Model Hongru Pan recreates the first steps taken by a mermaid from Andersen’s fairy tale

"Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal...," the mermaid Hongru Pan rose up to the surface of the water and stepped onto land. Her first steps were recorded by photographer Yixuan Wang.

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Model Hongru Pan | Mermaid's First Steps | Yixuan Wang 1

Hongru Pan (pen name: Xiao Yan) is a bilingual poet. She has published Chinese poetry books A Record of Chanting Dreams and Invisible Tel Aviv, and the English poetry collection Café after Dawn. Her writing lives in the liminal spaces between utterance and silence, poetry and prose, quotidian and sacred.

Designer, Marchesa Notte.

“In fathoms deep, where sunlight fades, a mystic realm, the ocean’s shades, there lies a world of myth and tale, where sirens sing and mermaids sail.” – Hongru Pan.

Model Hongru Pan | Mermaid's First Steps | Yixuan Wang 2

Dress, Cult Gaia.

“Blue is the warmest color. Blue feathers, set against a backdrop of vibrant hues from the sun’s descent, the azure waves rise and fall in a rhythmic dance.”

Hongru Pan wears Cult Gaia dress.

Model Hongru Pan | Mermaid's First Steps | Yixuan Wang 3

Designer, Retrofete.

“I felt my heart begin to sway, as lone woods whispered, drifting me away. The roots beneath my weary feet, intricate trails, where lost souls meet, guiding me through the tangled maze, as shadows danced in the waning haze.”

Dress, Retrofete.

“The heart of nature, free and wild. On golden sands, the driftwoods rest, an ancient dance of wood and wave, and untamed beast, where sea and forest blend.”

Model Hongru Pan | Mermaid's First Steps | Yixuan Wang 4

Producer: Accent Sisters @accentsisters.
Model: Hongru Pan @hongru_pan_.
Photographer: Yixuan Wang @raymond_wang9468.

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