CONCRETELOOP.COM

Earlier this week the L.A. Times Mag released their exclusive photo shoot with NBA Star Kobe Bryant and let’s just say he was roasted all over the net because of them. They were going for high fashion, but fell a little short.

On Monday, James Valeri (the stylist of the shoot), sat down with L.A. Times to explain the concept and to defend Kobe.

“Kobe was amazing to work with because he was cool with everything. He trusted us. We took a picture and he liked it so we kept going. We wanted to do a picture with a hat because the photographer wanted to do everything in white. I didn’t want to use accessories that would look too retro. Let’s do it in a cool, young way because that’s what Kobe is. He’s a cool, young and successful athlete. I wanted to give a modern approach. I was thinking of [rapper] Tupac [Shakur] where I put a band underneath in the hat to make it look hip-hop, but … it translates in a surreal look where it creates a strong image. It was something that hasn’t been done before. It’s mixing the inspiration of Tupac and a gentleman with a white hat … a mix of a hip-hop and a conservative look.” [ READ MORE ]