ELLA BRIGNONI

First memories of motion: my arrival at Florida State, lingering uncertainty of whether I made the right decision to enroll here – not quite convinced I’d find satisfaction elbow-deep in a comfortable routine. One afternoon, I received a text linking a casting call from my friend Kassidy Saba, who implored me to apply with her to model for a fashion magazine called Strike. We would soon find out we were both cast in the first-ever Strike Runway show, and I would later spend my evenings propping up a full-length mirror at the end of my hall, prancing in heels until I felt sure I could walk without stumbling over myself.

 

Shortly after, I’d be immersed in a realm I never knew existed at my school – my eyes widening at the scene, incognizant to the bobby pins pressing firmly into my scalp. All I could wonder was how to be on the other side of it all. It was at this event that I met my soon-to-be closest friend and co-creator, Isabel Choi, who (not to my knowledge at the time) was configuring the same plan.

 

I cannot imagine the last four years without Strike. It’s been a pathway defined by accelerated movement, and the ebbs and flows that come with it. It has proved who I am and who I want to be. A person who finds fulfillment in nurturing that spark of an idea. A person who considers no default, preferring to give my all to something seemingly uncertain, rather than attempt to fit in a risk-aversive mold coined by the fear of failing. Because when you trust that the motion is not steadily paced, and there will be times you feel like you’re losing your footing in the heap of pressure, you’ll find solace in letting the swift pace guide your arrival point.

 

To Isa, our Editor-in-Chief, thank you for facing the movement with me head-on. You’re as innovative as you are dedicated, and your consistent pursuit of all that is new, encapsulating, and greater than the previous chapter will never fail to impress me. I feel fortunate to have poured all our collective efforts onto the pages of this issue, and proud to consider you my sister, twin rather, separated at birth. I’m eager to see how far you will go. Let’s do it again in New York?

 

To our committed assistants, Lauren, Nicole, and Marcela: thank you for always going miles above what was ever asked of you. It’s rare to encounter those who share your pursuit of creating something great, and even less frequently do we get to call those people our friends. I am sincerely lucky to have met each of you.

 

To my fellow directors and the rest of our unbelievably talented staff, this issue would not have been possible without you. Thank you to my family and friends, who have fostered me in a bubble of love and support. Thank you, readers, who have opened the cover agreeing to join the progression of In Motion along with us. I sincerely hope you enjoy and find yourself setting a blazed trail for your endeavors to follow, trusting therein lies beauty, not necessarily without struggle, but often there is something unexpected within reach, glimmering brilliantly and not too far away.

 

Strike Out,

Ella Brignoni