Hawthorne boutique Altar always has something new going on. Cassie Ridgway and Amy Lee Fox, friends and co-owners of the womenswear shop, are always throwing a massive collaborative sample sale, hosting a giant runway show in their back alley, or putting out a stylish new lookbook. This week is no different, with the launch of Altar's fall/holiday editorial, chock-full of their signature casual boho look with gothy hints. We emailed the duo about how it all came together.

I love that you used local vogue dancer Jared Chung in the shoot. How did you choose your models?

Jared used to work at Altar and his personal style was a big inspiration in our boutique. He had this way of taking garments, jewelry, and accessories from our store and styling them into his wardrobe in the most relatable, iconic, Altar-esque ways. To be his dreamy co-pilot in this shoot, we had to find someone who would be romantically beautiful, and we had been keeping Zoe [Kimball, model] on our radar for over a year. When the two of them got together, they instantly started making magic together. Truly two people who are beautiful inside and out. 

What was the inspiration for this shoot?

We felt like we had big shoes to fill from our last shoot, Occultation, which had celestial motifs and a succinct focus on the literal meaning of an altar. During that shoot, we hit this creative stride with our photographer Katie Summer that seemed to unfold before our eyes. Hibernaculum calls forth more of a dreamy fall sense of naturalism and dark floral motifs which we are currently very inspired by in the shop.

Are all these pieces the store's house line? Or are they a mix of things at Altar?

Altar store lookbooks are a cascade of the designers we carry; we like to take the opportunity to show how everything can style together and also use our lookbooks as a way of connecting the wonderful artists that we feature. Part of our task as a business is elevating the work of our artists and providing content that reinstates the value of independent manufacturing. 

Why do you feel it’s important to put out editorial lookbooks?

In part because it gives us a platform for creativity that is, ultimately, why we do this in the first place. Additionally, we think that editorial lookbooks help communicate another dimension of our store. It is not just a place that sells objects; it is a wellspring of talent and vibrancy that continually inspires us as designers ourselves and as a business.

Altar Boutique
3279 SE Hawthorne Street