Essay 120 • Mar 6th 2017
- by Marcus Branch
I'd worked with the brilliant stylist Erik Honesty before, but this was my first time meeting Taylor “X2” Simone, and almost as soon as we hit the Philadelphia streets that we call home, our connection was solidified. Her warm spirit and fluid ease radiated through in her energy and in her conversation.
I felt as if I was with my friend of several years, just doing what we do. Instead, I was being introduced to a refreshingly kind and inviting spirit. In turn, I couldn’t help but reflect that very energy & essence that Taylor shared with me.
Marcus Branch, born 1991 in Philadelphia, is a renaissance man. Branch graduated from the University of the Arts in 2014 with a BFA in Photography, but doesn’t limit his creative explorations and expressions to just that. A rehearsal director & principal dancer in a dance company, an educator in high-school-level visual communications, a filmmaker & a model, Branch is a dreamer, achiever, and apparently a juggler. Branch’s work aims to celebrate people of color, encourage diversity, and to contribute a positive perspective of the often misrepresented.
Model : Taylor “X2” Simone
Styling: Erik Honesty