"I have always loved Alice in Wonderland, the whimsical fun-filled place where everything isn't as it seems. It's a world where anything is possible; a world I want to live in."

A lot of thought and storytelling went into putting together this shoot. I wanted Tehani to become each of my favorite iconic alice in wonderland characters, and I wanted each of them to build off of the previous character. In this way, it became a new way of looking at the story of 'Alice in Wonderland'.

Alice. As Alice we start off with her character being a quiet one, with a carefree spirit. She doesn't quite fit in with society at all with her reading in trees and believing that her cat is a person, which leaves her all on her own quite often. Her hair is put back as expected, with a beautiful blue ribbon from the adorn company. As she reads, she falls into a deep sleep where she dreams a wonderful dream. At first she's running through her dream, hair wild and ribbon flowing, until she finds herself a wonderful place with a swing and bed. In this place, she can be herself, and starts on a journey to discovering who she IS.

Mad Hatter. After falling asleep within her dream, she wakes up dressed as the mad hatter. In an effort to build on each character, her clothes build as well. She is still wearing the blue dress, but has added a black corset, lace gloves, a silly blue top hat (handmade by my sister Ingrid Jansson), and the blue ribbon has now become her necktie. She first arrives at a chair, and then magically a tea party appears before her (table styled by my amazing mother Moanilehu Jansson). "But of course, it's TIME FOR TEA!" She loves tea but is tired of the same old 'properness' involved, so she becomes this over-the-top character. A silly girl playing tea, but she has no one to have tea with, except of course her tiny little mouse. For this reason, she soon becomes bored and tries to have fun by having a merry unbirthday and drinking tea in a tree, but it's not enough. She is still lonely.

Queen of Hearts. More lonely than ever, Alice takes on the persona of the Queen of Hearts, covering her entire self with a red cape that represents all of her anger. (She is still wearing the blue dress, mad hatter clothes, and ribbon is now tied to her wrist) The Queen of Hearts is angry because she wants to be loved and accepted so much, and yet she is still alone because she is completely different and 100% misunderstood. She has the white rabbit to comfort her, but he really doesn't LOVE her. These photos are one of loneliness and solice.

White Queen. At the pinnacle of her journey, she becomes the White Queen. Stripping away all of the anger and loneliness (and clothes), and learning to embrace who she is: Beautiful, poised, care-free, wise, and loved. The white gown and rose representing purity and rebirth. She now dons the white ribbon which she has tied to the horse, showing their connection throughout each animal (the white cat, white mouse, white bunny, and finally the white horse), the symbolism of what she is to become. She had it within her all along.

Model: Tehani Carlson
Tehani Carlson is a high school senior and female state champion wrestler born and raised in Wai`anae, Hawai`i.

Vendors

Adorn Company - provided the absolutely gorgeous hand-dyed raw-edge silk ribbons
Sunset Ranch - gorgeous venue on the North Shore of Oahu, providing the stunning white horse

Please play the music while looking through the photos! It adds to the experience.