Today we’d like to introduce you to Kriss Hidalgo.
Hi Kriss, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi, I’m Kriss. I am the visual director for Astrophobia. I got into fashion and visual arts… from a young age I’ve been enamored with art, I liked to draw during class and attended art classes in order to seek to go to a local art school. However, they didn’t see my talents tho, it just helped me become a self learner; figure out who I was. I started lions apparel (lions studios) in high school on my own. Model, design, marketing, etc. That helped me learn how to really direct the whole process. My instagram started to match my abilities and agents started noticing. After getting scouted I got signed by Wilhelmina models. After 1 week with an agent, I got booked for Dior. Its been up from there ever since. Giustino has been there since the beginning (lions) , we didn’t start really hanging out until I started making music. One thing lead to another and then came across the opportunity to direct one of his music videos and from there we kind of became creative partners. Astrophobia is the present and the future and im along for the ride.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has honestly been a very challenging journey becoming Astrophobia’s visual director. Directing Hurt Me was a big learning curve for me. We made 3 final drafts for Hurt Me, and as the director I honestly didn’t like the end product and Giustino’s and I hunger for perfection. We shot the music video 3 times with different locations, talent, cameras, lenses, cinematographers, and editors to get it just right. I even changed the script and storyboard 3 different times, and for a moment Giustino and I were convinced we were never going to get Hurt Me right. But, it was after Giustino and I pulled back and brainstormed on big construction paper and jotted down what Astrophobia meant to him and what it meant to me, and from there we were able to finally construct Hurt Me in a way to where it is now. Where every detail had some sort of symbolism and told a story. Giustino and I were constructing this to not be like any other music video that is directed and produced to look the same, instead we wanted to create timeless art. And we throughly stand by that.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well, majority of people know me as a model. Modeling for brands such as Dior, Zara, Coach. But, I am an Artist and honestly I don’t have a medium of focus. I believe an artist is someone who creates what they feel. And that is me. I’ve dived into music with Astrophobia, now getting into DJing and spinning the Astrophobia show that we recently curated. Being Astrophobia’s director, capturing what Astrophobia means visually and expressing in a way for other people to understand. And that alone sets me apart from everyone, I honestly don’t know anyone else who is able to create art in so many different mediums. Usually, creatives just specialize in one medium of art, whether it be fashion, music, or film. But I am most proud of is the Hurt Me music video, that was a whole process, and directing there are so many different mediums when it comes to directing a music video. I styled the outfits in Hurt Me, selected the shots, locations, and helped create the narrative with Giustino. And it was the first time I was able to work with a team. I had Endrit and Elvis as the cinematographers for the final edit of Hurt Me, helping me capture the shot I had written on the storyboard. And of course Austin with the editing to make it feel like a short film. I wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of my team.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is that people take away from reading this, is that it never hurts to try things. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with trying a new thing.
Society loves to box people in, I say why not open the box you’re in and walk out the box. People tried to box me into just modeling, and telling me that I am not an artist. I even had art schools not believe in my vision. So for that exact reason. I want people to just try whatever their heart feels. It’s okay to have multiple aspirations.
We have such limited time and why not knock everything out of your bucket list. End of the day, just express yourself, having these different mediums has allowed me to stay entertained and never get bored.
Contact Info:
- Email: kriss@krisswhidalgo.com
- Website: krisswhidalgo.com
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/krisswhidalgo?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Image Credits
Cesar Martinez
Rob Serren
