Three days, three locations and three cameras. The rising feminist artist and once controversial face of Calvin Klein turns the lens on herself You may not recognize her name, but you probably know about Myla Dalbesio. In 2014 she became the face of a Calvin Klein underwear campaign that sparked a heated debate about standards of female beauty. Because of her body type, Myla was celebrated in the media as "Calvin Klein's first plus-size model." She was a size 10, whereas many models wear size four or six. To put this in context, size 14 is the national average for women. She was interviewed on and and the public conversation on blogs and social media focused on the modeling industry's questionable expectations for women's bodies. For a while Myla became the poster child for positive self-image. But today she's over it. "I'm happy to talk about it, and I feel passionate about it—but can we change the conversation, please? Can we talk about something else?" Yes, let's change the conversation. It's hard not to once you get to know the real Myla, a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is influenced by "sexual femininity, mystical nature and the place where the two meet." Afewyearsagoshebegan photographing herself nude in hotel rooms for a project titled "I'm naturally attracted to women's bodies. As a woman, like others, I'm focused on my own," she says. "Forme, these photos were about having an organic form—the female body—in the middle of the hard, lonely symmetries of hotel rooms. It was about traveling and how the concept of loneliness is something that can be enjoyable and pleasurable." For this story Myla traveled alone from her home in New York City to California. Her stopping points: the sweeping Joshua Tree National Park, the sun-soaked streets of Los Angeles and two of Palm Springs' most stylish boutiques, the Ace Hotel and Hotel Lautner. Her equipment: a Polaroid, a Contax point-and-shoot and a photo booth. Her task: illustrate a visual lesson in how to shoot a woman, by the same woman. "I was terrified going into this project," Myla admits, laughing. "I usually shoot only in controlled environments, and the last time I took asolo road trip was 10 years ago. I was terrified of being alone for that long." Despite those doubts, the results are magnificent. "It was three days of pushing myself, chasing light, setting up the tripod, pushing the lo-second self-timer, scrambling around naked with no shoes on, feeling cactus needles lodge in my feet and getting into position. And then doing it over and over again. I almost broke down, but out of that came clarity." It was worth it, and for Myla the message is evident. "There's an accepted idea that women who are free with their bodies—be they strippers, nude models or porn stars—are broken, put-upon. That's sad and disappointing," she says. "It doesn't have to be like that. My self- portraits—call them selfies if you want, I don't care—have changed my self-image over time. Seeing beautiful photos of myself has bolstered me. It makes me feel better. If girls want to take gorgeous photos of themselves, or if boys want to, who the fuck cares?"
