Behind the Scenes

Viva la Vida! Or, as the expression made famous by Coldplay — and Frida Kahlo before that — goes, “Live Life!” On a purely intellectual level, this month we’re inspired by past and current exhibitions from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows Museum in Dallas, which is celebrating the golden anniversary of its cache of extraordinary Spanish art. But on quite another level, our art director here at PaperCity, Michelle Aviña, is of Latin descent. And her fiery spirit keeps all of us inspired (and motivated!) at all times. I think she was the one who first brought a book on Spanish artist Francisco Goya into one of our edit meetings, and it snowballed from there. We called in looks from Dolce & Gabbana, Dior and Valentino to bring our Spanish dream to life. Then all that was left to do was to find the perfect location. Leave it to resident superstar photo editor and knower-of-all things Jenny Antill to find just the right spot (yet again). And sure enough, on a random Monday in Houston, at the home of Jim McAlister (an extraordinary tribute on its own to Spanish art and architecture), magic was made. Enjoy our behind-the-scenes moments and un-retouched outtakes from the shoot. And see the official cover and spread in the May issue — on stands May 1.