I think those expectations are only going to continue to grow as we move through these uncertain times,” Muhumuza said.
Content creation continues to cycle through new operational eras, evolving from old-fashioned blogs to TikTok-inspired mini-vignettes and back again to meticulously planned photo series formats. A plethora of short-lived trends forces many influencers to rapidly pivot from one popular style to another. But creators who commit to a continuous portrayal of self-reflection may be able to avoid these demands and maintain a niche where they can thoughtfully share the products and brands they work with. Their power lies in the personal context, and NYCxClothes and Simi Moonlight are capitalizing on that.
Narrative-based content creation not only makes influencers seem more perceptually authentic, it’s also a good business practice to keep audiences engaged in an often saturated market. By pursuing this path, Simi, Christy, Shelsey, and others are able to distinguish themselves as writers, not just content creators, and align with artistic and editorial disciplines that share the mission of digital imagery. They find that it helps lean toward authenticity when all parties are equally subject to the whims of algorithms.
