Someone once gave me the coldest shower of all. I wouldn’t say older, but 10 years wiser than me, she stopped me and told me “listen Gabriel, all these socialites couldn’t care les about you or your wesbite, they are all accepting a feature on It Girl mainly because they want to be photographed by Óscar”. It was a hard pill to shallow but old me Blair Waldorf took it and accepted it. Perhaps that was already the downfall of It Girl as a website ‘cause her tongue and words did hurt in a misconfused way as I never knew if they came from a friend or a frenemy. I started this article by quoting old me Blair Waldorf ‘cause misguided by ego I went and searched other options in New York and Miami, looking for a different eye for the website. And all I found abroad were more and more reasons to credit the only man apart from yours truly that could ever bring It Girl to reality. His name, Óscar Valle.
Mexican socialites from left to right: R.I.P. TT Moctezuma, Ana Lucía Álvarez Morphy, Jacqueline Saba, Alejandra Álvarez Morphy, Gabriella Guindi and Nicole Devlyn.
Born in the north of México, Óscar Valle started his own profesional career in a local magazine during his early 20s. Like every professional photographer, he went and moved to Mexico City aspiring to once appear in the pages of the bibles of fashion. Of course he did but it was written in the stars for him to give the perfect & glossy identity the It Girl website so needed back in 2012.
Óscar an I met through a friend that she would eventually join the It Girl team back in 2012. It was a couple of years later, when Oscar and I shared a true friendship that he confessed from the bottom of his heart that he loved the It Girl website as he already worked on a similar project back in his homestate presenting the local socialites in a swanky column. Like I said, it was 100% destiny and that’s how two men created the website that every It Girl in town wanted to be part of. Together we profiled all the elite names in the It Girl circle like Alejandra Chedraui, Paola Sierra Chedraui, Paula Coutttolenc, Fernanda Espiritu, Beatriz Pasquel, Pixie Devlyn, Daniela Magun, Paola Henaine, Brenda Jaet, Michelle Torres, Mary Carmen López, Venus Fabbricatore, Andrea Wade, Chantal Torres, Yael Sandler and even the almighty society queen Raquel Bessudo.
Suddenly la crème de la crème trusted us and brought together a 2.0 version of the It Girl website.
Everyone wanted to be part and get a feature on the It Girl website.
The best imagery from the It Girl website started with a vision shared with Óscar Valle.
Excited to be part of the It Girl team, Óscar Valle not only became a regular photographer but permanent Art Director as he helped me putting together the best ideas for the It Girl website like the Pink Think Editorial from the iconic movie Funny Face from 1957.
A Best Dressed Signature: Brenda Díaz de la Vega and Lili Henaine featured in an original story created by Óscar Valle for It Girl.
We both share the best It Girl memories from traveling together, meeting my parents & his former boyfriend, having our first discussion, apologizing to each other, partying, celebrating the first It Girl anniversary to meeting everyone in the It Girl circle, I easily could say we dit all back then but I guess being named the #1 & best advertising story from Ferragamo’s HQ in Milan truly highlighted a moment in both our professional careers in 2016.
from left to right the OG It Girl circle: Gabriel Rojo de la Vega, Kris Hillman, Karla Rojo de la Vega, Jaime González, Alfredo Oropeza, Chantal Torres, Fer Hillman, Edgar Moisés, Andrea Wade, Luis Miguel Moreno, Michelle Torres, Alfonso Helfon and Paulina Díaz Ordaz starring in what Milan called the #1 ad campaign from Ferragamo.
By It Girl’s third anniversary we’ve done it all, ads kept fueling capital to the It Girl website and it was time to transition from a social page to a one and only source of inspiration.
Top investor Ferragamo invites It Girls of the moment Lorena González, Ela Velden and Andrea Wade as brand ambassadors in Mexico. Picture by Óscar Valle.
Having Oscar by my side brought the best version of myself. Captivating an audience and at the same time creating real and longtime relationships with fashion icons that actually wanted to be associated with the It Girl website.
Mexican blogger Pam Allier channels her inner Blair Waldorf in a story published by yours truly with Óscar Valle imagery.
Alejandra Infante head to toe in Ferragamo’s Fall Winter 2015 Collection.
The one and only Issabela Camil arrives to Oscar Valle’s studio in Mexico City for her first It Girl feature.
Karime Bribiesca in Teotihuacan.
Mariana Zaragoza in San Miguel de Allende.
Sadly real life isn’t like the movies and due to hiring a New York photographer with my brand new investor capital, Oscar and I stopped being friends. I will always regret that decision as he was first friend than Art Director. The last editorial we ever did together was that iconic San Miguel de Allende story with Mariana Zaragoza as the It Girl of the moment in 2017. They say time puts everything into place and I truly can’t wait to see my friend again XOXO💋
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